Winter lights recommendation?

John Smith said:

Hi,

I have a Marin mountain bike and I tend not to usei t much in winter
due to no lights. I want to buy some lights for it but the handlebars
are very thicks and lihts I bought previously, well, the bracket
would not fit around it. Can anyone recommend some suitable front and
rear lights?

Cateye do some brackets for "oversize" bars. Or if splashing out on an
expensive rechargeable system, Lumicycle lamps have a cable tie option
(better than it sounds, excellent actually).

Tell us more about the cycling you want to do and your budget. What sort
of tracks or roads? Are they totally unlit? What length rides?

~PB

"Pete Biggs" <[email hidden]> wrote in
message news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Cateye do some brackets for "oversize" bars. Or if splashing out on an
expensive rechargeable system, Lumicycle lamps have a cable tie option
(better than it sounds, excellent actually).

Tell us more about the cycling you want to do and your budget. What sort
of tracks or roads? Are they totally unlit? What length rides?

~PB

Hi Pete,

Basically, it is a 10 mile run - 5 miles each way - along an unlit seafront
promenade with a tarmac/concrete surface. Some parts of the route are narrow
with overhanging trees and bushes - these are unlit and also, um, it is also
a meeting place for certain men who like to meet other men if you know what
I mean. I really don't want to run one of them over in the dark.

Other parts of the promenade run alongside a main road and there is good
residual yellow lighting from the street lights. One concern is eye/head
height branches sticking out (Although I can avoid them by going on a golf
course.) and, of course, any obstacles such as branches or broken glass on
the surface. It is basically Swansea city centre to the Mumbles and back if
anyone knows it.

I like to do this route during the Summer when I can but I usually stop in
the winter as the days are often very gustly but the nights are,
surprisingly, often very calm. It is something to do with the wind direction
and the curve of the bay I believe. I have also been quite ill this Summer
and unable to do much in terms of keeping fit. I am hopefully on the mend
now and I feel I need to continue cycling to improve my health.

I don't wish to spend too much money on this but, then again, I want
something that is safe and suitable for the job in hand. Does this help?

John.

John Smith said:

I don't wish to spend too much money on this but, then again, I want
something that is safe and suitable for the job in hand. Does this help?

I have Lumis are they are excellent, but pricy. Smart do some good lights
which are much cheaper.

http://www.cyclesense.co.uk/products.php?plid=m2b93s38p1462

would do the business for 43.50 + p&p

Arthur

--
Arthur Clune PGP/GPG Key: http://www.clune.org/pubkey.txt
The struggle of people against power is the struggle
of memory against forgetting - Milan Kundera

"Arthur Clune" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

John Smith said:

I don't wish to spend too much money on this but, then again, I want
something that is safe and suitable for the job in hand. Does this help?

I have Lumis are they are excellent, but pricy. Smart do some good lights
which are much cheaper.

http://www.cyclesense.co.uk/products.php?plid=m2b93s38p1462

would do the business for 43.50 + p&p

Arthur

--
Arthur Clune PGP/GPG Key: http://www.clune.org/pubkey.txt
The struggle of people against power is the struggle
of memory against forgetting - Milan Kundera

Thanks. I just popped into my local cycle shop - where I bought my Marin a
few years back - and they suggested two types. One was a dual front light
that cost £30 but the baterry supply was enormous. The second, which they
recommended, was a much smaller light and rechargeable battery that gives
about 2 hours worth of light - it cost £60. The guys said it was the one
that they used and they felt that one would be ideal for my need but they
said they would suggest two of them if someone was going off road.

The word 'Smart' was mentioned but I think that was the cheaper light. Both
of them could have been Smarts although Lumis rings a bell now. Perhaps I
saw that on the smaller light box.

They said that any standard rear light would work and they had a wide range
of ones all of which can be full on or flickering. I am taking my bike in
tomorrow to see if the £60 light fits the handlebars.

Does the above sound about right?

Thanks,

John.

John Smith said:

Thanks. I just popped into my local cycle shop - where I bought my
Marin a few years back - and they suggested two types. One was a dual
front light that cost £30 but the baterry supply was enormous.

The large battery is the trick that keeps the cost down. A smaller
battery with similar power (if that's the cheap Smart system or similar)
can cost two or three times that, and that's just for the battery. So it
depends if the size and weight is important to you.

Quoted message said:

The second, which they recommended, was a much smaller light and
rechargeable battery that gives about 2 hours worth of light - it
cost £60. The guys said it was the one that they used and they felt
that one would be ideal for my need but they said they would suggest
two of them if someone was going off road.

I wonder if they could give you a demonstration?

Quoted message said:

The word 'Smart' was mentioned but I think that was the cheaper
light. Both of them could have been Smarts although Lumis rings a
bell now. Perhaps I saw that on the smaller light box.

I think there are other products beginning with "Lum" but Lumicycle's are
only available online/mail-order direct from the makers. (This helps keep
the VFM good since there's no middle man).

Anyway, it sounds like your in the good hands of a decent bike shop:
you'll probably do ok taking their advice. Good luck with the lights and
rides.

~PB

"Pete Biggs" <[email hidden]> wrote in
message news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I wonder if they could give you a demonstration?

~PB

Yes, I will take my bike there late tomorrow evening when it is dark and
hopefully get an idea then of what it is like. I would rather pay extra for
the smaller battery as the cheaper option had a battery like a house brick.
I thought it was the charger initially. I assume these are far more powerful
than lights operated by duracells or ever readys - showing my age now!?

John.

John Smith said:

Yes, I will take my bike there late tomorrow evening when it is dark and
hopefully get an idea then of what it is like. I would rather pay extra for
the smaller battery as the cheaper option had a battery like a house brick.
I thought it was the charger initially. I assume these are far more powerful
than lights operated by duracells or ever readys - showing my age now!?

Yes, very much so. An equivalent 'Never Ready' would give a 2.4W light
for a few hours and the last part of that time (some would say all but
the first part) , the light would be getting progressively dimmer. It
was only ever suitable as a 'to be seen by' light rather than 'to see
by' at anything above walking pace. With the cheaper option (the Smart
lights, of which I have an earlier model) you get two lamps. One is as
bright as the brightest a traditional krypton bulb light could give and
lasts ten hours. The other is much brighter (10W) and lasts about an
hour and a bit. It is bright enough to ride off road at a comfortable
pace and will more than adequately suffice for riding on road in all
conditions.

Yes the battery is big, but you get a good run time, and the batteries
are cheap and easy to source after it wears out (5 years in my case,
and even that is not fully knackered). It may be worth buying a better
charger as that will extend the battery life and make things happier.

I have (ab)used these lights for probably at least eight years now. I
have had to replace the switch, the connectors and the battery. The
light they give is better than anything else in the price range.

As electrons are standardised, you could get teh cheaper lights, then
decide later if you want to swap out the SLA for a lighter battery.

...d

John Smith said:

Thanks. I just popped into my local cycle shop - where I bought my Marin a
few years back - and they suggested two types. One was a dual front light
that cost ?30 but the baterry supply was enormous. The second, which they
recommended, was a much smaller light and rechargeable battery that gives
about 2 hours worth of light - it cost ?60. The guys said it was the one
that they used and they felt that one would be ideal for my need but they
said they would suggest two of them if someone was going off road.

The first might have been the cheaper and older Smarts? As for the second,
if they are suggesting you need two (for 120?) then I'd suggest getting
something else.

You could get a single 12W lumi for that which would be fine for what you
are proposing. Lumis are only sold direct so they won't have been what
you saw.

Arthur

--
Arthur Clune