CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Stuff

Winter Lights

(111 posts)

12…4

  1. steveo
    Member

    Hive mind help guide my hand.

    As some of you will know I'm moving jobs; my new employer is a scant mile from my house and I expect I'll end up walking more often than not so I'm planning on selling the fixed since I don't really need a winter commuter I'll just walk if the weather is bad.

    This brings me to lights. Last couple of years I've had a dynamo on the fixed coupled with a fairly beefy front light but the dynamo light is a bolt hub and I don't want to have to carry a big shifter every where I go.

    New wheels for the "good" bike are required, the question is a new dynamo for the winter and maybe another new wheel later or get a decent battery light and a normal front wheel? I think my current plan is to walk three days and ride two with an extended loop home in the evening, maybe even hilly Tuesday.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  2. Nelly
    Member

    Thought you were a self-build chap?

    Massive output recharger and eyeball searing LED?

    I guess it depends if you want a dynohub on the 'good' bike - aesthetically, perhaps less pleasing, but practical?

    Posted 11 years ago #

  3. allebong
    Member

    No experience with dynamos but I can tell you that modern lights and batteries are extremely good at what they do. Basic LED lamps running low self discharge NiMh batteries last an eternity and when they do go flat it's not a huge task to recharge them. Spend a bit more and you get lights with built in or external Lithium-ion batteries that are even better.

    Some observations from dragging numerous lights through numerous winters: Metal bodies with tight greased threads and O-rings are genuinely impervious to anything the weather can throw at them. Good plastic bodies are fine as well. Make sure the mounts are solid on the bars and any bolts greased. Make a routine of checking the quick-release tab for signs of fatigue. Always have at least one backup light.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  4. steveo
    Member

    Nelly, I've tried a few home brew battery lights they're not ideal I've never found a good way of securing the battery. Athetics is a biggy I quite like my 20 spoke wheels.

    Cheers allebong, good advice.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  5. Charterhall
    Member

    +1 for battery as opposed to dynamo LEDs. Nothing like the battery lights of old, modern LEDs are very reliable, very bright (sometimes too bright), easy to remove when leaving the bike or to swap between bikes, small and light enough to have two. Unlike a bottle dynamo they are unaffected by wet conditions and unlike a hub dynamo they are unaffected by connection problems.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  6. Nelly
    Member

    Steveo, my magicshine clone (with shaped beam lens) has a decent sized battery and I house it in a bodged up drinks bottle. Totally waterproof and stylish !

    Posted 11 years ago #

  7. cc
    Member

    I'd now go for a dynamo every time. Means I never have to remember my lights. In fact at the moment I don't even have to remember to switch them on, they do that themselves automatically.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  8. kaputnik
    Moderator

    OT from your specific request perhaps, but EBC seem to have reduced a number of their own brand lights in price on website (not sure about in store?). Some of the higher end ones too (£30-40 price range)

    Posted 11 years ago #

  9. crowriver
    Member

    My issue with lights is I have *too many bikes*.

    My wee folder has a dynamo, but there are currently connection issues to the rear standlight... My Raleigh tourer has a dynamo front light, but I still haven't re-fitted the bottle dynamo after the canti boss mount snapped some months ago.

    So for most trips I'm on battery lights. Cheap blinkies do the trick for the majority of cycling round town, though usually I prefer a rear light fixed to a carrier with big reflector incorporated into the design.

    For longer journeys in the dark or traversing unlit paths/roads I have a few of those retina searing CREE LED lights. Haven't really tested battery life on them yet but I reckon at least 3 hours before recharge required.

    Not sure what I'll do for longer winter audaxes: may need to invest in a dynamo hub front wheel before too long.....or just ride faster. ;-)

    Posted 11 years ago #

  10. steveo
    Member

    Nelly I think I need to look at your battery, I wonder if I could bodge it for driving a home brew light...

    I got a lezyne at the start of the summer which takes a changeable lithium battery so theoretically range isn't a problem, I think I need to try it out in the dark and see if it would be suitable for out of the town. I doubt its suitable for cycle paths the beam is pretty broad.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  11. Greenroofer
    Member

    @kaputnik - I was in EBC in Marchmont today (just for a poke around, not with any specific purchases in mind) and they have lots of lights in the sale, including some relatively pricey ones.

    Also saw an EBC-branded belt-drive bike with an Alfine hub. I knew they did a singlespeed, but the 8-speed belt drive was very tempting, particularly as reduced from £999 to £799. No mudguard or rack mounts, though.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  12. chdot
    Admin

    EBC says -

    "

    Is this the ultimate Bike to Work Scheme commuter/hybrid bike?

    "

    Greenroofer says -

    "No mudguard or rack mounts, though."

    Posted 11 years ago #

  13. Nelly
    Member

    Steveo, its basically a 4 pack of hi power lithium AA. But, I get 2ish hours at full power before recharge. I bought my son some sanyo eneloop batteries for his Wii, and they last forever - think it shows difference between good branded, and the generic rubbish I got with my (excellent) light.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  14. SRD
    Moderator

    "EBC-branded belt-drive bike with an Alfine hub."

    Yup. we've been eyeing that up too.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  15. Instography
    Member

    It's got rack mounts.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  16. Greenroofer
    Member

    @Instography. I couldn't see any down by the hubs. There's a hole in the fork for a mudguard, and there were holes in the seatstays for a rack (I think), but I think you'd still need P-clips down at the bottom of the front fork and by the rear axle.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  17. fimm
    Member

    I have a Lezyne front light which I use on my road bike for the unlit section of my long commute between Kirknewton & Balerno. Works fine for that, and battery life is plenty for my purposes.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  18. minus six
    Member

    Is anyone else holding out for B&M Luxos IQ2 U availability?

    I'll be over in Germany early November, if i can't get one in the shops then I might just opt for the widely available B model

    Posted 11 years ago #

  19. cc
    Member

    Whoever it was who called to me on the Roseburn Path tonight that my light was dazzling - I've tweaked it now so it points downwards more than it did. Should fix the problem.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  20. kaputnik
    Moderator

    I used to hanker after a Luxos until I saw just how 1980s EverReady D-cell light mahoosive it is.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  21. Dave
    Member

    Does anyone fancy anything from BikeDiscount?

    I've got a rear dynamo light I want to pick up. The postage is 6€ though, steep on a 19€ light...

    I'm curious about this one for the White Fright. They have the Philips Saferide for a pretty good price (or the Luxos, albiet on back order)

    Posted 11 years ago #

  22. Darkerside
    Member

    I haz Luxos U...

    It's really very good. I'll be sticking a review up relatively soon. It also plays nicely with a wide range of rear lights, unlike Supernova offerings.

    It's large, but not unreasonably so in my mind. You get an awful lot of side visibility from the massive lens, and the built in battery keeps everything going whilst you're winching slowly uphill for long periods of time.

    However, I probably wouldn't go for the B. If you haven't got access to the full beam of the U, it's not quite bright enough for full-on downhill speeds. The remote switch/USB charger is also handy if you navigate by GPS.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  23. fimm
    Member

    Edinburgh Bike Co-op has various lights on sale at the moment - at least they did last Saturday.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  24. steveo
    Member

    Does anyone fancy anything from BikeDiscount?

    Yeah, Might as well get a dynamo hub. Still not decided but for £45 for the DH3N72 I'll decide later...

    Posted 11 years ago #

  25. Arellcat
    Moderator

    Edinburgh Bike Co-op has various lights on sale

    They had a big box of the Niterider Mako 200 USB/Solas USB combo set for almost half price. I fiddled with one of them and really wanted to like them but the beam shape is all wrong with a super bright spot and very little flood. The set is shown in the PDF but not on the website now.

    The 'Smart LED Light Set 7 Lux 7 LED rear' is also not worth buying at that price because the front light beam shape is like the Niterider Mako, except a million times less bright. The rear light is a good model though.

    My pick would be any of the individual Smart rear lights, and either the Skully sets or the Cateye Rapid 1 for the front. But I'm not for buying: I'm still very happy with my twin Smart Lunar 35 lights, and the twin IQ Cyos on the torpedo.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  26. Uberuce
    Member

    Yep, I bought the Mako 200 partly because it was going fire sale cheap in the Bike Chain, but mostly because it's so spotty and was compatible with the helmet mount that came with the badgerkilling Lumina.

    As a bike-mounted light it's bobbins.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  27. Uberuce
    Member

    Dear CCE Hivemind,
    I need a second rear light with a good grabby clip for going on the nape of my brickie's vest's neck, and a new set of backup lights to live on my keyring.

    My NiteRider Cherrybomb is alright, so the simple option of getting another and therefore needing to do less mount-swapping is pretty attractive. I would prefer a USB charging one, what with so many more people carrying a phone charger than an AAA charger. Any recommendations?

    The backups I have were initially fine for brightness, but they're too easy to switch on by mistake and kept running down the battery. Does anyone know tiny lights that won't do this?

    Yours interfrastically,
    Bruce

    Posted 11 years ago #

  28. kaputnik
    Moderator

    @Uberuce look up joggists lights as they're generally designed to clip securely onto clothes, rather than be mounted on a solid object.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  29. Uberuce
    Member

    How very stupid not to have thought of that. Ta, Kappers.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  30. Bigjack
    Member

    Has to be hub dynamo powered led lights.The lights are always bolted onto the bike and you don"t have to unclip/cart around/recharge.Connection issues are down to initial care on setting up and I've had far fewer problems with this over the years than the hassle of recharging or replacing batteries when caught out.I've also noticed that battery lights are usually thrown on as an after-thought ans as such are usually not very securely fitted so tend to be pointed either straight at oncoming cyclists eyes or to the earth's core.

    Posted 11 years ago #

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