I know this has prob been asked many times on here before , but,Lights. I am just about ready to get back on the bike and back to work early next year.Mrs splitshift has suggested that i actually ask santa for something this year. So, lights, my commute is when i look at it, mostly off main roads, some areas actually very badly lit. Any recomendations , i have several flashing, blinking marker ligts , front and rear, but I am looking for a decent front light that i can use to actually see where I am going , (as opposed to being seen cause i reckon thats covered.)As i am off work santas budget isnt huge but reckon £30,£40.I am i being realistic here or do i just need to save up for something more expensive ?Oh and if it were rechargable, via a plug in my lorry (24, and 12 volt) even better !
Cheers etc, Scott
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Stuff
see the light !!
(32 posts)-
Posted 11 years ago #
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I recently got hold of the Cree T6 1200lumen rechargable light from C&B Seen.
http://www.candb-seen.co.uk/bikehead-lights/cabs-02-series---cree-xml.html
£45.35 delivered.
10 watt 'high' beam, 3 watt 'normal' beam.
The normal beam is more than enough for riding in pitch dark. It gives a good flood effect combined with a good centre spot.
The high beam would be good for downhill mountain-biking in the dark !
The flashy mode is not something I would point at another road user unless I disliked them.
Light attaches via thick rubber-band thing, detachable in about 2 seconds.
Rechargable battery pack attaches by velcro, more of a 20 second job.
Recharger supplied was a 3 pin plug but you could probably get an adaptor somewhere.Posted 11 years ago # -
I shall be passing this onto Santa too, there are a couple of stretches of my comute where I actually don't see anything except black, especially in the wet. I ride them really hoping there isn't a pedestrian coming towards me, because if there ever is I will hit them. :(
This looks like just the solution to my problem, and more than half the price of my current light that I can't see with! Ta for the recommendation.
Posted 11 years ago # -
looks like a custom body to the same cree lights you can get from china on eBay,DX etc. i paid about £22 for my last one
Posted 11 years ago # -
Yeah, I was thinking about one of these, though they only last for 3 hours. Seen them for good prices on fleaBay/Amaz'notaxinuk...
The rubber band attachment's a bit off-putting, Would probably supplement with cable ties. Also seen some reviews saying the connector twixt battery pack and light cable is a bit dodgy, battery pack not properly waterproof, etc. Maybe needs some heatshrink plastic or gaffer tape over it.....or just bung it in a bag?
Posted 11 years ago # -
Remember these are omnidirectional/circular beamed lights (much like a hand held torch) and so please consider other cyclists when cycling on busy cycle paths. Dip your lights to avoid blinding others. My B&M lights are have a shaped lense which cuts off the light so that when set right will not blind others.
Thanks,
Posted 11 years ago # -
@DaveC, tell me about it. Lots of cyclists on the NCN on Monday afternoon had dazzlingly bright lights attached to their handlebars, pointing straight ahead. My dynamo B&M halogen was angled down toward the ground so I could see bumps, debris, holes, etc.
Just one considerate cyclist switched his main beam off when he saw me, until he'd passed. I said thanks.
Posted 11 years ago # -
+1 what DaveC said. I use a flashy cat-eye attached to my helmet as my 'be seen' light. On cycle paths, the Cree is only switched on when I cannot otherwise see where I am going. Or, on-road for extra 'be seen-ness', pointed suitably 40 degrees downward.
In that respect, the battery life works fine for my purposes - your own mileage may vary (literally)!
(connectors and waterproof-ness all fine so far)Posted 11 years ago # -
Aye, needs to be angled correctly. The 3 sections the light would be useful on, on my commute:
1. Barnton, between the two golf courses, although I do get by going very slowly (although not so bad now the path seems to have doubled in width after being cleared).
2. A90 cycle path where it dips down under car level, I can't see anything there in the dark, hate it, hate it, hate it, one day I will come off, or hit the wall there.
3. Bit between Dalmeny and South Queensferry.Although a light like that would allow me to take the road from Cramond Brig to Kirkliston, which would be my preference, but hate in the dark.
Posted 11 years ago # -
@Baldcyclist, aye all those sections of the NCN are hellish in the dark, as I experienced on Monday.
@Snowy, was thinking about the Cree as a bac-up light to dynamo powered halogen, which is occasionally flaky or not enough.
Posted 11 years ago # -
The rubber band attachment's a bit off-putting, Would probably supplement with cable ties.
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=23533
Posted 11 years ago # -
...please consider other cyclists when cycling on busy cycle paths. Dip your lights to avoid blinding others.
I've just been using the WoL path between Stockbridge and Bells Brae, and was being followed by a guy with an extraordinarily bright light on his handlebars. I did get a brief look at it later as he and I went in different directions and it had a glowing on/off button - might have been green but might have been orange. Anyway, it was pointing almost level and was blinding me in my mirrors.
I didn't bother to exclaim my annoyance, and simply stopped to let him pass, and I followed, with my own twin headlights pointing down in the approved manner.
Posted 11 years ago # -
I did get a brief look at it later as he and I went in different directions and it had a glowing on/off button - might have been green but might have been orange.
Sounds like one of these Crees that are selling online...
Posted 11 years ago # -
Sounds like one of these Crees that are selling online..
Yep, same as mine. You can buy (ebay) an aftertmarket lens diffuser - £4.50. This shapes and softens the beam, better for other road users.
The bands are great - instant angle adjustment IMO.
I paid about £30 all in for light/lens and made up a battery case from a water bottle. Never had a problem so far.
Posted 11 years ago # -
made up a battery case from a water bottle.
Good solution for short to medium distance rides.
Posted 11 years ago # -
thanks ya all ! I was in edinburgh last night doing santa duties ,driving the sleigh (car !)it was horrible, wet, spray etc, lots of bikes out and about, many suicide jockys with no lights at all, but many good bright easilly spotted lights, probably you lot !
Am i right in assuming that your descriptions of main and dipped beam mean the lights have the same ability as car lights? Or am i being stupid and its a two position mounting system ?
scottPosted 11 years ago # -
I'm not sure about the rubber band either, looking at the side on picture I wonder of the bracket is held on with a screw? That way you could probably fit a cateye bracket to the light?
Posted 11 years ago # -
Am i right in assuming that your descriptions of main and dipped beam mean the lights have the same ability as car lights?
I don't think they have multiple emitters inside, though many have high/low output. "Dip your lights!" in bike circles basically means "give it a dunt and aim it towards the ground". Easy when your lights are on top of your handlebars, less easy when you're lying back and they're a metre in front of you!
Posted 11 years ago # -
@ Baldcyclist
All these units(IME) have a screw hole in the bottom
The Hope unit I linked to earlier works with them.only needs a short screw added
I'll do a pic to show :)Posted 11 years ago # -
Posted 11 years ago # -
@custard ah, perfect solution. Ta.
Posted 11 years ago # -
Aye, looks much better. Cheers, Custard!
(BTW, where's Roobarb?)Posted 11 years ago # -
Okay, these past few weeks I very patiently kept searching for, and bidding on a few of these Cree light monstrosities. I've purchased three different kinds (all ridiculously cheap) which I can imagine will have a vaiety of different uses.
I now have a headband mounted head torch thingy (battery pack on back of head) which I've already used on the tandem on the way back from Loanhead and it was great. Quite flexible as no matter what bike I'm riding I can just pop it on my head. Handy for walking/working after dark too (eg. garage/shed/camping). Still waiting on delivery of a 'proper' hand held torch model too, and I've ordered a bar mount sleeve for it so I could use it as a backup bike light.
Also I've just taken delivery of one of the cycle light models (rubber bands) with the battery packs that velcro on to the bike somewhere. Not used in anger yet, but I have a question: where do folk put their battery packs? Particularly when it's raining?
Posted 11 years ago # -
Under the stem, with the wire from the battery pack coming out at the 'lowest' point. It's never skipped a beat, but if it's foul weather, a small sandwich-bag around the battery pack and held with a rubber band removes any concerns.
Posted 11 years ago # -
a small sandwich-bag around the battery pack and held with a rubber band removes any concerns.
Hmm. Given some of the downpours we had last 'summer', I'm not sure I'd trust that arrangement for, say, three hours of night riding in the rain...
I suppose bunging battery et al in a bar bag would do the trick. But then the bag would obscure the light.....one of those bar extender thingies I've got kicking around in the garage could be useful to lower the light below the bar bag/STI gear cables (when affixed to a bike that had these things).
Posted 11 years ago # -
Extend the wire and pop the battery in the saddlebag, or adapt a bottle lid to allow a wire to escape without leaving the bottle open to the rain.
Posted 11 years ago # -
@wingpig, good call. It's a standard connector so I will see about extending the wire from a saddlebag.
Posted 11 years ago # -
I should add that the one I bought from c&b-seen came with a 1m extension cable, although I just use it for recharging without having to remove the pack from the bike.
Posted 11 years ago # -
The charger for mine has a long cable, but can't be used indepedently. I'll get a cable, they're easily available for not much.
Posted 11 years ago # -
I did this:
Posted 11 years ago #
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