Bike light with dipped beam

[1ians]

First off apologies for another light thread.

I am looking for a bike light which does not blind other cyclists on unlit cycle paths or car drivers on country lane which I can turn on and forget for my ten mile mixed commute.

Currently I’ve got a Lezyne light which I need to point down and hit a button to dip, then around another seven times through all the light modes to restore a medium beam. There must be a better way!

I am looking for a recommendation for a light with a medium’ish beam that is focused well enough that you don’t have to muck about when there’s oncoming traffic.

Current contenders are the Ravemen PR1200 although I’ve read about problems with the charging port or the Exposure Strada.

Would appreciate any advice anyone can offer.

[nammynake]

Exposure Strada. You can customise the light modes and have Low, Medium or High settings, so don’t need to cycle through many modes. Also comes with a remote cable which you can position on your bars for easy switching.

[ATG]

Lezyne 1100XL in "race" mode just toggles between medium and super-bright. If it's in its normal mode then you have to wade through 10 different modes including Sounds of the 70s Disco. You switch between race mode by turning the light on and continuing to hold the button down for about 10 seconds. I guess it's possible your existing Lezyne does this too? The instructions that came with mine were rather cryptic.

[keith2.2]

I have an Exposure Diablo and whilst it's a great light, I find the mode switching extremely fiddly. I don't think I've ever managed to switch it off on the first try!

Might be worth having a look at Occulus www.barrybeams.com - I haven't used one first hand but they sponsor the RAAM events and I've seen others using them to seemingly good effect.

[1ians]

Thanks for the replies. I’ll give race mode on my existing light a go. Looks like that will switch between overdrive and low so will see what that does to battery life. Problem with low is you’re unable to see much for a bit and then you’re guessing just as you pass.

Those oculus lights look interesting, I’ve not come across those before.

[Herr Schnell]

I've got a Ravemen PR1200 and think it's great.

The dipped beam is a totally different pattern to the main beam but is still great at lighting the mix of road & towpath I commute on. Main beam is like someone turned the sun back on and you can toggle between the two easily. The remote button is useful too.

No problems with charging port on mine.

[woots787]

That ravenmen looks really good, surprising how many road lights just do high, medium, low rather than a proper dip. I went through this a while ago and ended up with two lights, one on bars pointing at the road and one on helmet I use for unlit sections. Its okay for dog walkers on gravel bits as I just turn my head to light up the hedge. No good for cars as its a slow long press to turn off but works for me as all my road sections are lit.

[Harpoon]

When I was looking for a road light recently, the Raveman was on the shortlist but I think it was the road.cc review that said you can't run in upside down due to the way the optics are designed. As I wanted the option to mount a light underneath a Garmin mount, that ruled it out.

I went for the Exposure Strada. As mentioned above, you can easily customise the modes so I have mine set to toggle between High and Low via the bar switch. I found some variation in spec's, so I asked Exposure (USE)

USE said:

The Strada RS is capable of 1200 lumens for 2 hours and has a 5400mAh battery. Last years Strada 1200 was capable of 1200 lumens for 3 hours and had a 7800mAh battery.

So looks like the RS went from three cells to two cells for the "new" model. I went for the 780mAh - who doesn't want a longer run time?

[bigdom]

I have a Strada 1200. Doesn't matter which mode it's on, as the beam pattern is specific for road use. I've never had any issues in the 3 years I've had it with any other road users.

[sjg]

Exposure have a new Optix range of lights that comply with the strict German StVZO regulations.

[1ians]

Thanks for all the helpful replies. Sounds like both the Ravemen or Exposure would do the job nicely. Ravemen has the price advantage, especially from Banggood, but I’d probably want to source in the U.K. for warranty purposes. Will keep an eye out on the exposure outlet and eBay too.

Also had fun researching the Oculus lights earlier, the product looks interesting but it’s not a company I’d choose to deal with!

[MrGman]

I can't help with lights but can i say thank you for considering others road users, some bike lights and plain ridiculous now. (as are many car lights)

[Jimbo.]

1ians said:

Thanks for all the helpful replies. Sounds like both the Ravemen or Exposure would do the job nicely. Ravemen has the price advantage, especially from Banggood, but I’d probably want to source in the U.K. for warranty purposes. Will keep an eye out on the exposure outlet and eBay too.

Also had fun researching the Oculus lights earlier, the product looks interesting but it’s not a company I’d choose to deal with!

Ravemen lights can be find on Amazon, and IIRC even Merlin Cycles (for a few quid more, amusingly)
Good lights. Mount can be a bit loose but one layer of electrical tape in the “channel” fixes it perfectly.

[keith2.2]

1ians said:

Also had fun researching the Oculus lights earlier, the product looks interesting but it’s not a company I’d choose to deal with!

I *think* it's a one-man-band (though I can't be sure!)

[1ians]

Looks like it, he’d benefit from employing someone in customer service and PR.

[lotusandy]

I also wanted a front light that didn't blind other road users, I got an Axendo 60USB from Spanninga, a Dutch company, I think these are a Philips design originally, either way it is fantastic, 5 hour life at full power and an ideal beam shape.
The key is getting a lamp that is the German StVZO certification compliant though, you coud also search Philips saferide

[1ians]

Just to close this off. I bought a Strada 800 off the bay last week.

However, noticed that cycle republic have the strada 1200 for £160 this morning so have bought that as well. https://www.cyclerepublic.com/exposure-strada-1200... Hope that helps someone.

I’ve got a few bikes so it’ll work out ok to have both commuting bikes setup with the remote switch and brackets etc.