Which lights? with a difference

[WildCards]

Apologies, I know we've seen a few bike light related threads recently, but so far they all seem to be discussing £300+, singletrack orientated, make night day products, and i'm looking for a set far more down to earth. During the winter months I tend to steer clear of dodgy wet singletrack and overly muddy trails and just concentrate on turning my legs for a few hours at most, on the road and well maintained bridleways.
I'm looking for a set of bike mounted lights for safety predominantly which won't damage easily on bumpy terrain and have decent mounts. I'm looking at spending no more than £100, and something that takes AA/AAA rechargable batteries or have their own charge pack. Small and light would be nice but I realise at this price point I'm probably not going to get everything.
I've alreay bought lights from Halfords and my LBS in the past which have subsequently fallen apart, rusted to death or have had riduclously weak mounts and mounting points which has meant me binning them.

To recap, suggestions and recommendation on the following please.

• <£100
• Rechargable
• Bike mounted
• Safety orientated
• Small and light (if possible)

[pdV6]

Maybe that set that Chris71 mentioned in his thread would suit?

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/ProductDetail.aspx?Cat=cyc...

Not tried them so can't really recommend them or otherwise.

[WildCards]

pdV6 said:

Maybe that set that Chris71 mentioned in his thread would suit?

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/ProductDetail.aspx?Cat=cyc...

Not tried them so can't really recommend them or otherwise.

Cheers Pete, for some reason Chris' link wouldn't open for me. I am after some tried and tested thumbs up recomendations though if anyone has any.

Edited by WildCards on Monday 1st October 15:03

[pdV6]

Reviews of it here: http://www.mtbr.com/reviews/Lights/product_129410....

[Chris71]

Useful reviews - they don't seem to be overly positive (weak mounts, not as powerful/longlasting as the manufacturers claim)

I think we both need to decided whether it's best to get them mounted to the bike or us! The rest is just a matter of budget. What a colleague of mine (a road cyclist and also a caver) recommended was to get hold of a head torch and try riding with that, then try cable-tying it to the bars and see which location works best.

[pdV6]

Chris71 said:

Useful reviews - they don't seem to be overly positive (weak mounts, not as powerful/longlasting as the manufacturers claim)

Indeed. But then it's a £50 light so those sort of comments would probably apply to most (if not all) lights in that budget range.

I reckon it might be a winner for the use WildCards will put it to, but you'll need something a bit chunkier from the sounds of your posts on the other thread.

[pdV6]

Chris71 said:

I think we both need to decided whether it's best to get them mounted to the bike or us!

I think ultimately helmet-mounting is the best option for lighting your way but I for one have a psychological barrier to strapping a £200+ lamp to my helmet. I know I'd smash it in no time. Therefore what I do is bar mount the main light and get a decent small (and cheap) LED light to strap up top.

[WildCards]

pdV6 said:

Chris71 said:

Useful reviews - they don't seem to be overly positive (weak mounts, not as powerful/longlasting as the manufacturers claim)

I reckon it might be a winner for the use WildCards will put it to, but you'll need something a bit chunkier from the sounds of your posts on the other thread.

As do I, and i've just bought two lots (for me and the OH) from Merlin along with an LX/XT Groupset.

Some bargain pricing at the minute, LX/XT V-brake Group for £144 and these lights sets are £42.75 with the 10% discount.

[Chris71]

pdV6 said:

Chris71 said:

I think we both need to decided whether it's best to get them mounted to the bike or us!

I think ultimately helmet-mounting is the best option for lighting your way but I for one have a psychological barrier to strapping a £200+ lamp to my helmet. I know I'd smash it in no time. Therefore what I do is bar mount the main light and get a decent small (and cheap) LED light to strap up top.

Yeah, a couple of guys I know at work apparently ride at night using very low-tech 10 or 20W conventional bulb systems mounted to the bars. One reckoned it gave better defintion for shadows on drops and roots etc than helmet mounting. There again, he also pointed out that a big part of the novelty value of riding at night was not being able to see as much

I think I'll kick off with something like one of the lower end Lumicycle halogen kits for the front and an 'AA' powered LED tail light for the road sections. If necesary I'll back this up with a headtorch.

[pdV6]

Chris71 said:

One reckoned it gave better defintion for shadows on drops and roots etc than helmet mounting.

This is true actually! If the light you have on your helmet is the only one (or is of the same power as your bar mounted light) it can be difficult to see "holes" in the trail.

Chris71 said:

There again, he also pointed out that a big part of the novelty value of riding at night was not being able to see as much

I reckon sometimes you ride faster at night (with decent lights) as all you see is the trail with no distractions. Also, you don't see what's up ahead quite so early so sometimes hit it faster than if you had more warning and wimped out!

[.Adam.]

I got a cheap(£35, reduced from £50) Electron light system from Chain Reaction last year. 6 volt NiMh bottle battery, with 5w and 10w lamps. Have changed the 5w for another 10w lamp, and although not as good as the more expensive lights, I find them perfectly good enough for night rides, nothing has broken on them, and the battery lasts for a good 2 hours, so you don't need to spend loads to get lights that are usable off-road!