I need some lights for commuting in Bristol. 20 minutes each way, including some city centre stuff, and the occasional pub trip.

I’m not a leisure road cyclist, so it’ll be for commuting only, on generally lit roads. More to ‘be seen’ than to see.

I was just about to pull the trigger on an Exposure Sirius mk5 and Exposure Tracer mk5 set, for £102.50.

Then I thought…is that complete overkill for the above purposes? I.e. would a £30-£50 pair do the job just fine? It’s difficult to know whether it’s worth spending the extra.

Any advice or recommendations would be appreciated.

Find a Moon dealer. Buy two rear, one good front. Perhaps a small back up front as well.

I have a Sirius. It’s excellent. However, for commuting, Moon are ace, and more lights can be better than just brighter lights.

depends if you want lights to be seen with or lights to see with the later are considerably more expensive

If its all light up roads anything bright and flashy will do I use an aldi one from years ago on the back and a constant on lummi one

Front I have everything from Knog lights to a trout light. Personally i think it always prudent to have two of each in case of failure and have easily removable ones to prevent theft

I commute a bit so long burn times matter to me but that gets pricey.

Dynamo? BUT CFH is right in that a couple of cheaper ones might be better. Bigger lenses are better as well and don’t forget reflective tape on the bike as well

I would always go *2 either way and try to get the recharge/replacement cycles out of sync so I can be reasonably reliant on always having a working front and back light.
I do like my exposure strada but would pair it with a cheaper mate (although i did buy previous generation at a discount).
I dont commute that much now and that bit I do I can get away with my less subtle lights (majority sustrans path and well angled/reduced in power) but I would tend towards spending a decent amount and being confident in my lights not letting me down/blinding any poor sod and having them ram me.

I don’t know anybody who has regretted buying Exposure lights. I’d stick with the front, but buy two smaller lights for the back. I like Cateye Rapid Micros#, and I really like their mounting options (Fizik saddle, saddle rails, rack, seatpost and seatstays). But Moon have had good reviews too.

But you always want two on the back – I have a Fenderbot too, mounted to the mudguard for emergencies.

EDIT: You also want the proper Exposure mount for the bars, not the red band. Their system is very good, as is Cateye’s front. Good mounts are probably more important than the light itself. Knog mounts are rubbish.

#Mine was still flashing when I got home after 7:40 run time.

Love my 30 quid Evolva that was recommended on here. Great for night time trail riding, ace for the committee, and battery lasts forever. Might buy another as a backup/helmet light.

Currently out of stock, but link:
Evolva Future Technology Bike Light USB 1800LM Cree with 7 Hours Runtime Original Samsung Battery Pack – Front and Back Rechargeable Set Headlight wit https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B015FFO5DM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apap_oKtuTMXKOMoNH

Have you tried Magishine UK? Ive recently picked a light up for my fattie and its excellent (only do off roading). Great quality and wasnt that expensive compared to other brands.

You’re not buying what I’d buy in your circumstances.
For roads with street lighting I’d want to be seen. I have a 12 mile commute, all lit roads into the centre of Brum. I use a Moon Comet front and rear along with an Aldi job front and rear too. I have an additional On-One Phart on the back and a couple of tiny LED things that I try not to use, they’re for emergencies only. I’d also get some spoke reflectors like these (https://www.ebay.co.uk/i/172689099212) to give some side on visibility.

That sounds like a lot of money for a commuter light.

After years of using lights with a separate battery backnto the light itself I decided I wanted something that was all in one and with USB charging so I can just charge it at my desk at work rather than having to worry about setting chargers up in the garage.

Got the linked one below from Torchy the battery boy on eBay for £20. It’s fairly focused in a spot with some surrounding light – seems to work well on the road and I’ve got an unlit tow path that it makes a very good effort of lighting up. No way it’s 900 lumens – but it’s pretty effective and feels well made. Not sure on run times but it should be ok for the length of your commute for a good few days without charging (I’ve only charged mine once so far). Torchy supplies it with charging cable / battery and handlebar mounts for the all in £20.

http://www.soshine.com.cn/a670.aspx

For the back I’d get 2 or 3 lights so you’re lit up like a Christmas tree. Have one on solid and the other 1 or 2 on flashing. Maybe make sure the solid one is rechargeable.

Thanks guys, sounds like something cheaper (with back ups) may be the way to go.

Mtbbatteries, the lumen 800 doubles up as a head torch for camping,dog walking etc.

Bargains

Yep go for the blinky moon jobs or the Aldi copies.

As others have said, you can get a decent rear light for £10-£15 each – buy two of these.
Front lights – either exposure, or another ‘premium’ brand, and get a cheap back-up.

I’d also spend an extra couple of quid on some flashing lights to put on your bike helmet.

After seeing my reflection at night, I noticed that they make a huge difference in visibility.

Those Evolva lights look the business for commuting, I’ve got the Aldi Moon copies but they aren’t going to cut it for the towpath in the depths of Winter – are there any other lights similar to the Evolva that have dipped beams?

if you only need ~1hrs runtime in an urban area MJ-890 for the front £20… I stopped using my old XML bar mounted torches for commuting after getting one (Still carry one as a backup), being USB chargable is a big advantage IMO

Then just get a couple of cheap ‘Phart’ branded 1/2 watt rears from PX for about £3 each…

I have had luck with other ~£5USB chargeable lights from HK (Via eBay) too but that’s always a bit of a gamble…

Mtbbatteries, the lumen 800 doubles up as a head torch for camping,dog walking etc.

MTB Batteries lights are great but there is absolutely no need for an 800 lumen light for commuting on lit streets. Nor do you need the 1800 lumen light linked above. Both far too bright and you don’t want the faff of battery packs either.

2 lights front and back and a couple of small lights on your helmet will do. For the lights on the bike set one to flashing and one to constant. Never ride with only one light at the front or back.

Anything from cateye, moon, will do you fine.

are there any other lights similar to the Evolva that have dipped beams?

Exposure Strada, fantastic light but spendy. I use one but my commute is 20 miles and 12 is across unlit moorland. And I doubt that evolva actually has a ‘dipped beam’, it’ll just be a lower setting – not like car headlight dipped.

i’m currently using a see sense ICON for the rear and i have a Lezyne Micro 500 xl set to flash on the bars.
On my lid i run an Exposure Link which flashes front and rear.
The see sense isn’t a cheap light but it reacts to your environment through sensors and changes it’s flash pattern when you are approached by road users.
See sense are at the moment designing an new light front and back ( The Ace ) on kick starter, which they say will be cheaper, so might be worth checking that out.

i have a Lezyne Micro 500 xl set to flash on the bars.
On my lid i run an Exposure Link which flashes front and rear.

So you have no lights on constant? I’d always have a constant on to when it’s dark

The seesense light looks good but ‘The ONLY bike light in the world that can react by flashing brighter and faster at roundabouts, road-junctions, approaching car headlights at night.’ I take it that’s just based on you slowing down rather than the light knowing there’s a roundabout ahead? 🙂

Hi, no sorry, forgot to say when i commute in daylight.
When it’s dark i stick the Link on constant.

If it’s only ever to be seen, I’ve get a couple of lights for the front and back, so you have back up, and so you can have one flashing and one solid

Personally, I like the pulse function of certain lights, which is very useful and noticeable without being blinding e.g the Cateye Volt series

My commuting lights got stolen from my bike, was gutted. Now use a strada, I only commute on this bike but I wanted enough power to be able to ride on unlit sections and enough runtime to get through a week without worrying

I commute every day 40min each way, rain or shine, I got tired of recharging lights, plus the chance of running out of battery half way.

Switched to a cheap Shimano Dynamo hub plus some B&M lights and never look back. Flawless for 2 years so far.

I’ve got a couple of Blackburn ‘central 700’s’ mounted on one of these

https://www.ebay.co.uk/i/252411654643

Attached to my stem and mounted upside down via an sp gadgets clamp.

Works great!

The blackburns are GoPro ready so you’re free to use the handlebar mount of your choice.

Just remember that it’s an arms race and the objective is to blind the oncoming traffic with the white hot nuclear fire of your mega-lamps rather than any attempt at a safe commute and you should be fine

My commute is mostly on lit roads but one end is on canal tow path and the other is a big hill with no lights to get home.

My commuter has a Schmidt dynamo along with B&M front and rear lights. Not cheap though, got the Shimano dynamo route for a cheaper option. I still have a small rear LED that’s on flash mode. Sometimes I’ll also fit a Moon front light on flash mode just to provide a reference point for drivers as it’s quite easy to get “lost” in all the light sources around.

The B&M front light isn’t one for blasting round forest trails but for heading up a 2Km hill it’s fine.

On a more sensible note if I was spending £100 I’d def be getting a dynamo set up (achievable if you buy from Rose bikes). It’s up there with mudguards and a rack as one of the best things to put on a commuter

Thanks for all the responses.

Decided the exposure set was a bit pricey for my needs.

Ended up going for a Moon Meteor Auto Pro (front) and Moon Arcturus Pro (rear). In a set, including a discount code, for £44.99.

I already have a budget cateye rear light, so that can be used in addition or as back up.

I own a Diablo MK8 for night trails but find that my Lezyne 450XL is more than enough for normal riding in the dark. It’s about £50

I have the £20magicshine as above and it’s ok-not brilliant. It’s quite a focused spot with little spread and I’ve had a few cars not see me.

FWIW, I used a Lezyne Macro and Micro pair for several winters until the batteries were no longer reliable. I had no issues with them.

I replaced them with the Sirius/Flare kit last year in Evans’ sale. This is also a great light kit. I’ve got no reservations about having bought it.

I’d not really want to spend more on a commuter light though.

Previously I’ve run external battery commute lights and never again. The faf with the batteries is not worth the saving for a non-integrated solution in my life. Also, while I appreciate some riders do like to turn themselves into christmas trees with a squllion lights everywhere, I’m not sure this isn’t counter-productive. The aim is to look like a normal road user and therefore be treated as one, in my mind at least.

Like everyone else says, if it’s in streetlit areas then you don’t need to spend that much.

Rear:
I use Cateye Omni 3 lights on the back. They are about £5 each, bright, can be seen from the side too and come with a mount and I use a pair of them. Also have a reflector on my mudguards and have reflective shoes.
Set one flashing and one solid. (Swap them around each ride). Helps with drivers’ distance judging.

Front:
Got two of the Aldi Moon copies on the front. Same as the back – one flashing, one solid.

Side:
Cateye orbit lights on the wheels along with reflectors.

I also have a couple of little LED flasher/blinker ones with rubber straps that stay on the bike just in case I’ve forgotten lights or they all run out of charge.

Any one use this intey light looks good for the money.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B06XW91J1J/ref=s9_acsd_hps_bw_c_x_1_w