My light died mid ride and I had to call on my girlfriend to come and pick me up from the freezing cold middle of nowhere and by the time she got there I was borderline hypothermic and still shivering the next morning!

So, what back up emergency lights that are bright enough to ride by.

Exposure Flash? Considdered a joystick as a backup helmet light as well, but probably overkill.

Nothing from China, I need it now and I want it to work after a month in a cold/wet/warm/sweaty jersey pocket.

Petxl Tikkina – tiny little headtorch that will get you home, but is also really useful for punctures/mechanicals, and costs less than twenty quid.

I have a Flash (and Flare) as my backup lights. I don’t think you can go wrong with Exposure lights. Only downside is the cost really. They have a new light as well now (Trace) which is more expensive but USB chargable.

Cheers, definately thinking of bar moutned lights (it’s for the road bike), I reckon a helmet light swiveling everywhere would just confuse drivers.

Do the flash/flare have a pulsing mode like the more expensive lights?

Tempted as a set as a rear helmet light always seems realy visible (even compared to my mahoosive magicshine rear light).

Yes, they don’t have any buttons though. You turn them on/off by twisting the front of the light, and you change the mode by turning it off then on again quickly. Works fine but would be awkward to do whilst riding!

Moon XPower 300 would be my suggestion. USB chargeable, robust & weatherproof and plenty of light to see by. £50ish

Linky

Cateye Nano shot looks pretty good too

Linky

Don’t think it answers your question but on the road I use a magic shine and my backup is my cateye commuter light – it’ll get me home legally and safetly if I’m careful.

On-one had some cheap 1-3W lights.

Offroad I always carry a helmet and bar light so one acts as a backup should the other break.

I have some cheap knog style LED things in my bag during winter incase I get caught out. Rubbish lights but better than nothing.

A C&B Seen torch with bar mount is easy to stash in a pocket and is probably of more use besides just an emergency bar mounted front light too (road side repairs/ around the house/ etc). I know you said no Chinese lights but pick the right one and it’ll be no less (maybe more!) reliable than some of the other options

I use the Flash and Flare, they’re good. I find I can turn them on/off/change mode while riding without difficulty. The front one is playing up after a summer of non use – flickers a bit. I’ll send it back and I know they’ll sort it in no time.

Is that the battery playing up or the light iself?

I know you said no Chinese lights but pick the right one and it’ll be no less (maybe more!) reliable than some of the other options

True, I’ve had better luck with my Magicshine P7/bastid than with the old torches, and it was a UK branded light that failed, but I wont name and shame unless it’s not fixed.

Fenix torch, with a lockblock to mount it on the handlebars.
I usually carry a Fenix LD20 as a spare. Though one of the single AA versions would be smaller, and about bright enough to ride.
Yes it is Chinese, but is decent quality and reliable etc.

My light died mid ride and I had to call on my girlfriend to come and pick me up from the freezing cold middle of nowhere and by the time she got there I was borderline hypothermic and still shivering the next morning!

Budget for an extra fleece or one of the foil sleeping bag emergency things as well. Could you not walk somewhere?

Just get a cheap Petzl one. Certainly enough to ride by. Will definitely get you home. Very reliable lights!

Mine is a Myo RXP which isn’t cheap (I bought it so I can use rechargable and lithium batteries in it) but the cheaper Tikka 2 lights aren’t significantly less bright, and just takes 3xAAA batteries so you can pack a few spare. Useful for mechanicals too.

I always carry mine as a backup even with both my high powered jobbies.

Edit: I have an Alpkit one somewhere too that has a red rear light on the battery pack. That was useful.

I use I use the Flash and Flare, can’t fault ’em. Picked a set up for £50 at Evans in a sale couple of months back

http://www.stonehengecycles.com/product/9319/moon_xp500_shield_rear_light_set

Well worth a look, IMHO. USB charging, bright enough for pretty much anything bar full on off road night riding. Rear is a tiny strap on (oo err, missus) and front mount is pretty tidy.

Not sure if this meets the “all in one” criteria, but certainly does meet the not too cheep (sic) and not too expensive part.

I’ve got a tiny led set from Aldi (Decathlon do something similar as well) that are not very bright but they weigh nothing, flash enough to be seen and just work. I’d never use the as a main light but they are ok to get me home.

Zebralight SC600. Can be had for £60ish. IMO the best single 18650 mini torch or why not make up your own tailored to your needs ie Solarforce L2P host with whatever drop-in module you fancy eg 1/3/5 mode XML/R5/Q4 etc etc

smart 25?

£20, 2 AA batteries, high*/low/flash, bar mounted

(*enough to find your way home in the dark)

there’s even a ’35’ for £30.

If you want a Smart 35 + 1/2 watt rear, JEJames have a set for £21.
I have one, plus a 25 on the other bike as back-up or blinkers to the main beams.
As mentioned, phaart from On one; I think the booster rear is £1.49 at the mo’.

Budget for an extra fleece or one of the foil sleeping bag emergency things as well. Could you not walk somewhere?

I was on the road* bike so didn’t take anything beyond the minimum tools/spares/layers. Weather was dry and 9C and not forecast to change. But somehow managed to get stranded in the one bit of Surrey 20minutes walk equidistant from any villages and in some local temperature anomoly at he bottom of a hill! Just unlucky I guess. Might get a 2nd foil blanket though for road rides (I’ve got one and a orange sack in my camelpack), it’s possible to get very cold very quickly!

Just been put off the exposure by the Road.cc review comments, loads of people with corroded ‘switches’.

*unlike crashing on the MTB, I’d expect some help in the aftermath from the car that hit me rather than the rock/tree.

Not a recommendation as such but I wouldn’t use anything that didn’t take either aa or aaa batteries. The main thing you want from an emergency light is the ability to get spare batteries from every garage and corner shop in the country.

I have my 5 year old P7 ‘torch and 18650 batteries as backups, still going strong, but if you prefer than re-assuringly expensive option 😉 maybe the Gloworm CX light?

That gloworm looks pretty nice, go-pro mounts is a really clever idea too. Not too fussed about AA/AAA batteries, I could (in the absence of a girlfriend to pick me up) probably have bought a £5 torch and some selotape to get me home if I was near a shop selling batteries.

There’s a side benifit to ‘reasuringly expensive’, I’ve lost 10’s of cheep lights over the years, never lost my ‘reasuringly expensive’ maglite. So even if a Flare wasn’t 15x better than a £1.99 light, It’d last longer by virtue of not being left on the roof of the car!

Just a tip for the foil blanket.
You should cut them into smaller chest wrapping pieces and just put them in every saddle bag on each bike you own. That way, you’ll always have a thin and not to bulky wind stopper or warmer should you need it.
I can get around 5 pieces per blanket, and they even go in the summer bikes bag because you never know, and also because I have had hypothermia in the middle of a hot July before due to freezing rain 3hrs from home!

Hypothermia is for wimps.

I’ve been in Royal Berks A&E after getting frostbite*, in Berkshire, in July!

*never apply a cold pack directly to skin, and never for 20 minutes!

Not a recommendation as such but I wouldn’t use anything that didn’t take either aa or aaa batteries. The main thing you want from an emergency light is the ability to get spare batteries from every garage and corner shop in the country.

I think if I was stuck in the middle of nowhere with no batteries for my lights I’d phone for extraction rather than cycle along a road busy enough to warrant a petrol station 🙂

I am trying very hard not to buy a Zebralight SC600 Mk II from here:
http://www.e2fieldgear.com/zebralight-sc600-mark-2-mk-ii-cool-white-led-flashlight-with-900-lumens/

Reviews have been excellent and £50 delivered seems like a billy bargain.
I prefer warmer lights and I’d really like something with an MT-G2, but for portability, power and reliability these do seem difficult to beat.

I keep a Petzl e+lite in my saddlepack. Its tiny, useful as a weak form of back up and also fixing something in the dark

I use a bar light and helmet light so backup already built in

Dangerboy you will not be disappointed.
The SC600 is awesome!

drlex – Member

If you want a Smart 35 + 1/2 watt rear, JEJames have a set for £21.

thanks! – just picked up a set, if only for the front light…

jolly good it is too!