I'm on a budget, and can't really spend more than £40.

Does anyone know of a set that will work for commuting on (sometimes) unlit roads, will conform to the law and will actaully allow me to see where I'm going in the dark?

I'm not after off-road trail lights (can't afford them)

Failing that does anyone know of a headtorch for around the same price that would let me see where I'm going?

The Fenix range might have something to suit – high quality, good brightness, more of a central spot with a little peripheral light. The lock-block holder is £7 & would be fine on-road (+ the velcro straps that come with it are good for helmet mounting). Just that you may go through a few batteries…
(ps I've found 100-110 lumens-worth fine off-road, when used with another bar-mounted light)

For road use you ideally want something with some side visibility, which a Fenix torch won't give you.

For only £10 over your budget you could indeed afford a proper off-road light from dealextreme.

For only £10 over your budget you could indeed afford a proper off-road light from dealextreme

If you're prepared to wait. And wait. And wait. And wait. And wait. And wait.

Headtorch under £40 = eBay = LED Lenser H7 …. job done!! 8)

Hers's mine, on the left, in off-road spotlight mode:-

For only £10 over your budget you could indeed afford a proper off-road light from dealextreme

If you're prepared to wait. And wait. And wait. And wait. And wait. And wait.

hardly a 'proper' off-road light either…

hardly a 'proper' off-road light either…

How do you figure that then?

Myself and a fair few others use the DX offroad, therefore I reckon it qualifies as a 'proper' offroad light, or are you just trolling?

Not that the OP was actually asking for an offroad light…

In answer to the OP a higer powered LED torch and bar mount should come in under your budget… Try Ebay, DX could well take an age…

For only £10 over your budget you could indeed afford a proper off-road light from dealextreme.

hardly a 'proper' off-road light either…

How do you figure that then?

It's not expensive enough?
Seems to qualify in every other regard.

if the law matters interpretation of the law

The deal extreme lights/torches etc are, i am fairly certain, illegal when used on their own.

mrmo – Member
if the law matters interpretation of the law

I don’t reckon it does…

” It has to be said that the fine details of RVLR are seldom enforced….”

just felt i should actually point it out as the OP did specifically mention the legal position.

Personnally none of my lights are legal, but they are bright, in the event of an accident, that would be an interesting question. The old 'n'ever readies were legal but crap.

I guess it depends on whether the judge reads and believes the Telegraph

I always stick a cheap white flashing light on at the front, red one at the back, for visibility (and legality), but then use whatever pointy light that lights up where I am riding on the front.

Joe

if the law matters interpretation of the law

Who ever complies with the pedal reflectors point?

So if it must be marked as conforming to BS6102/3 or an equivalent EC standard I could get stopped and made to walk home for using Ay-ups? Mad!

I'm sure this is all helping CaptBudget a great deal..

Hang on! How do I fit reflectors to my spuds?

these

If you want legal, Cateye do some decent light sets, if you want bright and cheap then look at cheap torches.

I make do with Ay-ups as they do what i want, but they aren't legal.

hardly a 'proper' off-road light either…

How do you figure that then? [/quote]

they are pretty crap compared to properly designed mtb lights. i get why they're so popular because nothing else can touch them on price but the beam is far too focused, all the fixtures are crappy so the focused beam bounces around all over the place on rocky descents and finally the build quality is quite poor. they do the job, just not very well. good hype though.

peachos are you on something?

fixtures are the same as my £500 (at the time) lupine HID's, build quality has improved enormusouly since first released & have you ever actually taken a 'proper' mtb light to piece and seen this so called 'quality'?

they do the job, just not very well.
I claim the prize, your obviously just trolling.

My Bastid replaced my Lupine HID, very happy with it thankyou and I saved £200 on any other HID, which they are easliy better than.

DezB – Member
If you're prepared to wait. And wait. And wait. And wait. And wait. And wait.

M8's arrived last week after 3 weeks, hardly the end of the world is it?

For the front I'd go for a fenix type torch but you won't get any side visibility and thats the budget blow before you buy batteries and charger. Then ideally you want a couple of wee lights for side visibility. But then you need rear lights as well.

For £40 you will be struggling.

DezB – Member
If you're prepared to wait. And wait. And wait. And wait. And wait. And wait.

M8's arrived last week after 3 weeks, hardly the end of the world is it?

Well, he was lucky. Tomorrow will be a month since we placed the order and it is still 'Processing – Awaiting suppliers'.
F*&king ridiculous in my view. Just glad the order isn't for me or I woulda cancelled it.

As for the OP:
Does anyone know of a set that will work for commuting on (sometimes) unlit roads, will conform to the law and will actaully allow me to see where I'm going in the dark?

A bastid (DX bike specific light) £50 & a cheap LED light from Range/Wilko's £2.
The low beam on the bastid is very useable (you can see with it) and shouldn't blind any oncoming cars too badly, the cheap LED light should be BS certified so will keep you within the letter of the law.

Fair point, I presume anything sold as a front bicycle light in the UK has to comply with BS6102/3 so any cheap crap should do the job from a legal point of view, I have to say though that doesn’t mean you’ll actually be able to see by it on an unlit road…

You’ll also need “4 amber” pedal reflectors and a red rear reflector to be totally legal…
I would hazard a guess that quite a lot of bikes fail to fully comply, how often this affects legal action both for and against cyclists involved in RTAs would be interesting to know, are things like reflective piping/panels on clothing, and having a billion flashing LEDs plastered all over a cyclist taken into account or is any lack of total compliance a deal breaker?

To be honest I’ve seen bikes at night that probably are technically compliant but still seem barely visible with a tea light powered front light, weedy single rear light and full (often dirty and/or obscured) reflectors, when compared with another rider decked out like a Christmas tree in a bright Yellow reflective jacket, with plenty of steady and flashing lights all over them selves and the bike, a good powerful front light or two, but without the reflectors the more visible rider is effectively “illegal”…

my dx's have apparently been to switzerland looking for me (6 weeks now!)

I have pedal reflectors on my spds

How did you find that out (about the Dx light)?

they are pretty crap compared to properly designed mtb lights. i get why they're so popular because nothing else can touch them on price but the beam is far too focused, all the fixtures are crappy so the focused beam bounces around all over the place on rocky descents and finally the build quality is quite poor. they do the job, just not very well. good hype though.

Obviously I’m not the light connoisseur you are….

Still I find them great off road, moderate sized centre spot with enough peripheral spill that I can see all the trails I ride well enough on the dipped beam setting, for faster trails I pop them on full and they are great, more than enough light, no issues with what you described as “beam bounces around” it just points wherever the bars do, so on a rocky descent where the whole bike will bounce about the light probably does pretty much what a Hope/Ay Up/Lupine/L&M/Nukeproof will do, which is where a helmet light becomes of benefit, even so I haven’t yet tried anything with them that I can’t see well enough to ride, they do have their shortcomings and granted the finish perhaps isn’t on a par with more expensive lights but then neither is the cost….

As for the Hype you refer to, well I bought mine based on what I read here and on other forums which largely seemed to be quite balanced; yes they are good value for money, but not perfect, bright but not the claimed 900 Lumens, you should use cling film or baggies to improve the water tightness of the battery, sensible precautions really, can’t say I wouldn’t do the same on a more expensive light just to be sure…
Considering some people have been disappointed with lights twice the price I can’t say I feel cheated even after my 5 week wait for them…

I think what the DX Bastid has done is help to create yet another bit of kit for people to show their snobbery over…

Cheers for all the replies!

I think I'll probably end up going down the headtorch route now. I have a set of cr@ppy Halfwit lights. These are road legal (somehow) and a headtorch has other useful applications. The main reason I wanted to replace them was because I couldn't see anything with them, and I've found more frequently I'm going along unlit paths and roads to get home.

I don't want to be a killjoy and interrupt the debate but I know very little about headtorches. Are there any specific brands/models that come hightly recommended/should be avoided at all costs?