With the evenings starting to draw in and finding myself pootling home in the dusk, it’s the time of year to start thinking about taking lights on post-work rides. There’s a good thread on super-powerful off road lights (here) but I thought it might be worth having a separate thread for recommending road lights.

I’m after a new front light having used my Gloworm x2 for the past few years as I’d like a light with a better beam pattern to avoid worrying about dazzling cars and don’t need 1200 lumens of bunny broiling power.

Does anyone have any suggestions for lower power, less bulky lights with more road specific light spread and reasonable side visibility? They’d be alongside a little Lezyne flasher for grabbing attention. Has anyone used a Lezyne Macro Drive, that seems to get good reviews?

What are people using on the rear? I’ve picked up a Topeak Redlight Aero to add to my Bontrager flare 3 and little flashers which seems a good compromise of size, power and side visibiliy.

I’ve got a Lezyne. Think it’s the SuperDrive XL and it’s very good.

Not got a ‘proper’ beam shape though, I think you need to go German for that sort of thing. The dynamo powered Philips saferide on my ‘hack’ has a headlight style beam shape and it’s very good. Just the right amount of light used very well, rather than using the ‘nuke it from orbit’ approach 😉

Smart R2 (or Planet X clone) for the rear. Just take the rubber seal off and put a smidge of grease or vaseline on it to keep water out. I’vedone that on all the SMART lights I’ve had and never had one fail due to water ingress.

I’ve got a lezyne SuperDrive and it’s good, but the battery life never seems to live up to the claims (just like everyone else’s to be fair). For general tooling around on lit roads the Moon Comet front and rear lifts seem to work well and are pretty visible without being glare problems.

Tick!

Wit is looking for a r ont commuter light right now. Something to h seen by rather than to see with. What’s really noticeable from the sides?

The dynamo powered Philips saferide on my ‘hack’ has a headlight style beam shape and it’s very good. Just the right amount of light used very well, rather than using the ‘nuke it from orbit’ approach

Interesting, I can’t really justify a dynamo light but the battery version is fairly affordable on Rose Bikes.

I’ve got the Lezyne lights, a Powerdrive on my bars and a Minidrive on my helmet. I think they’re OK, not super bright but good enough. If I’m riding in the city and/or areas with street lighting they are perfect, on unlit areas I think you need more power and I supplement them with a SolarStorm.

They have 1 big advantage in that you can charge them from the USB port on your PC, for a desk jockey like me this is a huge plus and means I rarely test the battery life as they are constantly charged.

If I’m riding in the city and/or areas with street lighting they are perfect, on unlit areas I think you need more power and I supplement them with a SolarStorm.

Most of my commute’s on an unlit cycle path but there are so many people riding it with ridiculously over powered lights, completely obliterating the view of anyone approaching them that it’s made me a bit more conscious of my own lights. That combined with not wanting to dazzle car drivers is at the heart of my asking really.

I’ve looked around for lights with a more road-oriented beam, and most seem to be adapted dynamo lights meant for German regs, and i’ve not found any with a decent battery life.
http://www.rosebikes.co.uk/products/bike-parts/lighting/battery-lamps/headlights/

Currently using a quite old Maxx-D on low (aimed downwards) with a redeye plugged into it, which will see me through at least a week of commuting 1.5 hours a day. Its just one thing to charge up, plus its less likely the rear light runs out of battery without realising.

Keep getting tempted by a dynamo wheel…

lemonysam, they might be OK on cyclepaths. My commute in is 15 miles on lit roads to the station, the Lezyne’s are perfect for this. On the way home I tend to ride all the way, 35 miles of which the first 20 or so are unlit country lanes, it is here I find the Lezyne lacking. I think the cars can see me fine but I feel they don’t really give enough coverage of the roads.

My current commuting lights, minus a back-up front cat-eye. The joystick goes on the helmet on low power until im on unlit fireroads/cycle paths when it goes up a notch.

The exposure flash/flare/blaze have good side visibilty but are definitely to be seen with than to see.

I commute 3 hours a day so burn time was a high priority of mine.

I was looking at this and ended up with a fluxient torch from this bloke

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/big_f_d_d/m.html?item=121412709944&hash=item1c44c2ee38&pt=UK_ConsumerElectronics_Batteries_SM&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2562

has a couple of torch options. In a brief test it seemed fine on the road. Not much side visability but a simple cheap LED will solve that.

I was looking at this and ended up with a fluxient torch from this bloke

Hmmmm… Those seem to be exactly the sort of torches which personally I think aren’t especially suitable for use on roads/cycle paths. Massively brighter than needed plus lots of glare for anyone coming towards you.

Does anyone else have an opinion on the Saferides, especially the battery model? UK reviews seem a bit thin on the ground.

Long commutes = dynamo lights IMHO. A decent front light powered by a hub is plenty to see by on unlit roads. I have an e3 triple and Aldine hub and really like the setup.

How bright are dynamo lights then? Personally I use a Maxx D on my commute, got a couple of 40mph unlit road descents and wouldn’t fancy a Joystick as my only source!

I’ve been using an Exposure Strada for the last couple of years for my approx. 10 mile each way unlit country roads / offroad commute. Flat-topped road beam and dip switch, plenty of light and doesn’t dazzle.

I use a silly expensive Light Motion rear light which flashes to the side and rear as well as giving a fixed rear beam; other road users see it from a long way back and give a good wide berth. Still going strong after about 3 winters (commuting 2 – 3 times a week on average).

I think realistically it’s in the 300lumen range once at speed. Mine is a basic round spot beam. Others are shaped for German/euro requirements.

Certainly good enough for flat speeds. I do find on higher speed descents I’m wishing for a little more. It’s the get on, ride and light up automatically that gives peace of mind.

Does anyone else have an opinion on the Saferides, especially the battery model? UK reviews seem a bit thin on the ground.

They were discontinued recently. The Saferide 80 has an excellent beam pattern (probably the best on the market) but is let down by terrible electronics: low capacity batteries, and a timer-based rather than voltage-based system. I did a DIY hack on mine to use an external battery and bumped up the brightness as well. 9 hour runtime off my old Lumicycle bottle battery.

Specialized recently announced some lights that look like they might be a good bet, but I’ve not yet seen a decent review.

Pair of Cateyes here – Volt 300 at the front, Volt 50 at the back. Well made, rechargeable from the office PC via USB and plenty bright enough for the daily commute . . . . the Troutie Darkness Dominator only comes out to play now when there’s some nighttime off-road fun to be had.

They were discontinued recently.

That’s a shame, there does seem to be a bit of a gap in the market for a modern equivalent (other than the obscenely expensive Strada) – unless there are some other german brands I’m missing.

Pair of Cateyes here – Volt 300 at the front

The Volt 300’s quite tempting, I like the idea of being able to get a second battery for it.

A couple my bikes have Exposure Red Eye’s permanently mounted on them for rear light duties.

I’ll then plug in either a Joystick, Diablo, Race, Enduro or even a 6 Pack for the front. Yes I have commuted with a 6 pack

(Can you tell I’m a USE junkie?)

Additionally I have a Lezyne micro rear which gets moved around and expressly used on the TT bike for racing.

I’ve gone through loads of lights over the years and am old enough to have had these pile o’ shite waste of space things in the 80s

Another vote for the rechargable Volt 300. Wiggle were doing a pack that included a spare battery and a charger for £63, looks like it’s temporarily out of stock though. The battery life is excellent and it’s very bright. Not so great for side visibility though, so I tend to use a smaller flashing one alongside it plus some spoke lights.

For rear, just got a replacement TL-LD610 for an older, previous model that had finally given up after many years of abuse. The only annoying thing is that they’ve changed the mount so it’s got one of those annoying ‘flex tight brackets’ with the sticky out bit, and it’s not really possible to get a really snug fit because of the lumpy bit which won’t sit against the curved seat post neatly.

I’ve got a Lezyne Macro Drive, and I think whether it’s “enough” depends on what else you’ve tried. It’s the brightest light I’ve ever had and when I’m riding through an unlit park it certainly doesn’t feel like I need more- not sure how fast you’d need to be going!
But if you’re used to super-duper proper off road night riding lights you might think differently I suppose.

Otherwise there is some side visibility but it could certainly be better- I always wonder why that’s so hard to include…? I find battery life pretty much as claimed, I am on my second warranty one though.

MrsSalmon has a Volt, and one of the things I really like about it is that it has a sort of combined flashing and steady ‘pulsing’ mode- I’d like that on my Lezyne!

i have a lezyne super drive.
its bright enough, small enough(ish) and usb rechargeable.
the onboard indicator* says the battery is going flat after like 20 mins, but ive tested it and it managed the full specified runtime no problem.
ok for someone who pays attention to making sure its charged up, maybe not so good for the type of person who constantly has a flat phone.
i also have a lezyne femto, but tbh its not bright enough for road use,
cateye tl ld1100 for me.

*ok, the on/off button changes colour.

Reading with interest.

At the moment I have a cateye TL-LD1100 permanently attached to the rear rack on the commuter. I also have a smart lunar 35 on the front (one light and a mount on two or three bikes so I can swop it over quickly) and a smart R1 which I can clip onto saddlebags as either a back up light on the commuter or a rear light on the other bikes.

I’m thinking I need some upgrades this year…

The front light is OK as a being seen light but I’m not confident venturing away from street lights. I can cope with that if I stick to roads within the city but it would be nice to be able to venture further afield. Not epic night rides, more likely to be short stretches between lit sections, unlit cycle paths/towpaths or when a ride takes me longer than I think and it starts to go dark before I get home.

Looking at the Volt 300 for this, I think although open to persuasion.

The cateye rear light is great but I can only use it on the commuter as it’s permanently attached, and I’d like something I can clip on/off my saddlebags on my road bikes. The smart light is far too temperamental in rain for me to really trust it particularly when it’s my only rear light.

Wiggle do do a pack of the Volt 300 and Volt 50 but I don’t think it would work because the shape isn’t conducive to being clipped onto a bag. So I’m still looking for inspiration for this!

Personally, dynamo lights.

The beam is right for the roads
Brightness on the current 2014 Model B&M is really good!
No charging required
Bolted to bike for security
Always on/there (think about that rainy spring/summer day you didnt bring your battery lights!)
Relatively cheap
(£50 for a very good B&M model light, £10 for a rear, yes you need a new front wheel but the hubs are not expensive so selling old wheel means little increase in total cost)

If you have a dedicated commuter

Saferide 60 & 80 user checking in – the 80 covers my 20 minute e/w commute without problems – tend to charge it every other day. As it takes regular AA batteries, one can swap in a new set of rechargeable cheaply. 60 is the dynamo one and just the right side of useable on unlit country lanes. Shame that the 80 is discontinued – there’s certainly not many single unit, battery-powered front lights with a proper, shaped beam. Trelock 950 on Rose bikes?
However, I’d be going with a cheap dynamo wheel from Rose and the convenience of dyno lights.

Instead of the Saferide, look at the B&M Ixos IQ Premium. Plenty powerful enough for decent paced night riding on dark lanes, and runs for 5 hours at full power. AA batteries can be recharged in situ or swapped over for longer rides. The low power beam is plenty for round town. The sensibly shaped beam means you won’t blind people coming the other way.

Mine got a thorough testing on the biblicaly wet Exmouth Exodus, and it was faultless.

Instead of the Saferide, look at the B&M Ixos IQ Premium.

Cheers Ransos, is that this model:
http://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/ixon-iq-led-28755?currency=3&delivery_country=190&gclid=CLr1qZKAtsACFdLKtAodEiAAwA

Edinburgh Bicycle Coop have the Volt 300 on special offer @ £37.50 – which Evans will price match if you have a branch near you. EBC also have the 300 front/50 rear package for £67.49

Volt 50 rear light is definitely not suitable for bag-mounting, but the supplied bracket can be bolted straight to a rack mounting boss if your frame has such a thing – this works very elegantly on my RoadRat.

Cheers Ransos, is that this model:

It’s this one:

http://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/ixon-iq-premium-led-139357/wg_id-1402

Twice the output of the one you linked to…I’m very impressed with it.

Cateye EL620 is a great front light and a bargain now. It is bullet proof – mine has been run over bu a car (Teen 1 didn’t secure it properly). For more spendies, a Volt, a Joystick or a Strada are all good choices. I really like my Strada.

For rear, I’m a Cateye fam, just because the mounts are so versatile. I have saddle rail mounts on road bikes, seatpost mounts on mtbs and rack mounts on, well, racks! I then switch my Rapid 1’s between bikes and use them two at a time. I also have the Rapid 5 LED rear, which again, is very good.

For the final commuting touch, I have a PDW fenderbot (other brand names available) mounted to my rear SKS mudguard. I use it for emergencies, but it is a reasonable light on its own.

I’ve had a hope vision 1 for the last 5 years. I ride unlit country lanes 12 miles each way and never need to have it on maximum power. It’s a great light but bulky compared to the exposure joystick because of the 4 rechargeable batteries. I charge ithem once per week

I’ve just bought a Light and Motion Urban 800 lumen jobbie to go with my L&M Viz 180 rear. Good beam pattern, good quality construction and USB charging so I charge it at work and it costs me nothing to run.

Another user of a hope vision 1 charge the batteries when I feel they need it kind of running a gauntlet as it just powers off if they get low but have back up lights. Have a couple of miles section at the end of my cvommute thast is unlit and plenty to see far aheasd on medium. Great qr clamp so you can easily adjust it whilst riding, not too powerful to blind other motorists too.

Another user of a hope vision 1

I used to work for a Hope retailer and we had enough vision 1s come back to put me off their lights altogether – plus as you say the charge thing is annoying.

Cheers for the advice all, I picked up a Cateye Volt 300 from the LBS. I reckon in an ideal world I’d have gone for the B&M light above but I’d rather not have to wait for it to come back from Germany if it does go wrong.