for road riding, by which you must see the country roads, and be seen by vehicles.

Your budget is between £50 and £100.

Which do you choose, and why?

SaxonRider – Member
for road riding, by which you must see the country roads, and be seen by vehicles.

Your budget is between £50 and £100.

Which do you choose, and why?

I’d probably go for a front light as it illuminates the road ahead of you so you can see where you’re going, plus drivers coming towards you will also see you. A good allrounder

Obviously if you opted for a rear light instead, then you’d really struggle to see where you were going. But, drivers approaching you from behind would be able to see you (which is important). However, if you used reflectors and stuck to quiet country roads I think you could get by without.

Good one. I probably deserved that.

Front;
Exposure Sirius MkV

Reliable. Charge seems to last for ever. Mounts under a Garmin very neatly on a K-Edge. The flash is an on/strobe, so is both visible AND constant, making it easy to be both spotted, and then also tracked as an object on the road at a place and pace.

It is also bright enough at full beam to get home should things get later than expected.

Helps that it is a beautifully made piece of kit as well.

Rear;
Moon Shield. Bombproof. Bright. Reliable. Perfect, really.

I’d get a dynohub and something like a B&M Cyo Premium, but that’d nudge you over budget. So an Ixon IQ Premium, I guess, which happens to be at the low end of your budget.

https://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/busch-mueller-ixon-core-iq2-ixxi-led-set-106441?currency=3&delivery_country=190

Probably this one, there is also a version with a flashing function separate from the main beam.

I’ve got a Sirius. It’s a cracking light for road use, the beam pattern makes much more sense than any of the off-road options. My only criticism of it is the supply standard rubber band-type mount. The light is just a bit too heavy for this to be effective IMO, I kept having to adjust it back up as it kept flopping. Easily fixed with the hotshot type mount and the little plastic adaptor (both easily available aftermarket from Exposure). The adaptor is only marketed as fitting the Joystick but is an excellent fit on the Sirius.

Light & Motion Urban 900 or Cateye Volt 800 front.

Cateye Rapid X3 rear.

A proper lensed one – philips saferide are fairly cheap

B&M for a proper road pattern – although if you can get some lidl ones they are almost as good for much less money.

B&M for a proper road pattern

opened thread to say this.

Mtb batteries… Lumen 800 £55.

I got the Garmin Varia front light recently for 100 quid. Beam pattern is really good (much like the German ones) and I really like the way it links to the Garmin head unit and auto adjusts with speed. And the combined mount with the Garmin is nice. I use it in preference to my Exposure Strada now.

Failing that, one of the B&M ones.

The B & M lights that a number of you have suggested don’t seem to get very good reviews as far as I could find.

B & M Ixon IQ Plus or Ixon Core. The IQ Plus mounted at the fork crown is a brilliant road light, runs on AA batteries, the customer service is at least as good as Exposure

The B&M lights are great – take it from someone who has used one. Lidl ones will do the job nicely – a decent beam pattern for road

I’ve been really happy with my Lezyne ones for the road bike. They last ages and are super bright and very well made. They also charge via USB which is a bonus for commuting duties, and one less charger at home (well, two less).
Off road I use Exposure lights, but these are a bit spendy for the road since most of their features aren’t necessary there.

CFH – which mount are you using to get the Sirius under the Garmin?

Exposure Sirius MK6

Would be my choice.

Daffy – Member
CFH – which mount are you using to get the Sirius under the Garmin?

Garmin XL Combo Mount

And
http://www.exposurelights.com/cycle-lights/brackets-and-mounts/mount-for-action-camera-brackets

So i’ve just recently picked up an exposure link plus..

It’s not quite as birght as a sirrus, but similar beam and the front lens allows ‘sideways’ viewing, as opposed to a joystick which is just ‘forward’ light.
It’s got the rear light on it too, so your optins are bar mount and just have front, or helmet mount (comes with helpmet clip) and have front adn rear..

It’s for commuting and road riding – it’s actually really good – I stick it on my lad’s helmet when we ride to school and the visibility front AND rear is great.

I imagine it’d be JUST bright enough to see with too..

DrP

Not tried a B&M one, but having a (now discontinued) Phillips Saferide, I’d definitely recommend something with a “proper” road beam. They may be a bit bulkier due to the reflector, but they provide much more even illumination of the road and aren’t anti-social to other road users.

Thank you, CFH.

For me, I’d spend a little more and buy an AXIS Mk IV and put it on your lid.

1100 lumens is just about enough to see pot holes on dark country lanes at speed and you can run it on low with the same/similar effects to the Sirius for commuting.

I’ve been very happy with my Ding light. Nice spread of light out front, and can light up the road below you to make you more visible.
Bought off Kickstarter, but now from here: Ding

You might find a Joystick in budget, just, if you’re lucky

I used to have the Cateye Volt 300 and the B&M Ixon Core, both in budget, both good lights for commuting. Pulse on the Volt was great and beam pattern on the B&M was excellent. Some f%^*”@r stole them off my bike though, 2 years they’ve been like that. Now upgraded to a Strada (and I don’t leave it on the bike!)

my b&m is dynamo powered, IQ cyo plus, but it’s brilliant. i have seen god reviews of the battery powered ones too.

Cateye Volt800, or at a push Volt1600. Great lights and nice build quality. You can get additional batteries for the 800 that are easy to swap. I run both- 800 on the helmet & 1600 on the bars. Overkill for sure, but lots of setting that make them suitable for country roads too.

Glad to see the Cateye Volt getting mentioned. Just ordered the 1200 from CRC for this very purpose.

Phew.

B&M Ixon Premium. Used one for years: proper beam pattern, lasts ages, waterproof, takes AA batteries. Negatives: it’s a bit heavy and could do with slightly more throw for fast descending.

My Cateye Volt 800 was a brilliant front light last winter.

I’d spend a little more and buy an AXIS Mk IV and put it on your lid. 1100 lumens is just about enough to see pot holes on dark country lanes at speed

If you want to spot potholes using a light mounted near to or higher than your eyes then you’ll need plenty of lumens, yes.

With a fork crown mounted light you can see the shadows it casts into potholes much more easily.

I thought my Cateye Volt 300 was the sweetspot between good enough to ride with and crap enough not to draw attention for thieves. Clearly I was wrong. Very disappointed. The pulse mode is excellent, same as Exposure

I had the same thinking for my B&M Ixon Core (and they didn’t take the mount so it’s not much use!)

Means the logic for using a more expensive light is now blown out the water. I did think about a dynamo light and wheel, but the risk is that can get nicked too! And I might need to lock the front wheel up for quick stops

For helmet use the Lezyne Macro Duo is quite good, the Cateye Volt version (Duplex) also looks pretty good

Just back from B&M Bargains, but could only see these!

If you want to spot potholes using a light mounted near to or higher than your eyes then you’ll need plenty of lumens, yes.

Also, at the risk of being boring, beam pattern. 300 lumens of light put exactly where you need it can be just as effective at lighting up the road as 1000+ spread everywhere.

Outside the OP’s budget, but this looks nice: https://www.bumm.de/en/products/akku-scheinwerfer/parent/196/produkt/196l.html?

It does, although you could build a dyno wheel with a decent B&M dyno light for that money. Doesn’t mention runtime, either.

The Philips Saferide designs have been acquired by Spanninga, and they are making some new versions.
The Axendo 60 USB looks pretty good. http://www.spanninga.com/products/headlamps/axendo-60-usb/
Though not sure if its available in the UK.

The B&M lights are crap – take it from someone who has used and disposed of an IQ Premium. Get a proper light not some candle emasculated by German nanny legislation.

From someone who has used one for commutting they are the best I have used. MTB style lights dazzle and don’t pick up cats eyes at the side of the road