I have a set of Exposure Flash / Flare and they have been excellent...
Worth getting the Trace / TraceR as a replacement??? Or look elsewhere...
A dynamo hub & a set of B&M lights. Fit, forget & nice and bright.
Genuinely wouldn't be with anything else on my about town bike
+1 for dynamo and B&M lights. Expensive to begin with as you need to get the wheel built up - https://www.spacycles.co.uk/m2b0s170p0/Parts-and-Accessories/Lights-Dynamo-Lighting-Handbuilt-Wheels I've a Schmidt SON on my commuter and an SP on my hardtail, I've not used a Shimano dynamo but I've heard they are OK even for off-road use.
If you went with the Shimano or SP then you'd be looking at around £200 for wheel and lights.
I've got a TraceR and it's great. Lasts for ages, solidly built, and really like the 'constant in with flash' mode for visibility.
I've got a £30 Amazon Evolva X5 on the front as well, which I really rate for the dipped beam and battery life.
Used Exposure Joystick & Redeye for years, plenty bright enough and minimal faff (if the bike is secure enough to leave rear light on, anyway) - just one thing to charge. Plus a decent helmet light for off-road too.
If I was going from scratch it'd be dynamo all the way.
[url= http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/lezyne-micro-front-500l-front-light/rp-prod163277 ]Lezyne Microdrive[/url]
Bloomin excellent.
I had an early version Lezyne MiniDrive and it was rubbish, but then saw one of these and got one. Always used to have a Hope Vision 2 for seeing properly, but don't need it anymore with this little beauty.
So for a set, this surely would be all you need - http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/lezyne-macro-1100l-strip-pro-300lpair/rp-prod163289
B&M, so you don't blind people coming the other way.
Thought about going for a dynamo set up but it's something else to lock (in my case)
Currently using exposure strada on the bars and an exposure joystick on my helmet with a micro red eye on the back
Also have 3 rear lights on the bike but usually have 2 running, one solid, one flash - raleigh rsp rack light (i think), smart r2 usb, those glowing tube type ones (can't remember the name now!)
I also usually wear a high vis gilet of sorts - most often one of the rapha brevets
In deep winter I often wear reflective ankle bands too
If anyone interested in new Lezyne lights, there's a few on the ex-display section of the Evans website.
I'm well into my second year of using a Magicshine MJ890:
The only problem I had was the proprietary mounting/strap which is basically designed to snap and force you to buy a new one for ~£3.50 after a few months of moving it between bikes.
I resorted to zip ties for a while then I modified it to fit on a 1/4 turn Garmin mount (as I have lots spare now) and it's great for swapping between bikes/removing to charge.
Even with the mounting issue it's been good VFM.
I have these on my bikes for the winter commute, this will be the third year I have had them and the batteries still last well.
https://road.cc/content/review/181754-lezyne-macro-drive-600xl
I don't think they make them anymore but there is probably a replacement model. The external battery on some of the other lights used to annoy the hell out of me.
Any thoughts on these?
https://www.evanscycles.com/lezyne-zecto-drive-y11-light-set-250-80-lumen-EV313605
At £42 for the pair, they seem decent value.
Thought about going for a dynamo set up but it’s something else to lock (in my case)
Eh? I've commuted with dyno lights for years and I'm struggling to think what the additional locking requirement would be.
My TracR filled with water after about 3 rides, then never worked again, I found the USB seal to be terrible letting water in, ideally I'd have had a rear guard on to prevent water splashing but I'd never had a problem with this running old catyeye's and the like
I'll probably go Moon on a rear this winter, and a couple of cheap lightweight ones on my helmet and seat stay
Eh? I’ve commuted with dyno lights for years and I’m struggling to think what the additional locking requirement would be.
I'd have to lock the front wheel to the bike (although I suppose I could use a security skewer instead though). Would still want/have to remove the lights from the bike too
I had 2 lights on my bike and they were both nicked (together), I was gutted. Did think about going dynamo but didn't want more faff. The strada I use had a good battery display and charging it at work is dead easy (as I have to charge my helmet light with the same charger anyway)
I'm quite happy with a cateye set I bought for about £60. I think the front is a 500 and the rear 50, although I usually use them on the dimmer of the two solid beam settings to save battery and it's bright enough. USB chargeable and seem waterproof enough ...
I upgraded from a cheap solar storm though which whilst good, had a seperate and low quality battery pack. The cateye front light is about the same brightness despite being rated 500 lumens as opposed to the solar storm which was 'allegedly' significantly more lumens.
It depends on your commute. If you're talking a few miles on lit cycle paths when it's barely dark, then the Trace/TraceR will be fine, but if you're talking about dark roads or competing with car headlights on busy urban roads with lots of traffic, you'll want something a bit more powerful.
At this time of year until about mid October, I'm using a Exposure Axis on the bars, Joystick with microred-eye on the head, Knog Mini Chippy front and rear for flash and a TraceR for steady rear. When it gets really dark, i'll be swapping The Axis to my head and using either the Reflex or the Strada for the bars.
I’d have to lock the front wheel to the bike
Ah yeah, I thought it might be that after I realised I'm just in the habit of sticking the lock through the frame and front wheel instead of the frame and rear wheel 🙂 I've never locked the lights, though. They're bolted on and to be honest if someone's going to come along with tools and unbolt things from your bike they can easily walk off with far more interesting stuff than a £30 pair of lamps.
I've got a Lezyne macro 800XL which is great in every way except that it's a bit of a flood, which makes it fine for commuting and even MTB but when going fast on a road bike on open roads in pitch dark it doesn't quite throw far enough. I can manage though, and for the price and quality it's not a deal breaker.
Dyno lights are bolted on, which takes care of casual thieves, and I wouldn't expect them to be very interesting to a pro; relatively low value and difficult to sell on, unlike a self contained battery light.
Some Dyno wheels can be expensive, and worth nicking, but the usual way of protecting your front wheel is to remove it and put the lock through the front wheel, frame and rear wheel. That also had the advantage of filling up the free space on a normal D lock and making it more difficult to attack.
I wouldn't give up my dynamo for regular commuting. It's the most reliable and hassle free lighting I've ever used.
I wouldn't get the Zecto Drive. My rear lasted about 6 months before it dropped one of the three LEDs, and then another before water ingress rotted through the connection for the charging port.
I've given up with Lezyne lights. 2 rear and one front failed to date. Poor after sales. Now use Hope oir Exposure. No issues with either.
My bike is mostly kept indoors so it’s safe, but I leave it outside shops etc to run errands. It’s a quick get off and on, CBA with the faff or removing a front wheel or using an extra cable. That would limit the use of the bike for me. I know it’s works for others though
i commute through and in London and the bike is left outside all sorts of places while I run in
Got a Trace R 2 months ago to replace a moon shield that fell off after 3 years of constant use. So far so good, we'll see how it handles the winter.
I have a B&M Dynamo light on one bike which is great... But I use the battery version on the other. It is a really good light and being designed for the road and German regulations compliance it doesn't dazzle as much as many other lights. It's cheapish too.
If you are not concerned about someone stealing your unlocked front wheel at the moment, would a Shimano dynohub that costs less than £40 really make it any more nickable? And with a dynamo, you don't have to remove the lights when you run into the shop!
I've pre-ordered the new see sense lights, some quite nice smart functions, UK manufactured and possible to send them back for service/repair.
Tredz had the Blackburn central 300 for £11.
buy three and use your £5 voucher.
i mount two on one of these...
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F182379363147
more than sufficient for unlit canal towpaths.
great run times and you've got a spare too!
id hang onto the rubbery mount as you an use that for mounting tubular lights, such as the lezyne macro duo.
and I'd swap out blackburns thumb screws for the proper go-pro style ones.
I've been using a Smart 700l thing for the last 4 year's, it is pretty much in every other day use due to irregular shifts. I ride out of unlit country roads into town about an hour each way. Never been a problem if I missed to charge it before use, and I generally charge it via the usb on one of the works computer's. Its not very sexy or a trendy name, but it has been faultless, and seeing it at the price above has made me buy another, just in case 😁