What commuter lights is everyone using??

For the wife’s road bike.. what are we all using on the daily commute? Its all on well light but very busy roads, are a couple of LEDs front and rear enough?

Evans are are doing a good deal on the exposure commuter pack, I recommend a hi vi vest too.

I use a spoke bloke (don’t think he makes them anymore though) light front and a blackburn mars rear. I ride dark country lanes and they are great. If it’s well lit, any decent front led light should suffice.
If going high vis go orange and reflective as it really does stand out. Also reflective strips on the legs are great as it draws attention as they are moving. Also a light on the back of the helmet helps too.

HTH

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/commuting-lights-3

I usually go for a far better rear one than front. 2x Cateye ld610 on the rear and 2x cateye el450 on the front. Both one flashing and one static.

My jacket also has loads of reflective strips

This has done me fine through a city and out on country lanes.

On One are doing some good deals on commuter lights at the moment Martyn. I just ordered some yesterday

much cheapness

Just blinded myself putting the batteries in This just delivered from PX

Ordered some from on one yesterday afternoon half the price of others dropped throjgh the door this morning 😀

Front
troutie on low if lit roads and high if unlit
Gnog frog flashing LED

Rear
Lummi rear
Flashing Smart one??
not sure but bright

helmet light with spare battery and rear frog just in case
Reflective tape on the wheels and cranks makes you much more visible IMHO

one of these with a glow ring on’t front

and the ‘holy hand grenade’ on’t back.

Vision 1 and cateye light up front
smart 1/2 watt and Cateye grenade rear
couple of the cheap flashy things front and rear

It may sound like a lot, but i been knocked off a few times by twazzocks who claim not to see me

For riding on a busy road commute with good street lighting, I took the view it was about being seen as much as being able to see.

Hand Grenade and Smart 1/2 watt at the back, couple of Smart 1/2 watt front lights, (one fixed and one flashing at either end) and a couple of small back up lights flashing front and back on the helmet.

Adding the helmet lights reduced the number of near misses.

Also something reflective near your feet (I use MTB pedals with reflectives on) seems to help.

Valve cap lights are also effective

If money was no object I’d try the Exposure Flash and Flare

Troutie/CK/Teapot/Hammond with hood, 2 * xp-g’s on low or medium in traffic, switch to main beam (top one) on full when no oncoming vehicles 8)

Hood is now matching black.

On the cheapy bike, dynamo version of Troutie/CK/Hammond @ 400ish lumens out the front.

It now has the hood shown in photo at top.

On the rear is one and often two HHG’s (four shalt thou not count) depending on what I’m carrying.

Don’t forget the noggin – best couple of quids worth of safety against those would-be T-boners. A glance to the side has brought many a motor vehicle to a more abrupt halt than the driver was intending (if bothering to halt at all!) at a T junction or side road. Worked very well so far and doesn’t need to be high powered.

don’t forget reflective stuff everywhere espeically on moving parts.

want some self adhesive reflective tape email me

HiViz vest and reflective tape is a must!!
dont need batteries either! 🙂

I’ve got these

1/2 price at On One (still)

BARGAINTASTIC

troutie liberator, massive disco cateye thing on the back

not that it’s dark enough yet for lights

Turned on the ‘holy hand grenade’ this morning for the first time.

0530 and a thick fog 🙁

Ive got terra 2 ‘s on the front

And a gekko on the back

Great burn times on both which is essential if you, like me sometimes forget to charge them when you get home!

thanks all.. TJ, good advice on the reflective tape, We’ve got some at work so I’ll snip a bit off! cheers for the offer though

Seconded on the lumi+ glow-ring / holy hand grenade combo. The only “incidents” I’ve had have been in summer 😕

ps snip some extra reflective tape for me would you mate?

bike 1. Macig Shine 900L front
bike 2. Grenade 900L front

For the rears I love my RSP Astrum (2 x 1/2W LED). Easily the best self contained rear light on the market.

Guys – I have loads of reflective tape – just email me if you want some

OK so whats the best mount on a rear light I have had loads and loads that just crack and go brittle I had a knog one but its not very bright. Is there a bright rear light with a good mount?

RSP Astrum.

People use lumi’s on the road? 😯 has anyone caused any accidents due to blinding oncoming drivers?

Is there a bright rear light with a good mount?

I refer you to the Hoy Hand grenade, especially when mounted on the back of a pannier rack

People use lumi’s on the road?

Bar mounted and angled to illuminate the trail I’m riding, rather then helmet mounted

This week I got a Hope vision 1 for the front,I’ve read good things about this light & Winstanleys are doing them for £72,I back it up with one of those Fenix torches that I’ve had for a few years,I have that one in flash mode.The commuute is on cycle paths & unlit country lanes,the Hope surprised me how bright it is for a 1 LED light running on re-chargeables,I run a cateye multi LED on the back in flashing mode.I think the helmet mounted light’s a good idea,just to get the attention of car drivers pulling out of side roads.

I’ve been using a Light & Motion Vis360 for the last couple of years:

It gets my vote as the best commuting light set out there, and in ten years of commuting…I’ve tried them all.

Advantages:
1. It combines both front and rear light.

2. It attaches to your helmet. Hat on, off you go!

3. No fiddling around in the dark attaching / removing your lights on / off your bike.

4. Your lights will never get nicked (They stay on your hat).

5. One switch controls both front & rear lights. Three modes, On high, On low, & Flashing.

6. In-built battery, charges via USB lead. (Also has on-board battery status indicator – tells you when you need to recharge).

7. The lights are up on your HEAD, where they can be seen by more traffic than low-mounted lights attached to your bike. (Can the guy four cars back see the light mounted under your saddle? Probably not. He can definitely see your head though).

It is as bright as you will ever need it to be for commuting (Dont be fooled by manufaturers claims of ‘lumens’, as they are pretty meaningless for commuting). The aim of the game for commuting safety is to BE SEEN by other traffic, it is not necessary to light up the horizon with mega-lumen searchlights…

Making yourself seen in traffic, has more to do with where you position your lights, rather than how many lumens they have.

@monstermarrow – nice idea, but I presume you also have some bar/bike mounted lights as well as your helmet one?

Legally the lights have to be no more than 1500mm from the ground – basically in order that they can easily be seen from the rear view mirror and approximately at eye level to most drivers. Helmet lights are fine as an extra measure (and I realle like them for taking the ‘making eye contact’ thing to another level, but always back them up with a standard light)

Blackburn x6 converted from 85 lumens to 300.. Quite a white looking led, but, with a wide angle lense inside the casing.

It’s heavy, but, it lasts a good while on a charge and even on the lowest setting its pretty effective.

and on the rear some 1/5 watt kidney lights and a bugger load of reflective tape on bike and bag.

I used to use Lumi on my winter commute for years. They were very flexible, the led version with a glow lamp was fine and the bluish hue stood out well. They lasted me years and years but the battery eventually needed a replacement.
I then decided to try USE lights and these are great – dead easy to put on and off and the rear light is very good indeed.