I need a rechargeable bar-mounted light that will be

– Good to excellent on streets (both lit and unlit), picking out potholes/debris and not have to think about blinding other road users

– Some side-visibility

– Occasional ‘get me home on fire-roads/bridleway/field/towpath’- capability would be useful. 4hrs max on medium is fine.

– Easy to use with gloves

– Under £50

I have so far narrowed down to two models

Moon Meteor Storm Dual

Bikehut 1600

I like the dual LED option (esp the warm white) of the Moon Dual, as typically have a lot of fog and cloud hereabouts
I like the available brightness of the Bikehut
I like the remote option on the Moon Dual
I like the Garmin mountability of the Bikehut

I find the bright green battery status lights on the top of the Bikehut very annoying (saw in-store today) so would layer parcel-tape over to reduce glare. Still annoying to do this.

WWSTWD? Have I missed any units with maybe a better beam/similar performance/price?

I really like my Moon Meteor Storm Lite. The battery lasts a very long time for a light like this if you cycle through the modes, it fits neatly under the bar on a dropped bar bike so your bike doesn’t look awful and the spread and brightness of light is excellent. It’s not some simple Ali Express/Chinese catalogue job, it’s a really quality bit of kit.

Well I’ve taken a punt on the bikehut. There’s quite a long thread on it, it bumped up yesterday, worth a read. I decided on the bikehut after splurging £89 on a joystick from cycle Republic, and thinking a cheaper bar mounted light was in order. I’m not fussed about a remote switch, I reckon on a budget light it’d be a weak link.
Guy at work has one, it’s robust and the light seems fine, maybe a wee bit spotty for going with a joystick, but We’ll see, hope to use them on Monday.

Fenix BC21R V2.0. Good beam shape, so lights up the road, without dazzling traffic. Should be bright enough on medium/high power, so pretty good battery life.
Available for under £50 on AliExpress/Ebay.

^ Thnks CraigW, another one possibly in the mix? Was also looking at Ravemen CR series but don’t see any side-visibility. I donhave a long-battered-yet-still-working RSP Asteri 3, which is also torch-styled. Bombproof, good runtime, but again no side-visibility so it currently lives most of it’s life as a torch.

I haven’t used that Moon but I have 3 of their front lights and one rear and all feel decently enough quality and have been reliable (Moon Vortex Pro / Vortex / Meteor auto x / Nebula).

I also have the bikehut 1600 and think it’s pretty decent for the money.

On the link to the Moon above it doesn’t appear to list the lumen output it has which is quite key really.

The bikehut has 3 leds in it I think. I actually like the battery life leds I think they do the job fine and I don’t notice them when riding. I pair mine with the Vortex Pro on the helmet and I feel like I’ve got plenty of light for off-road riding either on flowy pedally trails or slower but steep / quite technical off piste stuff.

So I’m not that helpful here, but for under £50 and not a cheap Chinese light with no UK warranty and a questionable CE marked charger I think either are worth a look!

thnks joebristol. Moon Dual is 1300lmns . As long as the output and beam is sufficient for a dark towpath for a few hrs then great, yet I’m much more concerned with beam pattern on roads as a primary requirement. All my three MTB lights are so glarey/spot-y that they cause me to point the beam 8-10 feet ahead so as not to dazzle other road users. Swiffing along at 25-40mph on dimly lit roads I need something with more throw and flood, ideally with a cutoff like a dipped beam. Anything else? Yes, a remote-switched instant-boost mode/return to last would be optimal Want the moon and the stick innit!? Of course, bicycle road lights should be like slightly smaller motorcycle lights.

I have the Moon Meteor Storm Pro. I do like it, it’s reliable, it’s bright, and can easily cycle through modes as needed for conditions/battery. It feels solid, not had any problem with the mount breaking as some reviews said (and I’ve had a few tumbles with it fitted). The remote is better than trying to push the button on the light itself, but bumpy ground can make it tricky and rather than turning the light down I’ve frequently put it into boost mode instead (which I never otherwise use). When switching between road & traffic to off-road I tend to just grab the light and rotate it on the handlebars to point it where I want – not sure if I need to or not, I just know it’s bright.

I wouldn’t say the bikehut 1600 is a road light – it’s really bright on the majority of the settings and if you want to change the bright was level you do have to cycle through quite a lot of modes (maybe like 6).

I use the Moon Vortex (non pro) on the road next to the Meteor auto x. I tend to run the Vortex on a pulse mode where there is a solid dimmer light with a brighter flash through it. I then run the meteor on the middle of 3 solid settings. Note both the moon lights have 2 sets of modes – either flashing or solid so when cycling through the solid power levels you don’t have to cycle through flashing modes at the same time.

I think I paid £30 for the Vortex and £20 for the meteor auto x. One is 600 lumens and the other is 400. I don’t run either anywhere near full power except on an unlit towpath I go down on my commute – and combined they have plenty of power to light that up (still not both on full beam at that).

I’m not aware of any lights that have the cut off road beam you are after for cheap. I think I’ve read that exposure have one designed for the German market that has got a road beam cut off but that’s bound to be several hundred pounds I’d imagine.

I’ve got the Moon Meteor Storm Pro on my road bike. I run it upside-down underneath a Wahoo mount. On my 2nd winter with it (used twice weekly), and its been really good. Typically run it on 3/5 power and thats bright enough for most situations. The remote cable is great.

My Dad has the Bikehut one on his road bike, and he picked up a cheap remote for it (£5) after seeing my Moon one. Seems a similar bit of kit really.

Don’t think you would go far wrong with either.

I’ve had a couple of Moon lights and they have been excellent. That’d be my choice, although if budget allows it, consider stepping up to the Meteor Storm Pro for MOAR lumens &/or battery life.

joebristol

I’m not aware of any lights that have the cut off road beam you are after for cheap. I think I’ve read that exposure have one designed for the German market that has got a road beam cut off but that’s bound to be several hundred pounds I’d imagine.

I’ve ordered a Ravemen 1600 from China for £50. Admittedly, it’s probably not gonna arrive until mid-spring & there is a bit of a risk that it will be fake (I don’t think it will be), but it should be a great light for that price & while not STVZO approved, it does have a ‘dipped beam’ LED & a high beam.
The 1200 lumen version can be had for £83 from UK suppliers (vanillabikes) and the 900 lumen version for less than £70.

I’m planning on doing a review of the 1600 version, if and when it turns up! It’s currently been sat at the ‘ili kazakh Autonomous region’ wherever that it, since the 15th Nov…

OP – slightly over budget but these Evolva X8’s seem to get good reviews:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Evolva-Future-Technology-Rechargeable-Headlight/dp/B075H5Z567/ref=cts_sp_2_vtp

I just went for the Bikehut light. Couldn’t resist at 40 quid. It seems plenty bright enough for a bar light from a quick test on my walk from from Halfords.

There is too many modes though. From full power down to ‘candle in a jam jar’ is about 5 steps. Then there’s 3 different flashing modes. If it wasn’t for the separate power button and the fact that it stays in the last mode you used it would be a huge faff to use on the trail.

Yes, a remote-switched instant-boost mode/return to last would be optimal Want the moon

Yes exactly. I’ve got the Moon Vortex Pro, and it came with a remote, and double click toggles between current mode and max. Shame it’s a double click rather than a single.

That Ravemen light does look interesting. I’ve got a couple of “proper” road lights (SafeRide + Edelux 2) and whilst the beams are good, the cut-off can be too good when you don’t need it. On my commuting bike I have a switchable full beam light to go with it. All home made, nice to see that manufacturers are finally putting together something similar, although I’m a little sceptical about how good the dipped beam can be in such a small unit.

So decided against the Bikehut as it’s clearly not really designed for road use. Not really finding much online about the Moon Meteor Dual beam pattern either. Briefly looked at the Trelock 950ls Control Ion (snappy name! 😂) and it’s definitely more the thing, yet half again over-budget and would be limited off-road. Realise what is needed is a

-dual beam all-in-one unit
-USB charging, both on (charging from powerbank in operation) and off bike
-Removable batteries
– One beam stvzo, one beam floody with centre spot for trails
-No flashing nonsense. Combined beams for extra fun.Mid, Low, High – remote boost.

Essentially a Gravellight with proper Gravellux Eh? Eh?

Sounds like posh Scandi-salmon shenanigans. But bear with me.

Something like this but I’m skeptical of all claims at £9.99:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/GreenClick-Lights-Rechargeable-Standard-Waterproof/dp/B0721Q5371/ref=sr_1_6?keywords=Greenclick+light+bike&qid=1574679037&sr=8-6