Recommended bike lights?

Elsior
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Recommended bike lights?

Postby Elsior » Thu Apr 06, 2017 11:59 pm

Hi all,

I'm looking for bike lights with the following criteria:
At least 400-lumen front light, 30-lumen rear light
USB rechargable with decent operating time and reasonable recharge time
Variety of modes, such as economy and flashing
Cost AUD120ish max for the set

I live in the suburb and the roads have poor lighting. Would be ideal to have lights that I can rely on when riding after sunset (not planning to, but just in case).

I've narrowed down my options to:

Lezyne Macro Drive 800XL / Strip Pro Light Set $93.99
http://www.this link is broken.au/lezyne-macro-d ... light-set/
(Top of my list seems to be really good value for money, but Wiggle is out of stock ATM.)

Cygolite Dash 460 Lumens Front + Hotshot Micro 30 Lumens Rear USB Combo Light Set $124.99
https://www.pushys.com.au/cygolite-dash ... t-set.html
(An LBS sells these, not sure about the price, but if not much more expensive than online price, I will consider buying from the LBS to build relationship.)

Anyone has used these lights? Or any other recommendations?

RobertL
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Re: Recommended bike lights?

Postby RobertL » Fri Apr 07, 2017 12:02 pm

I just happen to have the latest ride On magazine here, with their annual review of bike lights.

Their highest-rated front light is the Moon LX 360, with a RRP of $105. The Knog Blinder Arc 640 is second ($130) and there are various Knog Blinder rear lights in that list - so you may be able to get them bundled.

They do not mention either of those two lights that you list. However, that does not make them bad lights, just not included in their test.

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g-boaf
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Re: Recommended bike lights?

Postby g-boaf » Fri Apr 07, 2017 12:29 pm

It used to be said that these big Philips bike lights were all you needed. But I digress.

I think for front lights, you are best to go with the Ay-Ups, those are superb. Really reliable for long rides. I also have a Lezyne, but it isn't bright enough:

http://www.lezyne.com/product-led-perf-macro800xl.php

Maybe if you are riding along at the recommended 10km/h speeds, but in the dark, riding at 30km/h feels a bit fast with this light. You need something more powerful and with a much greater range.
Elsior wrote:I've narrowed down my options to:

Lezyne Macro Drive 800XL / Strip Pro Light Set $93.99
http://www.this link is broken.au/lezyne-macro-d ... light-set/
(Top of my list seems to be really good value for money, but Wiggle is out of stock ATM.)
The rear light falls off too easily on a Giant TCR Advanced SL1 with the Integrated Seat Post. Mine fell off twice, the first time a short distance from home and I found it on my return commute home, the second time I never found it again. It was a good rear light, just needed more secure way to fix it to the bike.

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find_bruce
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Re: Recommended bike lights?

Postby find_bruce » Fri Apr 07, 2017 1:22 pm

G-boaf, range is not just a question of the amount of light (measured in lumens) but how that light is distributed.

A conical beam, such as the ay-ups & my DIY lights, throws some light above the horizon, which is a waste, but the main downside is the potential to dazzle oncoming people. So you, like all considerate people, angle the beam downwards to reduce the dazzle.

What that does to the beam shape is give you an ellipse or a parabola & this is where your eyes play tricks on you - the light in closer to you is much brighter than the light at a distance. Your eyes adjust to the foreground & you don't get to see in the distance.

The best you can do is try to reduce this by using a narrow beam & yes that's what Ay-ups do.

Where the now discontinued Phillips safe ride excelled was in how it distributed the light so that the foreground only appeared to be the same brightness as the distance. It is why they worked at just 80 lux (a measure of beam intensity) when, as you say a 400 lumen light can seem not bright enough. The phillips was big because of the reflector needed to produce the beam shape & because they used 4 low power density AA batteries.

Sadly I have yet to find a light that has anywhere near as good a beam. Sorry I'm not much help to the OP

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MattyK
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Re: Recommended bike lights?

Postby MattyK » Fri Apr 07, 2017 1:23 pm

Winteriscoming.jpg
g-boaf wrote:It used to be said that these big Philips bike lights were all you needed. But I digress.
I still haven't seen anything to match the price/performance/optics design balance that they achieved.

Spanninga took over the bike light parts from Philips after they left the market, slapped in a Li-Ion battery, dropped the weight and upped the run time massively.
http://www.spanninga.com/products/headl ... do-60-usb/#

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find_bruce
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Re: Recommended bike lights?

Postby find_bruce » Fri Apr 07, 2017 1:29 pm

Cheers MattyK. Any idea where to buy spanninga lights from ?

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MattyK
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Re: Recommended bike lights?

Postby MattyK » Fri Apr 07, 2017 1:35 pm

google it? don't know personally.
I will note that the Philips Saferide battery version was rated at 80 lumens, and the battery Spanninga is rated at 60. Only their e-bike version is rated at 80 (needs an external battery pack). So I can't comment on the relative brightness. The LED description seems to be the same though, and logarithmically speaking, there probably isn't a massive deal between 60 and 80.

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g-boaf
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Re: Recommended bike lights?

Postby g-boaf » Fri Apr 07, 2017 1:50 pm

find_bruce wrote:G-boaf, range is not just a question of the amount of light (measured in lumens) but how that light is distributed.

A conical beam, such as the ay-ups & my DIY lights, throws some light above the horizon, which is a waste, but the main downside is the potential to dazzle oncoming people. So you, like all considerate people, angle the beam downwards to reduce the dazzle.

What that does to the beam shape is give you an ellipse or a parabola & this is where your eyes play tricks on you - the light in closer to you is much brighter than the light at a distance. Your eyes adjust to the foreground & you don't get to see in the distance.

The best you can do is try to reduce this by using a narrow beam & yes that's what Ay-ups do.

Where the now discontinued Phillips safe ride excelled was in how it distributed the light so that the foreground only appeared to be the same brightness as the distance. It is why they worked at just 80 lux (a measure of beam intensity) when, as you say a 400 lumen light can seem not bright enough. The phillips was big because of the reflector needed to produce the beam shape & because they used 4 low power density AA batteries.

Sadly I have yet to find a light that has anywhere near as good a beam. Sorry I'm not much help to the OP
Where Ay-Ups are better is that you have two individual lights, you can swivel them as needed. Others such as the Lezyne above don't give that flexibility. In really dark areas, I used to run ay-ups with a Light and Motion Urban 550 light. Riding at night in an area with absolutely no other lights at all, no street lights, no ambient light - you needed the combination. I used to see others using two sets of Ay-Up lights.

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mogwaiboi
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Re: Recommended bike lights?

Postby mogwaiboi » Fri Apr 07, 2017 2:52 pm

I used to use Ayups that were upgraded to 750W (I think) for commuting year round but then got hold of a Moon X-Power 500. I ended up putting the Ayups in the cupboard as I preferred the compact nature of a light with an integrated battery. My commute was only 45 mins though so I could get away with using full power of the Moon light...it's still going strong after many years of use.
Avoiding pissed of bogans in SUV's...

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find_bruce
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Re: Recommended bike lights?

Postby find_bruce » Fri Apr 07, 2017 3:00 pm

Not to worry MattyK, I had tried googling, but it seems dealers outside Germany are currently thin & doesn't appear to be stocked by the usual online retailers.

g-boaf Adjustable is good - I do something similar with a headlight, narrow spot, intensity adjusted to match the perceived intensity of the foreground.

My DIY lights use 3 leds. When & if I get some spare time I want to try having them separately focused, 1 near field, 2 distance, to roughly approximate a shaped beam.

Advantage of a headlight is that it is easy to avoid dazzling, with a simple movement & is good for lighting up cars entering from side streets.

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Rural Rider
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Re: Recommended bike lights?

Postby Rural Rider » Fri Apr 07, 2017 3:48 pm

I can highly recommend the Bontrager Flare R for a tail light ... variable DAY and NIGHT settings, steady and flash ... visible up to 1km away.

RR
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Re: Recommended bike lights?

Postby nickdos » Fri Apr 07, 2017 3:58 pm

Keep it on topic people. OP clearly stated "Cost AUD120ish max for the set", so Ayups are out of the equation at $230 starting price.

Elsior
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Re: Recommended bike lights?

Postby Elsior » Fri Apr 07, 2017 4:22 pm

Thank you all for the inputs. I'm happy to push my budget to $150ish for the set if it increases safety.

Having been dazzled by another cyclist myself, I will consider the beam angle and shape when purchasing my light set.

Re Ay-ups, they're really out of my budget. I also don't plan to do dedicated night riding. I just need a light set that can cater for night riding just in case I haven't reached home by the time it gets dark. So I think they're too much of an overkill.

Re Lezyne Macro Drive 800XL / Strip Pro Light Set, I've also read reviews saying the straps were no good, so g-boaf's reply further validated this weakness.

I've had a look at the suggested Moon LX-360 combo with 60-lumen rear light. Ribble has it for $82 plus delivery. I assume Ribble is a realiable online seller?
http://www.ribblecycles.com/au/moon-lx- ... #pid=24131

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Re: Recommended bike lights?

Postby caneye » Fri Apr 07, 2017 4:28 pm

rear lights ..

i have the cygolite Hotshot micro. haven't had issues with the mount. i thought the Micro's mount is an improvement over the original Cygolite Hotshot's. they are both small and well-built. the original HotShot has a bigger variety of flash modes, the option of changing the brightness & flashing speeds (you can't change them in the Micro), and longer runtime too.

also have a look at the Exposure TraceR.
it's bright, small, very well built (tough aluminum case) and has a usable elastic band/holder for the seatpost. i like this a lot but the run time is not as good as the Hotshots.


front lights ..

i don't have the Cygolite Dash but an Expilion 850 that i bought when on special. not a fair comparison but the expilion 850 meets all my needs without having to use the max brightness.

i have a lezyn macro drive 400. i used it during summer morning rides before sunrise. it's bright but at maximum brightness, the run time is a mere 2 hrs. by sunrise, the battery is almost flat and can't even last a few more hours in flashing mode. i would expect the 650 to have longer run time.

an alternative is the Xeccon Spaer .. it's inexpensive and build quality on-par with my Cygolite and Lezyne. the only drawback is no flashing mode. just a single strobe mode.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/XECCON-SPEAR ... 2111974882

another option is the cateye 800 volt. currently on special at wiggle for $90 only. i don't have any experience with this light but the volt 700 and 800 always get good reviews.

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Thoglette
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Re: Recommended bike lights?

Postby Thoglette » Fri Apr 07, 2017 6:40 pm

Lovely bicycle had a Long Term Review: Lezyne Power Drive and Strip Drive Pro. The conclusions are one thing, the interesting bit is the discussion about she got there. Worth reading.
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AndrewCowley
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Re: Recommended bike lights?

Postby AndrewCowley » Fri Apr 07, 2017 6:52 pm

Lezyne Deca Drive

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find_bruce
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Re: Recommended bike lights?

Postby find_bruce » Fri Apr 07, 2017 7:23 pm

Rear lights are easy. Lezyne Micro $22 from pushys and one of these. Cheap, USB rechargeable, excellent rear & side visibility, job done. Still got $100 to spend on your front light

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Re: Recommended bike lights?

Postby mitzikatzi » Sat Apr 08, 2017 4:55 pm


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SheikYerbouti
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Re: Recommended bike lights?

Postby SheikYerbouti » Sat Apr 08, 2017 5:21 pm

I'm keen to see what people have on aero seat posts. My knog blinder 4 won't work.

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fingy
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Re: Recommended bike lights?

Postby fingy » Sat May 06, 2017 8:58 pm

We Test Lights, Light & Motions website is worth a visit when considering a new light.
The claimed lumen and runtimes versus the actual are food for thought.
http://wetestlights.com/
Image

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Tim
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Re: Recommended bike lights?

Postby Tim » Sat May 06, 2017 9:29 pm

SheikYerbouti wrote:I'm keen to see what people have on aero seat posts.
Moon LX70.
https://www.bikebug.com/moon-lx70-rear- ... 46756.html
Expensive but good quality.
Had mine for about 2 years now.
I'm interested in other options too.

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fingy
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Re: Recommended bike lights?

Postby fingy » Sat May 06, 2017 10:04 pm

SheikYerbouti wrote:I'm keen to see what people have on aero seat posts.
Not my video, but had the same setup before fly6. A Cateye Rapid Mini with Fizik ICS
clip on a Fizik saddle, bike is a giant TCR with vector post.
Image

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Howzat
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Re: Recommended bike lights?

Postby Howzat » Sat May 06, 2017 11:19 pm

Light and Motion make excellent no-nonsense lights for commuters. They attach and detach easily, are rainproof, very bright, and adjusting the beam direction is easy. Easy to swap between bikes. Build quality and design is well ahead of lezyne, which you will see if you try them side by side. Ayups have the run times for long rides.

Bought a cheapie X tech blaze rear light, claims "260" lumens but in reality is less bright than my Light and Motion Viz 180 micro which is 25 lumens.

I don't own but do like the Cygolites.

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SheikYerbouti
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Re: Recommended bike lights?

Postby SheikYerbouti » Sun May 07, 2017 8:58 am

Ended up with this for the aero post, also ships with saddle rail bracket and regular round post strap, looks like it has a wide beam, bright, long lasting.

http://www.99bikes.com.au/moon-comet-x-pro-rear-light

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Defy The Odds
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Re: Recommended bike lights?

Postby Defy The Odds » Tue May 09, 2017 11:15 am

SheikYerbouti wrote:I'm keen to see what people have on aero seat posts. My knog blinder 4 won't work.
Cateye Rapid X:

https://youtu.be/RKN_hl5lxSg

Love it. Works on aero Westport and can be mounted on the seat stays also.

The rubber mounting strap is p|as weak though I ended up buying a few from eBay. Otherwise it's great

Edit: here's the light specs:

http://www.cateye.com/en/products/detail/TL-LD700-R/

Further Edit: didn't realise you already purchased. Enjoy mate

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