Commuting lights

Commuting, Day rides, Audax, Incidents, etc.
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Tangled Metal
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Joined: 13 Feb 2015, 8:32pm

Commuting lights

Post by Tangled Metal »

This is my first full winter commuting season and I've realised I'm not happy with my lighting system. I have Cateye volt 300 front, Cateye x-lite x2 rear and a set of cheap ALDI lights that look like the highly rated moon ones.

The two Cateye lights are reliable and last a decent time. Plus you get a sign when they're getting low sufficient for my 35 minute ride home.

The aldi ones are backups to get me home but I tend to use them flashing. They last at most 3 days commute but the Cateye lights last over a week (4 days I commute).

I need to replace these but what is worth getting? I used to have battery lights for this role and I'm not sure whether it's better to have a set each of battery and rechargeable ones, what do you think?

Currently my ALDI lights just stop without any indication. The battery warning lights are on even after a full b charge. Not impressed with this but they are about the brightness I need.

P.S. I'd like my rear one to be attached to my rack. I have a Cateye attachment for this but I'm not fixed on the brand if there's a better option that can also fit to the rack light plate I'm open to that.
bertbeerpot
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Joined: 4 Nov 2013, 9:28am

Re: Commuting lights

Post by bertbeerpot »

Hub dynamo. You will not regret it.
Brucey
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Joined: 4 Jan 2012, 6:25pm

Re: Commuting lights

Post by Brucey »

yup, hub dynamo for me. Most battery lights are 'needy creatures' by comparison.

cheers
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Tangled Metal
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Joined: 13 Feb 2015, 8:32pm

Re: Commuting lights

Post by Tangled Metal »

Can't afford a wheel build to get one. Were talking cost effective now even if a hub dynamo works out better in the long term. If I need a wheel replacement i might consider it then, but right now it's light suggestions - AA/AAA/button or rechargeable.
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[XAP]Bob
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Joined: 26 Sep 2008, 4:12pm

Re: Commuting lights

Post by [XAP]Bob »

You might be surprised by the low budget required for a hub dynamo setup.

£50
http://www.rosebikes.co.uk/article/shim ... aid:716136
£60
http://www.rosebikes.co.uk/article/shim ... aid:716132

And lights are about a fiver for the rear (and that is sufficiently bright that a friend identified me by it from ~1/4 mile)

and a tenner for the front (Lyt) - although if you ride alot of completely unlit roads etc you might want to upgrade to a cyo at £30

That's under £85 including postage, and you get a spare wheel...
You could also use a bottle dynamo initially - £10 to £20 for a bottle means a total of £30-£35
A shortcut has to be a challenge, otherwise it would just be the way. No situation is so dire that panic cannot make it worse.
There are two kinds of people in this world: those can extrapolate from incomplete data.
Brucey
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Joined: 4 Jan 2012, 6:25pm

Re: Commuting lights

Post by Brucey »

Tangled Metal wrote:....Were talking cost effective now....


the problems you have encountered with your battery lights are to some extent shared with most of them.

As to 'cost effective' how do you value your time and your safety?

I'd suggest that you have already spent the thick end (or more) of the price of a hub generator based system on crappy battery lights and you now propose to spend even more...? :shock: :shock: That is just throwing good money after bad IMHO.

I am pretty sure that I have spent between £500 and £1000 on battery lights over the years and nearly all of them were junk. In the meantime I've run a couple of bikes with hub generators and they have cost pennies to keep going, been far less faff and much more reliable.

I still use battery lights occasionally for some purposes on some bikes but for a 35min commute I'd choose a hub generator system every time.

cheers
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661-Pete
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Joined: 22 Nov 2012, 8:45pm
Location: Sussex

Re: Commuting lights

Post by 661-Pete »

It's the wheel build issue that stops me going the hub route, too: I have no skill in wheel building and anyway it makes swapping out a wheel complicated.

They may not be ideal but I'm quite happy with my Cree front set: I get at least two hours at maximum brightness per charge, and there's a LED indicator on the lamp which turns from green to red when the batteries are about 30% charge left. I believe it changes to flashing red when the battery's nearly out, but I haven't let it go that far.

It doesn't deliver quite the 2000 lumens claimed in the advert, but it's quite adequate for narrow unlit country lanes at speeds up to about 20mph. In traffic you can use the low setting.
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Tangled Metal
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Joined: 13 Feb 2015, 8:32pm

Re: Commuting lights

Post by Tangled Metal »

I've spent a less than £85 I think. £5 at most per ALDI special, £30 or less for the Cateye lights. Charging up at work is free. I've not got the issue of hub dynamo wheel builds or cables to the lights. I can swap between bikes for a few quid for extra mounts. The Cateye lights indicate when low then when a bit lower they switch to low power. Even with the front light that's enough to last one journey home. My issue is the ALDI lights supposedly have battery indication but it doesn't work and there's no way to know if it has fully charged. Basically not sure how long out will last. Unpredictable lights annoy me so I need a new second pair. Backups as it were but ones capable of lighting my way home enough for the short sections of unlit road.

IMHO hub dynamo systems may suit some but not me. I'm not looking for a touring/trekking setup just backup lights. Any suggestions? P.S. I'm happy with my 32 hole wheel setup with disc brakes. I have a dislike of messy wires on a bike and don't really like the look of dynamo lights I've seen. Personal preference.
Brucey
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Joined: 4 Jan 2012, 6:25pm

Re: Commuting lights

Post by Brucey »

Tangled Metal wrote: .... I'm not looking for a touring/trekking setup...


eh? By far the most hub generators are used for commuting purposes....

....IMHO hub dynamo systems may suit some but not me....


well with all due respect you don't know that because you have not yet tried one....? And I would suppose that after a fairly short period of time commuting you have yet to experience all the 'joys of battery lights'.

Quite a lot of people have to find out for themselves... give it time enough and you might well change your mind.... :wink:

BTW if battery lights were perfectly reliable no-one would feel the need to carry backup lights, would they...?

cheers
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roubaixtuesday
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Re: Commuting lights

Post by roubaixtuesday »

I have a similar length commute to you. Recently replaced the bike I use for winter commuting and thought hard about a hub dynamo. I've got a rather expensive exposure strada front light which also runs a very bright rear off a cable. I find this very convenient - only one light to recharge and as I can use the front light on other bikes too I decided to stick.

I use rechargeable batteries in normal lights for my backups which are a (now pretty old) cateye at the front, similar to this http://www.wiggle.co.uk/cateye-hl-el135 ... ont-light/ and one of these at the back, like you with a rack attachment. http://www.wiggle.co.uk/cateye-tl-rapid ... ear-light/

I run them flashing and recharge them weekly, never had any issue with longevity.

I'm amazed your main lights last a week at a decent level of lighting. I recharge mine nightly, but I'm on unlit back roads at full beam, perhaps yours are "be seen".
bertbeerpot
Posts: 24
Joined: 4 Nov 2013, 9:28am

Re: Commuting lights

Post by bertbeerpot »

I seem to have started this thread of replies in a direction you really didn't want to go - sorry about that.

For the rear, rack-mounted light, this http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/busch-and-mu ... prod31930/ is the best you can get in my opinion. It may not seem that bright, but it is really effective and is designed to bolt to a bracket (5cm or 8cm). It doesn't flash, which is a good feature in my view, but ymv. This is the fixed one - I have the senso, which is supposed to turn on and off depending on the light level, but unfortunately it has to be properly dark for it to turn on, which makes it actually dangerous on a darkish day when you want it on. The fixed one is also cheaper.

B&M also do a front light that has lots of light and a really good beam pattern: eg http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/busch-and-mu ... prod34355/ or (cheaper) http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/busch-and-mu ... prod31924/ but I really can't recommend in terms of build quality, despite their being German.

This kind of light, where attention is paid more to beam pattern than absolute maximum brightness have the advantage that they may offer less wiggle room to scumbag lawyers if you get hit, since they adhere to German lighting regulations and are thus (I believe - i am not a lawyer, scumbag or otherwise) legal here too. I also think they work better.
Tangled Metal
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Joined: 13 Feb 2015, 8:32pm

Re: Commuting lights

Post by Tangled Metal »

I carry and use 2 front and 2 rear. It's less backup as two different types of light. One for visibility the other to see. I've used battery on and off for years. It's never been an issue. I've ridden dynamo bikes too but not often. I'm perfectly happy with battery/rechargeable battery lights. I'm sure I can ask for advise on the best dynamo lighting system in another thread if I need that advise. To be fair I didn't make our clear that I'm looking for battery/rechargeable battery lights in my
original post. Ask a question on a forum without defining it precisely and you end up with answers to questions that to your mind you never asked. Not having a go at anyone but seriously I can decide that I prefer battery lights rather than dynamo ones, might not make sense to you, but does to me.
stuartg
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Joined: 27 Jun 2007, 8:53pm

Re: Commuting lights

Post by stuartg »

Have a look at these, they were on an earlier thread:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/121573725963

The reviews on them are pretty good. I have used Cateyes in the past and not been happy with them. My last set of rechargeables were a set of electrons which were cheap and fantastic. They were dual lights; one spot one wide but this was a few years ago. On the rear I used Blackburn Mars and Fleas. I have moved to a dyno front and rear, but still use the Mars and Fleas as extra lights on clothing or saddle bags. They both are very, very good.
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[XAP]Bob
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Joined: 26 Sep 2008, 4:12pm

Re: Commuting lights

Post by [XAP]Bob »

661-Pete wrote:It's the wheel build issue that stops me going the hub route, too: I have no skill in wheel building and anyway it makes swapping out a wheel complicated.

Swapping out the wheel is almost exactly the same - just an easy snap connection to disconnect first, which is quicker than the QR...

I have no wheel building skill either - I decided to teach myself, and laced a wheel and started to put tension on the spokes.....
Then decided I couldn't spare the time, so my lbs charged me £10 to true the wheel... Bargain!
A shortcut has to be a challenge, otherwise it would just be the way. No situation is so dire that panic cannot make it worse.
There are two kinds of people in this world: those can extrapolate from incomplete data.
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661-Pete
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Location: Sussex

Re: Commuting lights

Post by 661-Pete »

[XAP]Bob wrote:Swapping out the wheel is almost exactly the same - just an easy snap connection to disconnect first, which is quicker than the QR...
I should have said - I was talking about swapping the dynohub from one wheel to another - i.e. back to the wheel-building exercise.

I used to have a dynohub on a bike I rode back in the 1970s - IIRC it needed a screwdriver or spanner to make the connections, but of course that was a long time ago. Also I had the problem of the lights going out when I stopped at traffic lights etc. Anyway, when the bike in question was written off in an accident, I didn't bother to rescue the dynohub: I'd already made up my mind it wasn't my favourite technology. OK things may have changed since.

However, I must admit that battery lamps in the 1970s were pretty awful. Who else remembers the Ever-Ready front and rear lights: like these monstrosities?
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Suppose that this room is a lift. The support breaks and down we go with ever-increasing velocity.
Let us pass the time by performing physical experiments...
--- Arthur Eddington (creator of the Eddington Number).
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