modern cycle light

[meic]

Measuring by how many oncoming vehicles obey Highway Code Rules 110 (don't flash) and 114 (don't dazzle oncomers) doesn't sound very reliable.

It may not sound it but it is very reliable on bike or in car. Not every car "retaliates" but most do.

[Labrat]

. . . Back to the OP - simple question is 'what's your budget?'

Under fifty quid - cheap Chinese CREE 1200 light from eBay or Aldi if you can still find one will do everything you want from a bike light, but might not last as long
Bit more money - lumenator from MTB batteries is lovely
Spare cash burning a hole - exposure for 'no wires or hassle' convenience

[mjr]

Even under £50, there's no reason to use the ebay boils.

gnoring the Lidl/Aldi £10 K-marked 40 lux specials which aren't always available, the Smart 30 is less than £20, including shipping from Germany. Good dimmables (=longer battery life if you ride in well-lit areas part of the time) like the i-go for less than £30. B+M IQs from about £35.

[Spinners]

I took a punt on a £24 eBay special back at the end of Summer and I'm delighted with it. The lower power setting is plenty for dark, unlit roads and the 'dazzle' problem (sic) is simply dealt with a bit of pressure from my thumb to angle it further down.

[andrew_s]

... so I'll take andrew_s's word for it that the diffuser doesn't keep the beam below the horizon ...

What I didn't mention was that the diffuser is probably enough to hide the forward-facing LED effectively, so dazzle will be reduced because of a larger apparent emitter area, as well as by dimming through light spread.
i.e. the light is coming from an area 30 mm across, or whatever size the diffuser is, rather than from an LED 2 or 3 mm across, and a few similarly small reflections of it.

[IanW]

So does the boil light have anything on it to help align it? I don't know those two specific lamps, but the Axa and Crivit K-marked ones have flat surfaces that can be aligned easily with a small spirit level or phone app.

I choose to use German StVZO approved (front) lights.
But it is defintely still possible to misalign them such that they still dazzle on-coming travellers (i.e. drivers, riders, pedestrians etc.).

My simple technique for aligning, or indeed re-aligning them if/when knocked out of (vertical) aligment is to find a level (but not necessarily horizontal) road with a parked car displaying a reasonably clean number plate.

Then with the bike stationary and upright some 20 to 30 metres away from the front or rear of the car I swing my handle bars from side to side to check that the car number plate is clearly picked-up by my front light.

Then with the bike 50 to 60 metres away I re-check that the same car number plate is not still picked-up by my front light.

In practice I can actually do this while riding along on most roads that have some parked cars that are not too densely parked.
And this is all I need to do to routinely check that my front light is correctly aligned.

You could obviously pick your own preferred "30 to 40 metres" and "50 to 60 metres" actual distances according to your own preferred riding speed.
But the point is to ensure that at some suitably long distance your lights are not (mis-)aimed such that you can see a distinct level of reflection of your own lights from a retro-reflector and thus unlikely to be dazzling someone at, or beyond, this longer distance.

[The utility cyclist]

Interesting. I wasn't aware of this. I usually use a hope vision 1 for unlit country roads and like it. It has passed the test of the dunwich dynamo a few times plus getting me down the North Downs in the middle of the night with a dodgy road surface to check. But the mount for the hope is a fag. Have you used a Hope Vision 1? If so, how would you compare the two?
Can you get spare mounts for this Pava light? I assume that the mount is separate from the light unit.
Which Fujitsu batteries do you use?
Alologies for all the questions but am very interested.

Never used Hope, a recent accquisition was a BBB BLS-63/64 lightset for my son. The amount of light from one of those is about the same as the PAVA, 3 Watt SEOUL LED but the beam from that is round and has a spot so not quite as effective.

Spare mounts for the PAVA, well yes and no. It's a discontinued product and the only place I could find an actual replacement (I broke mine through my own stupid fault) was direct from Sigma. They were only happy to send me one if I could pay through a bank transfer, it wasn't that much I think, 6 Euros incl postage but a bank transfer for me was £8 so I found a guy on London Fixed Gear forums to forward the dosh and I PP him the money.
There are some clamps out there that say they are for the PAVA but don't in fact fit as they are for other Sigma models with a very small all important difference so they won't fit. So far since I haven't let my bike slip off the side of the shed sideways the bracket is all good.

If you can get a few brackets from Sigma (I wish I'd got a couple more myself) then it might be worth a go, it's got a lot going for it, some would say it's not bright enough, some would say seperate batteries are a bane but it sits well above your average commuter light, has a much better shaped beam, runs longer and the clamp is excellent. Oh, there is no flash option, it's 2 light levels only which is fine for what I use it for.

[g.meredith]

Hi
I'm looking at a B&M Ixon Premium that runs off AA batteries. Around £45, it produces 80 lux at 10m for up to 5 hours (or less for up to 20 hours)
One of many reviews click here
Regards
tim-b

Get it. Fantastic homogenous beam.

[The utility cyclist]

Hi
I'm looking at a B&M Ixon Premium that runs off AA batteries. Around £45, it produces 80 lux at 10m for up to 5 hours (or less for up to 20 hours)
One of many reviews click here
Regards
tim-b

Get it. Fantastic homogenous beam.

As per the link I'd read that the battery compartment or opening catch was a bit diffy, fine if you want to charge cheapo rechargeables with an inferior charger but a bit pants if you want to open close the unit regularly so you can charge them separately and it eventually breaks.

From what I've seen the light is awesome and for those running dyno systems must be great, seriously good light for the money

[Sweep]

Thanks for the reply above utility. Although the lack of flashing doesn't bother me (i use a separate nice small cateye for the flashing) the mount issue does. It's one reason i like snart front lights - the mount is common across several models.

The search goes on. Better get one of something soon I suppose as what worries me is that high power lights using standard separate AAs (I use rechargeables) will disappear and that there will be no future development/harnessing of battery tech improvements as everyone dashes blinded towards usb lights or lights using built-in batteries - maybe ok for commuting but not much else. I see that Sigma's latest range appears to be moving towards USB.

agree with you about that BM light - sounds like it is spoiled by the battery catch.

Looking forward to more AA powered suggestions from folks.

[nez]

i love the beam shaping on the ixon and 45 sovs would be great. But looking at online videos - and dredging up German I'd forgotten 30 years ago - i wouldn't mind if it was twice as bright.

by the way my Galaxy has a cyo and an alternator front wheel. its great for round town and country park cycle paths but wouldnt be much cop for riding in dark roads.


I'm a trendy consumer. Just look at my wobbly bog brush using hovercraft full of eels

[bryan.fanson1]

I use a B+M IXON IQ premium. I bought the complete kit which includes batteries and charger and a hood for the lens. I've not noticed any problem with the battery hatch but then I have only opened it once to put in the rechargeable batteries as I use the charging socket on the lamp. Different brackets are available for fork mounting for example. It works well in any mount position and I bought it because I ride a recumbent trike and it still throws a great beam even at such a low mounting point. Good and bright, two light strength settings and the batteries last for hours. If I lost this one I would get another. I recommend it highly, not cheap though as a kit.

I'm a trendy consumer. Just look at my D6603 using hovercraft full of eels.

[PH]

everyone dashes blinded towards usb lights or lights using built-in batteries - maybe ok for commuting but not much else.

I can use my Niterider on it's internal battery for 7 - 9 hours on the setting I use (200 Lumen)
Or on an external battery for as long as that lasts, probably an additional 12 hours (Larger battery packs are available)
Or on an AA to USB power pack
Or off the hub dynamo

I think that takes it a bit beyond a commuting light. I'm glad to have got past the fumbling with AAs in the middle of the night, when it always seemed to be raining or cold or both.
When the internal battery degrades, the manufacturer can supply a replacement (You can probably find it cheaper elsewhere) and the instructions.

[AMMoffat]

I bought a B&M IXON IQ Premium last year and highly recommend it. The low power mode is fine for city riding and the high power mode is ideal for seeing by out of town. I got it from Bike24 which was much cheaper than anywhere in the UK even taking the postage cost into account: https://www.bike24.com/1.php?content=8; ... ,1410,1411 and it came with the glare shield included.

[nez]

Is 10 lux difference significant? This one is 90 as opposed to 80

https://www.bike24.com/1.php?menu=1400% ... duct=67797