Winter bike lights
Winter bike lights
So with winter just around the corner I am starting to think about lights, front lights. In the past I have used cheap Cree lights and been quite happy. Anybody use these now? What would other riders recommend for off road night riding?
Re: Winter bike lights
Would you like dynamo, USB rechargeable, or battery lights?
There's a vast amount of useful information on all of these in the archives.
Jonathan
There's a vast amount of useful information on all of these in the archives.
Jonathan
Re: Winter bike lights
USB rechargeable ideally . Will check out the archive. Thanks.
Re: Winter bike lights
I'm still using my Cree lights including the rechargeable battery that came with it, if it ain't broke......
Re: Winter bike lights
Is this for riding mountain bike trails at night? If so, you really want two lights - one on your head, and one on your bars. They'll need to be very bright, so cree (or similar) will be your best bet. If you're riding fast through twisty stuff in the dark, I've found a light with a wide, even spread works much better. In the past, I've tried an ultra-bright cheapo cree-type thing, and I found it quite difficult to pick out hazards and understand the terrain because they tend to have a small bright spot in the centre of the light beam, making it difficult your your eyes to pick out what's around it. I've since switched to a Halfords light (on my bars), based on a recommendation, and although it's nominally less-bright than the cheapo light, the uniform, wide beam makes it much easier to see what's in front of you: https://www.halfords.com/cycling/bike-a ... 53350.html I'm still using the cheapo light on my helmet, where I find the narrow hot-spot isn't such a problem as the light is always illuminating whatever spot your head is pointing at. For your helmet light, go for one which has got a separate battery pack, linked via a curly cable. You can then attach the heavy battery at the back of the helmet, whilst the little light-head unit can be attached to the top of your helmet, where it won't wobble around as it doesn't weigh much. Here's mine:https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/295289140169 ... R6rLtP24Yg
Re: Winter bike lights
Default, quality and performance wise will probably be Exposure lights. For off road use (lets not get into beam pattern here please) the biggest, most expensive will be the brightest.
After this you scale things back according to how much light you need and how much you are prepared to pay.
Most LEDs will have a Cree unit in them. The cheaper end most certainly until you get really cheap.
Most come out of China, badged as such or not.
Internal battery or on the end of a wire is your choice.
More common names from a well known brand that come from a shop will probably have a better quality battery and charger than something from Aliexpress but they probably all come from a generic Chinese light factory.
Most night riders off road use two lights although most of those I know use a torch type thing on the helmet without a remote battery. Meh, doubt it matters. I do and carry a spare battery although never need it.
Halford 1600l is good value and it can pop up on sale plus you'll get discounts for being a BC and maybe CUK member.
After this you scale things back according to how much light you need and how much you are prepared to pay.
Most LEDs will have a Cree unit in them. The cheaper end most certainly until you get really cheap.
Most come out of China, badged as such or not.
Internal battery or on the end of a wire is your choice.
More common names from a well known brand that come from a shop will probably have a better quality battery and charger than something from Aliexpress but they probably all come from a generic Chinese light factory.
Most night riders off road use two lights although most of those I know use a torch type thing on the helmet without a remote battery. Meh, doubt it matters. I do and carry a spare battery although never need it.
Halford 1600l is good value and it can pop up on sale plus you'll get discounts for being a BC and maybe CUK member.