Cycling UK Forum

melw1 wrote:Cyclist John - which model do you use? The video on his site looks quite interesting..... Is yours the orange peel reflector type for a wider beam or the smooth one?

I finally managed to watch that vid'. The pictures of my Fenix light are better on his web site, & there's a review which you may find helpful here:

http://www.flashlightreviews.com/review ... -l2dce.htm

I cycle in a rural setting like you. The best rear light I've found at a not too ludicrous price, is the Cateye TLD-1100. This has "sidelight" leds in the housing for extra visibility, which also give the rider feedback that the light is actually working (reflections from hedges, etc.), & it also runs on 2 AA's, but of course they last far longer than the Fenix.

I received email from Glow gadgets that next month they'll have a 2 AA 230 lumens Fenix! They already have a Li-Ion 230 lumen Fenix, but as I noted, I much prefer to use Ni-mH AA's for my setup.

I've just read your Electron post, but I can't see any lumens output quoted at Wiggle, so it's hard to know just how bright it is!

I'll be interested to see what you eventually get & how effective you think it is.

john

Just to say i have a lumicycle 20 watt HId and think it was worth every penny and more. On rural roads i feel safer in the dark than i do in the daytime!

cyclistjohn wrote:I cycle in a rural setting like you. The best rear light I've found at a not too ludicrous price, is the Cateye TLD-1100. This has "sidelight" leds in the housing for extra visibility, which also give the rider feedback that the light is actually working (reflections from hedges, etc.), & it also runs on 2 AA's, but of course they last far longer than the Fenix.john

I looked at the Cateye, but was persuaded to take a longer look at the new Smart LAM317R. 1/2 watt. They are extremely bright, to the side as well as the rear, weigh not a lot & cost £11-99. I bought 2 & fitted one to each seat stay on the 953. That still leaves me well in pocket over a single Cateye TLD1100.

PW wrote:
I looked at the Cateye, but was persuaded to take a longer look at the new Smart LAM317R. 1/2 watt. They are extremely bright, to the side as well as the rear, weigh not a lot & cost £11-99. I bought 2 & fitted one to each seat stay on the 953. That still leaves me well in pocket over a single Cateye TLD1100.

I *had* until it parted company with its mounting, a "Superflash" which looks identical to that Smart. It was a good light, & lighter than the Cateye. However, I haven't found > 800mAH AAA's yet, & for my situation, I really like to have the same batteries for everything - AA's, which are currently 3000 mAH, so have a reasonable run time. Also, I like to have feedback that the rear light is working (I even thought about a length of fibre optic), & the TLD1100 has some light overspill at its rear. I've mounted the light such that looking down past the saddle from the front, I can see that overspill. I don't recall the Smart light showing any light to the rear. I have 3 bikes I regularly use, but only the 1 decent light setup, so I need to see if I can make it simple to swap over the lights, or pay up & get more, so I may still get one of the Smart lights, as the Cateye cost me about £26.

Swapping my front light Fenix "torch" is easy, as I have a "Twofish lockblock" & just peel away the Velcro fastener.

All the rear lights seem to have slightly different bracket mounts, so I'll see if I can get spares.

I haven't found > 800mAH AAA's yet

I have found this site very useful for rechargeable batteries including AAA batteries upto 1000mAH.

julk wrote:

I haven't found > 800mAH AAA's yet

I have found this site very useful for rechargeable batteries including AAA batteries upto 1000mAH.

Thank you julk, I see they do the Hybrio AA's too, so I can give them a try

I'm STILL in a quandary about lights - in fact driving hubby mad talking it through with him! I had a chat with the Fenix guy - he is out of stock of the bike attachments and does not know when / if he will get any more, which is a shame. My gut feeling is to go with the Lumicyle but it is the most expensive option!

Essexman - do you have the 20w mid halogen setup? How do you find the battery life? Do you just have the one lamp or another as well? Which battery type do you have?

Rear lights - I particularly like the Blackburn LED Mars 3.0 - very nice and bright with amber "sides" to help with sideways visability. I may well get another as i too have to switch lights between two bikes in regular use.

I just wish all the output from these lights was measured the same way - it is just SO hard to compare Watts v Lux v Lumens v Candlepower!

I've just ordered a Fenix L2D CE and 2 of the TwoFish fittings (1 bar, 1 helmet) from https://www.fenix-store.com. They do free delivery from the US. $71 for the lot.

Hoping to use this to supplement 2 x Cateye EL-530's.

I've a Lumicycle set up, I find 10w flood and 12w sport are ok for fast unlit country roads. Uphills & lit up sections I'll turn one of 'em off to preserve battery life.
The beauty of lumicycle system is that is upgradeable. I originally had nimh battery from several years ago, and replaced it with a lithium one last year. I'd definitely go with the lithium battery, they're much lighter and have longer battery life.

I'd be interested to hear opinions on the lumi 1w LED, it can't be long before they have a LED lamp equal and better than their halogen set up. The Halide system looks nice, but is more pricey and the bulbs supposedly more delicate and expensive to repair.

AndrewClark wrote:I've just ordered a Fenix L2D CE and 2 of the TwoFish fittings (1 bar, 1 helmet) from https://www.fenix-store.com. They do free delivery from the US. $71 for the lot.

That's less than I paid! Perhaps you could let us know when you receive your order, to give an idea of delivery time please Andrew?

melw1 wrote:I'm STILL in a quandary about lights - in fact driving hubby mad talking it through with him! I had a chat with the Fenix guy - he is out of stock of the bike attachments and does not know when / if he will get any more, which is a shame. ......

I just wish all the output from these lights was measured the same way - it is just SO hard to compare Watts v Lux v Lumens v Candlepower!

Melanie,

are you & or hubby handy at making things? The Fenix guy has a 30 day no quibble return, so all you need is a strong rubber O - ring, to strap the light to the handlebars so you can do some testing. If the light's not adequate, send it back.

Agreed about the units, a real pain!

I *think* I've decided on the Lumicyle option.... I'm just pausing due to the price - more than I wanted to pay - but I think it will be the best option in the long run...... I think I'll get just the one lamp from them in the hope next year of finding a really good LED to supplement it with. It may just have to wait though till after christmas... It's the one that I really want so i guess it's worth waiting for...trouble is I'm just so impatient

Thank you to everyone for all your comments. Been really helpful

melw1 wrote:I *think* I've decided on the Lumicyle option.... I'm just pausing due to the price - more than I wanted to pay - but I think it will be the best option in the long run...... I think I'll get just the one lamp from them in the hope next year of finding a really good LED to supplement it with. It may just have to wait though till after christmas... It's the one that I really want so i guess it's worth waiting for...trouble is I'm just so impatient

Thank you to everyone for all your comments. Been really helpful

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