Commuting lights

[beardy]

I recognise that situation but from the other side.
There was a time (2010?) when dynamo lights were the "in thing" in the Audax world, a fashion like cycling is having with disc brakes now. I bought my dynamohub because everybody else had one and I wanted one too.

I have had to go out on gratuitous night rides ever since to justify all the money that I spent on something which I didnt really have a need for.

Still useful for keeping your gadgets fueled while touring though.

[[XAP]Bob]

I have spent just over £250 on the various lighting systems. They all still work and I can equip 4 bikes with reasonable lights with these.

I'd have to have spent at least a similar amount on dynamo systems for my touring and audax bikes, but they would not be easily transferable to either my wife's bike or my summer bike, which needs a light for spring and autumn chain gangs and riding back from early season evening TT's. The big plus of battery lights is their tranferability between bikes, which is important when you have a stable of 6 bikes.

Four bikes - at £20 each for the actual lights, Dynamo wheel at £60 each -> £320

Not too dissimilar to the battery costs - and we've ignored the cost of electricity that you'll use charging those lights over their lifespan

Dynamos are great if you only need lights on one bike, but they don't suit all circumstances.

Absolutely - but I suspect they make a great deal of sense for most commuters...

Edit: corrected maths as per squeaker's comment

[squeaker]

Four bikes - at £20 each for the actual lights, Dynamo wheel at £60 each -> £240

Er, £320?

As for fairy visits and other mechanicals, a head torch is far more useful than trying to hold a battery light in your mouth

[[XAP]Bob]

Four bikes - at £20 each for the actual lights, Dynamo wheel at £60 each -> £240

Er, £320?

As for fairy visits and other mechanicals, a head torch is far more useful than trying to hold a battery light in your mouth

Brain fade - I fail at simple arithmetic (and for clarity have edited the above post for later readers...)

Point mostly holds though.

[Tangled Metal]

Dynamos are great if you only need lights on one bike, but they don't suit all circumstances.

Which sort of brings us back to the point of the original thread deviation.
The one place where dynamo lights really shine is on a dedicated all year commuter bike.
If I had such a steed, it would have dynamo lights.

Later explained switching between bikes in one of my many threads trying to make it clear I'm only interested in battery lights in this request for advice.

Sorry if I sound frustrated or aggressive, I don't mean to be but can I make it any clearer. I am only requesting advice on battery options. I have no.interest in dynamo lighting systems. I'm getting a little help with that but TBH trying to find that help (links and recommendations for battery lights) among the thread drift is hard work.

Do you think I should start a new thread about this? Perhaps if I did people could help me with the wording to prevent drift again. This forum is so great normally but it feels a big fail for me, and I accept that a high proportion of the fault is mine from not defining my question tight enough. There are always posters who genuinely offer help based on their experience/opinions which it's great but sometimes enquiries/requests for advise have a brief in mind that needs to be met too.

[pwa]

Dynamos are great if you only need lights on one bike, but they don't suit all circumstances.

Which sort of brings us back to the point of the original thread deviation.
The one place where dynamo lights really shine is on a dedicated all year commuter bike.
If I had such a steed, it would have dynamo lights.

Later explained switching between bikes in one of my many threads trying to make it clear I'm only interested in battery lights in this request for advice.

Sorry if I sound frustrated or aggressive, I don't mean to be but can I make it any clearer. I am only requesting advice on battery options. I have no.interest in dynamo lighting systems. I'm getting a little help with that but TBH trying to find that help (links and recommendations for battery lights) among the thread drift is hard work.

Do you think I should start a new thread about this? Perhaps if I did people could help me with the wording to prevent drift again. This forum is so great normally but it feels a big fail for me, and I accept that a high proportion of the fault is mine from not defining my question tight enough. There are always posters who genuinely offer help based on their experience/opinions which it's great but sometimes enquiries/requests for advise have a brief in mind that needs to be met too.

Splash out and have a Hope Vision 1 front light that will last for years and eventually replace your current main front lamp as your main beam. You supply the batteries so its lifespan is not limited by an integrated battery. It can be run on a low setting and still give great lighting with very long run times. Combine with the best AA rechargeable batteries you can find, and a charger that monitors each battery individually. Only if your budget will stretch to it, of course.

[beardy]

I am sorry for participating in the thread drift and as it upsets you I will desist immediately.

In general I think thread drift and thinking outside of the question actually asked can be useful but it can also be a little (or even wholly) irritating.

On topic, the B&M Ixon IQ Premium is a good light in all respects for a battery commuter light and affordable from Rose. The batteries supplied with the full kit version are B&Ms own branded LSD type and do stand up to low temperature use better than standard NiMH.

The Hope Vision used to have an irritating feature of turning off without warning when the batteries reached a certain level, is this still the case?

[pwa]

I am sorry for participating in the thread drift and as it upsets you I will desist immediately.

In general I think thread drift and thinking outside of the question actually asked can be useful but it can also be a little (or even wholly) irritating.

On topic, the B&M Ixon IQ Premium is a good light in all respects for a battery commuter light and affordable from Rose. The batteries supplied with the full kit version are B&Ms own branded LSD type and do stand up to low temperature use better than standard NiMH.

The Hope Vision used to have an irritating feature of turning off without warning when the batteries reached a certain level, is this still the case?

I think the current Hope Vision 1 has had that unwanted feature designed out, though the very long run times mean that I have never run the batteries down that far with my Mark 1 version.

Is the Ixon IQ another AA battery using light?

[Vorpal]

Sorry if I sound frustrated or aggressive, I don't mean to be but can I make it any clearer. I am only requesting advice on battery options. I have no.interest in dynamo lighting systems. I'm getting a little help with that but TBH trying to find that help (links and recommendations for battery lights) among the thread drift is hard work.

Do you think I should start a new thread about this? Perhaps if I did people could help me with the wording to prevent drift again. This forum is so great normally but it feels a big fail for me, and I accept that a high proportion of the fault is mine from not defining my question tight enough. There are always posters who genuinely offer help based on their experience/opinions which it's great but sometimes enquiries/requests for advise have a brief in mind that needs to be met too.

If you want, we can split out the off-topic stuff to another thread?

[beardy]

Is the Ixon IQ another AA battery using light?

Yes, four AA same as the Hope. The full kit version comes with an intelligent charger that plugs into the light and charges the batteries within it. Or you can take them out and use a charger that charges each cell individually if you are more of a perfectionist (or just fussy).

[pwa]

Is the Ixon IQ another AA battery using light?

Yes, four AA same as the Hope. The full kit version comes with an intelligent charger that plugs into the light and charges the batteries within it. Or you can take them out and use a charger that charges each cell individually if you are more of a perfectionist (or just fussy).

Sounds good. A quick search leads me to think that the Hope Vision 1, despite still being listed by Hope in their products list, may be out of production. Sad. But some outlets (Evans, Winstanley) are offering a light + batteries + charger bundle at about £ 72, which seems very good to me for such a well made long lasting product.

[beardy]

I have done a few Audaxes alongside people with Hopes with my standard Ixon IQ.

They are more powerful than the old standard Ixon IQ but I suspect not as powerful as the Premium but they had a considerably shorter life span.

The Hope has a flashing function which the Ixon doesnt, in my opinion the flashing mode on a light so powerful was too offensive, especially outside of lit areas. More for daylight use or very brightly lit cities where you are fighting a lights arms war with everything else.

[Brucey]

TM, I think there are fairly clear constraints on your choice;

there are lots of lights out there which are QD (with rubber bands etc) but they are almost always designed to mount to the handlebars and the seat pin. If you are happy with those mounting points, (or you can fit such lights using a bracket like this; http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/madison-universal-light-mounting-kit-for-madison-pannier-racks-prod26342/ ) then choose those.

If you are not happy with those mounting points then you should consider lights that

a) quickly clip into a bracket, and
b) that you can get a bracket for each bike, that fits that bike and
c) that you can easily buy spare brackets for

You may also want these lights to be USB rechargeable etc but I suspect that is a) expensive (or junky if cheaper) and b) a bridge too far bearing in mind the other constraints re spare brackets and fitting to other bikes.

Given that these are meant to be back-up lights (or I suppose 'occasional use ones' on other bikes) then I don't think they need to be as bright as your primary lights and therefore they can have a longer run time for a given size/weight of battery.

You mentioned an EL-130 light; why not use something like that as a back-up light at the front? You can buy spare brackets for it and it will run for a long time (about 100 hours?.. that is six months on one set of batteries...?) in flashing mode. [ BTW When I have used that type of light I have covered the top of the light with tape so that it doesn't shine into my eyes.]

Similarly a Cat-Eye TD-170 rear light mounts to a simple bracket that costs £3. Because there is a single mounting screw for the shoe that holds the light, you can very easily adapt this mounting system to fit a variety of different bikes, using smaller clips (eg p clips) that go round the seat stays or carrier stays .

As I mentioned previously the choice of battery type can make the difference between being likely to be caught out by flat batteries or not; choose right and you don't really need a charge indicator.

cheers

[pwa]

I have done a few Audaxes alongside people with Hopes with my standard Ixon IQ.

They are more powerful than the old standard Ixon IQ but I suspect not as powerful as the Premium but they had a considerably shorter life span.

The Hope has a flashing function which the Ixon doesnt, in my opinion the flashing mode on a light so powerful was too offensive, especially outside of lit areas. More for daylight use or very brightly lit cities where you are fighting a lights arms war with everything else.

I use my Mark 1 Vision 1 (later model is brighter) on level 2 setting on pitch black country lanes and it is bright enough on that setting (good for something like 10 hours?) when combined with my second light, usually something less bright. So if you avoid the brightest setting it lasts well. And of course it is easy to carry four spare AAs in case the 30 minute warning comes on (later model). It has a smooth pool of light tapering off very gradually so as not to leave completely unlit areas to the left and right, which I find essential when cornering on dark lanes.

[Vorpal]

For back-up lights, I carry the light and batteries separately, so that I can be reasonably sure that the batteries are always in good condition. Also, it means that the lights can't be switched on accidently in my bag, or something. I keep them in a zip lock freezer bag in my rack pack, so they can't get wet, even if my other stuff does (the rack pack stays pretty well dry, anyway)