Lights

Sorry for not wanting to read back many pages, I’ve Just bought a Strada front light, what are the forum hive mind recommendations for a rear light that would work on country lanes and in the city? Or would I need two different lights. I wouldn’t want to blind people behind me in town...

Given your front choice, stick with Exposure and find a Flare, or the newer TraceR or Blaze have a feature where they increase brightness on braking, which I haven’t seen in action but like the sound of.

I use those cheap Smart 1W lights (and Exposure Flares but they won't clip onto a bag).

Pretty pleased with the Moon pulsar i got earlier this year. Runs on AAA's which seem to last forever. For rear lights it's loads better not to have worry about charging. Still bright after 2 months of pretty solid commuting duties. Cheap and includes a belt clip as well as decent rubber strap mount.

https://www.rutlandcycling.com/accessories/lights/moon-pulsar-rear-bike-light_371264?

^ ta

I use those cheap Smart 1W lights (and Exposure Flares but they won't clip onto a bag).

yeah s'what I've had I think - but now kaput

They're cheap aren't they? I find them pretty reliable, get a good few years out of them.

Can anybody offer some advice pls?
I've got quite a good cheapo front light from ebay, a 1000lm lights, which runs off a usb battery pack.
I have 3 battery packs which all hold charge and charge my phone OK however only one them runs the light for any longer than a couple of mins. It seems to me that some battery packs have some form of sensing which switches it off?
Can I hack the UISB cable or buy a special "unintelligent" batter pack?
Cheers

Yes, you can get little red things that stop data connections.

But, it sounds more like it's a current draw issue, given that it works for minutes. Is the battery getting hot?

PortaPow Data Blockers
https://www.lfgss.com/comments/13925840/

https://www.amazon.co.uk/PortaPow-Data-Blocker-Adaptor-SmartCharge/dp/B00T0DW3F8?psc=1&SubscriptionId=AKIAILSHYYTFIVPWUY6Q&tag=duckduckgo-ffsb-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B00T0DW3F8

little red usb dongle data cable blocker things

@hippy, cheers that's helpful, I'll order one of those.
The two batteries that cut out after a short while don't get hot, the light just stops! I can then plug the battery into my phone or my wife's phone and it charges although to be fair I've not carried on charging the phone for any length of time.
cheers

+1 for smart 1watt lights. Cheap, durable, bright and they run well off rechargeable batteries.

I got the Moon Nova 80 and it fell off and got run over by a single decker bus. Picked it up and put it back together and it works fine, but they've gone up £3:

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/moon-nova-80-and-pulsar-set/

I have a sort of similar issue, I also have some chinese lumens which hooks up via USB, the light has 3 brightness settings, levels 2 and 3 work fine with my powerbank, level 1 works for about 30 seconds before the powerbank decides to turn off, I'm assuming because the power draw is not enough!

@bernhard, sounds similar to my issue.
I have quite a few cables around so might have a crack at this
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-make-a-USB-no-data-charger-cable/
Not sure it will work but nowt lost

Not sure if this has already been asked ... but im after a rear light that works well with large bikepacking saddlebags - ive got a restrap saddle bag with a light loop.

I like the sound of the exposure lights which brighten upon braking, but not sure if they are mountable on a loop?

£5 in Lidl, might be a touch overkill:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75X-v9QLRmo

that's sick

Ah you follow me on twitter.

Ha ha! Is that where I saw it? That happened on the Guardian site too, I told my fantastic turtle joke which is the best joke in the world and a bloke in comments said "Ah! You're spindrift!" Must be someone on here. Graham Short was his name.

@Bernhard @hippy
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-m­ake-a-USB-no-data-charger-cable/
this worked for me, all 3 batteries work now with the amended cable!!!!

Nest question my cheapie led light uses 1.6A at full power (1000 lumens apparently) how long will it last in 5600mAH battery?

T6 LEDs
All the high lumen ebay lights are t6
Lumen claims and prices are mental, theres some at 800lumens with 5 t6s as well as just with 2 t6????
I know that a lot of these listings are iffy, 5200lumens is pretty daft but as a rule what is one t6 led capable of?

http://www.cree.com/led-components/products/xlamp-leds-discrete/xlamp-xm-l
apparently 1000 lumens

5.6/1.6 = 3.5, but that's assuming that your battery pack is actually 5600mAh.

@chirosi, thanks that's helpful.