I bought some of those cheapy-looking bolt-on ones that have appeared in loads of bike shops recently. Freelight, I think they're called. (They have a display unit on the counter with a little wheel you can spin, to pull the magnets past the lights and make them flash). I figured if they were rubbish, one of my kids could have a set on their bikes, cos they'd think it dead cool. Piece of piss to fit - they have magnets bolted across your spokes and a light held on by your wheel nut (prob better suited to wheels with nuts, rather than quick release). When the wheel spins, the magnet passes just behind the light (unscientific adjustment by bending the bracket a little until the spacing betwixt light and magnet is right).
I was quite surprised at how good they are, having heard that they're "nice product, but they're pretty crap as lights". Well yes, they are crap lights if you want to see by them - they're designed as marker lights, so they spray light everywhere, not focus it onto the floor. No shit you can see by them. My mate took my bike for a spin the other night and I was pleasantly surprised at how visible they are - from really wide angles too, which most front lights don't offer.
I bought the slightly more expensive ones with the battery backup. They flash for two mins before turning off, but the battery backup holds way more than two mins charge - they just stop after 2 mins. So the second you spin the wheel once more, they start again for another 2 mins. Never bothered testing it after that, I reckoned that 4 mins backup time was plenty. They might possibly be a bit heavy for some of the weight-nazis on the forum, I don't know how heavy other lights are but given that me + bike + bags + locks weighs in at around 275 pounds, a couple of ounces really isn't breaking the bank on that score.
For a set of lights (you get front and back for your money) that are always on the bike in case I'm ever caught without my main lights, they seem like a good buy to me. No doubt you can get better products but you'll pay more for them and you'll possibly worry about having them nicked.
I bought some of those cheapy-looking bolt-on ones that have appeared in loads of bike shops recently. Freelight, I think they're called. (They have a display unit on the counter with a little wheel you can spin, to pull the magnets past the lights and make them flash). I figured if they were rubbish, one of my kids could have a set on their bikes, cos they'd think it dead cool. Piece of piss to fit - they have magnets bolted across your spokes and a light held on by your wheel nut (prob better suited to wheels with nuts, rather than quick release). When the wheel spins, the magnet passes just behind the light (unscientific adjustment by bending the bracket a little until the spacing betwixt light and magnet is right).
I was quite surprised at how good they are, having heard that they're "nice product, but they're pretty crap as lights". Well yes, they are crap lights if you want to see by them - they're designed as marker lights, so they spray light everywhere, not focus it onto the floor. No shit you can see by them. My mate took my bike for a spin the other night and I was pleasantly surprised at how visible they are - from really wide angles too, which most front lights don't offer.
I bought the slightly more expensive ones with the battery backup. They flash for two mins before turning off, but the battery backup holds way more than two mins charge - they just stop after 2 mins. So the second you spin the wheel once more, they start again for another 2 mins. Never bothered testing it after that, I reckoned that 4 mins backup time was plenty. They might possibly be a bit heavy for some of the weight-nazis on the forum, I don't know how heavy other lights are but given that me + bike + bags + locks weighs in at around 275 pounds, a couple of ounces really isn't breaking the bank on that score.
For a set of lights (you get front and back for your money) that are always on the bike in case I'm ever caught without my main lights, they seem like a good buy to me. No doubt you can get better products but you'll pay more for them and you'll possibly worry about having them nicked.