Lights

Blackburn Flea rechargeable front and rear on Evans for £22, I only really needed the rear but it's not an awful lot more for the set so thought I might as well get the front as well as a backup for my moon mask.

http://m.evanscycles.com/products/blackburn/flea-front-and-rear-usb-light-set-ec024173

I ordered one of these, because for £2.87 with free UK delivery how could I resist ?

G3 CREE Q5 400 LUMEN FLASHLIGHT/TORCH: Amazon.co.uk: Sports & Outdoors

It took weeks to come. It is very bright at first, but quickly runs the single AA battery down.

So I've ordered 6 more, and I'll connect up all 7 in series and use a transistor to drive them at constant current from a bank of 6 AA NiMH batteries.

They've arrived. They're not all exactly the same: the first one has a slide out lens for beam focus, but only one of the other 6 has this. The remaining 5 can only be focus adjusted by partially unscrewing the lens mount.

Test rig for beam evaluation:

I got a beam shape I like with 2 of them focused tight and aimed far, 2 more focused and aimed medium, 2 focused wide and aimed close, and the final 1 focused wide and aimed very close.

The compound beam at 400mA:

Hope vision one beams (on the same camera settings) for comparison:

At 400mA the DIY light has similar power draw to the vision one on high. It illuminated the path significantly less well, as you'd expect with lower quality emitters and optics. Nevertheless, it seemed like plenty of light to see by, so I think this will work.

Next step, mounting the emitters. I'll cut away most of the torch bodies, and embed the business ends in something that I can attach to the handlebars.

This might be a stupid question but if you already have the hope why do you need this set up? Also, how much do you reckon it cost overall compared to the hope?

^just read your other post! Not very much then!

The rest of the family is starting to cycle more, we need more lights between us. But mainly I just want to see how well the idea works.

Awesome, make sure to post the finished article!

After a few months, I can still recommend the Magicshine MJ880, but the y-split wire doesn't tolerate much and the bundled MJ818 rear light doesn't like water. Would buy again though, capabilities far beyond its price bracket.

I'm selling my 808/818 bundle because of the hassle of having to unclip them each time I take the train apart from that I'd keep them.

Blackburn flee?

Bright, small, rear is easy to remove (I assume the front is too) good quality, lifetime guarantee (which works).

I don't know if they've improved but I always remember quality control issues with knogs as well as them not liking the wet. If you're set on hipster-cysts I'd just find some cheap off brand ones.

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/blackburn/flea-front-and-rear-usb-light-set-ec024173

£20.25 with EX10CPA discount code and free delivs.

Just ordered some.

^mine arrived today, they seem fairly decent, especially for the price. I haven't had a chance to try them properly yet but the quality seems alright and they're relatively bright. Absolutely tiny as well if that's a concern!

Does anyone want a Blackburn Flea 2.0 front light? I've decided I don't need it after all. Never used! £13 posted?

Actually saying that, I still need the charger for the rear so maybe just £10 posted?

I need some good winter lights for commuting and a little evening training. I've sort of narrowed it to two - Exposure flash and flare or Lezyne Micro Drive?

blackburn flea for sure - they're self-contained (no separate bracket), v bright and v small

My Diablo is a great light, sadly I am too stupid to be able to work out how to turn it onto flash though.

Not Blackburn Fleas or Exposure flash/flare if you want the lights to make it through all of winter.

I'm now running an Exposure Spark on the front and a Lezyne Micro Drive on the rear and it's a great setup. Plenty of people (drivers and motorcyclists) have remarked how bright and noticeable the front is when on flash, and the rear is 70 lumens and eye catching even in the daytime.

On "full beam" with the Exposure Spark I get cars flashing me to complain about how bright it is, so it's definitely bright enough for commuting, and it really lit the road up on the Dunwich Dynamo. I don't ride with it on that setting unless it's pitch black, it's not needed in the city and I don't want to blind anyone, I just tested it out for a few miles to see what it was like.

Next step, mounting the emitters. I'll cut away most of the torch bodies, and embed the business ends in something that I can attach to the handlebars.

I admire a good bit of handy work but when the Cree T6 only costs £33 delivered this seems slightly excessive, and would surely take up much more room !!

Chaps, for rear lights has anyone tried these

https://www.serfas.com/products/view/669/referer:products%7Cindex%7Clights%7Ctail-lights

Get very good reviews, nice and small, easy on and off, rechargeable, and cheap. Apparently can be seen from a mile away. Think i'm going to give one a try and will report back, but if anyone has used one before i'd be interested to hear.

Any decent long lasting 3v b82rez's?

Recently spent a fiver on two Duracell ones and they're now so dim after not even five hours of use!

Used my moon light set for the first time properly this week, absolutely amazing

Moon Meteor is a pretty impressive light, even more so for those who work in the cycling industry, I'm liking the little LED showing different light mode and brightness.

Will report back after a couple months.

My Diablo is a great light, sadly I am too stupid to be able to work out how to turn it onto flash though.

Please don't.

Ordered this...
http://imgs.inkfrog.com/pix/kathy200908/1_004.jpg

Have this...
http://propiraya.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/magicshine-808.jpg

and this...

http://www.magicshineledlights.com.au/image/cache/data/Products/Magicshine%20MJ-818%20Super%20Bright%20Rear%20Light-500x500.JPG

Just need to figure out the bast way to power them all with 2 Li battery packs. I have a decent amount of cabling. Hope to fit the battrerys in a framebag to keep things tidy.

Should be great for winter trail riding.

Anyone who has a Lezyne Macro Drive, be careful to read the instructions before you use it. Don't use it as a torch and only charge it with official Lezyne chargers.

There goes £40!

Don't use it as a torch?

It overheats without the wind-chill from cycling, apparently.
And it voids the warranty... which would be more annoying if I still had the warranty.

^^