Lights

I had one of those £17 cree lights off eBay,

1 battery set fire to itself while on charge on my desk at work,
2nd Battery got wet and stopped working,
3rd & 4th batteries have randomly stopped at various points cycling home from work.

I have spent far more than £40 on the Solarstorm lights from eBay in the past 18months.

Agree that its far to bright on the highest setting & flash, but 10 hours shine time on the low setting and a light I can trust to stay on, is far better in my books.

What's the hive mind's best band/Knog light recommendation? Something that swaps between bikes quickly, to be seen (predominantly on the streets of London) rather than to see.

Are the Lezyne Hecto Drive 300XL-Strip Light Set any good? are there better alternatives?

Moon comet knock offs from eBay or planet X or Aldi or wherever.

Merlin cycles had Moon lights on sale.

I've got one.

It fell off, one day on a ride home. I didn't notice. No more cap.

I also lost the rear that just fell off my bike too so could be just me...

Boo.
I asked the distributor and they told me that it's supposed to fit like that.
Disappointed with it actually. :(

Not want ing to sound like a broken record. But this is exactly why I bang on about Moon.

They arent the most amazing Things ever or anything.

But they do their job. Nothing falls off. The have just the right number of modes. These modes being easy to Select.

Used my LX-100 front for the first time a couple days back. Sits very nicely on my aero shaped bar tops. Gave a far better spread than I expected too.

I guess the are meant to fit like that. They just don't fit well. Maybe get a bit of Velcro or electrical tape just to secure it. I was going to request a new cap but never did.

Will probably be getting a moon to replace the rear that fell off.

Just to add a bit of balance to the Moon love I should maybe mention that my Shield turned black and failed terminally about a week out of warranty (it wasn't used much in that time). I have used Hope, Lezyne, Blackburn, Knog, Cateye, Smart and various Cherry Bomb type clones over longer time frames but, whilst they all have their quirks, the Moon is the only one that I've resorted to chucking in the bin..

IIRC it also had an extremely cheap and fiddly mount and usb seal - I'm assuming these newer models have improved a bit since then?

The exposure link + looks like the don in terms of battery power and life. However you can get spare batteries for the lezyne and it's cheaper.

Just need to make up my ****ing mind!

The problems I've had with the eBay Magicshine MJ808 clones have pretty much all been due to damaging the excess cable by wrapping it too tightly around the bike, and the stitching of the nylon-weave pouch or strap (fixed by using zipties or in GF's case, using a handkerchief as a nice snug storck-bundle under the stem).

http://www.banggood.com/3-in-1-Bicycle-Wireless-Rear-Light-Cycling-Remote-Control-Alarm-Lock-Mountain-Bike-Smart-Bell-p-1065271.html

I'm impressed.

Not using the alarm feature but if you wan't it, it's incredibly loud. The light works great so far. I've been to the pub a few times with it. The rear light is very bright, controlled by a remote and it's charged over USB. I did have to use my belt grinder on the allen key to make it work. I live in a small village and the road to the pub doesn't have any streetlights but there are cars driving there and they drive pretty fast so having decent lights is required. I got 2 lights in the rear and 2 in the front, flashlight style in the front and this thing in the rear and two normal ones that you click on. Reason I have the combo is just in case a light fails I got spare on the bike. Everything is glued on my bike, works great :)

What's the hive mind's best band/Knog light recommendation? Something that swaps between bikes quickly, to be seen (predominantly on the streets of London) rather than to see.

I have a couple of lights which fit that bill, both I quite like.

Knog Road Blinder - looking at the website it must the discontinued "2" model, but I'm not really sure. It's bright enough to see by, solidly built, recharges from USB and the mount is reliable. It's not my main light, so it doesn't get daily use but it makes a great spare and probably good enough for a main light. Can't remember what the battery life is like, but probably an hour or two I guess.

The other backup I have is a Bontrager Glo, which for what it is I really like - it won't really help you see the road but it seems pretty reliable and again the mount is simple. Makes a handy little torch too.

Looking at the Moon LX360 and Cateye Volt 300.

Any comments or views on which one is better?

The thing I have seen said about Moon lights a few times is premature failures which makes me wary.

I have a Volt 300. Been good for about 3 years now, including one high speed drop (my fault) where it suffered nothing but a scuff on the battery. It was my daily commuting light, come rain or shine, bright enough to cope with complete darkness at ~20mph easy enough and the pulse mode is really good for traffic.

I've also had a volt 300 for a year or so. Not used it loads but it's been good when I have.

It also flew off my bike at speed and survived - the clip is quite stiff and it's easy to think you've "clicked" it when you actually haven't....

Ive been really impressed by these. Tiny, bright, easily fitted/moved.

http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Infini-Lava-Twin-Pack-Micro-Front-and-Rear-USB-Rechargeable-Light-Set_74369.htm?sku=233854&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=google_shopping&gclid=Cj0KEQjw4MK_BRC1n6KTtezikbIBEiQA872hYXbnHKy3F2yI54ViSMKpwJDgSnH9pZmYd6qSQiJamZIaAoH08P8HAQ

http://www.rutlandcycling.com/317388/products/exposure-trace-and-tracer-bike-light-set-with-helmet-mount.aspx

seems like a good price

double battery, brighter front and rear vs Link

only negative is having to charge two, but you should only need to half as often. Added bonus of being able to clip onto bike if you buy the regular mounts at a later date.

Oh and my exposure tracer has lasted nearly 4 years so far..

Thanks - that is a good price.

I've bought the lezyne now which is doing the job fine.

I'm thinking of getting some exposure lights as well for attaching to the bike; can't have too many....

Can any forumites give a recommendation for a decent, and economically priced UK road legal front light, preferably available in the UK?

I'm after one that gives out a nice shaped beam of light that will enable me to see in Richmond Park after dark, which won't dazzle everyone coming the other way, and which complies with German StVZO or other similar EU regs.

Thanks.

Rear light that will fit an aero seatpost (pointy at the rear), any ideas?

Quite a few Cateye 'Rapid' and Moon lights come with different rubber bits to fit aero posts.

Awesome cheers, that second picture looks like just what I'm after

German StVZO

http://blog.wheelies.co.uk/stvzo-approved-bike-lights/

At the bottom of the page there are economical lights available in the UK. Can't personally recommend any of them (or the shop for that matter - my refund is still outstanding afaik).

EDIT: it looks like i had had my refund by that point - it's shown on my new statement.

Many thanks - gives me a good list to go on, without having to buy from them. Looks like the Cube Pro 25 may be an option, but bought from here for £25...

http://www.hargrovescycles.co.uk/cube-pro-25-light.html