Lights

I've got a TraceR which I mount on the seat tube and it shines out between the bottom of the saddlebag and over the top of the tyre. Depending on frame size, this may work for you?

I'll have a big frame so that could work. Good tip!

More advice on lights sought - can anyone recommend a small headtorch?

I want something that I can attach to my head/helmet so that I can have a little extra light when descending in the dark and also so that I can see punctures/into my pack in the dark also. It won't be on for about 85% of the time, but I would like it to be bright and comfortable too.

Less pricey is also welcomed.

I can recommend the Petzl reactik. Adjusts it's brightness depending on the situation, i.e. scrabbling through your backpack it'll tone it down, then on the trail it'll go nice and high. I have the "plus" version and I've used mine skiing at night, handy having the red mode for when it's slow going, much calmer. Also capable of USB or AAA power. Double strap is also comfortable and a bit more secure.

LED Lenser H7, works well if you remove the strap then cable tie the lamp to the front of your helmet and the battery to the back.

Exposure Joystick, nice but pricey. Doubles as a cache battery as long as you don't use an iphone.

I have one of those, great for hiking etc.
Not sure reactive lighting and cycling is a good though, don't the instructions say it can dim entirely when facing car headlights or something?

Suppose you could use it on constant but @gillies will need to decide if he wants worry about changing modes while racing.

You're getting a custom frame right? Get an hourglass eyelet or something popped on the DS seatstay, should be able to bolt/bodge any number of lights on (Cateye holy hand grenade being my fav option for this)

Lt-box.com
Cheap but awesome! $28 for 900 lumen beauties.

I think the Petzl is closest to what I'm looking for just now - an external battery pack is probably too much to be strapping to my head, and those lt-box things look pretty heavy and bulky.

Is there something like the Petzl that is a little cheaper? I don't need the reactive parts, I think.

Thanks for your suggestions, too!

Seeing as it's an "extra light" I didn't think dimming in car headlights would be a problem, not like a bike's lights are going to make much difference in that situation anyway. I just like the auto mode for times when I know i'm going to switching between needing to see far, and looking at something at arms length.

Not tried one. But Alpkit are always advertising headtorches for what looks like a reasonable price.

https://www.alpkit.com/lighting

Thinking about buying some of those 'runner's' LED arm band things for my helmet, for a bit of visibility over the tops of cars. My bike lights are plenty bright for seeing, but they're mounted pretty low. Are there any brands which are known and trusted or any alternatives. These are about the lowest bulk think I can think of to strap to my head. This sort of thing:

I use a very light head torch zip tied that means i can control flash or beam easily and it rotates backwards and switched to red as a rear backup. I also have runners foot light clip on my shoes set to flash giving a up and down movement when pedalling and some side light from it too. Both these last forever on AAA batteries and watch batteries

It's not so much the weight,more that I don't fancy having a bigger-than-necessary lump of plastic strapped to my head in case of a crash.

Get some EL wire and Tron it up:

http://www.instructables.com/id/EL-Wire-Bike-Helmet/?ALLSTEPS

I wouldn't use hotglue on a bike helmet and I'd mount the battery on the back of the helmet rather than a lower edge.

bigger-than-necessary lump of plastic strapped to my head

Is this not the definition of a bike helmet?

>>>>>>>>helmet thread

That's actually pretty cool. I'd be tempted to mount the batteries on the strap, out of the way in the case of an impact.

Does anyone have any experience with Exposure Flare's? Got given a 2nd hand one but you have to do it it up really really tight to turn it on/switch between modes and it doesn't reliably stay in the mode you put it in. Is this a common problem? Anything I can do about it?

Sorry, I'm sure this has been asked and presumably answered already, but it's actually the first time I'm opening this thread...
I never invested in expensive lights, because I always lose them or break them because I'm clumsy...
Just bought a new front light, decent enough, but I know I'm going to drop it, lose it because I have no faith in the clamp, I think I had similar systems over the years and it didn't last with me... It's pretty much the same as this:

Any suggestion for something better that can be bought separately, doesn't look crap/cheap (seen pretty horrible looking stuff when googling this) and is more secure?

In july I will compete in an 24h roadrace. Looking for a light-setup for this.
Sun will set around 10pm and rise at 5am. So I will need nine hours of full power to see and maybe 2-3 more hours runtime on low output to be seen.

• Dynamo is not an option, as I want this light also to be used on other rides with 3-4 different bikes.
  
• Budget: around 150 Euros for the main light and maybe another 50 Euros for a helm mounted smaller one.
  
  

Might be best of with something with changeable battery(packs).
Thought about a Moon Meteor Storm or a BUMM IXON IQ Premium.

Any Ideas?

@hippy?

Yes?