best light for country lane commuting for £30?

jax13 · Oct 24, 2011

having put up with a pair of cheaper led fronts for the last year or two, i've decided its about time to chuck a better front lamp on for this winter.

so, with a budget that doesn't stretch past £30, whats the best lamp out there?

would i be better buying a pair of the ebay 5watt 270 lumen jobs at £6 a pop or is there something else that out performs them and stays under my budget?

cchris2lou · Oct 24, 2011

check out Deal extreme , for £30 you get a 1200 lumen light .

legrandefromage · Oct 24, 2011

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SSC-P7-1200Lm ... 27b373294c

I use one of these:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/UltraFire-120 ... 059wt_1037

And read this behemoth:

http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewto ... hlight=led

jax13 · Oct 25, 2011

legrandefromage":9gaq0c35 said:
And read this behemoth:

http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewto ... hlight=led

to be honest... it kinda put me off!

I was trying to adapt my shooting lamp for bike use but its too strong & blinds drivers! besides, a 250m beam is a touch excessive for a 16mph pootle home.

legrandefromage · Oct 25, 2011

Whatever gets you seen - the ebay lights have 3 brightness settings. The lowest was perfect for country lanes

lumos2000 · Oct 25, 2011

i just bought one of these http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/320762086750? ... 1439.l2649 for the bike and one of these for the helmet i dont wear http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/220848592688? ... 1439.l2649

they took a while to get here but the seller was really helpfull, i did need to get batteries and a charger from another seller though. the black torch lit up my local park park pritty well and scared off the local chavs getting pissed on the swings. i've yet to try the smaller one but it runs on standard batteries, its pritty bright in the day though.

The Ken · Oct 25, 2011

The pair of 270 lumen lights is fine for commuting, the rear lights aren't bad either, the disadvantage of them is there is no side lighting as they are fully enclosed and the flash mode is really poor.

I wouldn't use the XML lights for commuting even at their lower setting - too bright for motorists to look at in my opinion.

My favourite rear light is the smart 1 watt, very noticeable from all directions.

cornholio's RC200 · Oct 25, 2011

I've got 2 of the lights that LGF mentioned in the original post of the 'behemoth' on the front (one steady beam, one flashing). For the rear I have one of these beauties

http://www.winstanleysbikes.co.uk/produ ... Rear_Light

along with one of these flashing on my rucksack

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/lifeline-mini-rear-light/

dyna-ti · Oct 25, 2011

Lyzene are bringing out lights.Not sure of the prices but their flagship is only £100 and theres 2 models below that so you could find its about 35-40 quid or so :?

legrandefromage · Oct 25, 2011

The Ken":3sba0arh said:
The pair of 270 lumen lights is fine for commuting, the rear lights aren't bad either, the disadvantage of them is there is no side lighting as they are fully enclosed and the flash mode is really poor.

I wouldn't use the XML lights for commuting even at their lower setting - too bright for motorists to look at in my opinion.

My favourite rear light is the smart 1 watt, very noticeable from all directions.

These on a low setting are similar in brightness to the original 'ebay bike lights' but have a better beam spread:

best light for country lane commuting for £30?

jax13

Senior Retro Guru

cchris2lou

legrandefromage

jax13

Senior Retro Guru

legrandefromage

lumos2000

The Ken

cornholio's RC200

dyna-ti

legrandefromage

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