i recently purchased 1 of these and what an amazing difference over the 2 x cateye el530,s i had,as a single unit for road use i would say you cant get much better but through the forest at night it lacks penatration into the distance at speed but at 150 lumens and £35 what do you expect ! Now its on my helmet to compliment my Hope R4 led great combo.
Very well made, machined ali case and quality rubber switch and usb cover. The bracket supplied fits either 25.4 or 31.8 bars with one bolt, no fuss. As an upgrade for my commuter bike it is fantastic, substantially brighter than my old LED light, easy to charge at work on my pc with the supplied usb lead, compact and good value.
I've just used this on a winter ride 60mins and straight out of box so no charging. 5 miles of urban riding then 10 of rural, pitch black and no street lights emptiness! I used flashing mode for the urban part and was easily seen by everyone. On the rural bit I changed to low (whilst on move- easy) and could see well enough to ride at 40mph downhill on a twisty (ish) A-road.
A doddle to fit, very light, secure and very bright.
Whether you're commuting through towns or cities, taking on a night time mountain bike ride or touring on a long distance road trek, having a reliable set of lights is crucial – and a legal requirement in many countries.
There's a great range of lights for all purposes and at all budgets, which can be broadly separated into models that'll help you BE SEEN (commuting, road riding, touring etc on relatively well-lit roads), and models that will help you SEE (mountain biking at night, lighting your way on unlit roads etc).
Front lights generally have handlebar attachments and rear lights attach to your seatpost, but there's also the option to fix lights to your helmet using helmet-specific mounts, and to a backpack or even your clothing.
There's a huge range of lights that'll help you be seen, and you don't have to break the bank to get a decent front and rear lightset. We'd advise you to get the best you can afford: after all, the more visible you can make yourself on the roads, the safer you'll be.
When you're looking for the right lights for you, check to see whether they offer good side-on visibility so that other vehicles and pedestrians can see you at junctions, for example. Also consider lights which offer a number of modes – some flash, some are constant. There's no limit to how many lights you can have, so you may want to have one light on flash and one on constant to make yourself that little bit more noticeable.
If you're commuting on unlit country roads, mountain biking in the dark or you want something more powerful than a general purpose bike light then we have something for you with our high-end performance front lights.
Bike light technology has advanced so rapidly in the past few years that you can now buy lightweight LED units with long running times which pack a huge punch. Yes, you'll pay a little bit more than your average front light, but the results are night and day (literally).
Many of these high powered units are lightweight enough to helmet mount – perfect for picking out trail obstacles when you're riding off-road at warp speed, but they're also just as useful on-road for pinpointing potholes and other road obstacles too.
Beam patterns on these lights vary – some with a wide spread; others with a more focussed beam. You may want to use a mixture of the two, or choose the one which suits your riding the best.
