Which is the best rechargeable front light in the UK for bikes?

[Somnolent]

Is it this one ?
http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/b-and-m-light-bracket-475d-fly-long-stainless-steel-prod22454/

[Woofage]

Postie had a new torch the other night that had two power settings plus a beam focus setting. It looked like a Fenix but I think it was another make.

LED Lenser?

[Kim]

The only Ixon bracket I actually trust is the 475D/492GAPB fork crown bracket.

Did you buy that from the link there or is there a UK supplier?

One of the German ones.  Possibly rose.de along with a consignment of butterfly bar foam (which is unobtanium in the UK, and keeps getting eaten by trains/cows/silly recumbent crashes).

[Kim]

Is it this one ?
http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/b-and-m-light-bracket-475d-fly-long-stainless-steel-prod22454/

That's one of the dynamo light ones.  The Ixon bracket consists of that plus a moulded plastic bracket bit that the Ixon clips on to.


Ah, found it - it was Bike24: 

Bike24 - Busch + Müller IXON / IXON IQ Mounting Bracket

(third option)

[tatanab]

Ah, found it - it was Bike24: 

Bike24 - Busch + Müller IXON / IXON IQ Mounting Bracket

(third option)

I hope it is firmer than the second option.  I have one.  I've removed the rubber pad from the rear to make the mounting more solid, but the weight of the light is still enough to cause the bracket to vibrate.  Most of the time I use the handlebar mounting which is a good solid mount.

[Kim]

Yeah, I've got one of those too (though note they don't actually give you the option to buy it, so I suspect B&M have realised it's hopelessly inadequate and have replaced it with the newer one), which I used for all of about 5 minutes then decided it was vibrating so badly that it was going to suffer self-untapping screw failure at a really inconvenient moment.  I continued to use it with a Smart Polaris^[1] 2AA light for a while (which is both lighter and a lot cheaper), then got a proper dynamo setup and needed the fork crown for a Cyo.

The handlebar bracket also has a single critical self-untapping screw which will work loose eventually, but there's a lot less scope for vibration.


_{[1] Handily, the Ixon and Smart brackets are compatible with each other.  If nothing else, it makes spare handlebar brackets easier to come by in the UK.}

[Biggsy]

Handily, the Ixon and Smart brackets are compatible with each other.  If nothing else, it makes spare handlebar brackets easier to come by in the UK.

Thanks for this info nugette  I'll be buying an Ixon then - so I'll have another choice of light for each ride - in addition to three models of Smart.

[Kim]

Yeah, that's surprisingly useful.  I like being able to use a Smart as an emergency backup light / fettling torch / be-seen light for the couple of miles to the station that's going to rattle around in your bag all day, and then be able to swap to an Ixon IQ for proper night riding without having to jibble about with (or have to find room for two sets of) brackets on the bike(s).

[Biggsy]

There is no decent front light at that price.

I can only agree with that if "decent" means going 30 mph and more in a relaxed and safe state down twisty country singletracks.  Otherwise the Ixon IQ - for one example of many these days - seems perfectly decent for more modest use on unlit roads.

[zigzag]

just received b&m ixon iq from rosebikes.co.uk. placed the order at 11pm on tuesday, order was shipped 7am next morning from germany, friday afternoon i've got it in my hands with a free wallet thrown in. paid £35.90 with £15 discount voucher from rose stand at triathlon show last weekend. hopefully the light is as good as the service from rose!

[MacB]

One of the German ones.  Possibly rose.de along with a consignment of butterfly bar foam (which is unobtanium in the UK, and keeps getting eaten by trains/cows/silly recumbent crashes).

I've used this and found it very good:-


   BBB Handlebar Foam - £8.76 | Dotbike

[Kim]

Ah, cool.  I'll bear that in mind when my current stash runs out.  Metre lengths are better for cutting to size for the 'bent (can get at least 5 grip's worth), but I've got two other bikes with butterfly bars on them.

[Hummers]

Postie had a new torch the other night that had two power settings plus a beam focus setting. It looked like a Fenix but I think it was another make.

A pretty good beam.

H

OK, it was the Lenser LED B7. Looks pretty good but he only just got it so we'll see how it goes. 3 power settings and a beam focus too. Mounts on a torch light bracket.

I too had a B&M Ixon IQ FAIL but managed to superglue everything back together again - almost. 

It is a good light but is heavy due to 4 x AA batteried and the bracket/mounting seems inadequate. I am toying with the idea of adapting all my LED lights to a remote battery pack tucked away somewhere that will take the weight better.

H