Author Topic: Brompton lighting dilemma  (Read 4600 times)

Brompton lighting dilemma
« on: 19 September, 2015, 10:31:16 am »
It's that time of year again, and after the old Brompton died I need a set of lights.

I own a SON front wheel, so I could get the Brompton branded light set - front + rear + wiring loom would cost around £65.

However this seems a little over the top - most of my riding is in London, where it never actually gets dark, plus 0.5 km in Peterborough, where no-one actually cares if you have lights or not. So a pair of USB chargeable be-seen lights would probably do the job and can be recharged at work.

Any recommendations for what would fit? Or convince me that I'd hate the idea of not simply getting on and expecting the lights to just work?
Quote from: tiermat
that's not science, it's semantics.

Re: Brompton lighting dilemma
« Reply #1 on: 19 September, 2015, 10:40:27 am »
I use one of these on the back.
Tucks in at the top of the seat post. No need to remove it when you collapse the post.
On the front I prefer to have something larger. I use a Cat Eye EL530 which does need to be removed to fold, but it is easy enough to do that.
When on my proper sized bikes I attach the Leyzene lights to the shoulder strap at the front and one of the Fastex buckles at the back of my courier bag.
Given how small they are, they chuck out quite a lot of light.

Re: Brompton lighting dilemma
« Reply #2 on: 10 March, 2016, 05:42:50 pm »
Lezyne Mega Drive on handlebars, Cygolite Hotshot Micro and Hotshot Pro
on seatpost, NiteRider Lumina Flare 650 front and rear light on helmet:

Lights on my Brompton by 1nterceptor, on Flickr

Kim

  • Timelord
    • Fediverse
Re: Brompton lighting dilemma
« Reply #3 on: 10 March, 2016, 05:52:09 pm »
I've got dynamo lighting on mine.  I don't rate the Brompton wiring loom for anything other than convenience of fitting; you can do a better-looking job with Schmdt coax.

Additionally, I have Moon Comet be-seen lights as a backup (I like to run two rear lights, and I'm wary of the front light's visibility under luggage in urban traffic).  The saddle rail mount means the seatpost can be fully inserted without touching the light.  The front light can be mounted to the top of my S-type stem with the light in the vertical position, such that the light nestles between the spokes of the front wheel when folded (it often gets knocked out of sideways alignment slightly, but stays firmly attached).  Not sure if that works with the other stems.

If you've got a rear rack, it's a complete no-brainer to fit a rear light to that in the intended manner.  The Brompton lights aren't bad, and make an effort not to be occluded by the easy wheels.  Otherwise mounting at the saddle might be more desirable, or a good place for an auxiliary.

Arellcat

  • Velonautte
Re: Brompton lighting dilemma
« Reply #4 on: 10 March, 2016, 11:29:01 pm »
No fancy dynamo on mine: just a handlebar bracket for a Smart Lunar 35 light, which I bring with me if I think there's a chance I'll be riding after dusk.  I have to remove it before I can fold the handlebar though.  On the back in the L-position I still have the old standard of the Infini Apollo, whose on/off function is becoming somewhat unpredictable.

But like Kim I have a set of backup lights that live on the bike more or less permanently.  They're the Cateye Looplights (the original ones with the see-through housings) which last ages and are surprisingly effective at night for being seen.  The front one lives at the top of the stem, just below the binder bolt, and the rear one just below the Pentaclip.

I like the idea of a dynamo setup, though.  I wonder if I could get one through Cycle to Work as 'safety equipment'?
Quote from: Morningsider
I like that you think any of your conveyances might qualify as "a disguise".

Kim

  • Timelord
    • Fediverse
Re: Brompton lighting dilemma
« Reply #5 on: 11 March, 2016, 12:05:17 am »
Which reminds me, I briefly used a couple of Phaart Strap-Ons before I got the Comets.   I don't really like using CR2032 powered lights routinely, but they're currently 99p each at PlanetX, so it's always worth having a few around for emergencies (they're the sort of thing you can give to people suffering lights/planning failure on group rides).

Obviously little lights like that are ideal for folding bikes.  Knog Blinders would seem like a good bet if you're after something rechargable.

Re: Brompton lighting dilemma
« Reply #6 on: 13 March, 2016, 08:42:46 am »
To follow up on this, I ended up getting the wiggle own-brand USB rechargeable lights.

Good points: they fit without interfering with the fold (just - the front almost touches the spokes, the rear is at the very top of the seat post where it gets narrower); they are fairly bright; they are waterproof.

Bad points: they go flat fairly rapidly when used on steady (a consequence of being quite bright); design fail - you unscrew from the backplate to get to the USB socket, the backplate is flat and circular with nothing to grip so it can spin instead of unscrew.

As predicted, they've gone flat a couple of times when I've forgotten to charge them, but compared to the dynamo I've saved £40 to spend on BEER.
Quote from: tiermat
that's not science, it's semantics.

Re: Brompton lighting dilemma
« Reply #7 on: 07 August, 2016, 09:12:37 am »
I use KNOG blinder usb rechargeable lights for most riding on the brompton,  if I'm going longer distance I use RSP RX100 (usb rechargeable) on the front and a Smart superflash on the rear.

Re: Brompton lighting dilemma
« Reply #8 on: 08 August, 2016, 11:56:54 am »
No fancy dynamo on mine: just a handlebar bracket for a Smart Lunar 35 light, which I bring with me if I think there's a chance I'll be riding after dusk.  I have to remove it before I can fold the handlebar though.  .......
Perhaps you could fit another smart bracket to the new offical volt bracket* then you carry the lamp without affecting folding but have the option of moving the lamp to your current handle bar bracket when you need  to  use it with the   improved visibility of a higher mounting.

* http://brilliantbikes.co.uk/brompton-battery-lighting/2328-mounting-bracket-for-brompton-cateye-front-light.html  Part No/Code 9002115 / QVFLAMBKT-CAT
Hmm, have Brompton stopped selling it separately?: Grrrrr. Their new website seems to have lost the simple easily accessible parts listing pages(with instruction pdfs)  it used to have: Bahhh modern marketing/web design  persons...

NB I no longer have a proper dynamo, but rear lamp battery failure worried me so I fitted a rear reelight (thus negating any weight advantage :( )

Re: Brompton lighting dilemma
« Reply #9 on: 24 August, 2016, 05:43:27 pm »
To follow up on this, I ended up getting the wiggle own-brand USB rechargeable lights.

Good points: they fit without interfering with the fold (just - the front almost touches the spokes, the rear is at the very top of the seat post where it gets narrower); they are fairly bright; they are waterproof.

Bad points: they go flat fairly rapidly when used on steady (a consequence of being quite bright); design fail - you unscrew from the backplate to get to the USB socket, the backplate is flat and circular with nothing to grip so it can spin instead of unscrew.

As predicted, they've gone flat a couple of times when I've forgotten to charge them, but compared to the dynamo I've saved £40 to spend on BEER.

This is why in my post above; I use multiple lights. Because a light might run out of power, stop working or accidentally come off at the next pothole.
Rear lites test, Timessquare NYC by 1nterceptor, on Flickr