Time for a new "what light" thread...

[Little Jim]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/big_f_d_d/m.html?_trkparms=65%253A12%257C66%253A1%257C39%253A6%257C72%253A5698&rt=nc&_ipg=25&_trksid=p3911.c0.m2000018.l2552&_pgn=1

This guy is very good, good communication and usually has a varied range of lights in (and shows comaprisons on his blog, linked from each of his items for sale).

the one MacB links to looks like a Magicshine rip-off, the proper one has rave reviews but sells for about £100 IIRC.
[/quot

Be careful with that seller - I bought a light off Torchy The Battery Boy (which apears to be the same person) and it developed a fault with the switch after a couple of months.  I contacted them about it and was told to basically bugger off, they don't do guarantees.  I managed to repair it myself, but as it was out of the Paypal dispute period there was little I could do.  OK, there is always the small claims court but it isn't worth it for something that cost less than £50.

Fair enough, I have never had problems (or faults), so can't comment.

The other Torchy on Ebay (IIRC Torchy The Torch Man) I did have similar problems with.

Red face time.     You are correct it was Torchy The Torch Man that I bought mine off (actually "he" turned out to be a "she") and is probably the worst seller I've dealt with on eBay.  Torchy The Battery Boy is entirely innocent.

[Tim]

The exposure joystick looks to me a narrower beam than is ideal (though the USE outlet store has attracted my attention with the joystick going for £100).

Ay-ups look tasty but there is the chance of getting stung for extra duty which could make them rather more expensive than the price on the website.

I don't know how much the Hope V1 comments are tainted by a limited number of people having issues owing to sheer numbers of them out there. It seems a bit of a niggle to have to get different brackets and having to swap batteries around for charging*.

I'm wary of the torches for either being too narrow beamed or being sufficiently indiscriminate that another rider looking in your direction is not going to be best pleased (and I get to share a decent amount of commuting time with Kathy and I figure that it would be best not to annoy her too much).

Too many options, too much information...

* As someone who tends to run hub dynamo lighting systems the concept of having to take a light off the bike is bad enough, but to take it apart to add more juice is almost unthinkable.

PS Kathy - I'm not intending to go another month anna half without upgrading the lighting on that bike (and yes I was grateful to piggy-back off you light last night).

[Nonsteeler]

I was musing about a similar speced light 1.5 weeks ago. After much research I bought the Shiningbean S-Mini (XP-G R5 version) (http://www.shiningbeam.com/servlet/the-152/ShiningBeam-S-dsh-mini-XP-dsh-G-R5/Detail). At the moment I am writing proper review about this light (mainly a comparison to the much more common Hope Vision 1) because I believe it is an interesting light for the good people of yacf. Just the basics, it's a Fenix (LD20) like flashlight, you can get it only from the guy who designed the light in the USA and it cost me incl. delivery  £27.40 (had to pay no duties). Took about a week from New York. The seller/'designer' and the light get very good reviews on the net and so far I am very happy with the purchase.



Out of the three modes of the S-Mini, medium is the most useful for cycling. Low is maybe useful in a tent for reading and high only seemed slightly brighter than medium, at the cost of battery life. 2h on medium are easily possible.

For the all important size comparison I used a standardised supermarket kiwi.



Light output is roughly on par with the Hope. No night photos, yet, but here's another one, the S-Mini mounted on a helmet.



Other quick thoughts:

- no blinky mode
- seller's in the USA
- 18650 batteries

+ light - not noticeable on the helmet
+ also accepts CR123A batteries, a bit more common on the streets (used in cameras)
+ IPX-8 waterproofing - a quick google search suggest that it should withstand continuous immersion in water. Not made for diving, though.
+ good vale for money

[Jaded]

I never thought of keeping my chewing gum under my Garmin 

[frankly frankie]

Doesn't appear to meet the requirement for self-contained rechargable, though.

[PaulF]

Nonsteeler - what's the mount you've got for your Hope?

[MacB]

Way too posh, who uses a Kiwi fruit for comparison 

[Jurek]

Nonsteeler - what's the mount you've got for your Hope?

That looks like a Hope Vision 1 Adventure, which is about 1/3 of the length of a Hope Vision 1 (remote battery pack y'see).
From here it looks like a standard Hope bar mount  (that's what they come with) - but I could be wrong.

[Nonsteeler]

Nonsteeler - what's the mount you've got for your Hope?

That looks like a Hope Vision 1 Adventure, which is about 1/3 of the length of a Hope Vision 1 (remote battery pack y'see).
From here it looks like a standard Hope bar mount  (that's what they come with) - but I could be wrong.

Correct. Nothing to add. Or maybe a picture?

I never thought of keeping my chewing gum under my Garmin 

Handy, isn't it?

The old plug vanished and so it was replaced by a bit of blue white tack. No problems with that kludge.

[Gruff]

Tim's brief describes almost exactly what I want from a light, and I'm about to order one of these new Lezyne models (3 to choose from):

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=70575

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=70576

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=70572

Not had my hands on one yet so have no experience to give a personal recommendation, but they seem to tick most of the boxes.

Very easy to swap from bike to bike, plenty of grunt available (I'm going to try the mid-range 300 lumen unit), and run time past the required 1.5 hours.

The battery/charging arrangements also appeal to me. They use off-the-shelf rechargeable lithium ion cells so it is easy and cheap to pick up a spare for carrying on long journeys. Plus, they can be recharged, in 4 hours total, via usb cable from a laptop or pc (or a regular wall wart socket doobrey). This could be very handy if you need to top up at work or don't want to bother with a stand alone charge at all. No need to take the battery out, just peel back the rubber bung and connect the cable.

There's a very positive and thorough video review on YouTube (shows unit, brackets, beam brightness etc):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvHJi7Dj3eE

Happily, I've just noticed Chain Reaction have started a Christmas discount promotion, providing a tenner off and making the price £69.99. Smashing.

* Gruff trundles off to find Visa card...

[Canardly]

Ultrafire less than a tenner and delivered in three days. It is bright. Lens focusing is rather good. Speed of flashing mode is so quick persistence of vision kicks in. We will see. Running on triple A's atm awaiting 16850s to arrive. Aluminium casing with usual caveat about using vaseline. Build quality of main lamp seems good. Rear lamp a spare really. For the price a bargain.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/7w-Cree-Q5-LED-Mountain-Bike-Bicycle-Cycle-Zoomable-Lights-7-LED-Rear-Light-/250916422034

[Nonsteeler]

Doesn't appear to meet the requirement for self-contained rechargable, though.

True, the requirement for 'rechargeable' only makes sense if you read it as 'self-contained rechargeable'. Personally, I am not sure if  'self-contained rechargeable' lights are a good idea. Ultimately, all batteries are consumables - rechargeable or not. I don't see the necessity to make lights consumables, too. I regard this as a high price to pay for only a tad bit more of convenience. 

Although I list the 18650 batteries as a minus for the Shiningbeam S-Mini (mainly from an Audax perspective - no chance for an emergency purchase near Menai Bridge), you could nevertheless argue that it is the best of both worlds. On the one hand, you can use modern rechargeable lithium cells (unlike with the AA form factor) while at the same time your not locked into battery packs from one manufacturer (the main plus for AAs besides their availability). TBH, I never used AAs bought from a petrol station on long Audaxes with the Hope. One set of rechargeable NiMh and one set of lithium AAs brought me always through the night safely.

PS: I know, I know, I have a Garmin 705. However, you can be meanwhile buy cells and and change them yourself for around 20 quid (or less). Or pay Garmin 110 quid to do it for you.

[TimC]

Just bought the Lady V one of these. Very impressive to my eyes, and apparently to most cars she encounters coming the other way! 4 levels of brightness, and on a 6-mile commute half urban, half completely dark country roads, the battery lasts all week (about 4 hours' running) with no sign of degradation. It's pretty small and uses very little handlebar space. With an Exposure Flash and Flare taking care of the attention-getting duties, she's lit up like Christmas!

[Kim]

True, the requirement for 'rechargeable' only makes sense if you read it as 'self-contained rechargeable'. Personally, I am not sure if  'self-contained rechargeable' lights are a good idea. Ultimately, all batteries are consumables - rechargeable or not. I don't see the necessity to make lights consumables, too. I regard this as a high price to pay for only a tad bit more of convenience.

The Ixon IQ does the best of both worlds - self-contained rechargeable with 4xAA NiMHs.  Plug it in, it recharges, no faff.  Need more power on the road?  Buy some AAs from the next petrol station.  Sorted.

(Unless the battery contacts have snapped and you've hardwired the batteries to the PCB, of course.)


I'm not sure how strongly I'd recommend the Ixon in light of there being more reliable alternatives available, but it does seem to meet *all* the OP's requirements, without any silliness like the cutting out without warning of the Hope.

[PaulF]

The exposure joystick looks to me a narrower beam than is ideal (though the USE outlet store has attracted my attention with the joystick going for £100).

I took advantage of that offer 10 days ago, they only had a few left then so I'd hurry if you're interested.

Having had a chance to use it in anger yet as I've been away - hoping to get a night ride in tomorrow

[Nonsteeler]

I'm not sure how strongly I'd recommend the Ixon in light of there being more reliable alternatives available, but it does seem to meet *all* the OP's requirements, without any silliness like the cutting out without warning of the Hope.

In all fairness to the Hope Vision 1, you can usually still use it on a lower mode.  Nevertheless, not a very appealing habit.

Ultrafire less than a tenner and delivered in three days. It is bright. We will see. Running on triple A's atm awaiting 16850s to arrive.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/7w-Cree-Q5-LED-Mountain-Bike-Bicycle-Cycle-Zoomable-Lights-7-LED-Rear-Light-/250916422034

Bought an Ultrafire U4-MCU, which accepts 18650s and  AAA batteries. Sadly, a complete disappointment. Mine was not reliable regardless of the battery type, though with AAA it was worse. A bit of shaking (aka 'road buzz') and it switched to a different mode, dimmed down or switched-off completely. But then it is an Ultrafire and it lived up to its brand reputation. I hope you have more luck with your model.

[Tim]

I happened to pass the LBS before they shut last night, so went in for a chat (it was that or hurry back to the moth-in-law) and Dave is always happy to provide a technical opinion.

A discussion of various lights lead to the Exposuire Joystick for £100 being a very good light but rather narrow of beam (but bonus points were awarded for the USE rear lights - as demonstrated by his Enigma in the workstand waiting to be ridden home), and his suggestion was the Cateye Nano Shot, shiny, new and a better shaped and directed beam than most for the money.

Anyone played with one yet? Cateye do only have it listed as out this month...

[Bledlow]

Personally, I am not sure if  'self-contained rechargeable' lights are a good idea. Ultimately, all batteries are consumables - rechargeable or not. I don't see the necessity to make lights consumables, too. I regard this as a high price to pay for only a tad bit more of convenience. 

+1

[PaulF]

The exposure joystick looks to me a narrower beam than is ideal (though the USE outlet store has attracted my attention with the joystick going for £100).

I took advantage of that offer 10 days ago, they only had a few left then so I'd hurry if you're interested.

Having had a chance to use it in anger yet as I've been away - hoping to get a night ride in tomorrow

Which I just got back from

It's great and does just what I wanted it for: an helmet mounted light in addition to my Hope and Lumicycle on the bars.

On my unscientific (Hope on bars, Joystick on helmet) test I'd favour the Hope over the Joystick very marginally but both would be great on their own. And they both put the Lumicycle in the shade

[mattc]

...
Personally I use a Fenix torch, but like many of the lights mentioned so far, it's not really suitable on its own, for commuting - not enough frontal area to be a visibility light.

+1
Since getting my Fenix I've bought a Wilko (Smart-copy) front light to be seen by. Cost about thruppence, big frontal area, and just about puts out enough light to ride by as a backup on unlit roads. I'll probably buy a 'quality' low-power 2xAA light at some point, especially if I start commuting again.

(A head-torch - also available for pennies at Tesco - and lots of reflectives/ors are probably just as effective in town - see Nutty's thread about this!)

[Gruff]

Cateye Nano Shot, shiny, new and a better shaped and directed beam than most for the money.

Anyone played with one yet? Cateye do only have it listed as out this month...

I've been consistently disappointed with the (many) Cateye front lights I've bought in the past. That's not to say this one won't be decent of course...

Anyway, there's a review on YouTube uploaded by a Japanese chap, see here:

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/TTeWWye71fE&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/TTeWWye71fE&rel=1</a>

I can't understand a word he's saying of course, but the video gives a good view of the light in hand and demonstrates the quite impressive output in his back garden. He compares the output with two earlier Cateye models and the jump in performance is huge (and very overdue in their model line, I think).

It looks a neat light, but, as usual with Cateye, expensive compared to the competition.

[Tim]

I picked one up last night (I think the LBS had it on charge for me longer than they had it on the shelf before I took it away).

Anyhow - reviews of it seemed to imply it is better than the Hope V1 and is of comparable cost (there may be greater discounts on the Hope as it is an older model), and it doesn't appear to be far from the opposition in terms of cost - particularly having been nosing around the road.cc reviews. Battery can be removed from it for replacement should you need to, but it has a mini USB port in the bottom for quick and easy charging. Burn time on full whack isn't huge, but it isn't carrying much battery (approximate dimension of the light is index to ring fingers combined - it is flattened and only finger deep).

It has the advantage that I don't need to buy spare brackets for t'other bikes that it will swap between (having some already in the old brackets box), and yes I have suffered at the hands of crappy cateye mounts in the past, though there newer front mounts are streets ahead of the rear mounts of a few years back (which were the major cause of my grief).

It appears to be a neat bit of kit - reasonable beam pattern (only a short spell of my ride to and from dinner at a friends' abode was on unlit roads without traffic).

Yes it is an update in terms of technoology, particularly to Cateye, and currently is probably one of the most recent lights available at that price point - it's only just got through the hands of the UK distributors which does give it an advantage. Hitherto I've only had Cateye front lights that have been to be seen by, so I've not had first hand experience of ther brighter front lights.

Though I still would just stick a Schmidt & Cyo combination on three more bikes if I didn't care about the mortgage this month...

[citoyen]

On last night's commute, I was following a chap with a seriously impressive rear light. When I found myself alongside him at the traffic lights, I had to ask what it was. It was an Exposure Flare. An excellent light for being seen by, though I don't know how good the front version is for seeing where you're going on unlit roads. Good for urban commuting though.

d.

[sammybarlow]

I use a Nite Rider Minewt Mini USB:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=54535

Easily moved between bikes (battery pack attaches with velcro and the light with a rubber band), bright enough on unlit roads,  charges via mini USB so can use your PC or wall charger. Great value (I think) for £75.

Used 2/3 days a week over 2 winters and has been faultless.

[PaulR]

I've been impressed by an exposure flare (on an ambrosio-framed bike ridden by a chap in club kit from some place in south yorkshire) on the commute down through Brockley lately.  A good strong light without any flashy glare.  quite pricey compared to my usual back lights though