Lights 2015

[eminva]

Hello —

Okay, my old Exposure Diablo charger died, taking the light with it. I’ve never been totally happy with it — the light works fine, but I’ve never gotten anywhere near the promised battery life, even after a long trip to the UK for warranty service.

So, in the three years since I bought it, has technology improved? Anyone find something they like better? This would be for commuting year round between DC and the wilds of central Fairfax County. Thanks in advance.

Liz

P.S. If you have an Exposure light and your smart charger starts to alternately flash red and green, do NOT, under any circumstances, plug it into your light! You will have two problems instead of one.

Topic

[Tim Kelley]

+1 for Light and Motion. From winter commuting to night time mountain biking.

Also, they have pretty great customer service.

[GB]

@Tim Kelley 120821 wrote:

+1 for Light and Motion. From winter commuting to night time mountain biking.

Also, they have pretty great customer service.

I’ll just say that I blissfully know nothing about the cygolite customer service.

[Supermau]

I’ve had a good year and a half of solid service out of my Cygolite 750. It’s got three brightness levels, night flash, day flash, and S.O.S. Flash for extreme survival situations . Solid light, ridden in all kinds of rain, USB is a treat, no problems. Got it on close out for about $80.

[FFX_Hinterlands]

Last winter I rode with a generator front hub and will never go back.
– Dynamo hub wheel from Taylor Wheels via Amazon (ships from Germany in about two weeks) – about $175
– Lumotec IQ Fly T front light with LED daytime running lights – ~$85
– Lumotec Secula fender-mounted taillight ~$30

The best part is the daytime running lights that make me more visible in the daytime.

[MFC]

Was this any good for night time trail riding? I go from my office in DC across the 14th Street Bridge on the MVT to the Belle View area, slightly under an hour riding time with traffic lights.

[Steve O]

@FFX_Hinterlands 120832 wrote:

Last winter I rode with a generator front hub and will never go back.
– Dynamo hub wheel from Taylor Wheels via Amazon (ships from Germany in about two weeks) – about $175
– Lumotec IQ Fly T front light with LED daytime running lights – ~$85
– Lumotec Secula fender-mounted taillight ~$30

The best part is the daytime running lights that make me more visible in the daytime.

I have a Schmidt hub I got from Peter White more than 10 years ago. I had it rebuilt this last winter. The hub is expensive and then you have to lace it into a wheel. The rebuilding was only $60 (but then I put it in a new wheel). The advantage is you know it will always work and no worries about batteries. I also will never go back. I have two front wheels, using the dynamo in the winter and occasionally if I know I’ll be riding at night otherwise, and a regular front wheel in the summer.
When my bike was stolen in 2013 (but not the wheel with the dynamo hub, thankfully), I upgraded my Lumotec to LED (the old one was halogen).

What I like about these is the designed beam. Instead of just a blazing circle of light, most of which is illuminating trees and oncoming cyclist’s eyeballs, the light beam is a rectangle that illuminates the trail–right where you want it.

I also recently got a CycleBeam 700 for $45 on Amazon to mount on my helmet, which is just a blazing circle of light I use to illuminate trees and oncoming cyclist’s eyeballs.

[vvill]

I upgraded from cheap Chinese LEDs to the NiteRider lights about a year or two ago and haven’t had any issues yet. The cheap lights still work too – I mostly had issues with the mounts, and also got tired of having to unscrew them to get the batteries out, and messing with a charger.

I don’t ride at night as much as some folks here though.

[dplasters]

Sparse lights. Because I have issues.

[Harry Meatmotor]

I’ve got my eyes on these:

http://specialized.com/us/en/ftb/lights/lights-ftb

I’ll probably order up a pair of the front and rear experts and post a report once we’re back in the dark – really looking forward to huge lumen output plus sharp cutoff in an under-the-bar-mounted HL.

edit – just checked Specialized’s B2B site and another plus is that a bunch of replacement parts are available!

[Starduster]

@Harry Meatmotor 120954 wrote:

I’ve got my eyes on these:

http://specialized.com/us/en/ftb/lights/lights-ftb

Excellent. This is exactly what I was hoping for from a US market vendor!

Here is your reference standard. B+M Lumotec IQ Premium (Cyo T):

[ATTACH=CONFIG]9390[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]9391[/ATTACH]

At the risk of getting the dogs barking again, a rule of thumb, even if you’re running a StVZO spec Euro light- if you’re illuminating another person’s face, you are blinding them. Simple.

[GB]

Yes I was just going to say;

“Sharp cutoff illuminates objects 1/3 of a mile away without blinding oncoming motorists and cyclists”

I have my doubts.

But I do like the mount, and I have a blindingly bright light as well. So enjoy and let us know.

[mstone]

@Starduster 120958 wrote:

At the risk of getting the dogs barking again, a rule of thumb, even if you’re running a StVZO spec Euro light- if you’re illuminating another person’s face, you are blinding them. Simple.

If you’re illuminating another person’s face with an StVZO light, you’ve adjusted it wrong. The beam should be shining down from the mount point, so unless you’ve got it mounted on a pole it should be pointing no higher than an oncoming bike’s handlebars.

Recumbent riders made their own choices.

[mstone]

@Harry Meatmotor 120954 wrote:

I’ve got my eyes on these:

http://specialized.com/us/en/ftb/lights/lights-ftb

I’ll probably order up a pair of the front and rear experts and post a report once we’re back in the dark – really looking forward to huge lumen output plus sharp cutoff in an under-the-bar-mounted HL.

edit – just checked Specialized’s B2B site and another plus is that a bunch of replacement parts are available!

Holy crap, the manual is a great exhibit on why we should use our words.

[Tania]

Question on the vis360 helmet mounted light – how easy is it to switch on and off while you’re riding? I want the extra light but would like to be able to turn it on/off as needed.

[Powerful Pete]

Very, very, very easy to operate while riding.

[Author]

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