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9 comments
Thanks for all the recommendations. I would have loved an Exposure Strada light but unfortunately my budget wouldn't stretch that far as my mountain bike brakes have just given up the ghost and I needed to replace those at the same time.
I went for a Cateye Volt 1200 in the end and picked it up from Fawkes-Cycles for under a hundred saving 50+ quid on the RRP. I've only used it once (on the way into work today) and it's an impressive light. I rode the Country lanes on medium beam at 6:30am and it was absolutely fine. It feels solid so hopefully the build quality won't be an issue.
Thanks again for all your suggestions.
Ed
I upgraded from my aged Niterider Minewt at the start of the winter as it didn't have the lumens to cope with the pitch black lanes I was on as a result of a job change. Impressed with the Niterider brand, I stayed with them and picked up a Niterider Lumina 800. Great light with 3 levels and some other flashing modes. Gives you 'time left' on the display so you know whether to charge, or switch to a lower level to conserve power. Bar mounted and easy to move between bikes.
You haven't mentioned how uch you want to spend. I've been happy with my Lezyne Power Drive - well made, decent mount, replaceable battery (if it goes south) though beam drops off more than I'd like towards the edge.
Have you looked at the road.cc reviews and wiggle's comparison page?
http://road.cc/category/review-section/accessories/lights-front
http://www.wiggle.com/sc/lights-comparison-guide
I have a Lezyne Micro Drive and a Knog Blinder Dots on the front. The Micro Drive gives a very focussed 200 lumens on high power, the Dots gives me only 80 lumens but a very wide field of light. In unison I think these are great. Also useful is the fact that if one runs out of juice mid ride then the other is still on.
I do like the exposure lights I have.
Mine is a older modle to this one.
lasts for hours can charge up on a usb.
easy to change modes (as well as diffrent power set up for futher tweaking).
Realy well made and can handle the bad weather (now on its second winter and had no problem).
http://www.wiggle.com/exposure-toro-mk7-front-light/
Just make sure you aime it right as it is bright and good for dark lanes.
good time of year as shops now selling off this years modles I saved over £100 when I got mine.
Oh and made in britain!!!
Ixon IQ Premium with a fork crown mount -similar light distribution to what your Trelock. Non usb charge, standard AA rechargeables, lasts 5 hours on full
Maybe ixon Core, smaller, neater, not as bright or wide, but usable on my quite similar sounding 20k rural commute. Usb charge, again 5 hours full.
Ebay, search for Solar Storm (I think) . Will be 25 quid max, the dimmest setting I find great for unlit country roads and lasts about 2 hours.
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/niterider-lumina-750-front-light/
Massively dependent on budget. I picked up a Lezyne Deca Drive YR8 on a good sale deal about 6 months ago (usually £80-£100 I think). Again, bulky, but I regularly use it for a commute that takes in a few miles of unlit trails through woods (mud, floods, pitch black) and the top mode (7 or 800 lumens) can handle that. The angle is pretty adjustable too so it can be positioned to illuminate wherever your path is and avoid blinding any other weirdos out on trails in the pitch black. There's a decent choice of other modes too.
For that type of use it needs charging after every ride (my commute can take 90 mins), but via a micro USB so straightforward enough. Regularly gets covered in rain and mud. So far, so good.
My backup is a knog blinder arc 5.5. Good brightness, good choice of modes, let down by the weakness of the strap/clasp fastening mechanism, and it doesn't have the same angle adjustment as the Deca drive.