Lezyne Deca Drive front light

It's a real shame they've stopped. It's brilliant. Just brilliant.

Not really much point, other than as a comparison to the standard "torch" lamps, as Philips have ended production of the SafeRide models, according to a release I read:
"Dear business partner, dear customer,

On March 31, 2014, Philips will permanently discontinue its line of LED BikeLights. This includes the sale of the products belonging to the Philips LED Saferide®, Philips LED Activeride® and Philips LED RearLight product lines. All products and accessories will be retired from the market.

After that date, the products will be no longer for sale, and orders will no longer be accepted. We will continue to provide aftersales and support services for the products that have been sold in the last years, according to the terms and conditions that you may expect from a Philips solution.

We strongly suggest that you liaise with your local sales partner, to discuss a last-buy option accommodating your business’ needs.

Should you have additional questions, we encourage you to learn more about the details through your direct customer contact.

We sincerely appreciate your support and regret any inconvenience this necessary action causes you."

This would explain why Rose bikes were selling them so cheaply last year- paid over £80 for mkI, yet under £30 for mk II!

Rose Bikes say theirs are the later model with the led surrounding the switch so I bought one. Thanks for advices.

I started paying by paypal but after exchange from euros to sterling it was more expensive so I bought it with a debit card. Something to watch out for.

By the way road.cc said somewhere that they have not tested the Saferide because Philips won't send them one. Does anyone in Bristol or Bath have one they could borrow to test? It would be nice if it was in the light comparator.

If you can get it, get it.

I tend to sell my lights after each winter. But the Philips is a keeper.

That and the See Sense front and rear I've paired it with.

I refresh charged the Philips batteries and they improved, and I charged them in the light and one of them at least lost capacity. Batteries are over three years old and unused so not surprising if they are not good. Eneloops is good advice, version 4 by Panasonic.

Knurled screw is a great idea, will have a look in my bits box.

I wrote to Rose and they have the later model in stock. No longer £25 (what a blag!) but cheaper than Amazon even with postage.

I try not to buy from Amazon because of the tax evasion but I have to say their customer service and returns system has been brilliant.

The main complaint seems to be the way that overdrive mode is set up, with most options locked out other than very bright and moderate. Lezyne does this with most of their lights, and some reviewers as well as me see that as an advantage. There is a recent road.cc review of a Moon Xpower 780that makes exactly this point (http://road.cc/content/review/135519-moon-x-power-780-front-light ). My Superdrive is always in this mode, and the simple switching is quite an advantage. I ride on unlit rural roads a lot, and although I use my 700 lumen overdrive mode, switching to 150 for an oncoming car doesn't affect my ability to see the road, although I do have a smaller 150 lumen commuter model on the bars as well.

I've just bought one of these (I had some Wiggle vouchers for Xmas) so I will let you all know how I get on with the light. I only do one or two night rides on unlit roads a week but using it for the first time last week I was impressed with it's brightness and beam pattern. I went for the loaded option as it had the spare battery and alloy handlebar mount.

While Saferide is being mentioned, I bought a Saferide 80 from Amazon. When it arrived it was a 2011 model (underside has a 4 digit code ending with 11) and the batteries don't charge very well. The newer models have some improvements but I'm not sure how to order specifically a newer model.

I asked Amazon to do something about the batteries and they sent a replacement light - with the same battery problem.

It's great light, if a bit heavy, and more than bright enough for me. I would definitely buy again if I could find a late model one.

What model (date code) have other people got and how is the Saferide 60?

What peowpeow said.

This isn't a sensible beam pattern for road use IMHO. When are bike light manufacturers going to start offering beam patterns like car headlights - a powerful dipped beam with a clear cut off to avoid dazzle and a main beam you can switch from/to easily?

> "the front of the body extends to create an eyelid keeping any light spillage from shining up into the rider's or oncoming drivers eyes."

This is a fudge. An "eyelid" does not prevent dazzle since the beam is not correctly focussed. To work correctly, an "eyelid" would need to be several feet long. Don't believe me? Put your car's headlamps on full beam and stick a sheet of cardboard over the top. Only when you're stood closer than 6 feet or so will the cardboard have any effect; anyone further away than that will still be dazzled.

Only a correctly focussed beam will prevent dazzle, and this can only be achieved with good optics like those seen on German stvzo lights. And please remember, that about half of the 900 lumens output will be heading up into the sky where you don't need it. A properly focussed beam needs only half that power because all the light goes where you need it. This has the added advantage of extending battery life.

It's an odd one. They appear to have made a conscious decision to move the bright setting to overdrive. It wasn't always this way, at least with the Mark 1 Mega Drive for example. On that one it was race mode, which basically did the same as overdrive does now in terms of limiting your options but the brightest setting was still available outside race mode.

FWIW, 700 lumens from a Deca/Mega drive is probably enough for road riding.

Personally I changed to a Phillips SafeRide which is just better overall. Particularly since Rose Bikes sold it to me for £25............