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#1
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Front lights - which one?
I'm after a new fron light, until recently I've been using a Smart twin
headlight (4w and 10w) with the separate 6v lead acid battery, but due to a bike change, fitting this to my road bike is a bit of a pain, so I'm on the lookout for a new front light. Single light, quick release is required, as well as batteries in the main unit.Max. price of £50. This is used on occasional dark training rides on the road, and even more occasional off-road riding in the dark. Cateye do a large range on Wiggle, one, the EL530 at £45, looks to have a good spec, but is it overkill - do I really need 1500 candlepower? There is another (EL320 at £30) with 'only' 1000 candlepower - would that be a better compromise? Any others to look at? Thanks Alan. -- To reply by e-mail, change the ' + ' to 'plus'. |
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#2
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Front lights - which one?
On Sun, 24 Sep 2006 09:46:40 +0100, (A.Lee) wrote:
I'm after a new fron light Cateye do a large range on Wiggle, one, the EL530 at £45, There is another (EL320 at £30) Any others to look at? How about the B&M Ixon? Battery powered LED model: http://www.amba-marketing.com/produc...?cid=8&pid=345 http://www.velorution.biz/?p=1053 I've had mine for a few months now and am very impressed with it. At the time of purchase it was a toss up between the Ixon or a more substantial investment in a new SON, wheel re-build and Solidlights 1203D. As I'd not long before bought a decent battery charger and a number of AA NiMH's I decided to try the Ixon. I haven't regretted it at all. Previously I was using two Cateye EL200's but they just weren't bright enough to see properly at night. The Ixon on the other hand provides plenty of illumination, even using the low power mode gives ample light for riding on unlit roads. I rarely use it's full brightness mode. I'm sure the SON and 1203D combo would produce even more light, but of course that comes with a fairly hefty price tag. The Ixon is £55, not cheap, but far, far less than a new SON set up. With good rechargeables running costs are close to nil. The light is easy to clip on or off the bike as needed, can be used on multiple bikes (extra brackets £1.49), and, if you need longer run times, you just throw 4 more AA's into your seat pack. It's a good bit of kit, and certainly worthy of consideration. "Bob" -- Email address is spam trapped, to reply directly remove the beverage. |
#3
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Front lights - which one?
If you are considering an EL530 wiggle have a twin pack "in stock soon" with
an LD1100 rear light for £53.99 If you don't want the LD1100 it would probably fetch around £20 on ebay. Jc. "Call me Bob" wrote in message ... On Sun, 24 Sep 2006 09:46:40 +0100, (A.Lee) wrote: I'm after a new fron light Cateye do a large range on Wiggle, one, the EL530 at £45, There is another (EL320 at £30) Any others to look at? How about the B&M Ixon? Battery powered LED model: http://www.amba-marketing.com/produc...?cid=8&pid=345 http://www.velorution.biz/?p=1053 I've had mine for a few months now and am very impressed with it. At the time of purchase it was a toss up between the Ixon or a more substantial investment in a new SON, wheel re-build and Solidlights 1203D. As I'd not long before bought a decent battery charger and a number of AA NiMH's I decided to try the Ixon. I haven't regretted it at all. Previously I was using two Cateye EL200's but they just weren't bright enough to see properly at night. The Ixon on the other hand provides plenty of illumination, even using the low power mode gives ample light for riding on unlit roads. I rarely use it's full brightness mode. I'm sure the SON and 1203D combo would produce even more light, but of course that comes with a fairly hefty price tag. The Ixon is £55, not cheap, but far, far less than a new SON set up. With good rechargeables running costs are close to nil. The light is easy to clip on or off the bike as needed, can be used on multiple bikes (extra brackets £1.49), and, if you need longer run times, you just throw 4 more AA's into your seat pack. It's a good bit of kit, and certainly worthy of consideration. "Bob" -- Email address is spam trapped, to reply directly remove the beverage. |
#4
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Front lights - which one?
A.Lee wrote:
Cateye do a large range on Wiggle, one, the EL530 at £45, looks to have a good spec, but is it overkill - do I really need 1500 candlepower? There is another (EL320 at £30) with 'only' 1000 candlepower - would that be a better compromise? LEDs aren't actually that much more efficient that halogen bulbs, so don't expect 1 watt LED light to compete with your 10 watt halogen. The main advantage of LEDs over halogens is that LEDs last for years, whereas halogens have to sacrifice bulb lifetime to achieve good efficiency. IMHO the problem with Cateye lights as sold in the UK is that they are unregulated. This means that they can claim both high light output and long runtimes, but that you'll only get full light output when the batteries are fresh. Some of the versions sold in Germany are regulated, but I haven't seen them for sale over here. For under £50, I'd suggest a Trelock LS-600 (under £30 from Cyclesurgery), or for a bit more cash a B&M Ixon as someone else has suggested. Both of these are regulated and have good beam patterns designed not to waste light (similar to dipped headlights on a car). I use the Trelock, and my only real complaint is that it takes 5 AA batteries, which is an awkward number to fit in a charger -- and you will want to use rechargables with any high powered battery light. Most cheaper battery chargers only take batteries in pairs. If you're willing to spend lots more, a dynamo system is probably the way to go, but the good ones aren't cheap. Anthony |
#5
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Front lights - which one?
Beware of reading too much into the number of 'candlepower' that a lamp
has. Candlepower is an obsolete unit (roughly equivalent to the modern 'candela') measuring luminous intensity or brightness. A lamp with a very bright, but tiny, central spot will have a high brightness, measured on the central axis. It may, however, give out much less light than another lamp that emits light over a larger angle. For riding on unlit roads I should think that the Busch and Muller Ixon lamp would be an excellent choice since it has a beam that is appropriately shaped for illuminating a road and not dazzling other road users. (See http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/b&m.asp) For off-road riding you may well prefer a flood-type beam. The Cateye or Smart halogen lamps with separate battery packs would probably be a good choice but, not being an off-roady, I'll leave a recommendation to others. Bob |
#6
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Front lights - which one?
Bob Johnstone wrote:
For riding on unlit roads I should think that the Busch and Muller Ixon lamp would be an excellent choice since it has a beam that is appropriately shaped for illuminating a road and not dazzling other road users. (See http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/b&m.asp) Thats 3 recs. for the Busch then, looks like I'll take a look at them this week. Thanks for all of the replies. Alan. -- To reply by e-mail, change the ' + ' to 'plus'. |
#7
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Front lights - which one?
A.Lee wrote:
Bob Johnstone wrote: For riding on unlit roads I should think that the Busch and Muller Ixon lamp would be an excellent choice since it has a beam that is appropriately shaped for illuminating a road and not dazzling other road users. (See http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/b&m.asp) Thats 3 recs. for the Busch then, looks like I'll take a look at them this week. Thanks for all of the replies. Alan. Make that 4, I have one as well and it does the job. It eats through batteries though, so best to kit up with rechargeables as well. -- Don Whybrow Sequi Bonum Non Time One tentacle, one vote. |
#8
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Front lights - which one?
On Sun, 24 Sep 2006 20:06:43 +0100, Don Whybrow
wrote: A.Lee wrote: Bob Johnstone wrote: For riding on unlit roads I should think that the Busch and Muller Ixon lamp would be an excellent choice since it has a beam that is appropriately shaped for illuminating a road and not dazzling other road users. (See http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/b&m.asp) Thats 3 recs. for the Busch then, looks like I'll take a look at them this week. Thanks for all of the replies. Alan. Make that 4, I have one as well and it does the job. It eats through batteries though, so best to kit up with rechargeables as well. There was a review of rechargeables in one of my comics (Arrivee, I think). The winners in the AA stakes were 7dayshop.com 2700mAh NiMh for value for money and capacity. Tim |
#9
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Front lights - which one?
"Don Whybrow" wrote in message ... Any recommendations on where to but the Ixon, on the web? Jc. |
#10
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Front lights - which one?
On Sun, 24 Sep 2006 22:25:04 +0100, "Josey" nospam@josey wrote:
Any recommendations on where to but the Ixon, on the web? I couldn't find it stocked by any of my usual online suspects. It's imported by Amba though, who seem to supply quite a large number of shops. You can see a clicky-map-list-doobrey on this page: http://www.amba-marketing.com/produc...?cid=8&pid=345 Any of that lot should be able to get one for you. Incidently, the new Ixon Speed model listed on the Peter White site someone else linked to looks interesting, although not yet available: http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/b&m.asp "Bob" -- Email address is spam trapped, to reply directly remove the beverage. |
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