You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
Been looking at some new bike lights and whilst the ‘branded’ ones seem to start at £40-50 for a good led front light there are loads of eBay specials starting at £8. Are these actually any good or do you get what you pay for.
Lights are quite often OK but batteries are generally price = quality. Torchy or MTB Batteries are pretty reliable.
Add up the component costs and the hourly rate to put it all together ... What do you think you can get for 8 quid, I'd not expect much consistency at that level.
In short, some are.
Skullys, for example, are a really good back up light for not a lot.
Some really aren't. Bad seals, poor mounts, no spares, etc.
yup they're great, run them for years now. Bought an exposure for my helmet though last year for the convenience of not having a wire running off my head. But yes, get one, I've had two sets and usually just buy a new 6 cell battery every year and run it on my bars. hasn't exploded on me yet.
I've got a Moon Ring USB rear light (£24.00) and a couple of the Decathlon (£10.00) USB ones.
They all work well (as a backup to a Dynamo system), but the Moon 'feels' much nicer. It's a lovely bit of kit.
Not convinced about USB lights in general, tbh, battery lights seem to last for ever and it's easier to carry and use 3 AAA batteries than a charger and cable.
Don't put your house and family at risk with the batteries and charger. Bin them. The Cree LED stuff in the lights are what they are (assuming genuine). Ignore the quoted Chinese 6 billion Lumens. There's more to a light than just the LEDs in them though. Build quality, mounts, crash resistance, weather proofing, driver board that provides under/over charge protection, adapts to battery level, LED and ambient temperature (avoiding overheating when not moving much etc). Plus there's the lens and what spread you want. Or with the cheap stuff you just get basics but they'll work and provide lots of light probably.
Consider that a good quality battery and charger from a reputable UK source that's fully certified is going to set you back £30ish+ anyway.
Check out Torchy's blog and his warnings about dodgy batteries http://www.torchythebatteryboy.com/
I've used the cheap Chinese lights for years. The batteries can be hit and miss, I've seen fresh out the box ones run flat in 30 minutes.
Aldi sometimes have lights in, I picked up a 4* led one last year. 3 year warranty too.
This week I times how long I get from the batteries I still have. One of my old Chinese ones running a single CREE light lasted 4 hours on full brightness. The Aldi light lasted 3 hours on full brightness too.
Pretty much confirms my thoughts. I know all about exploding batteries etc from my RC Heli flying.
To save starting anither thread - any recommendations for a good front light. Needs a good 7hr+ ‘economy’ steady beam from a single charge. Budget - preferably £40-50 but will go up to £80-90 if it really is worth it.
Also - can you still get normal battery powered lights. Would like one as a back up - if my Audax’ing goes to plan and I start doing the longer ones, a second system where I can just change the batteries is appealing.