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What commuting lights do you use?

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  • February 4, 2009 at 6:09 pm #11589
    ourmaninthenorth

    Just reading the review of the Niterider Cherry Bomb, and it got me thinking about the lighting I have for my commute and how it could be improved.

    I currently have:

    Front: Light & Motion Vega. It’s around 3 years old, so isn’t as powerful as newer versions. Being an LED light, it flashes well.

    Rear: Cateye LD100 mounted on rear of the rack. Both lines of LEDs set to flash. Coupled with a small LED on the back of my helmet and the reflector on the rear ‘guard.

    While my commute is street-lit, I do sometimes wonder if the above is enough. The Vega isn’t really up to lighting any darker areas (even in non-flashing mode), and none of the lights has any real value side-on.

    So, I’m now trying to work out how I should enhance the lighting. Thoughts?

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Viewing 14 replies - 1 through 14 (of 14 total)
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  • February 10, 2009 at 11:16 am #626675
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    ourmaninthenorth

    Er, sorry….
    I’m not sure what a “grid” is, but nonetheless I’m sorry for breaking it..!

    February 9, 2009 at 10:07 pm #626673
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    DaveP

    Hmmmm Beer!
    http://users.hal-pc.org/~joejr/32dohs.wav

    February 9, 2009 at 7:48 pm #626671
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    dave atkinson

    you broke our grid!

     grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

    February 9, 2009 at 7:18 pm #626669
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    ourmaninthenorth

    D’oh!
    D’oh!D’oh!D’oh!D’oh!D’oh!D’oh!D’oD’oh!hD’ohD’D’oh!oh!D’oh!D’oh!D’oh!D’oh!D’oh!D’oh!D’oD’oh!hD’ohD’D’oh!oh!D’oh!D’oh!D’oh!D’oh!D’oh!D’oh!D’oD’oh!hD’ohD’D’oh!oh!D’oh!D’oh!D’oh!D’oh!D’oh!D’oh!D’oD’oh!hD’ohD’D’oh!oh!D’oh!D’oh!D’oh!D’oh!D’oh!D’oh!D’oD’oh!hD’ohD’D’oh!oh!D’oh!D’oh!D’oh!D’oh!D’oh!D’oh!D’oD’oh!hD’ohD’D’oh!oh!D’oh!D’oh!D’oh!D’oh!D’oh!D’oh!D’oD’oh!hD’ohD’D’oh!oh!D’oh!D’oh!D’oh!D’oh!D’oh!D’oh!D’oD’oh!hD’ohD’D’oh!oh!D’oh!D’oh!D’oh!D’oh!D’oh!D’oh!D’oD’oh!hD’ohD’D’oh!oh!D’oh!D’oh!D’oh!D’oh!D’oh!D’oh!D’oD’oh!hD’ohD’D’oh!oh!D’oh!D’oh!D’oh!D’oh!D’oh!D’oh!D’oD’oh!hD’ohD’D’oh!oh!D’oh!D’oh!D’oh!D’oh!D’oh!D’oh!D’oD’oh!hD’ohD’D’oh!oh!D’oh!D’oh!D’oh!D’oh!D’oh!D’oh!D’oD’oh!hD’ohD’D’oh!oh!D’oh!D’oh!D’oh!D’oh!D’oh!D’oh!D’oD’oh!hD’ohD’D’oh!oh!

    February 9, 2009 at 6:43 pm #626667
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    Tony Farrelly

    I saw it…

    Here! 

    🙂 😉

    February 9, 2009 at 5:39 pm #626665
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    ourmaninthenorth

    Good responses – some food for thought
    Anyone seen this:

    http://blog.wired.com/cars/2009/02/lightlanes-lase.html

    February 9, 2009 at 4:10 pm #626663
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    DaveP

    Hi-Viz
    This is another topic… I wear either an old RF Aquanort jacket – the one with LOADS of 3m seam piping or my new Altura Nightvision Jacket ( black version). For cold dark nights I put on a pair of Ron Hill Tracksters – the every old ones covered in reflective ink. Footwear? a pair of C-Dale urban shoes – look like black trainers with SPDs and even more 3M.

    Nothing YELLOW!

    Must look like something from the movie TRON.

    February 9, 2009 at 2:47 pm #626661
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    llama

    hope vision 4 led to
    hope vision 4 led to see

    selection of blinking cateyes and reflective tape to be seen

    I can’t bring myself to wear hi-vis

    February 9, 2009 at 1:04 pm #626659
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    anotherdeadhero

    Cpt Safety enters the room …
    I have a Cateye LD1100 zip-tied onto my rack, a Blackburn Mars 3 on my seatpost, rear reflector, and red reflective flash on my mudguards. Wheel reflectors, orange reflective trim round my MTB spd pedals (not those stoopid irritating black plastic things), a BLT Doppler on the bars twinned with a MTE p7 torch for ~500 lumen kicking out the front (I rarely use it full power in traffic – dazzle hazard, handy on unlit lanes though), white reflective tape down either fork leg.

    But then I commute in Bristol … so ppl still don’t see me …

    Rear lights, wish I could find a good one. The cateye is very bright, but the flash modes go in and out of sync with each other, so if you are standing >50 yards away it dosn’t always look like it is flashing. The Blackburn isn’t as bright and isn’t as good side view, but at least its smaller, lighter and has a far far far far superior mount – unlike the cateye, which uses the same mount as smaller lighter siblings, so tendsto break mounts. Irritatingly it require a silly small screwdriver to get the batteries out, unlike the cateye twist to unlock battery access.

    February 7, 2009 at 3:44 pm #626657
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    radar

    Lumis
    Lumicycle rig, 7 years old still running and long burn times. Run 2 halogens 12w spot + 20w flood when off road. On road LED front with glo ring and LED rear. Very bright. Worth the money when you consider there are no street lights on my commute- so need bright lights, and also before the lumis a set of lights lasted a winter, rears only a couple of months (regardless of brand – cateyes were just as short lived as el cheapo no name stuff)

    February 6, 2009 at 9:42 pm #626655
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    Blackhound

    Lights
    Front is usually a Fenix L2D and sometimes give my old Lupine Nightmare a run out, especially if longer ride.

    On the rear is one of those Smart 0.5w jobbies, bright. enough. [Although a colleague runs one of those £90 Dinotte jobbies – that is bright!)

    Always carry a f/r backupz as well.

    February 5, 2009 at 9:31 am #626653
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    DaveP

    Cherry
    Got to admit one of those is on my shopping list. 👿

    February 5, 2009 at 6:52 am #626651
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    dave atkinson

    I got…

     the 5-led Cateye 600 on the back, which is a brilliant light, now superseded by the 610 which we’ll be testing soon. definitely thinking about getting a cherry bomb though 🙂  I’ve also got a backupz on the seatpost. I’ve got a cheap flashing LED on the bars and an Ultrafire torch on my helmet. if all that’s not enough, there’s always the off-road lights… 👿

    February 4, 2009 at 8:24 pm #626649
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    DaveP

    Are you sitting comfortably?
    Here we go…

    On the back of the seat post is an old Cateye 3 led something-or-other on a QR clip on mount.
    I had a Topeak red light on the rack, but that ‘bounced off’ on first road ride, so now have the standard reflector and a Tesco red flashing LED thing ( £4 for pair – v bright 3 mode ) on rubber band mount. On my helmet I have a red and 2 white Backupzs, soon to be replaced by a pair of the S-sun dual lights (£8 @ CRC). On the bars are an old Specialized Solo lamp – gutted and fitted out with a 3.6v Li-Ion, Cree 170 lmn Led & columator (see http://lyxus.net/mfn ) on a QR mount- and the other ( white ) Tesco Led.

    👿

    Most of my commute is on busy country lanes without street lights – this lot provides plenty of light for seeing, and more importantly BEING seen.

    B)

    Somewhere in the garage I have an old Smart 10w ( MR11 ) 6v NiMh with a duff bulb – going to replace the bulb with 4 of these: http://lyxus.net/mfo

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