Front Lights?

[AdMan]

In desperate need of a new front light, needs to be sub £50. Any suggestions and do you prefer rechargeable or disposable batteries?

[Kumquat]

Chinese special.
Solar x2/magicshine etc or similar clone
Available from ebay or direct from somewhere like light malls.com

Find one you like the look of and google it for reviews.
Uk suppliers provide peace of mind for a small increase in price.

Mtbbatteries.co.uk is one example.
Tk.

[johnnystorm]

This is the general sort that kicked off the "Chinese lantern revolution". You'll find a million and one variations on line for lots more/less than the cost of this one but it is from an established UK retailer so the potential battery/charger dangers are either reduced and/or you have someone to whinge to when/if it happens. There are loads out there and I'd be loathe to suggest one and then find out it burnt your house down! :?

http://www.7dayshop.com/7dayshop-bike-l ... UrbGlnaHQ=

If you haven't already looked into it one issue with the Chinese specials is that the battery quality varies (batteries can be reclaimed laptop cells on their last legs, etc) as do the chargers (no fuses leading to small explosions/fires, dodgy plug pin adaptors, etc). One way out of this is to buy a trusted Uk charger & battery to go with a cheap light unit but for me that seems to miss the point when you could have this for a few pounds more (battery £30, charger for a tenner, light unit £15):

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Torchy-Oriole ... 43c2e080e8

(Apologies for ignoring your budget a bit. )

if you are sticking rigidly to your £50 limit then the cheaper light above will probably still impress you if you haven't had a modern LED setup before and gives you some spare cash to invest in another or a similar light to go on your helmet. One problem with these brighter lights is get to go faster, come to a tight bend and realise you're going in blind!

More main light and head torch options here in budget:
http://www.candb-seen.co.uk/flashlighth ... 6-900.html

Something like this to attach a hand torch to your bars:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bike-Torch-Fl ... 1c1767ecf0

And to your helmet:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bicycle-Bike- ... 4614ecce76

For me the decision for rechargeable vs disposable comes down to whether you'll flatten your batteries before you have the next opportunity to charge them. Something that takes AAs can easily be replenished but probably won't have the Oomph that a lamp with a big lithium cell pack does.... Having a rechargeable mainlight gives you "cheap power" as it won't gobble up expensive AAs and a disposable battery one on your lid won't have awkward cables, can be run on rechargables to begin with but gives you the option of disposables in an emergency.

[AdMan]

Thanks :) think ill go for the second option and buy two and have a bike and a headtorch :D

[johnnystorm]

No worries, it's a slippery slope. I started with £30 lights and now I'm kitted out with exposures.

[FLV]

I have a c&b seen 1000 lumen one which I used to commute last winter. It was very good for the price and didnt let me down once.

No worries, it's a slippery slope. I started with £30 lights and now I'm kitted out with exposures.

My first ever light for riding was a kitchen spot light bulb mounted in a metal tube with a toggle switch on the back, battery was a load of model car ones in a large bottle secured in there with expanding foam.
Total cost, £7 if I remember rightly.

I now also use exposures :)

[johnnystorm]

I've still got my Smart Halogens (2.5/5w) and super heavy bottle battery that was a massive step up from my nEver Readys. Alas the charger went walkabouts when moving house. Many a Blackburn cage bent out of shape from a bumpy descent by that bad boy.

[ianfitz]

No worries, it's a slippery slope. I started with £30 lights and now I'm kitted out with exposures.

snap! same here. good though aren't they...

[Todge]

I have been using LED Lenser P7 for a few months and been rather impressed with it, disposable batteries 4 AAA, (I prefer disposable as you can get them anywhere) mounting bracket extra £10 torch was £35. very good battery life too. also have a alpkit head torch to supplement my kit.

The thing I don't like about is it is quite heavy for its size but very good quality, just make sure you buy a genuine mounting bracket as there are lots of copies knocking about.

[johnnystorm]

No worries, it's a slippery slope. I started with £30 lights and now I'm kitted out with exposures.

snap! same here. good though aren't they...

Yep. I was of the "too expensive, look what you can get from china" opinion. Until I had a go with a mates. It is hard to argue the vfm when you have lights like I've linked above for £25 but the beam pattern, built in batteries, etc just make them nicer to use.

Aside from possible safety issues the worst thing about done Chinese lights is the baffling modes you have to click through "high, medium, low, epilepsy, flashed morse code for the lyrics to "The yellow rose of Texas" and then finally off.

[Zippy]

I sold a kona coiler to buy my first set of lights, a mk1 exposure Maxx-D and mk2 joystick (with whiteye).