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Front lights

Posted: 18 Mar 2009 15:53
by GrahamGamblin
Hi all,
I do a lot of my cycling after dark, and unfortunately my front lights died on me yesterday, so I'm in the market for a replacement. I need something with enough brightness and beam spread to take me round unlit lanes, a proper headlamp. Market leader for this sort of thing seems to be the Exposure Maxx, but before I shell out £150 or so, does anyone have any other tips?
thanks in advance

Posted: 18 Mar 2009 22:57
by Si-D
No tips on alternatives, but I purchased the EXPOSURE RACE MAXX2 (the 2 bulbed version) and it's pretty damn impressive!!
Extremely bright, and extremely lightweight.

You get 3 power settings, the brightest just strong enough to light an unlit lane safely enough to navigate.
There's an extra, really useful setting where it shines on low beam, but strobes twice per second on bright.
This is perfect for commuting and getting yourself noticed
(in fact when I used it a few cars which had just passed me were slowing down thinking they'd been caught by a speed camera!!)

They're not cheap of course, but nothing else comes close to their performance.
I don't know whether the single bulb version will be bright enough to safely luminate an unlit lane tho.

Posted: 19 Mar 2009 08:59
by chris ankcorn
Have you considered

Light & Motion Stella 120 LED?

I bought one from Alistair's shop for 80 pounds and its fine for me. It lights-up country lanes adequately and approaching cars dip their headlights.
What more could you want?

Posted: 19 Mar 2009 13:42
by GrahamGamblin
Thanks for the replies - I will check these out.

Posted: 23 Mar 2009 15:31
by GrahamGamblin
Just to update, eventually settled on Niteflux Vision Stick lights - first impressions are that they are very impressive. Two lights, one with a smaller battery (less runtime) for commuting, one with a larger battery claiming six hours runtime. One light is spot, one flood, light heads are interchangeable with the batteries. Easy to move from bike to bike too, and there's a helmet mount for off-roaders. Very bright - will need to be careful not to dazzle oncoming motorists!

Posted: 30 Mar 2009 10:12
by Almac
GrahamGamblin wrote:Just to update, eventually settled on Niteflux Vision Stick lights - first impressions are that they are very impressive. Two lights, one with a smaller battery (less runtime) for commuting, one with a larger battery claiming six hours runtime. One light is spot, one flood, light heads are interchangeable with the batteries. Easy to move from bike to bike too, and there's a helmet mount for off-roaders. Very bright - will need to be careful not to dazzle oncoming motorists!
Graham,

Keep them charged. We have a box full to return to niteflux under warranty. If you haven't bought them yet get the stiore to tell you when they were last charged and the date of Manufacture.

If left flat for 4 months the batteries will NOT hold a charge and will soon not charge at all. Considering the earliest they can get to you is 3 months from manufacture be careful.

Posted: 30 Mar 2009 15:38
by GrahamGamblin
Thanks for the tip Alister. They seem to hold their charge so far but I will keep checking. The were fully charged at time of purchase and I have recharged them once since then.