Commuting - Fork crown mounted, battery operated light?

Bikeforums.net is a forum about nothing but bikes. Our community can help you find information about hard-to-find and localized information like bicycle tours, specialties like where in your area to have your recumbent bike serviced, or what are the best bicycle tires and seats for the activities you use your bike for.



PDA
no1mad
06-06-11, 06:57 PM
What are my options?

I realize that's the primary spot for a dyno powered light, but unsure of what format my next rig will run- 20", 26", 700c, or 29er- so not willing to invest in a dynohub yet.

irclean
06-07-11, 12:02 AM
I use a Cateye HL-EL530 (http://www.cateye.com/en/products/detail/HL-EL530/). I wish I could say I recommend it but alas, I cannot. It's okay, just underwhelming. I do like the fact that it's self-contained and runs on 4 AA batteries. I also like that it only has one steady "on" setting (I have a backup blinkie). It does help me to define potholes, but it's output is less than impressive.

I mounted it to my fork crown using an Ixon Speed fork crown mount (http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/b&m.asp) (scroll down the linked page to see it) that I got from Peter White Cycles. He offers a lot of different battery-powered lights that are a step above the 530. In fact, he has this to say about the 530:


The newer EL530 is brighter but still a small beam. Not enough to light up the road by itself. If this is your only light for use on unlit roads, you'll want two of them, perhaps three.

I guess I should have done my homework a little better. If I were to buy another battery-powered headlight it would be the Busch & Müller Ixon IQ Speed (http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/b&m.asp).