3W Front light for £40, too good to be true?

[IanSmithISA]

Good morning,

I am looking at a front light for my commute over the winter, which is mostly on unlit country lanes.

Having looked around a lot I stumbled onto a 3W LED light from Planet X at £40.

http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/i/q/...ed-front-light

This almost seems to be too good to be true, the only downside seems to be that there is no rechargeable battery pack.

The claim is 15 hours from 4 AA batteries, and I do about 10 hours during the week. So a pack of 10 Poundland/Kodax batteries should last for a week, even if I have to use two sets of 4 batteries as they are economy ones, it still sounds good.

Anyone tried this light?

Bye

Ian

[Drumnagorrach]

Ian
I bought a pair of Tesco L.E.D. "super torches " from Tesco ,they cost me £7 each last autumn ( thats with batteries ). I live between Aberdeen and Inverness ,and only have time to ride in the evenings on unlit (unpopulated ) roads,and I can see fine with them.
They were recomended by the local mountain bike club,i'v used mine off road on forest tracks at night,but they arn't good enough for fast single track.
I made mountings out of 25mm thick high density foam,and cable ties, If you don't fancy making the mounts ,I could make you a set.
Lee
Bike light 003.jpgBike light 002.jpgBike light 001.jpg

[Matt Gaunt]

Good morning,

I am looking at a front light for my commute over the winter, which is mostly on unlit country lanes.

Having looked around a lot I stumbled onto a 3W LED light from Planet X at £40.

http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/i/q/...ed-front-light

This almost seems to be too good to be true, the only downside seems to be that there is no rechargeable battery pack.

The claim is 15 hours from 4 AA batteries, and I do about 10 hours during the week. So a pack of 10 Poundland/Kodax batteries should last for a week, even if I have to use two sets of 4 batteries as they are economy ones, it still sounds good.

Anyone tried this light?

Bye

Ian

No, I think that's just a good deal. Surely rechargeables would be the way to go though?

[IanSmithISA]

Good evening
Thank you for that kind offer and apologies for the delay.
I do Worcester to Evesham (a bit south of Birmingham), which has a surprisingly large number of small hills.
I have tried a number of cheap solutions, including two 50 plus LED lights and as you add LEDs you do get a brighter spot up to about 6 feet in front of you, which is fine up to about 15mph. Beyond this the LEDs don’t seem to have the power to penetrate any further.
As the dark is adding 10-15 minutes to my trip as I crawl up the hills at 10-12mph, but am too scared to take advantage of the 30-35mph descents that are normal during daylight, I got enthusiastic and went to my two LBS. Both were happy to suggest two Cateyes at £80 each, or £160 for the pair, but having just spent £220 on new wheels, tires and gears, and about to spend some more on warm leggings, this commuting lark just seems like a never ending spend :-(.
“No, I think that's just a good deal. Surely rechargeable would be the way to go though?”
Not sure, if the light is truly set up for non rechargeable batteries, which are typically 1.6V (AA/AAA) then the 1.2V of NiMh may result in a dimmer light.
Bye

Ian

[sevenhills]

Good morning,

Having looked around a lot I stumbled onto a 3W LED light from Planet X at £40.

Ian

I noticed a 3w torch in Asda the other day, I could maybe fix it to my bike. But I am confused by all this watts and lumens stuff. Is 3watts bright?
Good bright rear lights are easy to find, its front ones that are difficult; I want a flasher and a constant.