I tell you what chaps,those "Specialized Stix Sport Combo" are fantastic..so bright.
Maybe for cycle paths at <15mph on a clear night. Useless for normal speed/morning/twilight/bad weather.
Yeah don't point it in your face and turn it on to the brightest setting, unless you want to have a ghosty rectangle in your eyes for the next 30 mins.
Been there & got the tshirt lol
Picked up one of the Nebula-style rear lights from Aldi. It looks exactly the same as my Nebula even down to the mounts.
Interested how you find it mate.
Personally I've been through the cheap lights, Aldi lights and chinese kree/torch route before and prefer quality over cheapness these days. My chosen brands and recommendations are Exposure, Cateye & Lezyne.
Fronts:
Cateye Volt800; current for main beam/open road. Find 800 lumen overdrive enough for 20+mph speeds in most weather conditions. Would be better with 1000+ lumen but only because I suffer from some short sightedness. Cost:Value was important for me as I couldn't justify £150+. Battery life isn't amazing but can do 8+ hours not on overdrive. Waterproof & rugged, into its 2nd season. Warranty replacement for a Volt 400 that I exchanged, but also hadn't found bright enough.
Cateye Rapid X; winter commuting 'be seen' light. 15+ hour burntime on regular flash. 2+ weeks of commuting on 1 charge, waterproof & robust. Mine is into it's 3rd season. Fits on my headtube too (so very visible regardless of bars/arms/direction)!
Exposure Sirius Mk5; the other halfs primary, more than bright enough for any weathers inner city commuting (500 lumen) with usual exceptional Exposure build quality, battery life and mounting. Only a few months old but expect good things of it (bought in a bundle with a TraceR).
Cateye Volt 100; my old front, now used as a flasher for the other half. Low lumen but 15+ hours burntime on flash makes it a great 'be seen' light. Probably nearly 5 years old and still going strong. Waterproof and has had a hard life, I recall having to scratch ice off the lens a couple of times.
Leyzne macro duo; helmet light I use in the real winter and darkness. I find a helmet light brilliant for commuting and riding in heavy traffic areas making me very visible. Battery life isn't great but predominantly on flash I get over a weeks commuting out of it (8 hours). Good quality, waterproof and has survived 2 crashes. Around 3 years old now but not used it as much as the others, only really for midwinter commuting.
Rears:
Exposure TraceR; probably my most favourite light I've ever owned. Incredible quality, brightness, features and battery life make this well worth the investment. I run mine any weathers and any time of the year when some additional visibility is required. Bright enough for daytime use and regularly used for such. 2+ weeks of burntime and waterproof. Bought a second one (for the other half).
Cateye Mini RC; my previous go-to commuting light. Cheap & cheerful with 20+ hours of flash burntime. Mine has spent 2 years attached to a saddlebag and taken quite a pounding, I ran it for a year or 2 before that attached to seatpost. Charges fast, nice and light and would half consider mounting it to a helmet.
Moon Nebula; such a bright and eye catching light. Bought this on such a deal that it (needlessly) replaced the Mini RC. Have only run it a few times but will be running it more and more as a solid rear with my TraceR on pulse this winter. So far 'untested' quality and waterproofing.
