Road Cycling Essentials

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£30-35 will put you in the price range of most of the lights than any bike shop will carry. Really though, these will make other road users aware of you, but aren't going to massively light up the road.

You really need to be looking at trail lights and they are much more pricey.
A good number of people modify high power torches also, which is actually cheaper than buying proper trail lights.
 
I have a "UltraFire SSC P7 2-Mode 900-Lumen LED Flashlight".
There is also a bike mount available for it. Torch + bike mount + rechargeable batteries + charger cost me around £30.

I'v used it on my mtb in pitch black woods and i can see where im going.
Might be a bit of a problem on roads tho, i think it might be a bit bright to be shining into the face of oncoming cars. I usually angle it down at the ground when road riding (but i dont usually ride on the road in the dark anyway).
 
Would people reccomend the Specialized Allez 16 '11 as a good entry level bike for a beginer, i'd rather spend abit more on getting something that'd last me awhile/intermediate level bike and wouldn't want to replace when i become abit more experienced. My budget would be around the £600 mark.
 
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H0ax! said:
Could anyone recommend me some lights? There are so many mixed reviews I was wondering if anyone had any personal experience.

My budget is about £30-35. Ideally I would like some that can be used on unlit roads...

Thanks.
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I found that bike lights around that price just weren't that bright once you're out on the roads. To avoid having to pay for an expensive light costing £100+, I opted for a Fenix LD20 LED torch, and a bike mount for it. This will cost you about £54 (torch and bike mount), which is more than your budget but I think it is worth it.
 
I'd never thought about buying a separate light and bracket... I'll definitely look in to it.

Recently took my car of the road (insurance/road tax ran out this month) and decided to try and make do with just my bike, hence why I'm gathering bits and pieces for it lol...

Just bought this



Which I must say is great! The rain cover is a nice touch.

And a Kryptonite/cable combo previously recommended.
 
Mr. Brightside said:
I have the same setup: a Fenix LD20 and the Lockblocks holder, bought from the same sight. I recommend it.
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I take it is not too bright? Or would do you just turn it down... I'm happy to spend a bit more. My journey to work is fine, but when I visit my family, country roads with no lighting are unavoidable.
 
H0ax! said:
I take it is not too bright? Or would do you just turn it down... I'm happy to spend a bit more. My journey to work is fine, but when I visit my family, country roads with no lighting are unavoidable.
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Yeah, there are plenty of brightness levels (four: low, medium, high and turbo). There's also a strobe mode (which uses turbo brightness), and S.O.S. mode, which uses high brightness.
 
touch said:
I have a "UltraFire SSC P7 2-Mode 900-Lumen LED Flashlight".
There is also a bike mount available for it. Torch + bike mount + rechargeable batteries + charger cost me around £30.

I'v used it on my mtb in pitch black woods and i can see where im going.
Might be a bit of a problem on roads tho, i think it might be a bit bright to be shining into the face of oncoming cars. I usually angle it down at the ground when road riding (but i dont usually ride on the road in the dark anyway).
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Where did you find it for that price mate? I'm looking for the P7 based lights but the guy won't get back to me on ebay!
 
Aman said:
Would people reccomend the Specialized Allez 16 '11 as a good entry level bike for a beginer, i'd rather spend abit more on getting something that'd last me awhile/intermediate level bike and wouldn't want to replace when i become abit more experienced. My budget would be around the £600 mark.
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Its an OK bike. They way I went was to get an all-round road bike that I now use as a winter bike with full mudguards etc. Cycling in Autumn/Winter without mudguards isnt particularly pleasant. Remember you're going to need pedals/shoes and some clothing, and some tools like a pump etc.
 
H0ax, I'd commit to either a full Li Ion powered torch or an AA powered torch. Got to remember that Li Ion cells are 3.6V and AA are 1.5V, so when running AA's in an adapter in a Li Ion torch you'll never get the full brightness. AA torches will be designed for that voltage-brightness combo. The bonus of AA is that they don't need a dedicated charger and you can just buy a packet of batteries in an emergency. New AA rechargeables don't go flat when they're left sitting around either.

If you want a really seriously bright 2 x AA torch have a think about the Fenix L2D or LD20. Really high quality torches and as bright as a car headlight. 2 rechargeables last about 1.5 hours. Even the smaller ones in their range are going to make excellent bike lights :)
 
First post in this thread - I just wanted to say hi to all you roadies out there having very recently joined the ranks *raises three fingers of right hand in greeting*


My story, I started cycling around town more a few months ago - on a hardtail MTB with great big knobbly tyres. I noticed how i was being overtaken by virtually everyone on hybrids & road bikes, including the very old. I decided I needed to get me a road bike.

Well after a fair amount of research i opted for a Specialized Secteur Sport, partly because of its good reviews, cost was about right, promise of a slightly more comfortable ride but also in no small part due to the gorgeous red & black colour scheme.

Wow - what a machine. Im totally hooked. I have augumented my purchase several times in the last few weeks with upgraded tyres, lights, technical clothes, spares, workshop stuff etc. Im currently mulling over my first clip-in pedal upgrade - probably going to go Shimano SPD (MTB style for reversible pedals and recessed cleats on the shoe).

But damn.... my bike is such a pleasure to ride - so responsive and powerful when you put the hammer down. I totally get it :D
 
touch said:
Cant link to it. Try putting exactly what i typed into google ;)
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Thanks mate. Just ordered

E57436_LRG.jpg


Apparently the Cree T6 LED is better than the SSC P7 so went for this and it's a bit more compact looking compared to that one I was originally looking at. Also I hate people that dingy emails when they are a business!!!

Was around £41 but used the RETAIL10 code to get 10% off making it £37 :)

Just gotta wait up to 4 weeks? and I paid by paypal as that site looks dodgy as **** to me!
 
Well, who understands these strange off-road bike folk on here. I'm building a clunker mountain bike for the Isle of Wight challenge and they've accused me of making it too much like a road bike! :p

Nowt queer as folk :p
 
Jonny69 said:
I'm building a clunker mountain bike for the Isle of Wight challenge
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Well what are you doing back in this thread then?
You're not welcome here anymore :p


We should start a hybrid/cyclocross thread. I still havnt posted about my cyclocross adventure from last weekend because the roadies wont like the chunky tyres and the mtbers wont like the drop bars :(
 
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