OK - this is a bit of a shameless plug so apologies in advance.
As most of you may (or may not) know I'm a keen cyclist and during the summer I tend to cycle into work as much as possible (20 mile round trip). Its good fun, it makes me feel like I'm keeping fit and satisfies that little eco-nazi inside of me. However, when the nights draw in I tend to either commute by Motorbike or Car, but not this year...
So I'm all togged up with my various winter gear and alike to brave the winds, the rain and the cold. My only problem was sorting out lights. In the past when I've bought lights they've either haven't been powerful enough to cast any light onto the road or seriously weigh down the bike with a giant battery pack (no good for my Giant Cadex Road Racer) and have a ridiculous battery life, usually around the 60 minute mark. And for a cyclist whose journey is mostly unlit country lanes and rather fey, this isn't good.
Anyhoo, a colleague suggested checking out www.brightlites.co.uk (a site he had been involved with) and sorted me out with one of these - a LED Lenser Biker Duplex. Basically, it is one of those nifty LED torches that Geeks and Gadget freaks have a habit of showing off, but it has a simple lens adjustment thingy and a mount that clamps onto the handlebars.
So is it any good? Well, here are my thoughts in bulleted manner...
- It is a very powerful torch; I can light up a significant portion of my front view while flying down country lanes in the pitch black. I'm talking of 10 to 15 metres ahead on wide beam and significantly more on focused.
- It’s really easy to adjust the beam using the little lever on the top. If you're pushing up a hill and want to quickly adjust the beam, it is a simple flick of the wrist. I really like this feature. In addition, I generally keep the torch on a medium beam but if I'm going downhill and cannot see ahead (such as a dip in the hill) I can easily adjust the beam wider to light up the way.
- The mount isn't particular good; I had to play around with mine to get it securely fixed. The problem is that it’s not wide enough for certain handlebars - but once it’s on it is on.
- Having a strong light in front of me is extremely reassuring, being able to illuminate a good portion of the road ahead and having a strong beam ensures I can see what is coming and approaching vehicles cannot miss the light. Shame they don't do back lights...
So - if you're looking for a special crimbo present for the cyclist in your life or want one yourself then check out the torch. For me, I'm probably going to buy another - simply to have one torch trained at the kerb and another to look ahead and considering these things don't eat batteries (3xAAA) and weigh virtually nothing - it’s no biggie.
M