Exped Sim Light CF9

Advantages: Very, very bright; Build quality
Disadvantages: Large; Ugly

...Bike lights have been coming on in leaps and bounds recently, with LEDs starting to be exploited to remarkable effect. The Blackburn have shown the benefits of that evolution to the full with their Quadrant front light. As it suggests the name Quadrant means there are four LEDs mounted in this space-age looking contraption. If I'm looking to be picky I'll list this here and now as the only drawback to the light - it's ugly, really ugly. And it's pretty big as well (it has to be, it's powered by four AA batteries), though it managed to fit in between some gear levers and a bell on the bars it was mounted on). But with that out of the way I have to move on to the extensive positives with this light. I bought it because I'd recently convinced my girlfriend to start commuting to work by bike, but the impending dark nights were shaking her... Read review

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Advantages: Excellent Waterproofing, Very Bright, Reliable
Disadvantages: Bit lardy, poor bracket, price

...I've always liked Cateye lights. They tend to be more expensive than other lights, but have attractive styling, seem to be well made, and last a long time. I still have a battered but functioning Liminax Micro Halogen by Cateye. LED's Most commuter lights nowadays use LED's rather than standard or Halogen bulbs. LED's have several advantages. Namely very long bulb life. 60,000 hours is not unusual for an LED bulb, and is significantly longer than the expected life of a commuter light. The other major advantage is LED's waste less of the energy as heat compared to halogen bulbs. This means more light for less power. As a rule of thumb a 1 watt LED is approximately equivalent to a 3 Watt Halogen bulb. LED's produce a very bright white narrow beam. Halogen's and HID's (very expensive off-road lights) produce a light that is closer... Read review

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Advantages: Small; Bright; Sturdy
Disadvantages: Slightly disappointing runtime

...Ever since the law changed to allow cyclists to use flashing LED lights (as long as they are bright enough) there has been a noted change in the safety of riders after dark, and efforts by the companies making these items to outdo each other by producing the brightest and most notable sets of lights. Blackburn have recently upped the ante with a number of lights, and while at the front they have gone large and effective with the Quadrant, on the rear the Mars 3.0 (named after the red planet) proves just as effective at making sure other road users will see you. There are seven LEDs packed into this small case, and powered by only two AAA batteries they manage to produce a remarkably intense light - following my girlfriend at night, with this mounted, I can't look directly into the light it is that bright. The bracket for this unit... Read review

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