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The Cyclists' Touring Club
Cambridge District Association
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Smart Front Light Set

twin headlamp / sealed lead acid battery

The Smart Light is an improvement on the dynamo light in that the power stays the same regardless of the speed you are riding. Dynamo sets are very good when used at 10+ miles per hour, but when climbing a hill the power drops and the lights then become difficult for drivers to see. Cyclists tend to forget that they have four times longer to see anything on the road than does a driver at 60miles per hour. Car lamps have improved over the last fifty years not only in design but in power. They used to be around 30watts at 6 or 12volts (two lamps) to 60 or 70watts at 12volts (often 4 lamps), yet until recently cycle lights had remained at 2.4watts at 3volts (battery) or 3watts at 6volts (dynamo).

The Smart (and other makes like Cateye) have now improved the light output with better designed lamps and a more powerful battery system. The front lamp has a well designed lens and refector system. The 2.4 watt lamp projects a very even rectangle of light onto the road whilst the 10 watt projects a powerful beam to a distance. The battery can be re-charged from the mains and gives a life of 10hrs at 2.4watts or 2hrs at 10watts. This could present some problems for long distance riders, but the average club rider should find it adequate.

The Smart 1 White LED Front Lamp

One of the latest LED Lamps which give a good light and has a well designed reflector and lens. It has the latest 1 watt white LED and only having 1 LED it can be properly focused to give a beam. It uses 4 AA cells which can be alkaline or NiMH.

Cateye 5 LED Rearlight

Cateye 5 LED rear light has a very long life using two AA batteries (25hrs on 2AA's). These lamps are very reliable but beware of cheaper LED's which are not to BS 6102 standard and some that do conform but are not waterproof. The Cateye has proved to be utterly reliable.

The motto on the road at night should be "See and be seen". In daylight the fluorescent yellow jacket is the best thing to wear, but at night the advantage of the fluorescent material is lost so you need to have a fairly large reflective area, like the jackets used by the police.

All this is not cheap, The Smart Lead/Acid light set costs £40 (this is offset by the cost of batteries on other lamps), the Smart 1 White LED Front Lamp, £20 & the Cateye 5 LED rearlight costs £16 and a fluorescent/reflective jacket £8 to £20 (Try the local markets, I have seen them at £3 at St. Ives).