Those who know me well know that few things irritate me more than cyclists with inadequate lighting. In the early evening and in darkness, we cyclists become virtually invisible to other road users, no matter how highly visible out clothing and reflectors are. To this end, I have always sought to have good lighting, not just for my visibility, but to see where I'm going. Pedestrians, potholes, rabbits, puddles and foxes are just a few of the hazards faced by the cyclist who undertakes night cycling in country areas.
Formerly, I'd always used high-quality halogen lighting, but the continuous investment in batteries, even rechargeables, was becoming a pain. This wasn't helped by the manufacturer whose lights I preferred, Cat-Eye, insisting on designing their lights to take AA batteries. With this in mind, I started looking a what else was around. I'd seen other cyclists with twin lights on the front, but never got the chance to question them, so over Christmas 2000, I went to talk to Dave, of Dave's cycles in Walsall Wood. He showed me various twin lighting sets, and a selected a set of bearing the 'Smart' brand for about £50. I lost no time in trying them out... and I never looked back.
The set I purchased comes with a neat, quick-release mounting bracket, which clamps to the handlebars. By means of a simple sliding catch the light assembly can be detached from the bracket for security, and power was originally provided by a rechargeable battery pack specially shaped to fit in a water bottle cage on the lower frame. The light unit has a short length of cable leading to an neat inline switch... press once for low beam, once more for low and spot, and again for spot only. A fourth press switches both beams off. The switch has a loop of Velcro attached to the cable near it, to facilitate mounting on the handlebars or crossbar. From the switch, a coiled cable leads to a neat in-line rubberised connector which mates with another on the battery pack. All components are sturdy and waterproof, fully finished with heavy a rubber coating for ruggedness and durability.
The low beam was a healthy 2W (since upgraded to 5W) and the spot beam a whopping 10W. I find the illumination provided by this arrangement excellent, and since the battery upgrade (see here) the only time I ever use the low beam on it's own is at twilight. Coming into most effect whilst negotiating unlit country lanes, I find the light output good enough to avoid pretty much any hazard. It's gratifying when motorists slow down or stop on the blind sides of bends or bridges, as most clearly seem to mistake you for a motorbike or car. Another nice side-effect is that motorists tend to dip their lights when they see yours - thus avoiding the blindness resulting from being glared by full-beam headlights and then being plunged into total darkness after they pass - another of my major irritations.