Nite Zone LED light £7.99 each

Nite Zone’s LED, like most such microlights, is not good enough to be used as a stand-alone cycle lamp. Sounds like a complete a waste of time then; so do you need to prepare yourself for a poor review? Well, if you are looking for a suitable LED light for the regular commute home then read no further, as these indeed are not for you.

But, if you are a rider who, like many, has a bike that you intend to use with no lights on – perhaps your race bike – you may be out for a ride intending to get home well before dark. There is, therefore no need for lights, but if for whatever reason you are slightly behind schedule and over the last few miles the light begins to fade to a level where you wish that you had at least something, then these may just be the thing for you.

They came to my attention on just such an occasion. I was touring from the Channel to the Mediterranean across France. Somewhere in the Massif Centrale our group was caught in a storm of the kind that turns day into dusk; feeling vulnerable as I came down a long pass, I couldn’t help notice that one of the riders ahead had a rear lamp. It was only when I caught them up that I could see that he was using a front and rear pair; until that time I had even noticed they were fitted. I was completely sold.

As such I use them on my tour/best bike, for they are so small that I can leave them on all the time. I even have one, as you can see, on my key ring, the elastic strap used to attach it to my key ring doubling up as the bracket when fitted to my bike. To attach simply loop the elastic strap round the bars, seat tube, chain stay or even seat pack strap and slot in to the groove, the back of the unit being curved slightly, to a degree that on handlebars it stays exactly where you put it. When not in use I simply spin the LED under the bars, it is then almost out of sight and mind and ready for use on that odd occasion that I need to use it. I have even used these for a time trial when it was a bit on the misty side!

In conclusion, no I would not like to use them on my winter commute bike, but I have become very fond of them as a little emergency light and am surprised how much I actually get to use them. Even so, they are still going strong on the original CR2106 batteries, of which each uses two.