rain miles count double

Tesco (UK) recently had in stock a number of bargain priced mini torches using a powerful 3W “Cree” LED light source. Robustly constructed from aluminium and using common AA batteries, these would seem to make excellent headlights for bicycles – perfect for those dark, winter evening commutes? I picked up two of these torches and I’ve now had a chance to mount them on my commuting bike and take them for a few test rides.

First, some photos of the light output from the Tesco torches compared to my previous headlight, a CatEye HL-500 halogen powered by two C cell batteries.

Output from a CatEye HL-500

Output from two Tesco 3W Cree LED Torches

The following photos show how I’ve mounted the torches to my handlebars using very cheap Jubilee clips that are available from any DIY or hardware store worthy of the name.

Two Tesco 3W Cree LED Torches mounted using jubilee clips

Closeup of two Tesco 3W Cree LED Torches mounted using jubilee clips

More photos are available in my “Tesco3WCreeLEDTorch” Picasa album.

The beam cast by these torches is quite narrow but has a good range, clearly visible out to 10 meters in my estimation. My test ride was on pitch black country roads and lanes and two torches provided adequate lighting so long as I was careful about keeping my speed down. For off-road routes I suspect you’d need something more powerful and with a wider beam though.

Battery life on two normal AA cells each is more than enough to get me through my 90 minutes of commuting each day, but for some extra margin of error I wanted to use high capacity (2900maH) rechargeable batteries instead. Initially these cells were too large to fit into the torch body, but I was able to use a drill fitted with a 15mm HSS bit to widen the cavity slightly, just enough to allow the batteries to fit.

The torches have survived cold and heavy rain without complaint and, although of course I can’t prove it, I definitely feel drivers see me sooner now compared to when I was using the old halogen headlight. Weighing in at 160g each (including batteries) the new torches aren’t much of a burden either.

Overall the Tesco 3W Cree LED torches are probably not as good as a more expensive light such as those supplied by Fenix, but for the price I think they’re hard to beat as high output cycle headlights and I’m certainly very please with my purchase.