Philips SafeRide LED Bikelight Dynamo 60 Lux Reviewed

In an earlier post I wrote about upgrading my Raleigh Oakland’s front light from a weak battery powered light to a powerful dynamo light, a Philips SafeRide LED Bikelight Dynamo 60 Lux. What a difference this has made to my night time winter cycling.

Many of the backroads I ride on are very poorly surfaced, potholes are getting more common. With a dim light it was very hard to see potholes on a wet road at night. With this light it’s easy to see these kinds of hazards clearly and I can now ride as fast at night as I can in daylight.

But the greatest benefit of the bright light comes from dealing with cars. On rural roads motorists will not see a dim bicycle light in the distance and will leave their headlights full on. This used to leave me cycling blind until they got closer and dipped their headlights. With a bright light they see me in the distance and dip for me same as they do for a car. Last week I had the odd experience of a car driver flashing their lights at me. Presumably they wondered why I had not dipped my light.

The bright light makes oncoming motorists take more care as they approach. When driving on rural roads at night a single bright light in the distance could be a motorbike or it could be a car with only one headlight. Prudent drivers slow down in case it is a car with one light.

The other new thing that happens at night on narrow single lane roads is that many motorist will see my bright light and pull in to let me by. With the very bright light they don’t know it’s a bicycle coming.

Even at low speeds climbing steep hills the light is still bright. I have also used it on very wet nights and it still works well

If you cycle on unlit rural roads at night and currently have a weak battery powered light, upgrade it for a powerful light, if you decide to go for a dynamo light the Philips SafeRide LED Dynamo 60 won't let you down. I no longer turn off the light day or night, even in the day the bright light helps to make me more visible. I still carry a small battery powered light at night in case I need to fix a puncture or do a roadside repair.

The Philips SafeRide LED Bikelight Dynamo 60 Lux is a great light, if you ride dark rural roads at night and don't want the expense of a battery powered light. The light also has a capacitor so even when you stop it stays lit for four minutes, not much value to me, but very useful in an urban area.

Philips SafeRide LED Bikelight Dynamo 60 Lux

Utility Cycling or Sport Cycling

The main problem with seeking advise online about buying a bike, is that in the English speaking world, cycling is a subculture. One that is dominated by young males who like to race. No matter how you phrase or frame the question what bike should I buy, the answer you will get online will almost always be the same, buy a road bike. Two recent threads on Boards.ie demonstrate this point very well.

Racing on road bikes

The first titled “ladies bikes whats best”. The person who started the thread was looking for advise on a suitable “ladies bike” for their niece whom they described as “a mature woman”. Predictably by post four in the thread the idea of a ladies specific bike was being knocked. On post five the inevitable “get a road bike” suggestion appeared. Post seven claimed that female specific bikes are a scam “to charge more for a lower spec”.

Another thread on the same day was titled “Starter commuter bike”. The poster was planning on buying a Carrera Subway Hybrid for their 10 k cycle to work. A very suitable and sensible choice of machine in my opinion. On this thread the third post suggested a road bike. Bizarrely the thread then went off topic with an odd discussion about how often cycling shorts should be washed.

Not racing on a roadster

There is an old saying “to someone who only has a hammer everything looks like a nail”. To the young (and perhaps middle aged) men who frequent places like the cycling section of Boards.ie a road bike looks like the answer to every question. But a road bike is a sporty racing machine, and for many people with utilitarian needs it is not a suitable solution.

If you want to know what a utilitarian cycling culture looks like try Amsterdam or Copenhagen. Ordinary people, in ordinary clothes, cycling roadsters, hybrids and ladies bikes. If your cycling needs are utilitarian, not sporty, don’t post a question online looking for advise about what bike to buy.

The two threads on Boards.ie


ladies bikes whats best

Starter commuter bike

Images from Wikipedia