Anyone using an exposure flash front light; I’m looking at one for my commuter and wondered if anyone rated them or looking for suggestions for alternatives? Preferably at under £40.

Not used a Flash but I have unfortunately bought a Flare…..

Very bright for a rear light and small, but totally overpriced and badly designed. The bracket is useless and the light continually gets knocked sideways or even off. It can’t be adjusted but I suspect that is less of a problem for the front. The switch is a crappy in-precise twisty thing which I suspect will start letting in water very soon. To top it all the battery is a non standard expensive camera type, hard to find rechargeable versions and needs a seperate charger.

There are so many good front lights out there that I reckon you could do better.

I’ve got the Flare as well, first time I used it this morning and I was considering it as I rode in (hey, it was a slow day).

I quite like the bracket, the light seemed pretty solid in place. It is stupidly bonkers bright, the light itself is well made and very neat but I’m not sure it’s worth £40. I think it’s aimed at the hardcore commuter market, the people who are fed up with spending £15 – £20 a time on lights that aren’t that bright or durable, this seems like it will fit that bill and, looking at the Exposure lights thread, there are brand loyal people who will buy it anyway.
I’d say it’d be very useful for MTBers as an emergency rear light as well for if you get caught out on an evening ride, it’s dead simple to whip it off the commuter and tuck it into a backpack and the twist on/off means it’ll never get accidently turned on in a camelbak.

Agree about the batteries though, £5 a time on specialist batteries is a bit of a pain – time to go the rechargeable route.

The Flare’s super bright & re-chargeable batteries & charger are pretty readily available for about £15.

Still flashing away happily at the bottom of the bath, so I don’t think it’s weatherproofness will be an issue. Don’t seem to have any problems with the mount on mine either.

great little light even for mtb abuse! over rocks and rough tracks mine has been thoroughly stuck in place, like the clip out design, its bonkers bright and last for ages, and it is totally waterproof, mine has been washed with powerwash and its still totally fine! expensive but worht it for me, the brack is a cool little deisgn, cant see how on earth it would come loose or fall out even under extreme rocky conditions!

Anyone got a link for the cheap chargers/batteries?
Funny how there is no info on which type of battery it uses, argh..

P.S. Never heard of a disposable Li-ion battery before!

they use 18650 batteries, like the deal extreme ones, problem is they MAY be slightly different dimensions that exposures and not fit……the charger and batter from evans is only 17.99 and the ones from dealextreme with charger/plug adaptor and batteries are about 11 quid and a 3 week wait for deliver (and thats if it fits)

The Flash/Flare pack with charger and rechargeable batteries is £80, which is a bargain IMO.

Ive got the flash/flare rechargeable set.

No problems with the brackets and knocking the light sideways on mine, no problem with the switching either.

The are expensive for a commuter set, but I don’t mind paying for my safety one little bit.

Some pics here if interested:
http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/exposure-flash-flare-pics

I use mine on a folder – long seatpost and nothing behind it. The light sticks out at right angles and gets continually knocked. When I slide the seat down to fold the light comes off more often then not. Neither of these things happened with my Mars 3. In addition, the light points down too much and cannot be adjusted upwards. Furthermore it can’t be clipped on my rucksack, seat pack or rain jacket. How is this “a cool little deisgn”?

Yes, I could spend another £17.99 on a charger plus batts. But then I could have spent zero if the light used AA’s as I have (like most people) many of them and an existing charger. Again, a bad design idea.

I admit however that i’ve now used the light in a few deluges and it hasn’t let any water in!

well im no commuter (guess it was designed for you) but it has been used rigorously off road and stood up to the test so far and i mean ever possible off road type ground you could ride on and weather……guess the commuters loss has worked as a gain for me as a mtb’er 🙂 cant see how it would slip off or fall out if its stood upto my testing so far! brill little light for me! love its easy easy mounting system, chuck it in your bag until its goes dark and bang it on in seconds….guess the batter selection was a bit odd, but 17.99 for charger and batterys isnt gonna be a deal breaker on a 80 quid set of lights?

‘Tis an expensive light, but if it lasts longer than all the other rear lights i’ve tried, i’ll be a very happy bunny. I tried various cat eye/blackburn/smart and they seem to struggle with water ingress few lasting a years winter commute. The holy hand grenade lasted the longest, nearly 2 years, and then lugs holding the end cap on broke.

John – why is your light in the bath? Something we need to know???

Tim :O)

I’ve been running a Flash for a couple of weeks now. It’s very bright, has a good bracket that doesn’t move and is very light. The only issue I’ve had is I’ve had to put some tape over part of the lens, as the light flashes up at the rider and was giving me a headache.
I’ve also got a Flare. It’s very bright, but points down towards the tyre and ends up at 45 degrees or so, rather than pointing backwards. This is on a 27.2mm seatpost.

I’ve also got a Flare. It’s very bright, but points down towards the tyre and ends up at 45 degrees or so, rather than pointing backwards. This is on a 27.2mm seatpost.

Sounds like you’ve got the light on upside down.
Rory actually showed it as an option when I was at the Cycle Show, he said if you were riding in a group you could flip the light upside down so the light pointed down and didn’t blind the rider behind.
For commuting you turn it the other way and it points straight back.

I’ve used it both ways round on my CX for night riding.

Actually, mine points down as per P7Pro even in the correct orientation. ‘Upside down’ its unuseable.

I rechecked my Flare. As winstons experience, it points down at the wheel (@ 35°) when it’s turned it upside down. The other way round it points down @ 15°. The seat angle is 73°, which isn’t unusual for a modern mtb. I’ve had to bodge it to make it point at the traffic.