Powerplus Swallow wind-up lights brighten your bike and phone

Bored of discovering your bike lights have flat batteries? Wind-up bike lights are one greener answer, and this new pair promise better performance on the first generation, plus the cute ability to charge your mobile phone.

The Powerplus Swallow lights go head-to-head with similar products from wind-up pioneer Trevor Baylis. I Mini Eco Cycle Kit which looks nigh identical to the Swallows.

You charge the Swallow rear and front lights using a built-in crank. One minute of winding will generate eight minutes of constant light or sixty minutes of flashing light, and it should add around 20-30 minutes of standby time to a phone. While the Swallow pack only comes with an adapter for old Nokia phones, you can buy additional adapters for newer Nokias and other brands.

The Swallow package costs £15 over at ECOutlet, which is a tad cheaper than last year's £20 Baylis lights. If you've bought these new lights, please post a comment as I'd love to hear how they measure up in practise.