Touring - Best light for bike

What is the best light I can get for my bike? I bought a cat eye and the bracket broke off the bottom of the light rendering it useless. The light still works but I can not mount it to the bracket on the bike. Kind of a cheesy set up.

What is the best light I can get for my bike? I bought a cat eye and the bracket broke off the bottom of the light rendering it useless. The light still works but I can not mount it to the bracket on the bike. Kind of a cheesy set up.

It depends on what you want to do. If you want to ride 24 hour events (I doubt you do ;) ) a very expensive HID light would probably be your best bet (although I'm partial to halogen myself). If you want to ride back and forth to work and are only going to be using it for an hour or two a day, I'd go with a Niterider Trail Rat (I might juice it up a bit but I like to tinker) or even 2...or 3! But if you just want something for touring, I'd look at something like the Nite Hawk Emitter (http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?category=101&subcategory=1067&brand=&sku=11793&storetype=&estoreid=&pagename=). It's pretty cheap, has okay light and runs for a very long time on alkaline batteries. For touring I'd avoid rechargables. The shelf life of rechargables between charges isn't that good and you have to carry a charger and find somewhere to plug it in, which you usually forget and then you have a dead battery when you need light.

Now, if you just want something to use while you are in camp, I'd get something like this (http://www.rei.com/online/store/ProductDisplay?storeId=8000&catalogId=40000008000&productId=47875599&parent_category_rn=4500596&vcat=REI_SEARCH). My daughter and I used them on our trip along the Columbia this summer and they are very bright, last a long time and have 2 settings. We even used them to explore APE Cave near Mt. St. Helens. They could even fit on your helmet in a pinch. They are a great little light.

One word about lights and touring. I carry a light with me on tour. Always have. Something that I can use if I get caught out at night. But I have never used one while touring...not on the bike anyway. I have never been out late enough to need it. The only place I ever use them is in camp, so I carry one that works well in camp. Do you need one, in case you are out late? Yes. Should you carry one? Definitely! Will you ever use it on the bike? Probably not. But listen to the voice of your mother in your head and carry one anyway ;)

Cyclo, thanks man. You have been a big help for this newbie and you know a lot about bikes.

Frog lights by Knog are amazing. no clamps/brackets to worry about (theyre kinda like a jelly bracelet) and they're $9 a pop.

buy the best lights I love them check out lumicycle I love their lights. http://www.lumicycle.com/pages/default.aspx