Commuting - in a hurry help choose between lights

cost is a factor but dont want to regret my purchase like I did with the present light purchase (not battery pack set up)

I am considering a commuter light

Do I go with this for $130
http://www.performancebike.com/shop/profile.cfm?SKU=21086&subcategory_ID=4320
$150 at LBS


or this for $100
http://www.performancebike.com/shop/profile.cfm?SKU=20723&subcategory_ID=4320
$113 at LBS
or the 15 watter fir $135 at LBS
http://georgegarnercyclery.com/itemdetails.cfm?catalogId=39&ID=1807

which is brighter from experience? Opinions welcome, I know there is a light guide but it won’t download at work.
I can get both of these llights at my LBS , which I love but that costs an extra $20+ dollars.

Or I can get this from the LBS http://georgegarnercyclery.com/itemdetails.cfm?catalogId=39&ID=2484


Please help and thanks

I can't speak for the Blackburn or the Sigma, but I can chime in on the Alias Sport. I like it. The light is a little blue, so contrast isn't as I would prefer. However the spread is nice and battery seems to have a good runtime. I will probably buy the upgrade to 15w which includes a flashing mode. I think 10w is barely adequate for commuting. If you are trying to decide between the two Aliases, get the SC 15w, that's a good price....HTH :)

What's your situation? None of them would do it for me, riding full road speed (20+ MPH) on rural roads, completely dark, hours before dawn, with pothole and washboard possibilities in the road.

OTOH, for urban commuters who just need to fill in the shadows occasionally they may be fine.

Personally I'd DIY and get a better light than the whole bunch of those for $50 or less, but that's just me, and not an option if you need it ASAP I guess.

The following is a repeat of a reply I just made earlier to a similar light recommendation request:

I just got the Nite Hawk Raptor and it is awesome, and for only 40 bucks you can't lose. I can see pretty well on pitch black roads. I also tested it out on a pitch black bike path with lots of twists and turns and it worked well there, too. Sure you could spend 2-8 times more, and the batteries are likely to be significantly lighter and in some cases the lights are likely to be significantly brighter, but if you just want to see and save some money, this will do well.

I got it from Nashbar for $40 about a week or two ago, but unfortunately this week they went up to $50. They seem to fluctuate on their prices a lot. They managed to leave a sale sticker on the box they sent me with a sale price of $35, when at the time they charged me $40 (not cool). Perforance seems to still have them at $40. I didn't go with them because the last time I got something from them, their standard shipping is through some wierd third party that takes a long time to ship, and through nashbar their standard shipping is through Fed-Ex. Nevertheless, I would recommend getting that light from whomever is selling them the cheapest. Good luck.

I think 10w is barely adequate for commuting.

I agree with this. Unless you need the light more to be seen than to see, go with something brighter. I have the 25W cygolite and very much appreciate it when it is totally dark on the bike path or those unlit roads.

I have the Sigma Mirage EVOX Pro with the NIPACK Ni-mh battery, not the lead acid. It's a 10w and 5w like the mirage. The light output is very good for the money and the light is very easy to attach and dettach.

I am looking for a seeing loght (as apposed to be seen) I want to save $$ but I want to not crash. More light is better and I think I want a NiMh (sp?) battery because they don't have "memory". Input is appeciated, thanks again. Basically I want the best good enough for very dark path light... on 2nd thought, weight is not my #1 concern so if someone, as mentioned earlier knows how I could build such a light for $50 I might try (and hopefully not electrocute myself or soder my fingers togrther.

I have the Planet Bike Alias Sport--so far I've only ridden with it a half dozen times, but it seems quite nice so far. I have no trouble seeing the road in front of me at my more modest commute speeds. I also will likely upgrade to the 15 watt SC at some point. This was one thing I liked, the upgrade-ability. I will also likely get a helmet mounted light at some point, so the Alias will be for illuminating right in front of me.

It mounts easily and the charger is a plug and forget style. The battery is reasonably compact and doesn't need to take up a bottle cage, it just straps to my top tube. I like the thing. The light is nice and white, and, as I said, seems to illuminate the road pretty well. Good luck.

I am a DIY type myself running 50 watts with an easy upgrade to 100 watts when I feel like it. Of the lights you listed I like the 2nd and 4th ones, they look like you can upgrade the bulbs easily. Just watch out for melting the plastic holders. A Luxeon 3 or 5 watter is for being seen by sober people under low traffic conditions. On a recent club night ride everyone was running 25 to 50 watt halogens except one lady with a 3 LED light. It barely made a serving platter sized piece of road dimly visible.

I can't speak for the Blackburn or the Sigma, but I can chime in on the Alias Sport. I like it. The light is a little blue, so contrast isn't as I would prefer. However the spread is nice and battery seems to have a good runtime. I will probably buy the upgrade to 15w which includes a flashing mode. I think 10w is barely adequate for commuting. If you are trying to decide between the two Aliases, get the SC 15w, that's a good price....HTH :)


I like the bluish tint of the SC 15w and really like the beam pattern. I didn't like all the wires and connectors. Not as fast to install and take off as other designs.

I've never used the Sigma.

I like the beam on the X3 but I don't like the battery. It's not so much that the battery is too big, but rather that it is oddly shaped. The run time is fine. It won't put out as much light as the 15W Planet Bike light.

Have you checked out the light & motion solo? They're pretty bright (300 lumens) and run time is good too. The mounting bracket lets you rotate the light in any direction you want. The only downside is recharging it takes 14 hours. I only have to use them in the morning for about 40 minutes though, so I plug them in before I go to bed and in the morning they're fully charged. Granted I've got two of these and two cateye el-500's but cars give me a lot of respect. I keep the batteries in a nashbar frame bag that goes between the top tube and seat tube. Make sure you get a bright tail light as well, if you don't have one already.

I am a DIY type myself running 50 watts with an easy upgrade to 100 watts when I feel like it. Of the lights you listed I like the 2nd and 4th ones, they look like you can upgrade the bulbs easily. Just watch out for melting the plastic holders. A Luxeon 3 or 5 watter is for being seen by sober people under low traffic conditions. On a recent club night ride everyone was running 25 to 50 watt halogens except one lady with a 3 LED light. It barely made a serving platter sized piece of road dimly visible.

can you go into more detail about your 25 or 50 watt set up...I have decided to hold off and get a good set up and 25 or 50 watt should do it but is the run time supershort? I tried going to total geekness links but not working to well. If you could be real specific (what you got, where and how much I think I'd love your set up...thanks to all replys. my part time job commute would only need lights 1 way (my FT job is too far).