Commuting - Night Light?

I am looking to buy a light for my XC bike, and was wondering which ones you all recomend. I would preferably want one that connects and disconects from my bike easily, and doesnt leave a bracket or harness behind. What is good for me?

It depends on how much you want to spend and whether the light is for you to see with or just for cars to see you.
I am guessing you want to see the trail in front of you if you are on a cross bike. I use a pair of Vista-lites that are 10w and 15w. They mount separately on the bars and can be angled or swivelled independently of each other. The battery sits in the bottle cage although newer versions have a smaller battery. They are like daylight, excellent lights and waterproof.

CHEERS.

Mark

I got a Cateye EL300 (5 high output LEDs) for christmas. It is great for commuting where most of the time it is only needed to supplement the street lights. For short distances where there are no other lights I have to slow down a bit. The 30 hrs or more life on 4 AA batteries make this a great light, without the bother of separate battery unit, or recharging. I think two of these would give a good coverage of the path ahead.

I use a Cateye EL300 as my helmet light. I attached it upside down with a strip of velcro on my helmetand then wrapped velcro straps through the helmet holes to give lateral stability. It is light, and it is nice not having cables dangling down my back. I like having 2 sources of light, in case one fails, and I like helmet lights. Wagging your head as you cross an intersection alerts drivers you are there; looking where you intend to go also helps let drivers know what you are doing; and I hate the feeling of riding into a black hole when going around curves if you only have bar lights. I do rely on my bar lights as my main source of light. On one bike I have a NightHawk Dual Pro. It's heavy, but with a 10W and 20W it is a solid light at a reasonable price. On the other bike I have a NightHawk Prowler, apparently they have discontinued this Planet Bike 9-12-15, NiMH, look-alike. It is lighter is weight, and is acceptable in performance, but just barely.

I have two Cateye EL-300s on the handlebars and one eternalight Ergo Marine on the helmet. I keep the Ergo in strobe mode to alert cars which are crossing my path.

For being seen on the road, a 1 or 2 watt Cateye is fine.

To ride trails at night, I'd say you need at least 5 watts. You might get away with using two Cateyes (or equivalent) but remember that the cost of using alkaline batteries adds up. If you are riding under tree cover where there is no additional source of light, 10 watts would be preferable. This means a more expensive, rechargeable setup. Some people prefer using a helmet light as well as, or instead of, a handlebar mounted light.

If you're on a budget, you can get the Nite Hawk Dual at mec.ca for $99.00 CDN. It's a dual 10W/20W system. They make a few other combos priced around $100. The mount is similar to a cateye mount (but larger), nothing else needs to stay on the bike. A friend of mine has this, it's a very nice system for the money. The only disadvantage is that it is a little heavier than power equivalent $200-$300 setups because it uses a lead-acid battery instead of a NiCd or NiMH.

I had the same light and situation that AndrewP was talking about, but I bought a Cygo Metro light and gave up on the Cateye EL300 even though it was the brightest self contained battery light on the market because I wanted something brighter. I found myself over riding the EL300 on real dark sections of road or bike path. So I was faced with some choices; #1 was I did not want to spend over $70; #2 was I wanted a light where I could buy batteries at a store if needed and not be reliant on wall outlet; and #3 be bright enough to ride on dark unlit streets and paths. The Cygo Metro cost $45, it uses 6 D bats I can get at any store and it has dual beams, the flood is a 6.2 watt light and the spot is a 6.3 watt for a combine total of 12.5 watts. In the city I never have to use both beams together just the flood, and on dark streets I never come close to overriding the light. Also the light will last about 5 hours on flood and about 2 hours on both beams-that is very good battery life. Also you could always buy rechargeable bats and/or you can upgrade the unit to use a rechargeable battery pack which would than give you the use of both worlds.