I'm just curious. I can buy a nice LED flashlight for $10 - $30; what is the benefit of spending $200-$400 for a specialty bike light?

I'm going to need some kind of light soon on my bike, and have been looking for a manufactured light or trying to use some kind of LED flashlight for a headlight.

Thanks,
Steve

Last year, I had the same thought as you--Why spend so much money on an expensive light when I see lights sold for under $50 that seem perfectly fine? So I went out and bought a blackburn combo Quadrant 4 LED headlight & Mars3.0 taillight for about $40 total. Then I went out for a ride. After I got home, washed the stench of cold naked terror that occurs when riding at 15mph with a light that might be good enough for a 5mph jog, I immediately scoured ebay and picked up a 10+20W halogen light used.

Used it wasn't that expensive, but new it was probably over $200. With that light I could ride on the road at about 25 mph or so without outrunning the bulbs. I had originally planned on upgrading that light to 12V, but the switches started to go on the housing, so I went and bought a Princeton Tec SB3 for $250 on ebay. It isn't quite as powerful as the halogen light, but it has 3 times the battery life and it doesn't take up a water bottle cage in the process.

Honestly, I see a lot of people here who use lower powered lights as a "commuter light" and I wonder how they do it. Personally, I really am not comfortable unless I have a light that at least partially washes out an oncoming cars headlights.

I'm just curious. I can buy a nice LED flashlight for $10 - $30; what is the benefit of spending $200-$400 for a specialty bike light?

I'm going to need some kind of light soon on my bike, and have been looking for a manufactured light or trying to use some kind of LED flashlight for a headlight.

Thanks,
Steve

Benefits? You can see in the dark as well as be seen. These are the primary objectives of lighting. If you can do this safely and adequately with a $10 flashlight, then by all means...

You might want to look at cars and motorcycles and see how many of them have flashlights strapped to the front. I'm guessing there is a reason you won't find many.
.

I'm a mostly runner and occasional biker who exercises at night frequently.

I can outrun any safe distance of flashlight/headlight that costs less than $35, and that's not even running fast.

Try biking, and the need for a long-range lamp becomes critically apparent. Unfortunately, it also seems that price goes up exponentially per extra foot of coverage...

Benefits of inexpensive lights:

- cheap on the pocket book
- enable you to be SEEN by others

Cons of inexpensive lights:

- usually hard to SEE the road/trail
- cheaper materials , not so durable

Benefits of expensive lights:

- Others see you sooner, due to brighter beams
- long throw beam patterns, enabling you to see the road ahead sooner
- often a choice in bulbs, flood or spot
- choices in batteries
- rechargable
- choices in light selection
- very durable, due to better materials (aluminum, sealed cables, switches)
- excellent mounting brackets, most are quick release
- often upgradeble

COns of expensive lights:

- price
- high theft attraction (if left on bike unattended)
- price
-price
price

COns of expensive lights:

- price
- high theft attraction (if left on bike unattended)
- price
-price
price



Who would lock up thier bike and leave that there? Even to go in for a donut and hot chocolate at the local coffee joint and the bike locked outside whereI can see it in thr window I'd still take my lighting off.

come to vancouver.....your jaw would drop at the amount of idjits that leave stuff on their bikes.... :(

You want to have a beam that protrudes more than 10 feet, you have to pay.

Honestly, I see a lot of people here who use lower powered lights as a "commuter light" and I wonder how they do it. Personally, I really am not comfortable unless I have a light that at least partially washes out an oncoming cars headlights.

Same here...I like riding at around 4 or 5 am and, at those times, most drivers are either falling asleep at the wheel or just waking up. Either way, you want to be seen! I see some other bicyclists out there and some of them I can barely make out unless you're right next to them. So dangerous!

Ten years from now add up the expense of all the less expensive lighting systems you tried out (that end up not being good enough or failing for some reason or other) and compare it to what you would have spent buying a great system from the start. I bet you will have spent more on the cheap systems and will have had bad lighting for ten years too.

Thats why you start out with an expensive light, its' better and also cheaper in the long run.

Blah blah blah. Unless your ridng off road at night you don't need an expensive $200 plus light. Any light from 16 to 20 watts is more then enough on the road. And no an expensive $1200 dollar light, ok let's say $400 is no guarntee that it will out last a $150 dollar light more then maybe a year or two. I have cheap light that uses 2 D cells that I bought (now used as an extra camping light) about 25 years ago that still works today and I can still mount it to a bike and run the roads at night with it. Sure it's nice to have more light then that and spending $25 or even $50 is not going to get you much of a light to see the road with-you will be seen howbeit barely.

A C spot will buy you a nice 16 watt light from Cygolite called the Night Rover NiMh Xtra that is rechargeable and has dual beams (a nice feature to have in case a bulb burns out) that will run up to 6 hours on low 6 watts or 1.5 hours on high 16 watts or 2.5 hours on 10 watts. I have one of these that is now 2 years old and has endured many a rain storm and miles of touring. http://www.cygolite.com/2-Products/7-RoverNimhXtra.htm

And just as Bono said, I rarely see anyone on the road with a light even as bright as mine not alone brighter. Most people I see running at night either use no light at all (stupid) or they have those cheap $20 dollar jobs. I would say that only about 5% of the people I see riding at night over the last 20 years have a light that's even remotely as bright as mine and less then 1% ride with something equal or a tad brighter!

Just the other night I saw a group of about 8 riders riding very expensive racing bikes, riding at night, and all they were using were those cheap Cateye dim LED lights; your talking about guys willing to spend $3000 or more on a bike but unwilling to spend more then $30 on a light!!?? go figure.

Blah blah blah. Unless your ridng off road at night you don't need an expensive $200 plus light. Any light from 16 to 20 watts is more then enough on the road. And no an expensive $1200 dollar light, ok let's say $400 is no guarntee that it will out last a $150 dollar light more then maybe a year or two. I have cheap light that uses 2 D cells that I bought (now used as an extra camping light) about 25 years ago that still works today and I can still mount it to a bike and run the roads at night with it. Sure it's nice to have more light then that and spending $25 or even $50 is not going to get you much of a light to see the road with-you will be seen howbeit barely.

A C spot will buy you a nice 16 watt light from Cygolite called the Night Rover NiMh Xtra that is rechargeable and has dual beams (a nice feature to have in case a bulb burns out) that will run up to 6 hours on low 6 watts or 1.5 hours on high 16 watts or 2.5 hours on 10 watts. I have one of these that is now 2 years old and has endured many a rain storm and miles of touring. http://www.cygolite.com/2-Products/7-RoverNimhXtra.htm

And just as Bono said, I rarely see anyone on the road with a light even as bright as mine not alone brighter. Most people I see running at night either use no light at all (stupid) or they have those cheap $20 dollar jobs. I would say that only about 5% of the people I see riding at night over the last 20 years have a light that's even remotely as bright as mine and less then 1% ride with something equal or a tad brighter!

Just the other night I saw a group of about 8 riders riding very expensive racing bikes, riding at night, and all they were using were those cheap Cateye dim LED lights; your talking about guys willing to spend $3000 or more on a bike but unwilling to spend more then $30 on a light!!?? go figure.

Keep in mind the OP was comparing expensive lights to lights that cost $15. So you're nightrover probably set you back $70 (i have two of those systems), so you're lights are EXPENSIVE to the OP.

You might want to look at cars and motorcycles and see how many of them have flashlights strapped to the front. I'm guessing there is a reason you won't find many.
.

BWA-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-HA!


+1 !

Keep in mind the OP was comparing expensive lights to lights that cost $15. So you're nightrover probably set you back $70 (i have two of those systems), so you're lights are EXPENSIVE to the OP.

Maybe so but it's still WAY LESS expensive then the $200 to $400 range he also mentioned. A cheap light at $30 to $40 being spent is not that much of stretch to go another $40.

Benefits? You can see in the dark as well as be seen. These are the primary objectives of lighting. If you can do this safely and adequately with a $10 flashlight, then by all means...

You might want to look at cars and motorcycles and see how many of them have flashlights strapped to the front. I'm guessing there is a reason you won't find many.
.

Lets see, cars and motorcycles that can go on freeways at 70mph give or take 10mph depending where you live...or bicycles that go 15mph give or take 10mph depending on your abilities. Yep, you need a car or motorcycle light on your bike for those low speeds.

Lets see, cars and motorcycles that can go on freeways at 70mph give or take 10mph depending where you live...or bicycles that go 15mph give or take 10mph depending on your abilities. Yep, you need a car or motorcycle light on your bike for those low speeds.

Have you ever seen the headlights on a tractor or a riding lawn mower? Still no flashlights and I just passed a tractor on my roadbike this morning. Look I'm not going to argue with you. Some guys might say you don't need a coat when it's 0 degrees outside, but I like one. Same goes for the lights on a bike. If you can get by with a flashlight type bike light than go for it.

Thanks for the replies, especially the posts the listed the benefits of spending more.

I just I didn't realize how far the beam has to project as you're going faster (my LED flashlight works great for walking, but I didn't think of the speed factor on a bike).

I don't race, and don't really plan on a lot of night riding, but it's starting to get dark, so I need something. So, I can either try the flashlight idea (sounds like it's not worth it due to shortness of beam), try a homemade solution (lots of ideas for that via google), or get a commercial product (The Cygolite sounds pretty good -- I can do $70; I'll look into this).

The other thing is: I've been biking with my son and daughter-in-law. They don't have money (bought a house in So. Cal. and have a new baby), so I'm probably going to end up buying 3 lighting systems because I want them to have something as well.

Thanks again for the replies,
Steve

Thanks for the replies, especially the posts the listed the benefits of spending more.

I just I didn't realize how far the beam has to project as you're going faster (my LED flashlight works great for walking, but I didn't think of the speed factor on a bike).

I don't race, and don't really plan on a lot of night riding, but it's starting to get dark, so I need something. So, I can either try the flashlight idea (sounds like it's not worth it due to shortness of beam), try a homemade solution (lots of ideas for that via google), or get a commercial product (The Cygolite sounds pretty good -- I can do $70; I'll look into this).

The other thing is: I've been biking with my son and daughter-in-law. They don't have money (bought a house in So. Cal. and have a new baby), so I'm probably going to end up buying 3 lighting systems because I want them to have something as well.

Thanks again for the replies,
Steve

glad we could help. If your on a budget, definetly check out the FENIX store flashlights, they pack a punch and are not that pricy. There is a recent thread here that has pics of the FENIX Cree led lights mounted on a bike.

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=340472&page=2

Blah blah blah. Unless your ridng off road at night you don't need an expensive $200 plus light.

I love blanket statements.

I use the same light setup on road as I do for off road. My road riding at night is just as dark (out in the country) and quite frankly I need the brightness even more since I can achieve higher downhill speeds on my road rides than I do off-road.

YMMV. If I lived in the city with plenty of street lighting it could be a different story.

-D

I love blanket statements.

I use the same light setup on road as I do for off road. My road riding at night is just as dark (out in the country) and quite frankly I need the brightness even more since I can achieve higher downhill speeds on my road rides than I do off-road.

YMMV. If I lived in the city with plenty of street lighting it could be a different story.

-D


You love blanket statements? here's one: why not go back to bed and cover yourself up with your blankey!

I ride at night in both the city and in the country, even going at downhill speeds, geeeee, I've never needed more then 16 watts; though I admit that as I get older my eyes don't function in the dark as they did when I was younger like you pups, thus a 20 watt may be better for me, but I don't ride in the dark much anymore nor go as fast you pups do. Still I find a 16 watt light to be adequate for my needs.

Lets see, cars and motorcycles that can go on freeways at 70mph give or take 10mph depending where you live...or bicycles that go 15mph give or take 10mph depending on your abilities. Yep, you need a car or motorcycle light on your bike for those low speeds.

The difference is that minor road imperfections that a car can just ignore are wheel swallowing monsters on a bike. If your light isn't powerful enough to allow you to see and avoid those obstructions, it isn't powerful enough. On a darkened road, with no traffic, your eyes will adjust to riding even with a crappy headlight. All it takes is one set of car headlights, even on low beam, and your night vision is shot to hell. Powerful lights can attenuate that effect. Weak lights can't.

I'm just curious. I can buy a nice LED flashlight for $10 - $30; what is the benefit of spending $200-$400 for a specialty bike light?

I'm going to need some kind of light soon on my bike, and have been looking for a manufactured light or trying to use some kind of LED flashlight for a headlight.

Thanks,
Steve
-
I have a homemade halogen light that works great! Cost was about $20 for the light, then I spent about $70 on a nice lithium battery and charger. I got a 15 volt battery for the 12 volt light, and it puts out a bright beam. Halogen bulbs are so cheap, you can supply overvoltage and replace them when they burn out. I've had mine for a year and it's not burned out yet. My 4800 maH battery will run the lights for about 2.25 hours.

I am just getting into the night riding and after reading all the forums I am really starting to wonder.
Cateye have LED lights that put out between 1000 - 1500 candlepower. Are these lights going to be
enough to see on dark country roads or not. That sounds like alot of light but maybe not. Thanks

You love blanket statements? here's one: why not go back to bed and cover yourself up with your blankey!

I ride at night in both the city and in the country, even going at downhill speeds, geeeee, I've never needed more then 16 watts; though I admit that as I get older my eyes don't function in the dark as they did when I was younger like you pups, thus a 20 watt may be better for me, but I don't ride in the dark much anymore nor go as fast you pups do. Still I find a 16 watt light to be adequate for my needs.

well you must be slow then, that is all there is to it

I need at least 400 lumens to be able to ride as fast as I want
on road descending
or on mtb TT courses

that is in the ballpark of a 40w filament, 10w plasma, or 15w led,
and I want rechargeable lithium because sub-zero temps do not
affect runtime, and I ride a lot. I mean a whole lot. I want waterproof,
and multiple mounting options and flawless beam pattern
and a smart charger.

that is why expensive lights are good.

The difference is that minor road imperfections that a car can just ignore are wheel swallowing monsters on a bike. If your light isn't powerful enough to allow you to see and avoid those obstructions, it isn't powerful enough. On a darkened road, with no traffic, your eyes will adjust to riding even with a crappy headlight. All it takes is one set of car headlights, even on low beam, and your night vision is shot to hell. Powerful lights can attenuate that effect. Weak lights can't.

Generally, it takes about 30 minutes for your night vision (astronomical viewing) to return after exposure to even a small amount of light. Granted, we aren't talking about looking at stars here but it still takes several minutes after exposure to lights on a car for your night vision to return.

Additionally, it's a completion thing. A weak light has to compete with all the other light sources in an urban environment (riding dark country roads or trails is something else entirely). I see lots of people out there on bikes with the modern equivalent of pen lights on their bike...sometimes almost too late;) If going with monastic lights floats your boat that's okay. There are people with shovels out there to scrape what remains of you up off the road. Me? I throw enough photons that even Zeus is jealous;)

COns of expensive lights:

- price
- high theft attraction (if left on bike unattended)
- price
-price
price

Looked at the price of a funeral lately?:rolleyes:

A high output system will last for years. I've had all kinds of systems from 6V hand lanterns to cheap LEDs to home tweaked systems built around quality lamps. The quality system has been in use for over 15 years now. For the cost, it's lasted long enough to pay for itself many times over. And it's easy to remove. I do that all the time because I switch it back and forth between 4 bikes.

Until I purchased a HID, motor vehicles had no respect for the vehicle I was riding. Even with halogen lights, they would pull out in front of me as if they miscalculated my speed and distance. A dimmer light translates to humans as something that is far away. The HID puts you somewhat on par with other vehicles on the road.

Anyway, my 2 cents.

The difference is that minor road imperfections that a car can just ignore are wheel swallowing monsters on a bike. If your light isn't powerful enough to allow you to see and avoid those obstructions, it isn't powerful enough. On a darkened road, with no traffic, your eyes will adjust to riding even with a crappy headlight. All it takes is one set of car headlights, even on low beam, and your night vision is shot to hell. Powerful lights can attenuate that effect. Weak lights can't.

Right, a minor road imperfection a car could somewhat ignore but could damage a bike...that true, BUT, your going way slower in a car and thus have a far greater chance of avoiding the problem by either stopping or swerving around it as the you get closer to the problem and are able to make out the details. In car you may see the problem 250 feet down the road but your going 55mph and to make a panic stop or a swerve at that speed probably won't prevent from hitting the problem thus your more robust car suspension will absorb it-if it isn't real bad situation. On a bike your light may shine for 250 feet but you may not pick out the details until your 100 feet from it, but your going 20mph thus you have plenty of time to either stop or swerve.

I admit if your using one of those $30 to be seen lights your not going to see a road imperfection, but if I can see road imperfections with a 16 watt light at my age with dimming vision then I think you being younger could easily see it.

By the way, what the hell are driver education classes teaching you kids these days? We were taught to NEVER look into the headlights of an oncoming car, in fact we are too look to the right side of the road...not the left side, not directly ahead, but to the left. You can also do an old military trick to save your vision when exposed to a bright light...you close one eye and use the other to see with until the bright light is gone then you open the closed eye and vola you have perfect night vision instantly with the one eye that was closed. Try it sometime, set in a darkened room for about 5 minutes or until your eyes have adjusted, then close one eye and turn on a light and look at the light for about 5 minutes, then turn off the light. Keeping the one close you will notice you can't see a damm thing, then open the other eye and you can make out room details while the other eye is still "blind".

Right, a minor road imperfection a car could somewhat ignore but could damage a bike...that true, BUT, your going way slower in a car and thus have a far greater chance of avoiding the problem by either stopping or swerving around it as the you get closer to the problem and are able to make out the details.

yo, freakanomics...

who goes slower than a car ? I tool along at 30mph-40mph multiple
times in one ride. I need a lot of light. your argument is very weak
and only covers slow cyclists.

You love blanket statements? here's one: why not go back to bed and cover yourself up with your blankey!

Haha, funny. But I don't need my blankey this time of year.

I ride at night in both the city and in the country, even going at downhill speeds, geeeee, I've never needed more then 16 watts; though I admit that as I get older my eyes don't function in the dark as they did when I was younger like you pups, thus a 20 watt may be better for me, but I don't ride in the dark much anymore nor go as fast you pups do. Still I find a 16 watt light to be adequate for my needs.

Yes adequate for YOUR needs maybe. But that is a far cry from your statements earlier.
Unless your ridng off road at night you don't need an expensive $200 plus light.

I started out with a 15w headlamp. It was adequate for part of my rides (uphill) but I can and regularily hit 40mph on my night rides. I could even go faster in these parts if I tried. 15w was NOT adequate to safely ride these roads at that speed.

I now run 2 Dinotte 200L on the bars with a 15w headlamp. On slower sections I will set one 200L on blink for forward visibility. When needed I set it back on high. I still wouldn't mind more light, but as of now my lights are at least "adequate"

By the way, I am in now way an old fart, but I think 35 is beyond young pup.

-D

freako, I agree with edzo. Your argument is only good for slow moving cyclists. I want to ride as fast at night as in the day and not be surprised by something I might not see with a weak light. I could get by with less light than what I use now, but why should I just get by. I don't like surprises so I ensure that my night riding is done in the safest manner for me which I can accomplish without blinding others. 16 watts of halogen lighting just doesn't work for many people depending on how fast and where they are riding. I used a nice cygolite dual light that had a 10watt flood and 15 watt spot bulb for combined 25watts for a number of years. I now have what you would think is extreme overkill, but it works for me. I use NR HID on the bars and a brand new shiny Lupine Wilma 6 on my helmet. Last night while on a trail I ran two NR HID's on the bar and the Wilma 6 830 lumen light on the helmet and the forest turned into daylight. If I am riding in town I just use a single HID on the bar angled down so as not to blind drivers but still plenty of light to see with and be seen. To each his own I guess.

Right, a minor road imperfection a car could somewhat ignore but could damage a bike...that true, BUT, your going way slower in a car and thus have a far greater chance of avoiding the problem by either stopping or swerving around it as the you get closer to the problem and are able to make out the details. In car you may see the problem 250 feet down the road but your going 55mph and to make a panic stop or a swerve at that speed probably won't prevent from hitting the problem thus your more robust car suspension will absorb it-if it isn't real bad situation. On a bike your light may shine for 250 feet but you may not pick out the details until your 100 feet from it, but your going 20mph thus you have plenty of time to either stop or swerve.

100 ft is 3 seconds at 20mph or 6 seconds at ten. Do you really only want six seconds to ascertain that the crack in the road is going to swallow your front tire?

I'll explain:

I have spent a lot of money on various inexpensive lights. They all ended up being
lacking. But I kept trying. So I have a bunch of inadequate headlights lying around.
Mostly battery powered LED jobbies.

I ended up spending MORE than I spent for my HID headlight on other lights.
I finally bit the bullet but still ended up spending LESS than $200 on my 13W HID.

My wife commutes 3x a week, on those days in the morning I join her. I have a 725
lumen HID light and she's got two LED headlights and I've got a Cateye LD600 taillight
(bright!) and she's got a Cateye blinkie LD110 blinky but we'll get her a 600 or 610 for
the future.

This morning on the commute in we saw another guy in the opposite land going the
other direction and he had an HID light and it was a revelation coming from the other
side.

What are the advantages? I saw him coming from several city blocks away.

It was so bright I thought "is that a motorcycle riding next to the curb?"
But it was a bicycle rider.

Advantages:
I can see several carlengths ahead with no problems.
People can definetely see me - there's no ignoring the light this thing emits.
Since mine is helmet mounted, I can aim light where it is needed.
(I aim it downwards to avoid blinding motorists/pedestrians)..
I also can move it from bike to bike.
The battery life is > four hours so I can do several commutes before recharging.
The light is whiter than the first generation of HID which tended to be blueish.
The light is steady and doesn't flicker or dim once on.

Disadvantages:
HID has a short ramp-up to brightness period of 10 seconds or so.
HID needs a bit of forward speed (5 mph) to cool the lamp or I hear you can damage the "bulb"
(it's a misnomer, HID is a capsule of gas being electrified with a reflector aiming the light).
HID replacement bulbs are somewhat expensive.

LED is getting brighter (the Trinewt by Nightrider is 500 lumen) but the cost is still prohibitive
for "decent leds". I believe the Trinewt is around $358 street (retail is $400). That's $160
MORE than I paid for my 725 lumen HID.

The new flagship by Lupine is 1450 lumen with LEDs and is over $1000 - I could spend under
$400 from my HID provider and get an 1850 lumen HID. For me, 725 is plenty decent at the
moment.

My two cents.

This is the kind of headlight beam I have:
http://pod.ath.cx/hid/BeamShotTwo-MaxBrightness.jpg

Freako, I agree with some of the other posters. I cheap light is fine for you, but is not for everyone. I commuted on Cape Cod a few years ago using a Petzl Duo headlamp. It was a great "to-be-seen" light, but was useless at any kind of speed.

Right now, I have a steep downhill from my apartment to town. I use a 10watt headlight, which I think is really powerful for most riding and has outshown all the other bike lights I've seen so far here, but it is not powerful enough when I am going downhill at speed on streets without street lamps.

I swapped to a 20watt energy saver (shines like a 35 watt), and it seems to do the job great.

I bought a $20 light from Target -- the Bell NightCharger (something like that -- I don't have the original package, but it's from Bell and has an NC on the front). It came with four AA rechargeable batteries. But that's not the cool part. The cool part is that it came with an adapter that plus into a wall socket on one end and (on the other end of the ~3' cord) plugs into this little socket on the bottom of the light. So, to recharge the batteries, I never have to take the light off my bike! Although, if you couldn't take your bike inside by a socket, or you didn't have an outside socket, you could take the light off your bike and recharge it inside. I tried that once and ran out of the door to school in a hurry and forgot to reattach the light, so now I just leave the light on the bike all the time and just plug the charger into the socket on the bottom front of the light.

I used to have one of those expensive (to me) $60 lights from a bike shop and I hated how the batteries only ran for about five hours or so before they just died. So, I'd ride back home from class, ride to work the next morning, do that for a couple of days and the batteries would be about dead, giving virtually no light at all. I kept wondering, "Why in the world did I pay for this light if the batteries keep dying?!" I thought perhaps the cost of the light was being subsidized by the battery companies, like they do with those cheap plastic flashlights. With this cheap little light that I have now, though, I just plug it in to recharge when I sleep and when I get up I know the batteries are fully recharged and will be that way until I next use the light.

Since I have night classes three nights a week (getting out at 8:00pm-8:30pm) and am either coming from or going to work in the dark (either I'll go in at 5:30am and work till 2:00pm or I'll go in about 4:00pm and work till midnight, to better work around my school schedule), I need a good light. What I really want is one of those awesome lights that can be recharged by riding my bike, those awesome old lights from the 60's and 70's that my dad's old bike used to have (before he sold it when I was a young kid). But, since I don't have one of those, this $20 light from Target is pretty darn great.

If the batteries are about to run out, it'll automatically switch from the main Xenon light to the two side LED's, which aren't as bright, but it'll give you another couple hours of battery light.

I think this is it: http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/sr=1-4/qid=1189966986/ref=sr_1_4/601-7015833-3302569?ie=UTF8&asin=B000IT0XCS

Although, if anyone can point me to a place where I can buy a truly rechargeable light that comes from me pedaling, without spending as much on that light as I would on a new textbook, I'm all ears.