High_Ram

Since the search feature is down, I thought I'd ask what headlight people would suggest. I'm looking for something sleek/small. I'm looking to spend up to $50 and don't want to attatch it to a bulky battery. I like the Serfas SL 1000, but how does that attatch?



The SL 200 looks interesting as well



Any experiences w/ these two? Other recommendations?

gizmocat

I own the Serfas SL 100. It attaches with a clip that is easily removable. You should remember to take it with you when parking the bicycle anywhere.

Mach42

They're not very bright. It's good enough to get others to notice you, but you won't see much of anything yourself if it's dark.

ken cummings

Absolutely true. On a recent night ride one rider had one of those 3-LED headlights. You could not see where the lightbeam was hitting the ground if any of the other riders (25 to 50 watts) were alongside. The rest of us took turns escorting that rider.

EDIT: The fact that it was three guys with good lights and a more than usually attractive younger woman with the dinky blinky headlight had nothing to do with her constant escort, Really.

mechBgon

You might consider one or two of Planet Bike's 1-watt LED headlights, which sell for about $30. I think I saw at least one BF member giving it positive remarks. https://www.planetbike.com/frontlights.html


Maybe start with one, see if you like it, and if you don't, you're only out $30. If it's good, you could add a second one for when you need more light on the road.

I just got back from a trip to Lowe's Hardware and got a 1-watt Luxeon flashlight for $7.97 on clearance, it's this one: https://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?actio...A1W&lpage=none But with three AAA's, I don't know how long it will run (estimating 2-4 hours), and I'd have to cook up a mount for it. Anyway, it's bright enough that it might be visible on the pavement a little bit.

dalmore

I really like the Princeton Tec EOS Bike. 3 AAA's last me about 12 to 15 hours. I start on high until it gets bright enough to see without a light and then I switch it to blink. Even though it's a 1-LED it's surprisingly bright. Will cut through all but the deepest shadows. Comes with everything you need to mount on helmet and handlebars.

2manybikes

Only $6.99 over here.


moths,flame,etc...

ItsJustMe

Allow me to be the dissenting opinion then. I have one and IMHO it stinks. It puts out very little light. Supposedly it has a 1-watt luxeon in it, but I have other flashlights with the same emitter and they blow the superspot away. Maybe I just got a bad one

I'd like to try the Cateye EL-500; It supposedly has the same emitter, but in the comparisons I've seen it looks pretty good. Maybe they just have a better lens or reflector.

Or just get one of the current-generation high-output LED flashlights and a handlebar mount kit.

Note that I wouldn't use any of them as a primary light source for full-dark commuting, just as an emergency backup or as a "be seen" light. For the latter I'd want something with an optional blink mode too, which the superspot doesn't have.

For primary lighting I'd use a DIY 20W halogen, which you can build for far less than $50, and will kick out way more light.

When you're ready for more light, batteryspace has a lot of options starting at around $100, and HID systems starting at $200.

CBBaron

I use an EL-500 and something like an SL1000 in combination for my commuting light. However my commute is entirely on city streets with street lamps so I do not need them to see the road. I just want to be visible.
Craig

High_Ram

Thanks for the replies! I'm not really a nite-time commuter, I just happen to ride at nite some times. When I do, I'm on well lit roads most of the times. It would just be nice to have a light that'll not only make ME more visible, but make objects more visible. That Princeton light has my attention.

dobber

A decent MagLight or LED flashlight from WalMart and a TwoFish LockBlock or Cyclopblock (https://www.twofish.biz/bike.html).

Brian Sorrell

I just got a Princeton Tec EOS from Sport Chalet on clearance:



It has three brightness settings and runs on three AAA batteries -- I got some rechargeable ones. It's very compact and clips on to the bars or the helmet or whatever you like. So far, I like it. Sure, it doesn't light up the entire street, but I ride on relatively well-lit urban streets so my goal is to be visible and illuminate to just a limited extent.

From that perspective, it's a good deal.

KeatonR

I like the Cateye Opticube EL500. Takes four AAs, and I use rechargeables, for 30 hours of runtime. Very bright. Waterproof. Under fifty bucks.

MtbVA

I have a couple of these https://www.rei.com/online/store/Prod...ory_rn=4500821
They clip on & off very easy, bright enough to get attention of drivers, especially when in blinking mode.

stapfam

I ride off road and use a 10watt lamp that is just about good enough except for battery life. However The backup lamp is the cateye EL 300. This gives a respectable spread of light and in the UK is road legal. I also have a secondary backup lamp for longer Offroad rides and this is the Cateye EL500. The pair coupled together do give me enough light to ride at medium speed offroad but this is also coupled with a 1watt helmet lamp

If you are looking for a good lamp for road use- then either EL300 or EL500 are good. El300 is a flood lamp and the 500 a spot. They both have respectable battery life of around 25 hours on 4 AA batteries. Not bad for such a powerful lamp.

blackDoggy

About the Serfas SL 1000 - if I remember correctly, the blink mode is quite useless. It goes something like 1 sec on, 1 sec off, in that 1 second your bike has traveled quite a distance, so drivers won't know where you are. Also, if someone quickly scans the road when turning out to intersection, it might be that they're looking right then when the lamp is off - it's kind of "now you see me, now you don't" mode.

As for Cateye EL500 - I would not recomend that either. The beam is not round, but instead it is in form of... Cateye logo. Clever marketing, no doubts about that, but you can't depend of that kind of beam when on road.

So, go for Cateye EL300 if you need illumination, or Cateye EL400 if you need a "see me" light. You could also check out the latest Cateye EL510, perhaps they have changed the reflector, so it might beam something other than Cateye logo. (How about making a Batman-type headlight? )

2manybikes

If you shine your EL 500 in the sky will cat woman show up? If so I want one.

Michel Gagnon

I don't know about it, but if it works like the BLT Super Doppler (which looks really similar), the flash rate is quite good. On the plus side, it can be turned ±12°; on the minus side, it takes 3 AAA batteries and is a bit weak.


I have recommended it maybe 2 years ago. And while it's a good be-seen headlight, the 1-watt SuperSpot has a very wide "beam" which could be good for very SLOW off-roading, but won't be that useful on the road, except for being seen. It also uses 4 AA batteries (and wears them rapidly for a LED) and is a bit bulky.

My current favourite be-seen light is the Beamer-5 which is much smaller and uses 2 AA batteries which seem to last forever. It has a narrow beam which therefore throws much further than the 1-W SuperSpot, and has also 4 tiny accessory beams which are a little bit distracting. The two lower ones are useful to light potholes and the like, but they should get rid of the two upper ones. Compared to the BLT Super Doppler (and probably the Serfas SL1000 too), the Beamer-5 thows a little bit further and has a lens which is harder to scratch. On the other hand, the 12° adjustment of the BLT might be useful on trails.

Right now, I currently use the Beamer 5 to supplement the illumination given by my dynohub generator and Schmidt E-6. The E-6 throws a much more poweful and useful beam, which is more than enough to ride safely on an unlit road. The Beamer-5 is useful for the following:
– standlight at an intersection or when I climb a hill very slowly (I climb well, but at 5 km/h);
– flashing headlight to warn pedestrians and motorists when there are lots of background lights;
– directed towards the ground to illuminate potholes;
– for repairs or if my main headlight were to break.

NoRacer

I have something like that, as a "to be seen" light. I keep it in it's case, but with the flap folded back, mounting it on my handlebar with a LiveStrong-like wrist band. The band makes it easy for me to redirect the light to flash an oncoming vehicle preparing to make a turn in front of me.

The one I have has 5 emitters. It last about 90 minutes using 3 AAA rechargeable NiMH batteries.

ItsJustMe

I use a 1 watt, 3 AAA cell flashlight as an emergency backup headlight. My mount consists of a small block of wood that I drilled a 7/8" hole through one way, then a 1 1/8" hole through at a right angle and almost intersecting, then cut through the middle of the holes. Then I strap the whole thing to my handlebars with a handful of rubber bands.

Here's what I'm talking about:

slvoid

No, one of these things falls out of the sky into your front wheel in the middle of the night and kills you.

2manybikes

most excellent !!!!!!

Merriwether

I have a better opinion of the EL500. With fresh batteries, it's a serviceable illumination light. There is a "U" light pattern, but that doesn't interfere with its illumination. It's not a light you can travel at full speed with, but nothing at this power level is. When batteries are fresh, this light provides the minimum amount of light for illumination for slower riding, and nothing more. Some other lights at this power level don't even do that much.

The real strength of this light, and of other LED lights, is the very long period in which the light functions as a be-seen light. After several hours of use on a set of batteries, the light is not bright enough to provide useful illumination for riding. It is still bright enough to be a good visibility enhancer for many hours afterward with those batteries, though.

Since LED lights this size aren't very good illuminators, it's nice that they provide something distinct from the modular battery and light systems. You can put them on the bars with fresh batteries, and then forget about them for quite a while--- weeks, at least, for most riders.

I have the EL500, but I think the EL300 might be an even better light for those purposes. There is less illumination when the batteries are new, but the useful be-seen period is much longer.

If you really need to see, and you want to stay (well) under $50, consider one of the miner-style halogen headlamps you can get at Wal-Mart for $10 or so. One of the 4-AA style will provide a few hours of decent light on a set of batteries. With the money you'll save on the light you can buy plenty of alkaline AA batteries, or rechargeables.

The fact is, though, that even for around $50 the modular systems are a better way to provide illumination. You can get a NiteHawk rechargeable halogen system for about $50, and there will be *much* more available light than with any of the options we're discussing now.

ceridwen

My friend has the Serfas 200 one and it is terrible. Turns itself off over bumps, doesn't stay put on the handlebar and has a very low light output.

I have a NiteHawk 10W halogen system with a waterbottle battery that I got on sale at Performance for 30 bucks that I use as my actual "I know I will be out late" light. I keep a CatEye EL-300 in my handlebar bag for those "Oh crap it got dark already?" situations though and it's a pretty good light. It will make you reasonably visible, and it doesn't need any kind of bracket on the bars. And unlike the serfas light it stays put where you aim it, even over rough road (95% of the time anyways). It's also a lot smaller than many lights, making it easy to fit into my bag.

rajman

I found that this light
https://www.mec.ca/Products/product_d...=1156093967515

was adequate for riding on the off road bike paths (they are in pretty good condition) in calgary winter and summer. I find that the LED lights are far too blue, ruining your night vision, and don't help much for illumination. However in the city the LED's seem to provide visibility, and are really good at illuminating signage, and reflective materials (like what you might find on joggers, other cyclists, and cars).

The 5000x light is under $20 CDN at MEC, so definitely in your price range. I use four energizer NiMH batteries and I get a week out of them (about 5 h commute time).