CompleteStreets

Headlights can be broken into two categories: 1) "Be seen" headlights that alert others to your presence but don't light up the pavement in front of you, or 2) "To see" headlights that light up the road in front of you so you can spot things like potholes, debris, etc.

I'm looking for a "to see" headlight with long battery life. I don't need a crazy bright light, just something that will help me avoid pavement obstacles. I'm ambivalent between AAA, AA or rechargeable batteries, so long as the light gets long battery life.

3-hours of battery life is laughable IMO. I'm looking for something getting at least 20 hours, but preferably 40-100 hours. It's 2015. This should be possible. Is there anything out there?

Lanceoldstrong

32 Hours at 150 Lumens might fill the bill
Cygolite makes great stuff. I have and use a few of their lights. ( I ride at night a lot)
Boost (1700 lm): 2 hrs
High (1200 lm): 3 hrs
Med (850 lm): 6 hrs
Low (150 lm): 32 hrs
Rechargeable External Battery
https://www.cygolite.com/product/centauri-1700-osp/

Also Take a peek at Fenix Bike Lights.

BT30R
Burst: 1800 Lumens
High: 1200 Lumens (1 hour 50 min.)
Mid: 500 Lumens (5 hours 15 min.)
Low: 200 Lumens (12 hours 50 min.)
Eco: 100 Lumens (22 hours 35 min)
Flashing: 200 Lumens
Rechargeable External Battery

Fenix BT30R Rechargeable Bike Light - Fenix-Store

I have and use:
BC30R
Burst: 1600 Lumens
High: 800 Lumens (2 hrs. 35 min.)
Med.: 500 Lumens (4 hrs. 30 min.)
Low: 200 Lumens (11 hrs. 50 min.)
Eco: 100 Lumens (20 hrs. 20 min.)
Flashlight: 200 Lumens
Rechargeable Internal Battery

tedder

20-100 hours? You need a dynamo.

rm -rf

My old Dinotte light was 200 lumens. That's bright enough for 12-15 mph under most conditions. (Wet roads don't reflect much light, and need a much brighter light.) I often rode with 200 lumens at 18-19 mph, but that was just enough light to give me about one second of warning to brace or lift off the saddle for potholes, but not enough warning to easily avoid them.

Some lights have more of a spotlight and others have a wider beam. So that affects how far ahead and how much of the road you can see. I much prefer a wider beam with more lumens instead of a spotlight.

So, running those bright lights listed above at 200 lumens might work for you. But don't be surprised if you use brighter settings. I now have 1100 lumens, and usually keep it on 1100 in the city, and half power 650 on dark country roads. I like the big bright pool of light on the road to complete with the car headlights in the city.

Also, the battery life will shorten as it gets older. My 1100 lumen used to go 2.5 hours on high, now after 3 years, it's closer to 1.2 hours.

CompleteStreets

Thanks. I just checked Amazon and the Cygolite is $260 while the Fenix is $140. I really can't justify those prices. I think I'm going to go dynamo as tedder is suggesting.

I used to have an iPulse light (by Bell?) that probably got 40+ hours on flash mode and only cost $20 or $30. It took AAA. I kept it on the bike at all times using tons of electrical tape and a zip tie or two. No one ever stole it and I was able to replace the batteries without having to remove the light from the handlebars. The problem was it was only a "be seen" light, and I really want a light for seeing the road.

It looks like dynamo is the only option for people who don't want to constantly remove their lights from their bikes.

Buffalo Buff

Here you go.

Axiom Lazer 200 LED Headlight - 200 lumen headlight with low power draw.

https://www.amazon.com/Compact-20000m...2Cp_89%3AAnker - 20000 mah battery pack.

80$ and I'd guess at least 20 hours run time on high, and over 100 hours on low.

Use the headlight as needed, then when the battery gets low you can plug it into that battery pack. It will run for a long, long time this way. It's the method I used on my last tour. Cheaper than a dynamo, and the battery could also charge my phone, go pro etc. while it charged the headlight.

I upgraded to a cygolite metro 750 for commutes and its a great light. Not the runtime you want though. Personally I'm fine with taking my light off my bike when I go somewhere, and charging it once or twice a week.

noglider 

I have an external battery very similar to the one @Buffalo Bill cites. It gives lots of peace of mind. I rarely need it on the bike. I've only taken it once, on my 100-mile ride this past summer. I used it to charge my headlight and my ipad while riding, though not both at the same time. I used my ipad for music on the trip.

unterhausen

if your username is "completestreets" a dyno is definitely the way to go. Best purchase I have ever made in cycling.

tarwheel 

What the big deal with charging batteries? It's simply a routine. I charge my batteries every day so I never have to worry about running out of juice. Takes about 5 seconds to hook it up.

If you think the prices of rechargeable LED lights are crazy, hold your breath when you start shopping for a dynamo light system. You can easily drop $500 on a new front wheel with dyno hub along with compatible head and taillights.

I've got a dynamo system on my primary commuting bike as well as a Light and Motion Urban 800 that I swap among my other bikes. They both work well, but the dynamo system cost about 4X more money.

T Stew

Mine keeps on going as long as I put new batteries in it. Do you not take a break at least once every 20 hours or so?

If you really want to do something like 20+ hours without changing batteries and with enough brightness to see around on easy routes then I'd probably be looking at lights that utilize li-ion cells or packs.

I have a single cell 18650 powered light that I use as a bike light, camping light, running light, headlamp (for your head) etc. Turning it down to 150 lumens would be 11 hrs, good enough for any single trip for me. If you want to turn it down further, the 65 lumen setting is good for 30 hrs, but you start getting questionable brightness to be seen. I have 4 cells though, so I don't worry about battery life.

PaulRivers

I own both dynamo and battery lights, and also find that the fastest thing with battery lights is to buy a light that can be charged without removing it from the bike, then store the bike next to an electrical outlet with a charger hooked up. It takes about 30 second to just hook the light up to charger after every ride, that way it's always fully charged.

The Fenix BT30R is an interesting light that does this, great for seeing wide around you, though it's not as good for having a lot of throw down the road. Has a display that tells you how much battery life you have left to:
Fenix BC30R LED Bike Light - Fenix-Store

Lol yeah, if your goal is to save money LED lights are cheap compared to dynamos. I'd say your cost is a bit high though - It's closer to $250-$350 for an average setup. $500 gets into high end SON hub territory.

I'd say 2-3x, but yeah, dynamo is nearly always more expensive than battery lights not less.

noglider 

It's not the time, it's the necessity. There is also doubt. "Let's see I charged my light last night, so I'll be good tonight. Oh wait, I charged it the night before, so, I'll probably be good tonight, and darn it, I don't have time, I gotta go. I hope it works out." Stuff like that.

I don't see how you can read the comments in this thread and then make these comments. Several of us have cited prices much lower than that. The cheapest dynamo lights are about the same price as the cheapest battery lights, and the expensivest dynamo system is less than the expensive battery lights. So there goes that theory. The only inferior thing about dynamo prices is the lumens per dollar ratio.

You chose to spend 4X on your dynamo system. You didn't have to, and it doesn't prove that when comparing light systems that dynamo systems generally cost 4X as much. It's not true, and the implication shows faulty thinking.

I'm not opposed to battery lights. Far from it. But let's be fair and truthful, OK?

Buffalo Buff

This. I have 4 USB cables running from an outlet to my bike shelf. After a ride I can plug in my go pro, bluetooth speaker, tail light and headlight. It's only an extra 20-30 seconds on and off.

tarwheel 

I stand by my comments. I'm not trying to be argumentative or criticize dynamo lights, just trying to make the OP be realistic about costs. Sure, you can buy a dynamo light system for less than $400-500, but you will still pay about 3-4X more for a dynamo system with lighting power comparable to a rechargeable LED light. With a dynamo system, you have to buy a new front wheel with dyno hub as well as the light, mount, wiring, etc.

Let's say you buy a bargain-basement dyno wheel on eBay and the cheapest dyno light you can find. You are still going to spend at least $150, and will end up with a light that is probably less bright than any number of rechargeable LED lights that can be bought for about $50. Your cheapo dyno wheel/hub will be much heavier and possibly low quality.

I focused on the costs because the OP cited the cost of upgrading to a better quality rechargeable light as a reason for switching to a dyno system. If costs are not a factor, then dyno lights are very competitive with rechargeables.

noglider 

@CompleteStreets didn't give us a minimum power output requirement. For all we know, a decent Dynamo headlight is sufficient. If it is, then the cost could be justified. My point is that different people have different criteria. If convenient is more important than brightness, a dynamo light might be the best choice.

T Stew

Just my opinion but I don't like lights that I have to plug in to charge. I much prefer removable cells, that way I have control over what ones I buy (compared to a non-removable battery pack), and how many. It's ridiculously easy to slip a battery into a charger but can be very inconvenient to take a bike to an outlet. There are many times that my bike doesn't come out of the back of my truck between trips. I'd either have to unload my bike or find a really long extension cord, etc. Taking the battery out is much easier. And I can have a bunch charged and ready to go. Sometimes if your battery pack is non-removable than your screwed if its dead. If your using AA's it's also nice to know you can swap batteries between devices. Like if you went on a long trip you might not know if you'll have access to plug in anywhere. If its AA, it is like the most available battery in the world. It's also too bad that more devices don't use removable Li-ion cells. I have a few lights that use them and I can interchange them like 18650 and 14500(AA size) li-ion cells, but not with other devices. Some times when I am hiking I purposely carry devices that are all AA compatible so I can just carry one format of batteries for everything (camera, flashlights, water filter, gps, etc). If the hike is short, I might even only take enough batterys for one device and swap them out when I need to use something else, just to shave off a few ounces of battery weight.

PaulRivers

It's a certainly a matter of preference and opinion. My favorite are the lights that allow you to switch batteries but will also charge the batteries in the light. My Philips Saferide and Ixon Iq both do this, they take AA batteries but you can also just plug into the charging port and charge them in the light.

If your priority was the least charging hassle, and you keep your bike indoors like I do, I do think it's a fair amount less hassle to be able to plug into the light to charge it, rather than having to take the batteries out of the light every day to keep them charged. I see your point about being able to carry extras etc, I don't disagree that it's handy, but I started off with a cheaper AA light that required charging the batteries in an external charger, and it's kinda annoying to do every day compared to just plugging a cable into the light. (Again if you're storing your bike near a power outlet which I do.)

T Stew

Yep, situations can be quite different. I've never had any bikes indoor but plan on bringing one in for a winter trainer. Also depends on the style of light and how hard the batteries are to remove. I use my flashlight pretty much daily (for other things, not on the bike), so I am removing the battery and putting it in the charger anyhow. It takes less than 10 seconds. And the light I use on the bike is my every day carry anyhow, so once I'm off the bike the light goes into my pocket. So I am really doing nothing extra, certainly a lot easier than me bringing a bike indoors just to charge a light. But if your doing that anyhow, then it really isn't any extra work to do it that way either.

With the renovations I'm doing to my house I pretty much have batteries on the charger at all times right now. I don't however use lights on my bike very much at all.

CompleteStreets

Just catching up on the comments now. My issue is that I have a living situation that requires storing my bike outdoors. Therefore I can't just leave the lights on the bike and charge them over night. I would have to remove them from the bike, bring them inside, plug them in, remember to remove them from the charger the next morning and then reinstall them on the bike each and every day. I would consider that to be a major hassle for car headlights and likewise I consider it to be a major hassle for bike headlights.

erig007

mine on flashing mode and coupled with 4 AA eneloop pro last me easily 6 months to a year between charges. Not bright at all though but enough for urban use with some ambient light
Cateye HL-EL320 review - BikeRadar

Robert C

Based on your situation, while I am no fan of dyno lights, you sound like a dyno- light is the best solution for you.

As far as auto headlights; you forget that the auto has a large petrol engine powering a generator that drives those lights.

tedder

Do you wear a helmet, or cycling shoes, or use a lock with a key, or wear other cycling-specific gear? I assume you bring that stuff in too. Just put your helmet (or other gear) next to the charger.

vol

Sorry to interrupt, how does the brightness of this light compare to the Magicshine clones (which claims to be 1000+ lumens but obviously way exaggerated)?

Buffalo Buff

No idea, never tried them. The Axiom light compares to my 200 lumen Fenix LED lights.

CompleteStreets

I leave my helmet in my waterproof Donkey Boxx, which is basically a permanently affixed pannier. I've never owned a pair of cycling shoes, nor have I ever owned any cycling specific clothing. I use my bike primarily for transportation, with 99% of my trips being under 10 miles. My lock stays on my bike; it's what I lock it up with outdoors. So, no I don't bring anything inside. My goal is to keep biking as simple as possible. The more things I have to remember to do before hopping on a bike, the less convenient.