no1mad 

Distance: 12-20 miles, depending on if I take the bus. It's 12 miles to the nearest bus stop. So I guess that would be 24-40 miles r/t.
Terrain: A divided state highway with nice wide shoulders. Rolling hills.
Lighting: 1/2 mile through the neighborhood to the state road (doubles as Main St. in town). Then 3 miles of street lights/commercial lighting through town. Then 6 miles of sporadic lights, followed by 3 more miles of commercial (with street lights being installed in the median as I type this). That gets me to the bus stop. If I choose not to take the bus (depending on mood/energy/time), then I will be using a MUP that has next to nothing in the way of lights of it's own.

Now here's where I need your input. I'm thinking of running two flashlights w/a generator light as well. The generator looks like it would probably be a bottle type.

The mounting positions of the lights would be:

-generator light on the fork crown.
-one flashlight mounted on the fork, possibly the hub.
-another flashlight on the handlebar.

Beyond that, I'm pretty clueless. Nor do I have any idea of batteries/chargers.

I'm wanting to stay under $200 all in, and that includes getting a PBSF (or two).

no1mad 

Well, someone (10 wheels, thanks!) just pointed out a comparison of the PBSF to a Dinotte (unsure of model, though). That is a nice set-up, but probably a little too much $$ for the budget. The reason why I was interested in using flashlights (as opposed to bike specific) is that I will have to remove them when I get to the community college and toss them in the backpack.

If I did have the cash, and didn't have to strip the lights off every time I locked the bike up, I would love to have a set-up like 10 wheels, only double of everything!

AEO

the ideal light mounting location is right above the wheel. I would skip the hub and handlebar mounted light and go for a helmet light and fork mounted light.

for the battery powered flashlights, which would you prefer? flashlights that use Ni-MH AA batteries or Li-I batteries? Ni-MH have lower capacity, but are cheaper and it's easy to find replacements at local stores. Li-I batteries come in multiple sizes like CR-123A and 18650 and most don't accept regular AA, C or D sizes

do you want a thrower/spot light, flood light or a combination of both?

my opinion, it's best to have one flood and throw mounted to the bike and have a light that falls in between for your helmet light.

no1mad 

Well based upon this feedback:

-Batteries. 18650, Li-Ion's. Cheaper than the CR-123A's (I think) and won't be mistaken by family members as AA's to be used in remotes. I hope.
-Lights. If only two, then I would think that either a flood or something with really good spill as the lower and a spot/thrower up high would make sense.

And as far as charging the batteries, I'm thinking that it would be nice to have a charger at home and another at work. Probably like 4 sets of batt's so that I would have one fully charged at either end.

Unknown Cyclist

Aurora AK-P7-3 SSC P7-C 900-Lumen 2-Mode LED Flashlight on the bars

On high: Runtime = 2 hrs 16 mins (continuous)
On low: Runtime = 5 hrs 43 mins (continuous)

Carry some spare batteries in case you need them.

Not a thrower but plenty of light, use any Q5 torch on your helmet.

Some Q5 torches use a 18650 battery which should give a long run time.

AEO

if you go for an 18650 Li-I battery set, then for helmet light I would recommend a trustfire TR-801 which has a Q5-WC emitter. regular Q5 is not so bright, but the Q5-WC model is good for a helmet light.

there also seems to be a new kid on the block, which is the R2-WC emitter and is brighter than the Q5-WC.

it would be nice if you could use these emitters as the main light attached to the dyno.

JinbaIttai

-2 two-mode P7s on the bars, or 2 CREE MC-Es (I think this is what AEO is talking about)

There is a mid-ranged killer tail light between the PBSF and the Dinotte. Look into the Vetta TSL-C.
-2 PBSFs on the back or a Vetta TSL-C
-4 18650 batteries, charge them at school if you can, skip the generator.

AEO

no, cree MC-E is not the same as cree Q5-WC or cree R2-WC
MC-E; 4 emitter cluster over 600 lumens
Q5-WC; 1 emitter claimed 230 lumens
R2-WC; 1 emitter claimed 250 lumens

no1mad 

-Can't charge at school.
-Considering skipping the generator for now. Would rather have a dynohub anyway.
-Will Google the Vetta.

no1mad 

Just googled the vetta. Remote battery pack? No thanks.

dclaryjr

The lamp can be attached directly to the battery pack--remote isn't the appropriate descriptive word in this case IMO.

PaulRivers

No matter what budget I thought I had, I wouldn't ride on anything called a "Divided State Highway", no matter how wide the shoulder, with anything less than a Dinotte 140L:



It's one sale for $100 (without batteries or charger) -
https://store.dinottelighting.com/sha...unt2=792930245

I know it's out of your "budget", I'm just saying I would not do it. I'd rather skimp on front lights first - by far. Cars going 55mph, even with a huge shoulder, need to be able to see you waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay back.

JinbaIttai

Yeah good point. The OP has an atypical need for a bright tail light. That photo alone summed it all up.

Unknown Cyclist

I'm using Q5s and R2s in my lighting projects.

The regular Q5 is exactly as bright as the Q5-WC because they are exactly the same LED.

WC is just the colour code - how white it is.

brokenknee

You don't need to worry about a 18650 being mistaken for AA's, they are larger and would not fit in anything designed for AA's

no1mad 

You obviously have not met my kids.

Unknown Cyclist

18650 = 18mm dia. x 65mm length

14500 = 14mm dia. x 50mm length (AA)

The 18650 is very nearly twice the size (volume).

no1mad 

I understand your argument. BUT:

1. The budget is what it is.
2. I am a person with 'low vision'. A bright tail light does me no good if I can't see where I'm going.

My intent is to put as much light as possible up front. A PBSF in back with lots of reflective material. Will also be getting a Banjo Brothers Large backpack that has reflective stripes on it. (Funny how I could find all sorts of reviews about that 'pack, but nobody has posted a reflectivity test on youtube.)

Unknown Cyclist

Being visible from the rear doesn't necessarily mean buying a dinotte flame thrower.

Have a look on DX, buy a selection of cheap blinkies and plaster your bike with them.

Ok, the build quality isn't great on some of them, but it's better to have 4 cheap rear lights and have 1 fail/fall off/go flat than to have one more expensive light and have it fail/fall off/go flat.

ATM I've got a mudguard light from SJSC, a multicolour blinky from DX on the rear carrier (v. bright) and two sigma LED lights on the seat post.

Once I've made some brackets up I'll have the mudguard light, two multicoloured blinkies, the seatpost lights and a saddle mounted light as well. I might even put another light on the rear of the trunk pack.

Maybe one on the helmet if I can find something I like.

Also, it's possible to modify a LED torch or buy a torch kit and fit a red LED to get dinotte brightness for a lot less money.


Here's some tips.

no1mad 

I've been given some sage advice via PM. It's made me reconsider a few things. Like I should get the Dinotte 140 after all. And if I do go that route, then I think that it makes sense to get front lights that take the same type of battery cells, namely AA.

I will be working on my taxes in a little bit to see if I can increase my budget any.

Unknown Cyclist

Doesn't the dinotte have an external battery pack ?

Doesn't it run on lithium ion as well ?

10 Wheels

True in both cases.
Nice to stay with 2AA rechargeable battery's for everything.
Headlights, tail lights, camera.

Unknown Cyclist

Can't agree with you there, 18650s rule, NIMH suck.

Seriously, 1 x 18650 has the same capacity as 3 x AA nimh and weighs less.

More importantly lithium cells have very little self discharge.

NIMH is the king of self discharge.

I have lots of AA nimh and whenever I want one the damn things are all 1/2 flat again.

I wasn't keen on lithium ion until I tried them, now I can pick up a torch and have it work. Rather than pick up a torch, try it, change the batteries, discover the crappy nimh are nearly flat again, put a load of nimh on charge etc...

I've now gotten into the habit of always giving my previously charged NIMH a couple of hours of top up before putting the poxy things into my camera. and yes, I buy quality NIMH.

NIMH = OOD technology

Lithium Ion = the future

no1mad 

1. Apparently so.
2. Also looks like I was viewing the NiMH rechargeable AA model.

dclaryjr

So what happened to your disdain for battery packs? What did you have against them in the first place?