no1mad 

Rode the MUP that will become part of my new commute route. As it was in daylight, I am unsure about what kind of lighting will actually be present. Did notice that there are some stretches that have a fairly large drop off on one side, and a couple on both sides of the trail. No guardrails or retention barricades or warning signs posted that I could see either.

I currently have a Coleman LED 3xAAA that I got from wally world. I generally mount it to my helmet with a rubber band (the beam doesn't twitch near as much on my head as on the bars, IMO). I'm not sure that one light will be enough to see by, especially since I have next to none night vision.

What kind of lighting set-up/mounts would you recommend? Keep in mind- DiNottes are not in the budget, and anything with a remote battery pack is out.

cc700

A good place to start is the stickied "best headlight under 50 dollars" thread.

I have a P7 flashlight from dealextreme(the MTE SF-15 five mode), but it took some fidgeting to get working properly(had to sand down a contact that had been improperly soldered and was preventing full contact on the body to the switch electronics).

P7 emitters are rated up to 900 lumens and it's safe to say most put out over 500 maybe up to 700. that's a lot of light, like a modern car headlight. of course, once you buy the flashlight and the batteries and the charger and a mount you've gone from 30 dollars to 50, but it's still a ridiculous amount of light for that cost.

there are some nice 15-dollar options in the headlight thread as well that may take normal batteries. just please, don't go back to wally world. someone was saying shining beam is a nice site in the US with good service and good prices. I'd check them out.

regarding floods and spots- it depends entirely what light you're using, where you're using it, and what the beam pattern looks like. if your flood has a hot spot center with a lot of penetration, you can use it without supplementary lights. if your spot covers where you need it to cover and streetlights cover the rest, you don't need a flood. it just all depends. sometimes a combination is good, but usually because of the ability to aim and beam shape.

no1mad 

-I've access to plenty of AA/AAA rechargeables, just not sure of the actual chemistry.
-That sticky thread is currently on its 12th page, with over 340 posts (some of 'em mine).
-Shining Beam reportedly has better QC in place to minimize the need for DIY repairs.

colleen c

I am finding this very true. I own three of the DX P7 light and so far they all have switch problem. I took apart two of the flashlight switch, clean them and try to get as good of a contact possible and it only lasted a week before they start to flicker again. The price is not to bad but the quality is horrible enough for me to rename Deal Extreme to "Dud Extreme".

I replace those P7 with a Shining beam MG P-Rocket SST-50. I placed an order on Friday and got it on Monday. It is a very good light. The light is much more brighter than the P7 and the MS light. I haven't got any switch problem like I did with the P7 either. The 18650 battery last me 60 minutes on high. The drawback is the price of the light at roughly about $70 after shipping and the fact that I had to buy AW18650 ($20) because the current draw from this light is over 2A which the Trustfire battery was noted to not being able to deliver the full current needed for this flashlight for max lumen, but otherwise it stil will work, just not as bright. The good news is that my charger from DX still works with the AW18650 and I saved a little of $ from that. I probably can use this light on Med and get away with it alone but since I got the MS900, I use that on strobe along with the P-Rocket is more than enough for any road I ride.

I'm not sure if you are incline to use AA/AAA battery instead of 18650, but if you do choose that route, I strongly recommend Shiningbeam for their flashlight that use those batteries.

Edit: BTW, this P-Rocket has a flood that cover the side of the road and the spot is good enough to see when riding at 15 mph. If I get to it, I may post a sample or two of the light output compare to a P7 and MS900.

cc700

here's the sf-15

"dud extreme" is funny but you are paying a very low cost and there will inevitably be some problems with some of the products. some are better than others.

PaulRivers

Lol, "Will be biking trail daily at night...has large dropoffs, may die, I have poor night vision. $100 completely out of the question, to expensive, external battery pack to much hassle, prefer death".

no1mad 

Yeah, funny. There are factors at play that you are not aware of. Lemme throw some light on those factors:

-I'll only ride at night if it's an emergency during the summer- like I get stuck at work, make it back to the bus station but miss the last connecting.
-The poor night vision goes hand in hand with glaucoma. Doc declared me legally blind 2 years ago.
-My hours/wages have been cut since the declaration. The wife lost her job last Friday. And there are 4 kids to feed.
-The local transit requires that anything that could fall off the bike be removed before boarding. Though I doubt an external battery pack would fall off, I really don't feel like arguing with some driver who wants to be anal about it.

EDIT: Originally stated having 5 children; in reality, wife has given birth to 5, but one lives with his dad out of state.

davidad

https://www.shiningbeam.com/servlet/t...h-N3-II/Detail
Will run on 2AA for a coouple of hours. The XP-G emitter is floody.

serra

This is actually the one I use. I ride at night for fun during the summer, it's not so bloody hot. Four miles of the ride are in the country, no lights but mine, and it gets me by just fine at around 15 mph. Nice flood and spot, I can see about 8 seconds ahead, that's about 176 feet, which is plenty, and lights up signs and barriers from half a mile. If you're looking for a tail light that's not horribly expensive, I suggest the Radbot 1000. It's brighter than the Planet Bike Super Flash, and can be had from $20-25.

no1mad 

Stated output is 280 lumens on constant. Two of these would put me in the ballpark of one P7. What kind of mounting system would you advise?
The Radbot was already on my radar. I've got a Cherry Bomb now, but feel that I need something more.

PaulRivers

I'm very sorry to hear that. That sounds rather rough. Really.

And I can't tell you how much light you'd need exactly, as I don't have bad night vision. Neither probably do most of the people making suggestions for flashlights. Has the Coleman LED actually worked out well for you for biking at night other than biking on the MUP?

I mean, I've had all kinds of experiences - I've ridden home in the dark (but in the city where there's always some amount of ambient light) with no light (accidentally), and was surprised to find that as long as I wasn't trying to race at breakneck speeds, the only thing I found really dangerous was oncoming bikers without lights. (Though I may have pretty much just hoped there wasn't anything bad laying on the bike path) But I don't have poor night vision.

I've used a Dinotte 200L and thought it was enough light as long as I wasn't pushing my speed as well. It lit things up "well enough".

My dad has a Planet Bike 1 Watt - it works pretty well as long as you're going completely straight.

Really, I don't know what to suggest - a combination of not wanting / being able to spend money on bike lights along with very bad night vision seems like an impossible combination. If you had terrible night vision - seems like you'd need more light. But again, I can't say as I don't have any personal experience with that.

About the only thing I CAN say is that lots of people go through a similar thing where they keep trying to "save money" or they say "I'm not a serious biker, I'm absolutely not going to spend a lot of money on lights" - then they end up piddling out a bunch of money over time trying to find a cheap light that will work for them. They buy a $30 light, they buy a $50 light, they're looking for a third light - finally they buy something decent, but spent twice as much money as if they had just bought something decent to begin with. "Something decent" seems to be around $100 - but I'm not saying I know what would work for you.

And regarding the battery pack - I would think if they want you to take the battery pack off the bike, they'd want you to take the light off as well, in which case having 2 lights is going to be just as much of a pain as 1 light and a battery pack. I don't know how secure some of those bike flashlight holders are either.

When people ask for a "cheap" bike light, they usually get a bazillion "Magicshine 900" responses -
https://www.geomangear.com/index.php?...roducts_id=180

It claims 900 lumens, comparable to flashlights and other cheap light lumen ratings, but equivalent to about 400-500 lumens compared to a quality light that accurately rates it's lumens like a Dinotte. A Dinotte is better made than a Magicshine, though.

Either way it's more expensive than what you say you're looking for - all I can say is that I wish you luck! :-) Bike lighting is a quirky subject. Once you get "enough" light, adding more light doesn't even help unless it's shaped in the right way...but that's a whole 'nother topic, lol.

njkayaker

This is a good choice. Put o-rings or duct-tape around the first battery so it doesn't rattle (if the battery rattles, the light can flicker).

You might get about 1.5-2h of run-time from it.

Buy one (of whatever you choose) and see how you like it.

Having a helmet-mounted light might help you (maybe as a second light).

I like the two-fish lock-blocks ($15 with free shipping from https://www.4sevens.com/). You can also use an old innertube (see other posts in this subforum).

How long a ride is this? Is there enough ambient light (eg, street lights) to be able to see and ride safely? I'm not suggesting that you do this but it might give some idea of how your vision is.

====================

This is an important point.

Lots of people use LED flashlights with "those flashlight holders". It is no pain at all dealing with two of them on a handle bar. It's also possible that he would be better served by mounting one light on his helmet.

Ignoring his poor night vision issues, he's only interested in a light for rare emergencies. It should not be a problem if he has to ride a bit slower. A flash-light approach doesn't seem unreasonable.

PaulRivers

I said "in which case having 2 lights is going to be just as much of a pain as 1 light and a battery pack" - my point being that the time and hassle of taking 2 flashlights off the bike is the same as the time and hassle of of taking a brighter light and a battery pack off the bike. I don't disagree that it's nice to have a light on the helmet so that if you aren't going straight you can shine it where you need it though.

no1mad 

Let's just table the whole poor night vision. I've dealt with it for almost 40 years now, so I think that I can manage.

-The reason why I'm reluctant to get, say, a MS 900, is if I commit all of my financial resources to just the one system- what happens when one component decides to quit? If I utilize a dual flashlight set-up, then if one fails, I still have one that is operational (hopefully) that should get me to where I'm going in one piece.

-The MUP has lights mounted on old fashioned telephone poles about every 200' or so. But I don't how many (if any) are actually operational. Street lighting is one of the first places the city looks to cut costs when the budget is tight.

-I'm well aware of the economics behind the quality vs quantity argument. It's a constant topic of discussion in this household (sometimes rather hotly).

colleen c

The choice is becoming clear from the info that's been provided.

1) The limitation of your vision rules out the suggestion of DX P7 due to the fact that the switch has a tendancy to flicker or change mode. That maybe a safety hazzard in your case.

2) You have plenty of supply of AA battery so that rules out 18650 battery.

3) Anything that can fall out of the bike must be remove and that mean a MS will require the lamp and the battery to be remove.

4) Your price range seem to be limited to $50-$75.

I strongly agree with trying the AA Shiningbeam recommended as previously mention. Buy one first and see what is your run time with the battery you have a supply of. You can get the flashlight pretty fast and not like DX. See if the Lumen is adequate and check to see if you may have to use two of those lights. The cost of two flashlight will be $52 +SH. They will yield 2x 280 lumen which should give plenty of light. With one on your helmet and the second one on the handlebar held in by Twofish $16 +SH, it will be fairly easly to remove just the one one the bike when you have to take the bus.

If you do choose this option, I advice you run the two light with the battery drained at different level such that one battery in one light is fresh and new while the second battery in the other flashlight is half depleted, This way, you will not find yourself with two dead battery at once and you only have to carry one spare set of battery.

njkayaker

It could be less of a "pain". You keep talking about mysterious "hassles". It isn't any sort of pain or hassle. And since he's talking about rare, emergency use, flashlights might be more convenient than an alternative.

If he was interested in riding at night regularly, something like the geoman/magicshine light might make more sense than using flashlights.

This option might be especially useful to him.

PaulRivers

*sigh*

Obviously, I lack the psychic ability you possess to make my lights magically appear on the bike, then dissapear off the bike at will. If that ability becomes available to other people, I'd love to hear about it. Maybe you can use to to power your lights without recharging your batteries as well.

In the meantime, I'm going to have to stick with physically removing the lights from my bike when I need to, using my arms. If I had to do it frequently, it would be a hassle to do it twice a day. A bit of a pain if any alternative was available. And I assume the OP agrees with me, or he wouldn't have bothered to express a preference for no external battery pack. I was simply saying that taking 2 lights on and off the bike was the same pain/hassle as taking 1 light and a battery pack. "the same", meaning if one was "nothing more than an extra step I didn't mind", then the other would also be "an extra step I didn't mind".

The helmet light is probably a good option, yes, for anyone.

serra

[QUOTE=no1mad;11057838
-The reason why I'm reluctant to get, say, a MS 900, is if I commit all of my financial resources to just the one system- what happens when one component decides to quit? If I utilize a dual flashlight set-up, then if one fails, I still have one that is operational (hopefully) that should get me to where I'm going in one piece.
[/QUOTE]

It's a very good idea to have a backup light. I use the shiningbeam light to see by, and a ~$12 light from Target as a flasher to be seen. If for some horrible reason my flashlight breaks, the Target light would be enough to get home by. It would be slow going, but at least I wont have to walk by the light of my keychain light.

no1mad 

Tell you what- tomorrow I'm planning on getting up at my normal time and put my light to the test on that MUP, just not on the section that has the steep drop offs. If I observe that what I have is sufficient, then I'll probably order a P7 and mount as an upgrade. Thus making what I already have an acceptable back-up.

FWIW, I'm only planning on using one flashlight on the bike itself. The other will basically live on my helmet. The skid lid goes into my backpack when it's not being worn.

And another thing, if my vision holds up, and my skills/confidence/financial situation improves- I'm shooting for a dynohub and light. And move the P7 to helmet duty.

njkayaker

The OP is intending to do this rarely, not "frequently".

He could (should) keep the flashlights off of the bike normally and put them on when he needs them for that rare night ride.

There is no problem dealing with one or two flashlights. You are making a big deal out of nothing.

The advantages of lights with separate battery packs are being brighter with much longer runtimes. They aren't "less hassle" to mount than flashlights.

no1mad 

For the record, I already have a flashlight mounted to the helmet. Before I decided to encompass cycling as part of the commute, said flashlight was in my backpack.

I'm also having to deal with my wife's attitude- about cycling in general, and cycling specific gear in particular. Basically, if I don't shop at wally world, then I'm "spending too much on something you're not gonna do anyway". She's firmly in the quantity camp and I'm in the quality camp.

My lighting requirements are minimal (emergency use) for now. In the future? Who knows?

njkayaker

This makes it sound like you plan on night riding regularly. While a generator might be sufficient and convenient, it might not be brighter than a battery-powered light.

no1mad 

I'm aware of that. And, actually thinking of it, going generator may not be the wisest in my particular case. The dyno-light gets its power from wheel speed. The faster you move the wheel, the brighter the light. However, if it that light isn't sufficient for my needs at speed, then for safety sake I'll have to slow down, which in turn will reduce light output. Hmm, I need to some more research...

njkayaker

Generators are very convenient if you need to use them regularly and need "really long" runtimes. They seem overkill for "emergencies".

PaulRivers

You do have a good point there. I've personally never had a light fail on me (other than because of a discharged battery, where despite having 2 separate batteries they were both drained), but I also use more expensive lights from Dinotte and Light and Motion which are better made. If they did fail, I would probably have to call someone to pick me up.

I guess I'm saying - you have a point, and I don't have a real solid response either way, lol.

With regular night vision you usually don't need as much light on unlight trail as you do in the city, weirdly enough, because when there's no abmient ambient light your eyes adjust and you can see *more*. But - I have no idea how this would affect you. Wish I could offer something more helpful. :-)



I'm still curious how that Coleman flashlight has worked out for you...