rekmeyata

Knogs are overpriced pieces of plastic weird looking junk.

You didn't mention how much you were wanting to spend.

If you want to spend less the $100 is difficult to beat the Cygolite ExpiliOn 300. It puts out 300 lumens, has a self contained replaceable rechargeable battery. You can generally find these for around $79. However there is also a ExpiliOn 410 that is even brighter that can be found on sale for $89, so for $10 more you get 110 more lumens. These are great lights that will work great as main lights.

If you want a great light that puts out enormous amount of light for a reasonable price there is the Phillips LED BikeLight that has 1000 lumens and cost about $210. I just got this light and it is truely fantastic. My previous main light was a Cygolite Mitycross 480 ($190), which was very bright, bright enough to win a light war hands down with a friends 1200 lumen MagicShine (there's a reason they don't charge much for that light). However, the Phillips beat the Cygolite handly. It projects a pear shape beam with the smaller (stem) end forward that reaches out at least twice as far as the Cygolite. Then the body of the "pear" shape behind that spreads a flood pattern about twice as large as the Cygolite. Then the Phillips has a fairly dim side spillage that the Cygolite does not have at all in it's round very focused shaped beam that projects light out to the side of your bike in front of you about 9 feet in both directions. Add on top of that a unique lens design that is larger then others in surface area, and the edge of the lens is about 1/16th of an inch thick goes around the light glows making you more visible from the sides. The light uses 4 self contained replaceable and rechargable AA bats, but that could be a downfall for some because they only store enough energy to run the light for about 1.75 hours on high (they claim 2 hours), then the light automatically dims to the low setting and runs another 30 minutes. The Cygolite Mitycross on the other hand will burn for 3.5 hours on high and up to 17 hours on low, but it has a seperate battery that must be seperately attached to the bike which really bugs me. There is also no strobe feature on the Phillips which I found a bit odd. But dispite the Phillips shorter run time ( I never ride for more then 2 hours at night anyways), and the lack of a strobe, it is now my main light and the Cygolite is the helmet light.

Technology for LED lights are rapidly changing, when I got the Cygolite it was the best light I could find for the money, now the Phillips has doubled that for about the same amount of money in just a one year period.

Tail lights it's the same story. Currently the best tail light for the money (under $35) is the Cygolite Hotshot, the Hotshot is rechargeable and brighter then anything on the market under $100.

Once you get a good head light and a good tail light, then later get a good front flasher. A flasher will attract attention to you faster then a headlight alone will. Then later get either a set of Soma Road Flares for the barends, these are very bright single red LED lights, or get a rear helmet light, then later a front helmet light. You need to be lit up like a christmas tree to get noticed better. Yes they cost money, but they could save your life, just add a light as money allows. Also consider reflective clothing, bands that go around your legs and arms, reflective tape on the helmet (put it on without looking like a dork of course).

ItsJustMe

Les than $40 for a great "to see by" light - see my earlier post on flashlights. Seriously, a cheap 18650 based flashlight, with 2 batteries, charger and bar mount, is as good as most dedicated bike lights in the class.

no1mad 

Just received e-mail that 3/4 of my DX order has shipped- the light, mount, and cells. No idea when the charger will ship ...

cehowardGS

What you ordering in light, mount and cells?

I got a 26550 single cell light, about 5 more two fish copy mounts, and 2 trustfire 26650 cells coming from DX. I hope they ship this year

no1mad 

It's the stuff IJM linked to in post #7. I was torn between a cheap MS clone off of ebay, but this set up was cheaper and more user friendly off of the bike.

CaptainCool

For a while, at least.

I went this route a couple of years ago. After a few months, the flashlight stopped working consistently. There have been a few threads on this forum telling me I am not alone in this experience.

Since I already had 18650 batteries and a charger, I got a non-DX 18650 light. Then the batteries stopped holding a charge. Since I already had a light, I bought some non-DX 18650 cells. Then I added another (non-DX) light, for more flood and backup. So now I have a fantastic light set with zero reliability concerns, but I have also spent $150 more than my original DX order.

The DX charger still works fine.

cehowardGS

You on a roll!!

ItsJustMe

I agree some of the DX lights are pretty flaky. The one that I listed, despite being one of the cheapest ones, has outlasted all the others including ones that cost more than twice as much.

Even the flakiest ones I've had so far only needed their rings tightened to get them working again, however.

no1mad 

The first shipment is now officially in the pipeline, but the charger is still waiting to be picked/processed/shipped.

Do the 18650 cells come pre-charged? Otherwise, I'm going to have some rather interesting paperweights...

unterhausen

I have never used the 18650 cells, but my understanding is that they are shipped at "storage charge" which is essentially discharged. You can draw more current from them, but it's really not a good idea. I actually have a lipo charger that will charge these too, but I've never felt compelled to get more cells. I usually use the lipos from my model airplanes if I want a high capacity battery. Haven't done that in a while.

no1mad 

I was afraid of that. Wonder if I can substitute or get a refund on that charger so that I can order another...

no1mad 

My apologies to the OP for kinda taking over the thread, but FWIW my light, mount, and batts are now in NY- and no sign of the charger. I've contacted DX via e-mail to cancel that charger and refund my card. I'm going to pony up the extra dough and order one from Shiningbeam.

Barnabas

i don't care, it's giving me ideas that i can work with. thanks everyone, post a pic of your setup when you get it going no1mad

no1mad 

FWIW, my order from DX came in today. Still waiting on a charger, but the cell I popped into the light still has some charge on it. Don't know how much power is actually left in it, but there is enough to tell that this sucker is going to get noticed. I'll see if I can figure out a way to take/post pic later.

cehowardGS

Congrats. Yes, you will get noticed, and a lot of respect as far as right-of-way is concerned. Also, with the high powered lights, you are going to find out that that batteries will make a big difference in how much runtime you have. I started with the cheaper cells, but quickly found out, that the run out quickly. I also, saw where there are 18650 batteries that cost $10 to $15 each. Now, I know why they cost so much.. They are way better.. Right now, I have Hi Max 18650 batteries. They are rated at 2600Mah, and they cost me $6 each.

Luck to you,

Burton

Hi! Great to see you having fun with all those lights! I'm still way over my head in work but will have a few items trickling in that I'll post on later this month.

Maybe a simplistic view on lights and run time but here it is: Basicly I feel that we're just talking about converting electrical energy into light, which is another form of energy. So the more energy you start with, the more light you can end up with. Which means high capacity batteries to store more of that energy. Higher capacity and higher build quality ( to deliver longer service life) both cost more money.

Another way to have more energy to convert is to start with a higher voltage. Combine a higher voltage AND higher capacity and its like riding a high horsepower machine with a big gas tank - you get high performance for a loooooooooong time!

no1mad 

So I got that DX Trustfire in the other day. Haven't had a chance to ride with it yet, but it is rather bright. Took it outside during the daylight, placed it on the trash cart lid with it on the slow blink mode, walked to the end of the driveway, turned around, and .

Since this is currently the only light I have up front, I need to get another. Don't know if I should go for another just like it or something else...

a1penguin

Go for a Shiningbeam S-Mini in the XP-G led and slap it to the helmet. You can then point your head at the sides of the road or around the corners you are approaching.

no1mad 

Suggest a mount? Last time I rolled with a flashlight on the helmet (Coleman 3xAAA), I used rubber bands it didn't work out so well...

no1mad 

Regarding the mount, how long will it survive the various weather elements and/or how many times can the light be put in/taken out before it loses its grippy-ness?

ItsJustMe

Mine has been on the bike every day for 2 years in all weather, it still seems like new. It is still extremely grippy, I don't think it's likely to ever lose its grip, it's very stiff and seems very resilient.

a1penguin

Mine still feels as snug as the day I put it on the bike. These are rubber and if you leave the bike outside in the hot sun for days on end, the mount will age faster. I think it will last for years. These are inexpensive; buy two :-)

cehowardGS

Another little trick I learned on mounting flashlights on bikes. I used the two fish copies and the open clamp mounts. Although none of the mounts have failed, I have been reinforcing the clamps with black rubber bands. Cheap insurance..

Here they are on my open clamp mounts. You can see the little thin black rubber bands..They increase the security on all my mounts..

njkayaker

Regarding flashlights, keep the following in mind.

You might need to shim the batteries (with packing tape or o-rings) to keep them from rattling around (and keep the flashlight from turning off or changing modes).

This might be more true for flashlights that accommodate different battery types.

10 Wheels

I use masking tape.