Can anybody recommend a headlight?
 

I live in the south and can pretty much ride all year, but last year I bought an LED headlight I was pretty disappointed with.

Can anybody recommend a headlight I can use this winter?

i think if you go to roadbikereview.com or mtnbikereview.com they have some good reviews.

You gave no indication as to how much you want to spend. If you want to remain on the low cost scale similar to the LED cost you had before then the Cygolite Metro is the best deal at $48. It's a dual beam halogen light with a total of 13 watts that runs off of 6 d batteries that can either be throwaways or rechargeables, the bats will last 5 hours on low and 2.5 hours on high. This headlight will be far far brighter then any LED you have used or is currently on the market. Cygolite also makes a 16watt and a 20 watt halogen that come with rechargeable bottle style bats and both can be found for under $100 if you want a brighter light.

MERTON: Lookin at your Avatar, I figured you would send people to this site for info: http://sheldonbrown.com/commute/index.html

I bought a Light & Motion Commuter last year for about $120. Worked fine. The battery lasts about 1:45, or so I'm told, but it wasn't a real big problem to just take it inside after riding and hook it up to the charger.

One thing that's kind of a pain -- the charger doesn't have an automatic shutoff. So I had to buy one of those cheapie outlet timers to make sure the charger shuts off in time. If I use the light for an hour, I find that it's fully recharged after eight hours on the charger.

NightHawk® Raptor 10w Headlight

on sale 50% off

got a decent review at www/mtbr.com

For my application (50 mile roundtrip commute), the CatEye Halogen has a lot of light (nothing is ever enough) to light the path, $25. I have a recharger at work and one at home. The LED lights that I have seen are good for letting cars know you are there, but can't light a path.

i have a Viewpoint from Performance. It has two headlights that you can turn on and off individually if you like. I use it up in Maine here where there is hardly any street lights along most roads. i bought it for $150.00, but it is worth it. comes with rechargable pack of nickel metal hydride battery and its mounts easily to your bars (quick release) and to the top tube of the bike's frame. You do not need to put it into your bottle cage. I like it very much and it lasts about 4 hours or more.

Supergo has Light & Motion HID for $327.98. I did a lot of research before I bought that one, and Supergo had the lowest price at that time. (It still has, if you do not count eBay). I like that light very much :)

Does anyone know anything about the HELLA 2000? This is a 3/6W LED system that works with battery or a dynamo setup. It seems to be available in Europe but I do not know if it is available in the US.

Also, a really cheap system would be the Gerber 3 Watt LED flashlight. I have this as a back up light. It seems to be the best of all the LED flash lights. It has a small spot and some scatter and seems to be comparable to a 12 watt hallogen. REI had it on sale for under $40 during the Labor Day weekend. There is no on-off button though (you twist the tail cap). Changing battery is a pain if you use it alot. Otherwise it might be sufficient.

Another alternative is to buy a 2-3 C/D cell flash light and replace the bulb with a 1-3 watt LED light. That would give you longer run-time. Estimated cost $10 for a decent flash light, $50 bucks for the bulb.

Would appreciate any information on the HELLA though.

Thanks

I'm with kali kali....oh wait she be in Maine Maine...

I too have the Performance ViewPoint EVO Dual Headlight System

I like it a lot! I ride mostly with just the 10w... when I get bored I turn on the 20w also... or close to home to use some juice in the NiMH Battery, the charger works great also.
http://www.performancebike.com/produ...00/40_1599.jpg

Mine was on sale AT THE STORE for 119.00... the listing was 149.00, down from 199.00

Bet you could find a coupon online for more discounts if you order online

for a point of reference, if this is the CE-EL500 its a single LED 1000 candlepower and runs on 4AAs - I'm interested, CatEye is very reputable - the unit is rated very water resistant and can't be very heavy - but you say it won't light a path? I run my mtb mostly on roads; now wondering if this falls short for occasional night riding. I have a good supply of NiMH batteries & chargers

Thanks / Peter

This light is just satisfactory only if you ride on well lit city streets; if you venture on pitch dark bike paths or country roads your going to have to adjust your speed way down to about 10mph or you will be finding yourself going faster then your light will allow you to see.

Like I mentioned in my earlier post, for about $15 dollars more (no more then $20) you could get a Cygolite Metro that uses 6 D batteries and you can buy rechargeables; but the most important thing is the light output that will be at least 10 times brighter with just one of it's 2 beams!

Cateye Triple Shot is pretty nice, lasts a good three hours following full recharge, pretty pricy though, got it about $75 less than retail on Ebay.

That Cateye retails for over $350, even if you got it for $75 dollars less you could still by a far brighter halogen for a lot less, or heck for that price you could get a HID. I like Cateye products and the company, but that triple shot is a rip off.