nish2575

i like my ixon. it needs replacing after 2.5 years, as it can't handle rain much anymore, and it often shuts off whenever i hit any bumps in a road.

for the replacement, after browsing around and looking at major brands, some bike forum threads, and prices, i came up with the list below. mostly, i want something that will last about 2 years, a little more waterproof than the ixon, has a wide beam, not focused/narrow, can take standard batteries if need be, and very long runtimes on the low setting. integrated unit, no separate battery pack. i prefer bike lights over flashlights, mostly an arbitrary preference. i also assume bike lights might have a slightly nicer beam. i'd prefer wall plug over usb charging, but flexible

finally, i don't mind spending more on a light, but i woudl prefer in the lower range of 50-125 so that i don't cry if it gets stolen and don't have to be as cautious about unmounting from bike.

i was pretty happy with the light output of the low setting on the ixon.

ixon iq
ixon pure (anybody used this yet?)
hella hl2000r
cygolite expilion 350
cygolite expilion 170
niterider minewt 350 cordless

thanks for your help. sorry if i am repeating an earlier thread. i tried searching a bit first.

kanishka

mechBgon

If you want something that takes standard batteries, as in AA cells, it's going to rule out a bunch of those since they use lithium-ion. You could consider the Philips SafeRide LDL, which you can run on NiMH AA rechargables: https://reviews.mtbr.com/philips-safe...ights-shootout Dunno about the waterproofing level on that.

If you do consider flashlights, I'd just ante up for an 18650 charger and protected 18650 cells and be done with it. The XM-L version of the Shiningbeam S-Mini has a wider beam, and its power-to-weight ratio is untouchable, nominal 400 lumens from a 90-gram flashlight (including battery!). If you get one, a word of advice: rubber-band it into your lockblock, I had mine sneak out of the velcro strap a couple times since the light is just a straight cylinder.


XM-L version of the S-Mini. Bryan also sells an adjustable-focus 18650-powered flashlight that's gotten some good comments, I haven't tried one myeslf though. My S-Mini runs at least 7+ hours on Medium, by the way.

Oh, and I know what you mean about removing stuff from your bike. The S-Mini is extremely compact and I just slip it into my pocket.

pdlamb

My personal opinion is that the Cygolites have the best performance at a given price, and the ones I've had have all been quite waterproof. I'd go with the 350, since it's brighter, if it fit within the budget.

If you really want to plug it into the wall, you can find USB transformers for $20-30. A cell phone charger might work, if the connector was right!

nish2575

beam is impressive on the flashlight you show here. still reluctant on flashlights, if i remember, some of these headlights also go out of their way to prevent spraying light into oncoming driver's sight.

mechBgon

The Ixons and Philips are designed that way due to German regulations. That can be a double-edged sword, though... if you're trying to show up in a busy city-arterial type environment, spraying light into oncoming drivers' sight is exactly what you need, it's not the right place to try being subtle. My main commuting bike has a German-spec dyno headlight, and for city use I deliberately supplement it with my S-Mini so I don't get overlooked as easily.

nish2575

good advice, thanks! for the rest of this year, and the past few years, i have been in suburban areas, with light traffic, little light pollution to compete with. so i just aim to not blind oncoming cars and to be able to see much of the road in front and to the forward sides of me. i usually get spaced out street lights, some roads have no lights. i haven't run into deer or animals crossing at all, occasional roadkill though.

i may be in a dense city next year and follow your advice then.

in terms of theft, i aim more to have a cheap enough light to leave on the bike, and buy another on the occasion it does get stolen, instead of one that i detach and put into pocket. the ixon mount is very fast for detachment though. i'm guessing the flashlights or the mininewt, cygolite's would be most pocket friendly in terms of volume.

called peter white today, hopefully he can settle the debate and supply me with the best one!

nish2575

narrowed it down to these (after also considering expedition flash, the princeton tec's, and some of newer cateye's)

ixon iq
hella hl2000r
niterider minewt 350 cordless

crossed off cygo because light beam was too focused/narrow from videos, photos online. mtbr shoot out photos that you can browse easily on the light and motion website under "beam compare" for any product, was super helpful too.

decided on hella hl2000r (assuming its still available, you can't browse to it from the spanninga homepage, but there is a link from google direclty to the page at spanninga - hella's new owner). almost arbitrary. 10 hrs vs 8 hrs in normal mode over Ixon IQ. minewt looked ok, good reviews, but wasn't sure if it had the german road beam shaping thing. the hella hl2000r had a slightly wider beam than the ixon on the peter white photos. ixon pure is promsing for low cost, but i don't want to wait until december as its getting darker.

i tried calling peter white directly, haven't heard back for about 6 hours after leaving message. having my local bike shop try to order on my behalf instead.

mechBgon

Hmmm. If you want any further input, right-click each of the links below and open them in new tabs so you can toggle from tab to tab and compare them.

https://www.peterwhitecycles.com/imag...ts/B&MCYO1.jpg

https://www.peterwhitecycles.com/imag...aasym2-600.jpg

https://www.peterwhitecycles.com/imag...-power-web.jpg

I have each of the first two. The Cyo (non-nearfield) is pretty good for dark highways at road speeds. The E3 Pro asymmetrical would probably be good on an MUP where you want to see edge-to-edge but not as far forward. The S-Mini XP-G and S-Mini XM-L are in the ballpark with those dyno lights, respectively (XP-G throws farther).

The last link is the Hella you picked out. It looks pretty feeble, are you sure this is what you want?