Originally Posted by
LouisIV
I've got plenty of be seen lights, but I'm looking for a see light for commuting.
Moved into an area that has a lot less street lights. I'm not looking for an expensive light for offroading.
Just want a light that will let me see far enough ahead in town to be safe assuming no streetlights in the neighborhood.
Ben looking at the Cat-eye hl el135, but reviews say it's not enough light, but most of the reviews I find are from an MTB perspective.
Thoughts?
The Cateye is not enough that's for sure, it's a to be seen light not a light to see with.
For price and brightness and compactness I like the Cygolite ExpiliOn series of lights. Their not horribly expensive but not so cheap they'll be junk in 2 or 3 years. They range in brightness from 170 lumens to 250 to 350 to 400 lumens, with prices going from $65 to $99 to $94 to $118 respectfully. These lights are rechargeable using a smart charger to do the work; but the battery is internal, in other words no external battery to run a wire to and then mount the battery somewhere.
I have the ExpiliOn 350 and I really like it, I can more then see the road at 20mph. I would buy the brightest one you can afford. I bought the 350 because the 400 wasn't out yet otherwise I would have gone with the 400. Anyway see this for the listing of the 4 lights:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss...refix=cygolite
Here is a comparison web site that has quite a few head light and tail light comparisons:
http://www.modernbike.com/light-comp...singleshotplus
Here's another:
http://www.ivanhoecycles.com.au/ligh...t/cat_259.html
You could find a light just using the comparisons to settle on a light for your budget and needs. But note the various Cygolites and you'll see that for the money they represent the best value. I have the lowest costing Cygolite ever made, a Metro that cost me $45 about 12 or 13 years ago; it's seen rain and lots of night riding and the darn thing still works just fine, I just wanted something a bit brighter and used less battery.