Most of my riding is in the dark. Generally there is some other lighting around that keeps it from being pitch black, but I do need a light that lets me see better than those little things that are more to be seen rather than to see with.

I used the Cateye EL300 for awhile. I've actually used at least 5 of them! The mount on the light itself keeps breaking off, bit by bit. I assume this is from the fact that I have my fair share of road surfaces with bad patches you simply can't avoid.

My last light was the Cateye EL500, but it has exactly the same mount. However, it did last noticeably longer. This could be coincidence or possibly because the design is different and the change in balance may make it better able to handle the bumps. Still, it finally broke completely.

Both these light gave out enough light to suit me (both use 4 AA batteries). I wouldn't mind more, but that isn't critical. But I don't seem to be able to find something else. It seems lights can be divided as follows (based on what I've found here):

1. Lights for being seen, but not to see with. Fairly cheap. Last a long time.

2. Lights which give decent light to see by and last enough to handle a long ride in the dark even on rechargeable batteries (I need AT LEAST 4 hours of good lighting and really would like 5-7 hours. The two cateyes above do all this.

3. More powerful lights with waterbottle batteries or something similar - usually pretty expensive, brighter than the above options, might be a problem finding a place to attach the batteries on my bike if not in the water bottle cage, and generally only last a short time (2-3 hours). That isn't sufficient.

All I really need is something like I had, but with a sturdier mount. I wouldn't mind the more powerful lights, but not with their limited run-time and not for the money many of them charge!

So, what options are their out there? I'd especially like feedback from people who have used either the EL300 or 500 since you would have a better idea of what I already find acceptable for lighting the road.

Bob