Originally Posted by
Papa Tom
So should I assume that all the really bright light sets I see on the road during the daytime are $75-100? That's crazy to me.
Well, I really like the Cygolite Metro 550. It's a bit under $50. I think it's a very good all around light. The battery life is only about 1:15 on high but in the daytime you wouldn't be running that mode anyway.
Or you can go with the Chinese no-name way. This is what I do, having tried a bunch of lights, this is pretty much what I use now.
$12:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/271959824679
(Obviously it's not 8000 lumens. Maybe 600 or so, but that's perfectly adequate IMO)
The above comes with a pretty junky battery. It might give you close to a couple of hours of runtime, and last a few months. When that dies or you get fed up with it, I recommend:
This battery box - waterproof, empty, $10:
4X 18650 Battery Pack Water Resistant Case Storage Cover for Bike Bicycle Lamp | eBay
Four high quality Panasonic cells to go in it, $27:
https://smile.amazon.com/p/B00C26OWGS
Still under $50 even if you just buy everything at once. If you can swing it that's not a bad idea, use the cheap battery the light comes with as a backup in case you lose lights on the way.