Originally Posted by
AlexanderLS
[MENTION=21724]cyccommute[/MENTION] $20 isn't an amount of money I'd just throw away. I'm glad your eBay lights work for you. The risk of getting faulty stuff from China is just too great IMO. It's not limited to the light simply not working. The li-ion batteries direct from China are known to catch fire. I'd not risk my house burning down to save a few bucks on bike lighting. If you are buying the batteries separately then the $20 lights really aren't $20 lights are they.
You don't really specify the specific lights you're talking about. Many of the eBay lights I've seen claiming high output have a separate battery compartment and require 18650 batteries. Getting good 18650 batteries that are reputable and reliable will put the light budget well over the $30 offerings from Cygolite. Then there is the irritation of not having a single piece light. You need two mount points and the connecting wire only serves as a potential fault.
I think you'll find the Cycgolite uses the exact same Li-ion batteries from China that are know to catch fire that you refer to ..... along with your mobile phone and laptop.
It has the disadvantage that it's USB chargeable so when it's half empty you have to re-charge it before you go out and if you forget and it runs out half way through your ride instead of just changing the battery for a spare you'll be walking home or calling for someone to come and pick you up.
There are a number of good quality 185650's available - Samsung, LG, Efest, Sanyo, Fenix, Nitecore, O-Light - to name but a few and good quality chargers, all of these batteries including the ones in the Cygolite can only be recharged a certain amount of times before they need replacing ... with the Cygolite you have to buy a whole new unit ... with the others just another £5 battery.
There are also quality torches like the Convoy I mentioned at a budget and have an extremely good reputation among torch addicts / enthusiasts or the more expensive Zebralight I mentioned which have a reputation as some of the best torches you can buy but obviously they are more expensive.
Bike torch manufacturers are trying to steer you in the direction of USB rechargeable lights with integrated batteries ... why .... because every couple of years you have to buy a whole new unit to increase their sales / profitability rather simply buying another battery.
Just found this video which shows the battery in the Cygolite is just an 18650 with the addition of a plug to make it harder for the average user to just swap out.