Originally Posted by
sqwertl
I bike commute to work every day and with the days getting shorter, I wanted to see if anyone had a recommendation for a good bike light. I usually leave work at 7 or 8pm, so it's pitch black outside from October - February. Luckily I'm in Chicago so there are plenty of street lights, but these don't make me any more visible to cars (bike lanes just mean more space for them to attempt u turns) and there's tons of construction so I'd love to see the road more clearly to avoid bumpy damaged spots. I have been looking at NiteRider Lumina, but I have no experience in buying lights and want to make the best purchase. A good mounting system, bright wide beam, and decent battery life are my main focuses. Easy mounting and unmounting would be a plus, because I ride two different bikes depending on if it's snowing/rainy or clear outside.
I use Monkeylectric on the spokes. They do consume batteries but they illuminate well and stand up to the conditions.
I use 2 Cycle Torch "night owl" headlights, which each came with a rear light. The advantage to Cycle Torch lights is that they are charged by USB port on computers (or your USB-supporting surge protector).