When you can buy a LED flashlight for less than $10 that outperforms a $150 light from 15 years ago, it's a tremendous improvement.

However, many LED flashlights aren't happy as bicycle lights, mainly because most battery mounts designed for flashlights are susceptible to electrical problems due to vibration, where the light will erratically flicker and dim while riding.

I got around this by replacing the built-in battery packs in my 3-AAA lights with a cork with screws in each end wired to a vibration-resistant battery pack, and they have been nearly flawless in performing brightly at very low cost.