Hi, I am new to this forum, and just got serious about bike commuting.

My commute is about 3 miles oneway, and I have been biking to work with a backpack on my back for about a year on a cheap Walmart fat-tire "when the environment allows" (dry, light). Getting serious now I just bought myself a new Trek hybrid and put on the fenders and the rack, and a pannier is on its way. Rain cape and lights are the next on my list.

I do have the Bell NightTrail set bought from Walmart for cheap ($12) two years ago and I used it lightly for a few months on well-lit streets when I was in Madison downtown. The Bell headlight has poor housing but it works, with a xenon bulb (what is it?) plus two LEDs. I am thinking of possibly getting better lights for the less-well-lit streets I ride now, and have been eyeing the Princeton Tec EOS/Blacburn Mars 3.0 pair after reading online reviews. I almost made the purchase but wondered whether I would really get better lighting out of this pair compared to the Bell set, as no one cared to put the cheap Bell set in their comparative testing and Bell doesn't care to spec what they sell.

Thanks very much for your attention. Any information will be greatly appreciated.