I've been trying to be car-free since the summer, and had my first two attempts at riding in the dark this week. First off, the crappy $30 multiple-LED head lights I had been buying from Perf are pretty damned disappointing. I'll keep the ones that flash, hopefully so I can be seen. They are worthless for lighting the road.

Last week I got a $17 Cree flashlight from DealExtreme (can't remember which one) that runs on two AAs, that beats every bike light I've ever owned (maybe five different brands). I will be mounting that next, maybe to my helmet. Amazingly, even the tiny single AA model I bought seems brighter than my bike lights. Don't know about run-time, but that one's just a toy/gift anyway.

Tonight I got a PB Blinky tail light in the mail (along with a new B17!), which I will definitely mount to my helmet, so it will be available regardless of which bike I happen to be on when the sun sets.