2manybikes

I have to agree 100%. If you mean a powerful rechargeable halogen light that will enable you to see the road. He's actual comparing right now to a self contained handlebar light. A 1.4 watt bulb cat eye, with 2xC batteries. That's weaker than the Flare.

I think that most of the riders with many, many miles in the dark would agree about powerful lights.

I think the more miles in the dark the more apparent this becomes. Since he's thinking small light at the moment I thought I would just address that. Maybe in time or as the miles build up the desire will change.

But I stress again....for safety...the best, brightest, light you can afford, something like a car headlight, has many safety advantages. And have a back up too. The smaller thinner tires of a road bike are more prone to flats with small things that are hard to see without good lighting. You mention your super light race bike with thin tires. If you want to put lots of miles on that bike and protect your thin tires, your good light wheels, and take advantage of the speed of that bike, you need a powerful heavier light, compared to small lights. It seems odd at first but if you start putting thousands of miles on that thing like I do you will eventually come to that conclusion anyway.

A (powerful) heavier light on a light weight bike seems like a contradiction at first. But it is in keeping with the goal of a fast bike, this allows you to go faster at night with less trouble. All the RAAM racers and 24 hour mtb riders do this with $$ light bikes.