seanarmenta

hello

just looking for some inspiration for a set of bike lights for an 80's road bike, something to keep the classic, vintage aesthetic but with modern technologies. I really like these, especially since they're bolted in (anti-theft) and have a brushed steel/chrome finish, but looking for less expensive alternatives. Sparse Fixed Lights

what do you guys have on your rides?

The Golden Boy 

I don't care if it's vintage looking- it's about being able to see.

I was dealing with a half watt then a two watt Planet Bike light... and I was OK with it. Then I got a Light & Motion TAZ 1200. That cost more than a bunch of my bikes put together. But it's a BEASTLY light.

oddjob2

There's whole thread on electronics off the main menu.

TimmyT 

I disagree with the "bigger is better" option here. I have owned a bunch of lights from the small front blinkies to the 1200 lumen things The Golden Boy suggests. If you are in oncoming traffic, particularly bike traffic, like a MUP or crossing a bridge (common in NYC), then the super bright lights blind the riders coming toward you.

Better optics, rather than more power, make better lights.

For my bicycles without dynamos, I prefer lights that use batteries. The reason for this is that you can get batteries *anywhere*. If your charge goes out on a rechargeable light, you are out of luck.

I have a Planet Bike Blaze 2 Watt Micro that is my preferred light. It throws 139 Lumens, and is plenty bright for much of the riding I do. I also have a Serfas SL-255 that I have on the handlebars if I need more. The mount on the PB light is great. The Serfas one is not as good because it is not as stable.

I use the Eneloop rechargeable batteries and have a recharger at home.

mstateglfr 

The link you provided is pretty cool- I like that the lights integrate into the bike. I wouldn’t consider them though for a few reasons.

• What you mentioned- price
• Not bright enough for what I prefer
• 4 hour run time at which point you need to plug it in so your whole bike needs to be near the outlet

They say 4 hours is plenty to get you thru a week of commuting…well that’s a baseless claim. I loathe meaningless claims like that. 4 hours is fine for run time, but a detachable light can then be brought into work/home and easily charged compared to how this must charge.
200lumens on the spacer light isnt a lot of output to easily see and be seen at night.
I do like the post mounted light which is 100 total lumens, so 4 25lumen lights facing to the sides and rear. Good to see they include lights to be seen from the side.

I use a Cygolite Metro 550. It’s a 5watt light, has a day mode off-tempo flash mode, and disperses the light well at night so it gives a wide illumination while still making it easy to see far ahead. It isnt retro. It isnt classic. It isnt incorporated into the bike’s design.
But its cost effective, illuminates far and wide, and doesn’t blind people coming towards me(cheap CREE lights with a narrow beam do).
Im all for period correct when it comes to the bike, but not at the expense of safety(what I perceive as safe or not).

Marcus_Ti

Catch being higher output lights typically have lower-output modes. Many of them also have good optics as well. The result being for instance my NiteRider 750 is bright enough in 300Lumen mode to be useful for seeing and being seen on dark roads with a very long burn time....versus a 300Lumen rated light that will need to run at full-power that therefore will have a short battery life....and if I need it, I can crank up the output for badly-lit sodium-lit streets. Also the much higher output levels are far better for rides when surfaces are wet. White-top concrete is easily lit when dry to become blinding, but after a good rain the stuff scatters light away from the rider's POV. I've known folks with good 150Lumen lights who hate riding in the wet as their light is barely bright enough in the dry, and useless when it is wet.

The amount light that counts as "plenty" also varies greatly depending on where you are riding. Personally I'd never want even a quality sub-200Lumen rated light for a headlight. They just aren't bright enough even with good optics in an urban environment or a wet environment.

Bad Lag

I don't see anything that's "vintage" in the slightest way with those lights. In fact, quite the opposite. They look super-modern and high tech. Is this a stealth ad (check his post count).


My head light is a Cygolite MityCross800. It provides enough light to be seen but also enough to see.

My tail light is a DiNotte 300R. You can see me a mile away (or more).

These both use rechargeable lithium ion batteries that easily last all week for my commuting but are so easy to recharge I don't ever let them run down.

Their mounting brackets are small (discrete). The light push on and pop off the brackets so easily, theft is not an issue (they go with me). I worry more about bike theft.




https://cygolite.com/product/mitycross-800-osp/




https://www.bikelightdatabase.com/dinotte/300r/

3speedslow

"It's about being able to see" and be seen " is what it is all about. Can't see the bike in the dark.

Kobe 

I agree with @TimmyT about the high output ones being too bright for the trail. If you can turn the power down please do so or point them lower. They can be blinding when they are coming at you.

crank_addict

My goals:
Carrying a swift enough speed for night, yet safe to not override the beam.
Robust and weatherproof, especially in wet climate.
Lightweight
An easy way to remove yet mount on my other bikes.
Lastly- budget. I've been down the route and spending for dedicated bike lights. I also realize technology has greatly improved, still yet I'm no longer up for dropping absurd amounts for this stuff.

The light:
Just a simple but robust weatherproof 600 lumen CREE tactical USB re-chargeable flashlight. Ideal for a cycling light considering the output to small size. Other settings are 300 lumen / low and strobe S.O.S.. Guessing it weighs 1 lbs., non-removable 5 hour battery. I would expect over time the Li batteries will weaken but so far have been impressive. I don't know how many charges these lights take. Can also be used as a power transfer supply to a phone. Marked down clearance priced at Walmart for only $32, plus I added an extended warranty - covers everything including damage, batteries for 2 years / $3. Brand is Ozark Trail 615

The mount:
Homemade using a portion of a chromed 'steel' brake arm and old band clamp. I suppose one could use an aluminum arm, but I'm not sure how that would hold up over time in trails, bumpy gravel roads, tip-over, crash, etc.. I'm very confident in using this good old steel and unlike chincy plastic that tend to snap in the cold. The entire assembly mounts to the axle skewer by first removing the skewer, feeding though the brake arm hole. Quick and simple.

Use and results:
LOve it. There's no adjustable beam but it has plenty of width and distance sufficient to safely carry speed to the upper teens. Could blind oncoming traffic so best to keep it low. The way its mounted makes it very easy to adjust beam height and angle. The aluminum body partially unscrews to expose the USB charge port. Can either do it while mounted on the bike or of course, removed. There's an LED charge load indicator. Its been a few downpour's without any issues. Has O-rings sealing the movable body parts and just for grins, tempted to test while in a basin. The aluminum housing has cooling fins which does collect puddle splash and dirt.

The neg-
The S.O.S. strobe is annoying. I have a difficult time riding in that mode. I realize it also saves battery output but its useless for me. Matter of fact, I hate headlight strobes.

Tail lamp:
All aluminum sealed LED small flashlight from Ace. Mounted by a homemade clamp and to the dropout eyelet. Uses CR3032 batteries. No problems, all metal and I wanted a retro look. Cost $4.00

due ruote 

I have one of the Planet Bike lights. I think it's only the 1 watt version; OK for dusk/dawn in flash mode, quite visible but it does nothing to light the road.

I also have a Shiningbeam S-mini flashlight that I like a lot. It uses one 18650 rechargeable battery, has 3 output modes (I generally use the middle one), and doubles as a walking the dog light. I can easily spot a skunk at the end of the block. I mount it with a Twofish block.

Iowegian

+1

I use basically the same setup and got these for all my kids. You can find the lights for about $10, the blocks (on ebay) for about $2. Then just get a charger ($5) and some good batteries ($10+, or take your chances with the cheapos...) and you have more than enough light for riding plus a nice flashlight for anything else.

What I've found is that fewer modes are better. The flash mode is OK for daylight but I'd never use it at night so my favorite lights now are 3-mode. Low (2% is enough for close quarters, then 30% and 100%). As mentioned above, you need to dim these lights when aproaching other riders on dark MUP's and with this setup, it's as easy as reaching down to push the light to point down towards the ground. I leave the mount on all the time and when going into a store, etc, just unclasp the light and put it in my pocket.

PM me if you want some recommendations on vendors or just check out the candlepower forums. There are folks there into flashlights the way we are into bikes and you will find way more information than you need.

seanarmenta

thanks a lot guys, appreciate the input

jimmuller 

Light & Motion, Urban series. Mine is the Urban 650, which I think was replaced by the 700 this year. I've used it in conjunction with a B&M generator light. Plenty of light to ride by.

But the trouble with any light arrangement is never the lights. It's the other cyclists who run with minimal or no light at all. Last winter on the Minuteman Bikeway portion of my commute I found myself riding most of it with the L&M light off and my fingers covering the B&M as a courtesy. So I ended up avoiding the MM completely.

The Golden Boy 

I have no desire to cause seizures in anyone- the L&M light has a pulse like feature- it dims and brightens.

The strobe (to me) is useless for light- but it's great for being seen by cars- when you see that flashing, it forces you to think of what the eff that is.

I've seen steady bike lights in the city and thought they were a porch light in the distance.

jimmuller 

Just an alternate point of view here. Like @crank_addict, I hate strobing lights, especially headlights. In a city or not, a headlight is seen by approaching cars on the opposite side of the street or through a driver's rear view mirror. Only in the latter case should it make any difference whether the light can be identified as a bike or a porch light, and then only when the bike is pretty close to the car.

Final point - I'd prefer that drivers see me as a vehicle, not as "just a bicycle". For that reason I run my rear blinky in solid-on mode. If they see it at all, they see it. If they miss a red light then they'll probably miss it if were flashing too. YMMV of course.

gstep51

I have the Cygolite 800 and have literally stopped oncoming automobile traffic and routinely get high beams flashed at me. Good for trail but not so good for street IMO.

DannoXYZ 

Want classic looking? Get a Cateye HL-300 and gut it. Then stuff modern equipment inside it.

steelbikeguy

Is the HL-300 the one with 2 C cells? I've got one of those that I want to turn into a "be seen" light, and just power with two AA's.

I did convert a Cateye Micro II from incandescent to LED. I liked the 4 AA battery holder and the mounting system (which Cateye still supports). It was a good excuse to throw together my own current regulator circuit. The mechanical part of the conversion is always the most work, however.
A quick picture of the Frankenstein-like results.....



the rest of the pics in the flickr album....
https://www.flickr.com/photos/kurtsj...57628920533643

Steve in Peoria

Bad Lag

You are not aiming it correctly. It is bright. That is good. Don't aim it at oncoming traffic, aim it down. Automobile headlights do not point straight forward, they go down and to the right.

DannoXYZ 

The one I'm thinking of uses 2xD cells! Has large 2x3" reflector. Top-half is a clam-shell design that slides off. Has enough room to hold 4x18650 batteries.

steelbikeguy

a quick search pulls up images pretty quickly. I don't think I've ever seen one of those.. sort of looks like an old Union dynamo headlight attached to a battery case.

The hard part about converting some of these lights is that you have to add heatsinking for the LED , plus the optics aren't a good match for the radiation pattern of a LED. My first LED conversion was an old Union dynamo light, and it ended up that I only kept the reflector. I was using a Luxeon V side emitting LED, which was somewhat unique in that most of its light went out to the sides where it could be focused by the reflector. The beam pattern was pretty poor. A lot of light still went out the front of the LED, I think.

I've had much, much better results with some of the molded optics, especially those from Ledil. My Cateye Micro II conversion is an example.

I've seen reports of conversions of "classic" headlights where the LED was simply placed in the location where the bulb had been. They did look nice, but I have doubts that the beam was equivalent to what can be obtained with molded optics. The problem of heatsinking the LED is tough to solve too. The best case scenarios are to add some venting to the case to direct air to an internal heatsink, or try to create a thermal path from the LED to the steel case, or to try to create a thermal path from the LED to an aluminum handlebar or mounting bracket that can serve as a heatsink.

Big Block

an option is to use a period correct light fitting and retrofit the bulb with an LED one
NICELITE SUPER LED LIGHT BULBS

DannoXYZ 

Sorry, I got the model# wrong, it's the even older HL-200 that uses D-cells.



I find battery-life is still an issue with lithium cells. Lights keep on getting brighter and they consume more power, so batteries are always playing catch-up. A Cree XML-2 @ max-brightness (~600-800 lumens OTF) uses about 10w and that'll deplete an 18650 battery in about 20-30 minutes. Using 4 of them gives me the 2-hrs I need. I don't like having separate batteries and their wiring snaking around the bike, so I prefer standalone lights. Easier to transfer to another bike as well.

For converting the HL-200, I'd scrap the reflector and use an XML-2 drop-in. Keep the stock lense as the fluting does a good job of spreading the beam sideways. Then attach the pill to a finned heatsink that I cut out a rectangular hole on top for. Or if you prefer to spec separate LED & driver from KD, DX or your vendor of choice, then you can make your own copper-slug to attach them.

gugie 

Bottom line, you're in a "golden age" of lighting. The worst choice you can make will probably be better than the best decision from 10 years ago.

The ultimat is probably a front wheel SON hubset generator with standing lights front and rear, but the USB rechargeable LED lights are getting cheaper and more powerful and better values, if you can remember to charge them up between use.

Really hard to make a bad choice, just make the one that's best for you.