Bike Forums - Bike light recommendations?

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I've been commuting by bike pretty consistently for 20+ years and I've used lots of different lights (replaceable batteries, dynamos and rechargeable LED's) for winter season riding. For me, the rechargeable LED lights seem to be the best bang for the buck and easiest to use. I had a Serfas true 500 light that lasted for 6 years before the housing broke and bit the dust. I purchased a Bontrager Ion pro 1300 lumen headlight a month or so ago. My commute is about 36 miles round trip, and so far the light has been great! I really like the daytime flashing mode for when it's snowing or the visibility conditions are bad during the day. I did a little video review of the light when I first got it:

Quote:

Originally Posted by cyccommute (Post 20576628)

The best value in bicycle lighting...until the tariffs hit...is something like this. No, it doesn't put out 1200 lumens...it's closer to 800 which is still bright..., the mount is nothing to write home about and the quality may not be as good as the Lumina but at $18 per light, you can experiment without breaking the bank. You can buy one, two or 3 and mount them on your handlebars (2) and on your helmet. You can find these on Amazon or Fleabay...search for "Cree bicycle headlight". I would suggest looking at where the item ships from as the ones that come from China can take a while to get here. There are plenty of suppliers in the US, however. The quality, by the way, isn't as bad as some would have you believe. I've been using several for nearly 10 years now. They have lasted well but, occasionally, they do fail. At $20 to $30, I'm not out that much and just get another one.

Another aspect of the external battery light is that you can switch batteries easily to extend your range or you can get larger battery packs that extend the run time from about 2 hours to close to 6.

Finally, I'll agree that the rubber band mounting system these inexpensive lights use is pretty bad. I changed to a Marwi mount system that is detailed here. You can get the parts at his webstore. It added $15 to $20 to the cost of the light but it is still less expensive than anything else with comparable light output. The Marwi mounts are super solid and very durable. I have some that are over 15 years old and still going strong. One word of warning, however. The mounts can be a bit tight to begin with. Filing down the clamp mount will make them easier to put on and take off. You don't have to remove much plastic but a little bit will help.

Good luck.

A buddy of mine turned me onto these Amazon lights a couple of years back when we were riding MTB in the dark. I re-purposed a seat bag to hold the batteries, but was never very happy with the mounts. I used three (one on my helmet, two on the bars) and had plenty of light but the battery situation was always kinda marginal.

Thanks for turning me onto the Marwi adaptors. I can't wait to add one to my touring bike!

So, I went looking for my "spare" cree light. When I found it, I also found this mount that I think came with a Cygolight. I'm really not sure where this came from, I don't remember buying it, and found it in my infamous "Island of Misfit Bikeparts" stash.

About two minutes with a oval wood rasp to clearance the mount to clear the cable, and it's almost like it belongs there.

Going to add a dab of Shoegoo to the base to weatherize where the wire exits the housing, but otherwise it's set. I even reused the M4-.0.7 screw that came with the rubber band mount (it was the right length)https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...8a93c43409.jpg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...72ad8a1e63.jpg

Cool -- can you show (or describe) where the rasping happened?

Quote:

Originally Posted by RubeRad (Post 20843679)

Cool -- can you show (or describe) where the rasping happened?

Absolutely, but it'll be a couple of days.

I think the PN for the mount is 14-2232HMP.

Yes that's a Cygolite mount, and I like that one very much. It makes so much more sense to me than rubber bands.

Quote:

Originally Posted by noglider (Post 20578384)

Then again, I just got this $10 light as an experiment, and I'm impressed. It puts out a shaped beam like the European lights, and it's brighter than my dynamo light. The run time is genuinely two hours as per my test. I don't trust it yet, as I haven't had it long, but it could work out well.

I got to try my light out last night for the first time. It was twilight when I left work and dark by the time I got home ~45 minutes later allowing me to experience a variety of conditions. The mount does leave something to be desired, but the biggest gripe I have with it is the switch. It's pretty hard to use (especially with gloves on) and pressing the switch hard enough to get it to work moves the light. But it does the trick for me for lighting up the area just in front of the front tire as well as to the sides,I think I'm going to like it after I get used to the switch.

[MENTION=44184]no motor?[/MENTION] it's funny that the switch bothers you. Not me. But the light sensing mode is dumb. I decide if a light should be on, not my light. But that's just silly, not an inconvenience. What do you think of the light it casts? I find no fault with it. I have two or three of these lights now, and I think I've noticed one of them cuts in and out. I haven't checked to make sure. If it proves to be reliable, it's a super value.

It doesn't put out as much light as the Magicshine it replaced, but it works well to widely illuminate the first 5 feet or so ahead of me and that's what I wanted it for. I see the occasional skunk or opossum on my trips and the wider light helps me spot them sooner. I thought about using the light sensing mode on the way home, but when I stopped once to see if it would come in it wouldn't at a time when I wanted the light on. I got stopped by a train too, and wondered if it would come on when I started moving again but figured I'd try that another time - I was most of the way home and didn't want to mess around with it any more. .

Quote:

Originally Posted by noglider (Post 20850435)

I had my second ride with it this morning, and thought it was funny when I noticed the light hadn't turned off but switched to the light sensing mode when I got to work. They put LED lights with sensors in the office, and they fluctuate up and down until they finish booting up. As I rolled my bike to the back of the office I noticed the bike light and the office lights turning up and down at different times.
Amazon must think I'm going to buy more of those lights and has the light show up when I access their page. The price was $22 this morning, that's about double what I paid for it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by no motor? (Post 20864573)

As I rolled my bike to the back of the office I noticed the bike light and the office lights turning up and down at different times.

Were they interacting with each other in a feedback loop?

I used mine on a daytime ride, in flashing mode, which I rarely use. Maybe I'll use flashing mode more often. It can't hurt in strong daylight, and it's easier on the battery. So I'm not sure if it conked out on me a couple of weeks ago, and I'm inclined to think it's working fine now. I can't see if it's on or off when I'm riding, as I mounted it to the front wheel axle. It's a damned good cheap light, and I'm not normally a fan of cheap stuff. One flaw is that the path into the charger port is a little crooked. But hey, it's cheap.

Yes, they would get brighter and then dimmer at opposite times.
Interesting you mention the charging port. That seems to have failed on my Vis360. I think I've had that for 10 years, and the pressure put by the USB port cover seems to have made the connection fail. There's a piece of spring steel inside the rubber cover and it presses on the charging cable after it's inserted, and I can't get the connection to stay for long enough for the battery to charge anymore. I've been wondering how much longer the battery was going to last too, I guess I won't have to worry about that now unless I can take the light apart and fix the connection problem.

^^^^^^ So when two "smart" lights freak each other out trying to outsmart one another, are they engaged in Artificial Stupidity?