I've got TWO cygolite nite rover xtra systems. One set has been thru 3 winters and one thru 2. They are a good value if you know how to solder. My switches of course failed and i just soldered around the switch, eliminating the problem.

BUT if I were to buy another inexpensive light system, i would go with these. http://www.bicyclelights.com/ I have seen these lights in person and they are much better built and have a seperate, sturdy switch. They are a very nice light and I will probably pick one up in the near future.

http://www.bicyclelights.com/BikeLightSPEC.pdf

I got the Cygolite NiMh 12 watt for about $60 - a great value. I changed the bulbs to 10 watt and run an 7.2v RC battery. The most bang for the buck. Mounted to the helmet it's awesome for letting the cars know you're there.

Is Cygolite Night Rover rain resist?
Is der Nite Hawk Rain resit?

what is nite hawk dual pro goods? for nite? or for cygolite best(er)?
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Nite Hawk Dual Pro 10W/20W=30W (99$) SLa
http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?c...Front%20Lights
http://www.suburbancyclist.com/images/dualwa.jpg

Nite Hawk Pheonix Dual 10W/20W=30W (185$) NIMH
http://www.bikemania.biz/NiteHawk_Ph...hoenixdual.htm
http://www.gunks.com/images/lighting...intdualpro.jpg

Cygolite Rover XTRA 6W/10W=16W (94$) NIMH
http://www.rei.com/online/store/Prod...ory_rn=4500819
http://www.cygolite.com/4-Support/Sp...ver-NiMH-6.jpg

Cygolite Night Explorer 10W/15W=25W (99$) NIMH
http://www.arequip.com/Products/Cygo...20Explorer.htm
http://www.arequip.com/Images/cygo-ntexl-lg.jpg

then i read thisL: is cygolite much bester than nite hawk?
http://www.vimb.com/bboard/viewtopic...ba849387997566

I have the cheapest Cygolite the company ever made and it's been exposed to everything from torrential rain to fog and it still works after 5 years...heck even the damm bulbs are still the originals! (now that I said that the bulbs will burn out tomorrow!)

I'm looking at the Cygolite Rover extra and the Explorer. On Amazon only a $10 difference but the Explorer is 25watts. On Cygolite's website, the Explorer isn't even listed. Does anyone know if this is discontinued? I'd hate to buy it and not be able to get parts/service or the helmet mount.

It depends on what you need, a light for "being seen", or one to light up the road surface?

Take a look back at this thread in a few months. The way technology pushes forward (especially the current rate of LED development), I'd wager the best deal has changed more than a couple of times.

That said, currently I have a Cateye EL-135 as a "be seen" light. SoCal has so much light pollution, it's easy to see the road surface just about anywhere. The pros of this light for me are AA batteries because I have a NiMH charger for that size, it's not too cumbersome, the mountain system is a no-brainer and it's actually bright enough to light the path on the rare occasions it is dark on the road here. Also, I've drained batteries at inopportune moments and every 7-11 has AA batteries.

DIY halogen is about $50, and will beat the pants off anything commercial < $100.
If you don't want to scrounge and build yourself, batteryspace.com has halogen systems starting at $69.

Unless you're barrelling down singletrack, or speeding along streetlightless streets, I don't see the value of a $100+ lighting system (I have cygolite dual beam for those occasions).


Headlights on urban/suburban streets are less for seeing and more for being seen.
And a decent LED fits the bill fine. My cheapie Scwinn headlight has caused more than one motorist to 'flash me'.

I've had a Cygolite Nite Rover for at least 5 years. Mine has a NiCad battery. It alway works and it's never had any problems. Holds a charge well. You can use the low beam, the high beam or both depending on conditions and the charge in your battery. And it only cost about $60. Pretty hard to beat that.

Just FYI REI's outlet store has the Princeton Tec Yukon for $20 (50% off). I got one a few weeks ago - it's not bright enough for illuminating the road in an urban night environment, but it might be decent in a rural setting, or as a be-seen light in the city.

That's just what some of us are doing. My commute is 11 miles. I encounter street lights in the last 500 feet, when I pull into the parking lot at work. Apart from that, none. And 4 miles is over gravel road which frequently has seriously bad washboarding and holes that move around day to day so I don't know where they are.

I agree though, when it gets light enough to see by, or if I'm riding in the day during rain or something, I just use a Nashbar 5 LED (Brilliant II) flasher which is plenty bright.

I see that Nashbar has a 1 watt LED headlight now. I wonder how good that is? I don't like that it uses AAA cells; I like things to use AA cells which have a lot more power and people are more likely to have more of sitting around.

Fenix L2D CE (or P3D CE if you don't mind an odd battery size) in addition to the Cateye you already have. It is a torch, not a bike-specific light, but is pretty easy to attach to the bike and trivially easy to attach to a helmet.

Works well for me, although this is in the suburbs with a reasonable amount of ambient light.

Cost ~$51 from www.fenix-store.com (or AUD$75 from torchworld.com.au); uses 2 AAs; lasts ~2hrs; with the cateye will provide enough light to see by (cateye for 10-15m of road illumination, fenix provides a good spot out to about 40-50m, good on-road to about 25-30km/h for me, I'd want more if off-road).

+1!!
I used the Raptor system for 3 years. Had to replace the bulb once and battery once. Awesome, set-and-forget light. And it's hlogen, easy on the eyes.

Currently using a Fenix Cree L2D CE (https://www.fenix-store.com/product_...b3cc241fe7717d), 135 lumens for $57, runs on 2 AA batts, comporable light to an ealry Dinotte. Very nice but with the drawback of being an LED...

cheers

I need the light to see riding dark roads. There are only one or two streets in my town with streetlights and I ride at 5:30 am. I decided on the Night Rover extra. It has a history of switch problems but I bought it from REI because of their return policy, just in case. I figured it was worth the extra it cost buying it from them. Then i found they had a one time 15% off coupon for signing up for their email list so i actually got it for $79. If I find I need more, I'll look at something else next spring and keep this as a backup.

Don't need good tires or wheels either if you have really well maintained smooth asphalt streets.

That does sound like a good deal, Performance must have sold them out (I couldn't find them on the website).

what do you need the light for?

An inexpensive halogen system is NOT as noticable to oncoming traffic as a high power LED system set to flash mode- if you need a light for traffic negotiation, get a LED system versus these halogens everyone is touting.

If you need light for a West sound commute, or riding in outer Woodinville, the halogens will give you better road lighting. for in the city, blinking LED ALL THE WAY>


Niterider UltraMAX 1W LED. 60 bucks at Gregg's . flashing mode for safety.

For visibility I'm thinking of adding a set of these: http://reelight.com.linux98.123hotel.dk/index_en.php .

I have a generator hub for my commuter so as soon as the wheel is built I'll be getting a nice front/rear light to run off of that, but the flashers from Reelight look like the ticket for making me more visible, and the no-battery set up is nice.