Best Light Under $100
 

I have a Blackburn Quadrant:
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...CL._SS500_.jpg.
The good: It's quite bright. It was cheap (around $20). It has survived several falls. It runs on AA batteries.
The bad: It's big. It doesn't really illuminate the road (not necessary in most of NYC). One of the bulbs is out. Did I say it was big? It's big.

I'd like a light that is superbright, compact, doesn't require a 2-pound battery pack, and can be swapped easily among bikes. I'm willing to spend $100, but does that get me into the really good lights? Also, I'm going to drop this thing, guaranteed: nothing fragile.
Thanks.



*Apologies for asking a well-covered question yet again. Yes, I did do a search, but the "new" search function turns up thousands of useless references. I miss the "number of responses" parameter!

How much does that sucker weigh? I would not want that thing on my handlebars. How's the battery life on that thing?

I just recently ordered this:

Cateye HL-EL135

the lone reviewer said he was pleased with it so I gave it a shot. It was inexpensive and I don't do much night riding anyways. I mainly need it for my 5am morning commute.

A Fenix?

That's the mounted flashlight, right? How do those work? I'd imagine they're pretty unidirectional. My light is mostly there to make me visible to others.

I've got no experience with them myself. There is quite a bit about them in the Electronic Gadgets section. I thinking of ordering 1 and if I like it, I'll will probably get 2 more ( 2 on the fork + 1 on the helmet = fred). ;)

I use a Cateye EL-530, which I got on eBay for $35. It's a kind of big and uses four AA batteries and super bright for the price. The brightness goes down quickly after about 2 hours, so I use two sets of rechargeable batteries and switch them back and forth.

The mounting bracket that comes with the EL-530 (and all other Cateyes I've seen) really sucks, but you can get a good one from the Cateye small parts store for a few bucks. I've got one on each bike and it makes it incredibly easy to switch this light between bikes. The replacement brakets are worth looking into if you go with any Cateye light.

As for durability, I've got a deep scar on the front of mine that attests to where it hit the ground in a crash. That didn't stop it, so I expect it would survive most drops pretty well.

The biggest downside (other than the size) is that it doesn't flash.

The Quadrant isn't so bad if you hang it from your bars instead of mounting it on top.

Niterider Trailrat. 99.95 from http://www.brandcycle.com W/no shipping or sales tax...unless you live in Texas.

http://ecom1.planetbike.com/planetbike/media/3029.jpgi got this beamer for 30 bucks or so...works well and is not too big...lights up the road a bit but i use it mostly to be seen in the winter

Well, my first light was a DIY 20W halogen. Total cost was about $50. About $20 for the battery, $20 for the charger, and $10 for the light, the 2 or 3 plumbing parts to make the housing, and a few feet of wire.

It lit the road just fine, and I got mistaken for a motorcycle at night. I'd still be using it but I got tempted by the Trailtech HID for $120, and am still using that. When it dies I'll probably go back to an overvoltaged halogen, you just can't beat it for price/performance.

storebought, to be seen, disposable batteries.....front and rear under 100 bucks.

purchase a Niterider Fazer ultraMAX 1W headlamp- 50 bucks,

and two Planet Bike Superflashes - 25 bucks each.


COVERED.

I also predict stellar new LED lights for the 2009 season.

I have a Nitehawk 10 watt ($65.00 on sale) and a Planet Bike 5 light 1 watt LED ($17.00) up front and a Superduperflash ($15.00) for the rear... the smaller lights are seizure inducing and the 10 watt turns night into day.

A Fenix L2D Premium Q5, a 3-pack of LockBlocks, and some rechargeable NiMH AA cells would probably be under $100. The light output is in an entirely different league than your Quadrant, as I was demonstrating to a co-worker the other day. The Quadrant barely made a visible bright spot on the floor at my feet. The Fenix was making a bright spot on a wall about 25 meters away. NO comparison, except in runtime (on Turbo, the Fenix is good for about 2 hours before it drops to "moon mode"). Even my $32 budget LumaPower 1AA light is far more powerful than the Quadrant, and it's not that much larger than a AA cell. Yes, they'll survive being dropped :)

I see NiteRider also has a new budget version of the MiNewt that can put out about 110 lumens and charges from a USB port, for $99. By the way, if you decide to get the Fenix and LockBlocks, you can use coupon code cpf8 at fenix-store.com for an 8% discount.

How about this: Owleye Solar LED Front Light. Currently at Cdn $9.75. Solar-powered, no need to worry about batteries.

I wouldn't use this as a headlight, but as a front light, just to be seen... Should be good. I just got one of these, and it's actually quite bright. You can get the tail light too, if you need one.

I use a fenix for my commute. I also have a trail rat and it gives far more light. I use the fenxi b/c my commute is quick and I do not feel like using the tr. That said the tr is a better overall light, the l2d more useful on/off the bike. I use the L2d at work as well.

Fenix L2D. The beam is wider than you probably expect: mine illuminates stop signs from a hundred yards, easily. If you search around, you'll find fenixstore.com and a coupon code. You can get the light and the set of three mounts for something like $72. I wrote up a little blurb about it here:
Fenix Review

If it's just to be seen, I use a Nashbar Brilliant II. It's pretty bright and a couple of times in a pinch I've used it to get home by on a pitch black night. Not ideal at all but it can be done. they go on sale for < $20. I've had it a couple of years. They still sell them but there's probably better out now.

OTOH, I have a Planet Bike SuperSpot and it's useless. I rode with it ONCE and tossed it in the spare parts bin. What a waste of $30.

Thanks for the review pointer. What's the runtime on a pair of AA rechargables? If I can't get a couple of hours, I'll have to change batteries when I get to work and again when I get home, and charge two sets daily. Currently with my HID I only have to charge about every 3 or 4 days.

There are three power settings plus "turbo". On the dimmest setting, they are reported to last for about 10 hours. On the brightest non-turbo setting, they seem to last me a few hours (total time, that is. My trips in the dark are usually just across town or to visit friends.) Turbo is recommended for only short periods of time and I suspect that'll burn them out pretty quickly. I think that some folks in the electronics forum have done detailed analyses of such things, so if you need more data, check there.

I use a flashlight and Twofish lockblocks. More often than not it is a Fenix L2D but there are others I use occasionally too, over your budget, though. Something to keep in mind is that they perform best on rechargeables -- I recommend regular Sanyo NiMH or Sanyo Eneloops. This is also a better option because with most alkalines you'll find bumps can cause the L2D to switch modes, since alkalines rattle a bit.

I have used and abused Fenix lights for a little over two years now and I have pretty high confidence in their reliability and durability, despite their low cost.

If by "burn them out" you mean Turbo will harm the light, then no it won't. In a normal bicycle-riding scenario, or even walking or just working in open air, you can run Turbo non-stop on an L2D Premium Q5. If you stick it in your pocket and leave it running on Turbo for an hour, yeah, then you might have an overheating problem ;)

As for runtime, here's a runtime chart on Turbo, and from the graph, you can definitely see why you should use NiMH rechargeables instead of alkaline AA:

http://lights.chevrofreak.com/runtim...%20-%20max.png

On the dimmest setting, an L2D Q5 will run over 50 hours on one NiMH AA, not 10.

Fenix hands down. It's the most cost efficient thing I own for the bike. One on the bike, one on the helmet. I love em.

You need to include the cost of a charger though.

Oh and, I need to get some Duracells!

+1

I haven't seen it here, and it just "sneaks in" under the $100 threshold - but the Cateye SingleShot is a fabulous light. I'm a commuter and in Luxembourg it gets very dark very early (we are at a very Northern latitude compared to the US - just north of Winnipeg I suppose).

I bot the SingleShot Plus (lists for 140usd) on eBay for 89 which might have been a once in a lifetime event. But the light is amazing.

I get enough light to lightup the road - it also has a blink option so I can improve my "be annoying and be seen" look.

Best part - it probably throws as much light as my old fancy lights (with the battery as bit as a bidon) but the light is self contained - no separate battery. Charges fast and frankly, never seems to need a charge! I ride 15km each way every day - I think I've plugged the thing in four or five times during the course of one full winter season.

I think this might be the best bike accessory ever.

I use a el'cheapo Bullet Headlight on custom mounting bracket.
USed more to be seen rather then to see.

http://velospace.org/files/steppinth...eadlight_1.jpg
http://velospace.org/files/steppinth...adlight_3A.jpg