Best $100 Headlight
 

I'm looking for a headlight and don't want to spend much more than $100. Whats the best light for the money? I will need it mostly on the MUP so it will be the only light source.

I like the Niterider MiNewt USB, personally. What it lacks in output it makes up for in convenience and that it FITS (I've had some issues with finding lights that actually FIT instead of having a plastic band that will only fit a toy bike).

MiNewt here as well...you may also augment the minewt with a couple of blackburn fleas on the helmet...the fleas are bright and have a really annoying flash...

Peter White's web site is a really helpful resource on lights and lighting systems: http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/plight.asp. If you browse around there, you'll find a lot of info on types of lights, their beam patterns, what types of riding a particular light is suited for, battery-powered vs. generator-powered, etc. Also, you can check out the lights he carries and their strengths. Note: I don't know Peter White or have any stake in his company. Let us know what you end up choosing.

$80

http://www.pricepoint.com/detail/165...Bike-Light.htm

Peter White's site is where I found my light. I HIGHLY recommend the light I purchased. It's a Busch & Mueller Ixon IQ $115. It uses four AA NiMetalHydrid batteries. The amount of light it puts out will amaze you and your friends!! Seriously. The German's don't rate by lumens and I couldn't find a very good conversion, even semi quantitative. But I bought with some degree of risk but am very glad I did. It is a light to see with even going into traffic.

I agree, the Cygolite Night Rover NiMH xtra Dual Beam Halogen Bike Light is a great light for the money.

Michael

I don't have one yet but everyone on the Electronics forum recommends the P7 at dealextreme.com. It's really a flashlight, but you can get mounts for the handlebars or helmet. Be sure to get a rechargable battery and the charger. Apparently bicycle lighting is WAY behind the curve. This thing is like $50 and puts out something like 900 lumens. It only lasts an hour on that setting but everyone recommends the medium output setting, which lasts longer and is still extremely bright.

+1 on the P7. I have a Trustfire SSC P7, it puts out more than plenty light, not 900 lumens but it does crank out 650 or more. I ride my batteries on high for nearly 3 to 4 hours before they die.

I bought the flashlight, a mount, two rechargable batteries, and a charger...had them shipped express and paid 96 dollars. They came in about a week and a half, which is really good for shipping from china....

I'd definitely check it out.

I haven't tried the other lights mentioned here but I have a P7 and it's awesome.

Fenix L2D-CE is ~$55 and a lockblock will run another $5 or so. They're close to 200 lumens at this point. I'm also wanting to try a P7 as my next light, but for now I can recommend the Fenix.

As another member mentioned, it would seem the bicycle specific lighting systems are far behind the general flashlight market.....not only in lumens, but primarily in affordability.

Sure, I can have my 600+ lumen setup from Dinotte, L & M or NiteRider, but you know darn well this will set you back a minimum of $500. On the other hand, a bicycle commuter can order an SSC P7 (900 lumen) flashlight with a battery, charger and handlebar mount for roughly $75!

Makes me wonder if we're finally going to see the cycling specific light manufacturers take note and step-up the value of their market offerings. I hope so as I'd rather go to the LBS to buy my stuff....NOT order goods shipped direct from China.

I have two (2) 900 lumen P7's on the way from China.....4 batteries, 2 handlebar bar mounts and a charger to round-out the setup. The total shipped was only $118. I look forward to using this system and I plan to produce a video showing it's performance in real world situations.

Aaron

pair or triple of trustfire TR-801 with Cree Q5-WC LEDs.
or a single P7

but if you want reliable build quality, Fenix L2D premium which also uses a Q5-WC

I don't have room on my drops for a flashlight, but Minewt x2 fits nicely and the charger mounts on the spacers below the stem.

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r...s/dsc00137.jpg
Aurora AK-P7-5
My P7 setup. Low mode is good for 5+ hours and is enough light for the MUP.
Medium is good for road use in traffic. Using high mode gets you pulled over by irate policeman you blinded with it, use Medium on dark streets with traffic and low mode on well lit streets.
High mode is off road only or where you will not blind traffic. It's good for one hour on high.
I wish everything I had used protected 18650 batteries. No more worries about over charging or damage from extreme discharge, like when it gets turned on by the kids and forgotten. I carry mine in my pocket everywhere. Tactical flash mode deterred aggressive behavior by an unsavory person a few days after I got it. The assault crown is a worthwhile addition.

If you can fit the Mnewt x2, I don't think you'd have any problem mounting the flashlights we're talking about here.

Is that using the bicycle mount shown below? I got that mount when I bought a Romisen Cree Q5 from ShinningBeam. I think the Romisen is way better than any light I've had before but it's just still not quite enough. I'm looking at getting the P7 but there are many different diameter versions. If the Aurora AK-P7 you've shown fits in this mount then that would be useful information for me to know.

http://www.dealextreme.com/productim...ku_15642_1.jpg

Well, you guys have sure helped me on the dark MUP I take to work. I have a 135 lumen CygoLite which I thought was pretty bright (I'm used to <$20 bike-specific lights). It works well and I know it will never run down on me with the reserve it has... However, doing under roads and across very dark bridges in some bad areas at 6AM always has me worried there will be something or someone I can't see. The Cygolite is good, but I've been running a cheap 2LED helmet light and found it to be very effective because it lights up where I look - either down the path for ice/potholes/horse poop or in the bushes at the ducks that sound like an angry hobo who wants to jump me.

:):) I just bought a MTE SSC P7 (says 900 lumens, tested at more like 650, but still bright as hell compared to my much more pricey handlebar CygoLite), a helmet mount, two batteries, a charger, and an additional iphone 3g charger cable (which gave me 5 items so I could get two dollars off which means the cable was basically free)

I have that Romisen as well using the home made mount lke the one shown below. Once my P7 arrives, the Romisen is going to the helmet.

http://davidclary.com/images/mount.jpg

I use the Light And Motion Solo rechargable light and it gets the job done. It's Made in the USA with a solid battery and light construction. Like anything there are pros and cons. Pros would be it's really bright and reliable. con would be it takes 14 hours to charge with the charger it comes with(you can get a quick charger). It comes with a helment mount and handlebar mount. I have actually had a couple of cars flash their brights at me.

80 lumens isn't bright in today's standard. My $20 LED flashlight is 120 lumens and it isn't that bright.

Another thing, please don't use "Made in the USA" to justify your purchases, buy products for their value to you, not the location of manufacture.

Suppose part of the 'value to you' includes other factors such as environmental regulations in the country of manufacture, or economic benefits of additional jobs in the given country?

It is uncertain that blindly buying American will reap any economic benefit in the long run. However, blindly buying the "best value", regarless of the country of origin, can result in "externalities" (economists lingo for anything that does not factor on the balance sheet).

Shouldn't you consider if that country might have: engaged in unfair trade practices, pirated technology, polluted, exploited workes, ignored basic human rights, used the profits to build weapons intended to be used against your own country or its allies?

Pick the best value, if the products came from the USA, Ireland, Canada, etc. But, perhaps, think twice about buying products from certain other countries. It may not be practical to get the product you want made in USA. But what's wrong with having a preference for made in USA, all other things being relatively equal?

Anthony simply offered that the product was made in USA; he did not say to buy it for this reason alone. That position would be tough to defend, but so is blindly buying the "best value". The issue is too complex for simple, extreme, "correct" answers.

Edit: To the OP. It is possible to make your own light, very bright, for under $100, including batteries+charger. You can find many examples by searching the electronics forum. It's not for everyone, but you can make a very effective, if not pretty, light.

That one looks Perfect for your Needs.
Great Price and run time

Same here.
This is what I use for my 15 mile r/t commute. It's a great light.

You can get a Dinotte 200L for just over $100 when it's on sale, for the AA version where you bring your own rechargable batteries and charger to the party. When I was looking a few months ago, I found that often the sale price was on their website at like 6AM, and went off by 7AM or so.

I don't think their sales are announced or maybe even scheduled - just watch their website.

I liked my 200L so much that 2 weeks later I bought a 140L taillight. I've gotten comments from coworkers on BOTH saying "Did you buy new lights?" Previously I had been running a TrailTech 13W HID up front, which was 3 years old and fading, and two PB SuperFlashs in the back.

I think back on the lights that were available decades ago and shake my head at their pitiful outputs, large weight and size and either high drag or short run times. We've come so far in lights in such a short period of time...but we haven't reached the promised land yet.

Modern LED flashlights are indeed inexpensive relative to the light they produce and also to bicycle specific lights. Some of the best are cheap, light, small, have spanking good run times on cheap-to-operate rechargables and produce prodigious amounts of light. Their deficiencies include simple optics that throw a round beam and the lack of any light thrown to the side.

If the OP were to head down the local MUP with a new P7, I don't doubt other trail users would be shouting "get that #*@% light out of my eyes!!!". Despite the high-tech electronics and huge amount of photons, the optics in these flashlights is embarrassingly primitive (and sad to say many bike-specific headlights aren't any better). The Berec Ever Ready Frontguard I had 30 years ago was the first bike light I had with true headlight optics: it threw a beautiful rectangular beam down in front of the bike but it cut off the main beam light from on-coming traffic (just like automobile headlights do) to prevent blinding other road users.

I have a Fenix and it's impressive, but I know it appears as a point source to traffic directly ahead and is hardly detectable to traffic off to either side at intersections. The old Berec had a big round lens - just short of 4" in diameter - and the optics spilled a controlled amount of light to either side. Despite it's whimpy output it was much, much better for being visible.

Some of the modern bike lights have very good side visibility. Take the Trek Ion Recharge as an example: the entire front ring of the light glows - but alas, glows 360degs, so it puts a bright source in the rider's eyes. I guess you can fix this with a piece of tape.

The only modern lights I've seen that combine both modern lightweight/bright/long runtime lighting with a beam shape actually designed for road use are those from Germany. The B&M Ixon IQ reminds me a lot of my old Berec, but with all the improvements modern technology affords.

HTH,
tcs

Being made in the USA is of value to me. I care about things like the strength of my local economy, worker's rights to a fair and safe workplace, environmentally responsible practices, and freedom from totalitarian government oppression. I prefer my money to go to places that care about those things and not to a country like China where it will prop up their totalitarianism, so if I find a product that is made in the 1st world, or a vaguely responsible and free developing nation, I will buy it over a made in China item even if performance is less: because overall the product is better for the world. It's not all about me.

In today's economy it may be very hard to avoid all made in China goods. They dominate many areas of manufacturing. But there are types of goods where it is possible, and just because we have to give China our money for, say, running shoes, if we can avoid doing so for products where we still have a choice, then, hey, every little bit helps.

It's irresponsible to only care about the usefulness of a product without considering the impact of its manufacture. If one has thought about it, and decided that buying Chinese goods is positive for his particular world view, then fine. That's an honest decision. But to simply not even consider anything but the price and quality of the end product is totally selfish and violates one's responsibility to care about the lives of others.

i agree

im not an avid patriot or anything (embarrassed the last 8 years actually) , but it is a fact that american made goods are 99% of the time higher quality than Chinese goods

Indeed, I'm not going to buy an unsafe product just because it's made in the US, and I'm probably not going to shoot myself in the foot by paying 3 or 4 times more for otherwise identical products just because they're made in the US, but made in the US was definitely a factor in going with the Dinotte products finally. And when products really ARE identical (in terms of quality), the prices usually aren't much different. If something made in Asia is a lot cheaper, it's probably not as good either. Not always true but I think usually true. Unfortunately, there's so little made in the US anymore that most people never get a chance to realize this these days.

One additional factor to consider: ISTM that the quality of customer service pretty much goes in this order:

Designed, made and headquartered in the USA: Absolutely unexcelled customer service
Designed and headquartered in the USA, made overseas: pretty good customer service
Designed and headquartered overseas, sold by a company with significant US distributorship: probably OK customer service
Designed and made overseas, sold into a generic distribution in the US: No customer service to speak of - if it breaks, tough luck.