Bright and reliable, but inexpensive, headlight?
 

I need a good headlight to keep all those damn pedestrians from jumping out in front of me. Not looking to spend too much, hopefully under $30. I have a Planet Bike tail light that I'm very happy with so far.

Blackburn Flea !

http://www.biketiresdirect.com/produ...0/bmfls3-1.jpg you can get both on ebay for 30 bux and the best part is that theyre USB rechargeable =)

Cheaper than the Flea, more output, and more versatile- http://www.shiningbeam.com/servlet/t...h-C8-II/Detail

I think that one uses the really small looking batteries... Which cost 10 bux a pop =/

multiple battery options, including 3xAAA.

The flea,although really bright for a bicycle specific headlight,is rated at 40 lumens,and that is on high.I am running 234 lumens total and that in my opinion is adaquate,but by no means overkill...I agree w/your sugestion,that romisen is nice,I would go w/that or pretty much any cree LED flashlight,just makes more sense on the dollar to lumen ratio.

Got to admit though,I love the idea of USB recharging,and the flea looks kool as $hit!

I've got the older version of the Romisen RC-N3 II CREE R5 2-Mode LED Flashlight. I've had mine for over 3 years now and its worked great. Can't beat it for the money. I've been using the same AA rechargeable batteries during that time. It's what'd you call a 'see and be seen' light. I give it 5 stars on price, reliability, and function. You don't hear problems with this model like you do the Magicshine.
http://www.shiningbeam.com/servlet/t...h-N3-II/Detail
http://www.shiningbeam.com/media/00/...8c836fcd_m.jpg

Agree with an LED flashlight that uses AAA or AA batteries. There are some great, inexpensive mounts on eBay. Search "flashlight mount v" and sort by lowest price + shipping. Should be around $3 with shiiping for a Two Fishes type mount. Works great with these flashlights.

+1 Agree with this.I have two lights and I use one during the day to be seen,and use both at night to blind the other drivers :) I really wanna see what the romisen looks like though,cause my 234lumens are pretty darn bright.But im sure a side by side comparison I would be impressed.

Woah, let's not throw a magicshine into this. A $140 light will outperform a $25 flashlight, and I haven't had a single problem with mine in 6 months of 5 day/wk use.

Bell Dawn Patrol, under $10 Wally Wally. Got one on
both my bikes, great, 3/aaa's last for weeks running
them everyday several hours.

Always run with your lights flashing. Human eyes are much more sensitive to changes (flashing light) than steady state or slow changes (non-flashing light on bike).

Have you ever tried to ride at night with a flashing head light? I tried it,
for a few seconds!

It also is harder for people to judge your speed and distance...

PB superflash 1W in flash mode will get attention.. + there are 2 brightness levels of steady on.
or maybe the 1/2w version will do..

+1.

I love my CREE flashlight mounted on my helmet. Excellent light for a AA flashlight. Great for turning the head and shining it at drivers who may be unaware. Also great for side of the road repairs (although I'm lucky enough not to have needed that this last winter).

But I am not comfortable running the flashlight by itself on a dark unpaved trail with no lights. Last winter, my Magicshine was the primary light in such situations with the flashlight as a backup. No problems with the Magicshine. Once I didn't have enough battery to make it off the trail with the Magicshine (the fatal flaw of battery-based systems, which is why I now have a dynamo hub) and had to ride the last mile with only the CREE flashlight. My knuckles were extremely white by the time I was off the trail. Not fun.

You go over to the Electronics, Lighting and Gadgets Forum and you'll see people griping about the problems they've had with their Magicshines. Not to mention the hassle of shipping from Hong Kong. Maybe a $140 flashlight might outperform a $25 flashlight. Who knows. But the OP was asking about inexpensive lights. And for $27 you get a lot of flashlight out of the Romisen.
The Romisen I got 3 years ago is rated at 110 lumens. The newer one is rated at 240 lumens. But I think it would hold its own against other higher end lights.

I had one of those. It stopped working the first time I rode in the rain. :mad:

I bought these Turtle Light from MEC.ca for $3.75. It can be made to blink.
They wrap around your handle bar.
But I'm able to feed the elastic in the vents of my helmet and tie it there.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=203298

MEC Turtle lights really aren't a replacement for a proper light. $20-30 bucks for a Planet Bike Superflash/Blaze combo pack is an excellent inexpensive lighting set up for any urban commuter.

Yes, you get a lot of flashlight out of a Romisen. And I love my flashlight. But to be fair, you can get a MagicShine for $90 (at Geomangear), far less than the purported $140 cost. After riding with both the flashlight and the MagicShine, I strongly favor the MagicShine if you need to ride in areas where there is not much ambient street lighting. And, with buying from GeomanGear you avoid the entire shipping problem you reference and get excellent customer service if there are issues with your light. I decided to invest int he MagicShine from GeomanGear specifically because of the many, many, many lighting posts I read through in the Electronics, Lighting and Gadgets forum. I am not disappointed.

Well just wanted to add to this also,I just got back from target and they have a verrrry nice looking,130 lumen energizer brand aluminum small flashlight for only 21.99,perfect for mounting on a handlebar.
I paid 24.99 for my coleman 144 lumen,and 17.99 for the 90 lumen....Had I had seen these I honestly would have gotten 2 of these,a few more lumens and they would have been a perfect match,for 44bucks(for 2 of them) I think 260lumens is a good deal.

Consider buying used. Sounds funny, but I got a $100 light at REI for $10. They have a no questions asked return policy, and then sell off the stuff people return. Mine charges by USB, but didn't come with a USB cable. Fortunately it takes the same one as other stuff that charges by USB.