I have a Fenix L2D Premium Q5, a light very similar to the LD20. I also have a JetBeam BA20. Both run off of AA batteries with similar run times. The JetBeam is cheaper ($40) and brighter (270 claimed lumens and visibly brighter). While I like Fenix lights, I think the Jet Beam is a better value.

For illumination so others can see me I use PB blaze lights. They'd serve in a city environment where there are street lights so I can see but where I live and ride they'd be woefully inadequate. For the purpose of being able to see in the dark myself, as well as others seeing me, I use a pair of Dinotte 400 lights.

One handlebar mounted with long throw lenses installed and one helmet mounted with a short/wide lens installed. With both on high the once dark forest path is lit up.

I do my fitness rides before dawn on suburban streets that are lit fairly, poorly, and not at all, and I use a Princeton Tec EOS. It includes mounts for handlebar, helmet, and forehead. It uses three AAAs and puts out 70 lumens, and I don't need any more. Mounted on my helmet, it illuminates at least a hundred yards of whatever lies before it. I got mine for 45 bucks at REI.

Personally, I think LED tint is just as important as brightness, if not more important. With most of these LED lights claiming so much brightness, with the cool white LEDs. I feel like color and sometimes depth perception suffer too much. With neutral white or warm white, I can spot road hazards MUCH better!
Awhile ago, I purchased two 4sevens Quark 1xAA tactical lights and a set of two-fish blocks to mount on our bikes. One for my spouse and the other for me, she got the standard cool white rated at 109 OTF (real lumens). I got a limited edition warm white LED rated at 58 OTF lumens.
At night, she hits enough potholes and crap on the road, that she has me lead so she can see. I did give her light a try once.. I feel like everything is nearly monochromatic and I have a hard time telling what is what. So I see shapes, but that doesn't work for me I guess.
All in all, this is my advice for anyone looking for a bike light to use in urban roads or trails.
Neutral or warm light with CRI 75 or higher
enough spill light adequately to see your entire path (minimum one car lane)
Can use rechargeable batteries
light weight

What is a fun test to do is, take your typical cool white LED flashlight and shine it at a bush with red berries, ask someone to count the berries. Now repeat that with a basic incandescent flash light. It is quite a difference if you ask me.

Rocking the night ride last night, my recently acquired MiNewt 350 Wireless completely outshined the three other lights on the ride. Easily 4+ hours of riding with it on low and it never ran out of power. On low, it was plenty bright in the moonless night of trailing riding. High was super bright, but completely unnecessary on this ride.

FWIW, group night riding is a blast!

Exactly my point, it's pointless to have a $500 3000 lumen light being argued on another post on this forum. I have 400 lumen light and I rarely use it on high except on a pitch black road or path and then it's plenty.

There is no such thing as too much light. To be DOT compliant, all automobiles need two (2) headlights in working order. That is almost 4,000 lumens and it is not enough. Many drivers run HID headlights and put even more light on the road, and it is not enough. During the 80's it was quite common for drivers to run an additional set of Hella driving lights for an additional 3,000 lumens on the road! Sure bicycles are only going a fraction of the speed of a car and so they don't need 8,000 lumens of light.... but 200? 100? 500? Don't kid yourselves... the consequences of a motorist going out with one headlight might mean that Muffin never comes home in the morning. The consequences of a cyclist hitting a twig at speed in the dark because s/he thinks she is really rocking the light fantastic with his/her NiteRider Classic might be a broken collarbone... or worse. If a $500 light really did output 3,000 lumens I might buy it. More likely it is 1500. Respectable, but not worth $500. I don't know about anyone else but I paid $52 for my MagicShine lighthead and $78 for a 4800ah battery and smart-charger to power it from Batteryspace. I've got a Y connector to run two lightheads but I don't have the second lighthead yet. I can survive without it but I don't think it would be overkill. If anyone wants my NiteRider Classic barely used which cost $150 new and puts out maybe 1/4 the light of the MagicShine... make me an offer.

H

lol, it's kind of funny to see these kind of posts after one has been on the forum for a while. Do you work for a news network? lol

One poster claimed it was "impossible" to get headlight-level illumination, another poster (me) responded saying that wasn't true there is a light available that puts out 3,000 lumens. Then you, with no other posts on the topic, started claiming that other people were "arguing" over the topic. And now you've started posting in other threads claiming the same thing where you're arguing with yourself!

"News Station creates controversy where there is none - more at 10!" LOL LOL LOL

P.S. Ooooh wait, I see you did finally find someone to argue with you. Congrats, you've made up news! Hilarious... :-)

Anyone have an opinion on these or others by Supernova?

http://www.supernova-lights.com/en/p...e3_e-bike.html

I have some Topeak something or others (I don't think they make them anymore and don't have them with me) that I've seemed to have lost the charger for the battery pack for.

Edit - oops...wrong link.

Which light did you mean to post a link for? I have a Supernova E-3 Pro with symmetrical lens. I love it. Casts a really long beam.

I've generally heard negative things about the e-3 with the asymmetrical beam...doesn't throw as far as the symmetrical version, just not as good.

If I wanted something with a shaped beam with the cutoff I'd stick with the Cyo, that's what I use for winter riding. I've heard good things about the Symmetrical (regular) version of the Supernova e-3, though. Would just avoid the "asymmetrical" version.

I had updated the link to this - http://www.supernova-lights.com/en/p...airstream.html

I wonder why it switched back....I don't have an electric bike, and I don't need a generator hub.

WOW, you don't have to be such an ass. A simple question asking to explain myself would have sufficed. I go on a bunch of different forums, so I had to back check this forum and I couldn't find it either, thus it was a discussion I had on a different forum and simply got the forums crossed in my mind, and to find that would take awhile and not worth the effort to show to such an ass as yourself.

I must have agreed with someone you don't like.

Sounds like your the one who likes to argue. Congrats on stirring up controversy where none existed.

lol, like I said...

And you know this how? You've tested one?

Your latest NiteRider experience seems to be a NiteRider Classic, which was a dual beam (12w and 20w) halogen light. How old is that light again?

Light and Motion tested other companies lights (claimed vs. actual output) and found that NiteRider was within 10% of their claimed lumens. MagicShine on the other hand was a massive 42% under their claimed output.

Hallo Herr Leise Sturm,

True, to a point. This light is just an option, not the world’s best light for everyone. I find that it works good riding 25mph in complete darkness, giving me a very long range and broad coverage. I'll tell you that it is way, way brighter than any of my 100 lumen lights.

Um, no. Not accurate. H7 car lights are rated at 1400 lumens, but “Auto Motor Und Sport” did a test and found that some H7 car bulbs only put out as little as 900 lumens. Go figure. Is the 900 lumen claim on my flashlight figure accurate? Probably not any more than the auto bulbs.

Proof is in the pudding, so they say. Here is a photo of the flashlight compared to a motorcycle headlight (actually on a snowmobile). The comparison is to a H4 bulb rated at 1000 lumens. You can decide if it is comparable, and more importantly, you can decide for yourself if this is enough light to ride at your typical speed at night (or if it is worth $50).
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=217916