amckimmey

I thought I might make a list of lights to see the road, not just be seen. If anyone has any recommendations on what they use. Please help build this list, I'm not sure if there are really any more than these.

List of Be Seen Light Companies and Models:
Light & Motion
-Seca
-Stella
-Solite
-Urban
NiteRider
-Pro
-MiNewt
CygoLite
-Centauri
-TridenX
-MityCross
-Trion
-Expilion
-Turbo
Light On!
-Dyno
-Battery
Lezyne
-Drive
Magicshine
DiNotte Lighting

I will add to the list.

My girlfriend is wanting a new light and I may want a new one for myself. She uses a 3yr old Light & Motion Vega 100. It has one light mode, and only has an hour run time at best. I have a 5 year old Light & Motion Stella 200, works well still. I'm getting annoyed by the separate battery pack when mounting and the rubber mount is getting worn out. It's crazy how much the price of these lights has gone down since then. More lumen for your buck.

Hers really needs replacing, it's just way too short of run time. She also struggles with getting a tight grip with the rubber band around the handlebars. It slips forward when she hits a bump. It would be nice if we had the same front light. Makes charging and care easier. We are looking at the Cygolite Expilion 400

frpax

I've been very happy with my old NiteRider. I've got a friend that recently bought a Mini Newt and he loves it. I like it quite a bit, also.

mtalinm

can't beat MagicShine for the money. I am routinely mistaken for a car with one headlight out.

yes there was a voluntary recall on the battery by one distributor, but the replacement battery is insanely good - mine ran for 4.5 hours before shutting down.

ROJA

Any DiNotte light!

fietsbob

See the road.. at a good clip ..
Schmidt dyno-hub powered E6 Halogen, or eDelux LED, adding a wired taillight..
or not.

+ Busch and Muller and AXA Basta,, spanninga .. other EU firms..

To be seen .. has lesser requirements

no1mad 

No experience, but I've read good things about the Philips Saferide (battery or dyno).

stdlrf11

I used a magicshine for years and it worked fine.
Recently, I upgraded to a NiNewt 600. Its a little brighter than the MS on high, but I keep it on medium and am pleased with the runtime. The flashing mode is insane. I had a guy go off on me for "blinding" him with the MiNewt flashing in broad daylight.

irablumberg

I just got a CygoLite Turbo 740. It is very bright and I like the beam pattern (very bright center spot with a dimmer and much wider cone around the center spot). For the price it is hard to find anything much brighter. It is a 2 piece light however, so there is the extra hassle of finding a place to strap the battery. Also, if you lock your bike in a higher crime area, there are 2 pieces to remove rather than 1.

commo_soulja

+1

a1penguin

Check out the 2012 Lights Shootout over on mtbr.com. There are many other companies out there that make quality bike lights.

mike

Lord almighty, son, you are thinking too hard. go to dealextreme.com and buy the most lumens flashlight you can afford. Get their rechargeable batteries and a charger while you are at it.

That'll do ya.

yep202

I have a brand new stella 200. You say yours lasted about 5 years? Good to hear!!!

DogBoy

Rename this to battery powered lights. Dyno lights I have on my bikes are SuperNova E3, Lumotec IQ Fly, and Lumotec IQ Fly R. All of them are good for seeing the road up to about 18 mph. I could go faster but I'm a nervous nelly. They also all provide light at 4 mph and have standlights for when I'm at intersections.

Rockfish

B&M Ixon IQ.

alan s 

I have last year's Cygolite Expilion, and it's a great light. Not heavy, comes with helmet and bar mounts. Mostly use it on the helmet with an older Niterider light on the bars.

BlankTim

I've been happy with my MagicShine. The beam has a good throw and spread pattern and if I run on the low setting I can go 4 days (1hr/day) without having to recharge the battery. On high I can still manage 3 days before recharging. I bought the 808 and the tailight for about $125 I think.

canyoneagle

Magicshine is a great bang for the buck light.

However, my magicshine now sits amidst at least 3 other expensive battery powered lights that are dead, and in all cases the cost of a replacement battery (if it is even available) far exceeds the value of getting yet another battery light to add to the pile in a few years.

I've been tickled pink with my dynamo system:
- Shimano Alfine dynamo hub
- Supernova E3 Pro headlight
- Supernova 3 LED tail light.

For "be seen" lights, I do still use blinkies (PB Superflash turbo r PDW Radbot 1000 in back, PB Blaze 2W up front), but use rechargeables on those.

amckimmey

I do tend to over think things. But I am looking to single body light with no external battery. The Dealextreme lights are cheap, and probably not the best quality for what I want. Other people might like them. I also like to get the thoughts of other people, and help others that are looking for the same thing.


The Stella 200 had served me well, the only thing I find bad with it is the 2 parts. The battery is just to annoying to mount on my current bike, on my old bike it was fine. And the rubber strap is getting worn out, it develops some little cracks, but is still strong. They have replacements for $2 or so. It's a great light and will still recommend it.

Burton

Guess I must be missing something because those 'great bang for the buck' lines are going right over my head.

If those 'great bang for the buck' lights are so fantastic, how come they only come with a limited one year warranty? How come the battery is only warrantied for 180 days? Why have some resellers gone so far as to outsource other batteries for those lights so they could offer a 12 month limited warranty on the package? How come the price almost doubles as a result

Why exactly isn't a better built light head with the same LED emitter and that comes with a limited lifetime warranty and costs a bit more not 'more bang for the buck'?

Why isn't a light with a bicycle driving specific lens that puts ALL the light where you need it not 'more bang for the buck'?

Why exactly aren't batteries that have twice the run time and are also proudly matched, assembled and supported in the USA and backed by an industry-leading full 2-year warranty and 50% off damaged battery replacement program coverage not 'more bang for the buck'?


I didn't build my bikes with a dollar-store mentality and it doesn't make sense to me to apply it to lights either.

Six jours

Battery powered lights don't make any sense to me. No one would dream of buying a motor vehicle that has to have the batteries recharged or replaced before each trip. Why should bicyclists be any different? Buy a decent dynohub and matching lights and never think about them again.

Jim-in-Kirkland

Real happy with Light & Motion Seca 800. 800 lumens for fast street riding, 400 lumens for regular street riding, 200 lumens for multi user trails, flash - all easy to change on the go. Well designed, good company support if needed

amckimmey

The problem with Dyno lights for me are.
-Cost, finding the right wheel and hub combo is hard, and having one built up can be expensive.
-Cant easily move the system between bikes. I have 26in wheels my girlfriend 700.
-Mounting of the light its self. Most lights are mounted somewhere around the fork and cant be moved in motion. I like to be able to move my light around during the ride.
-Cant quickly be removed. I don't like to leave small pricy equipment on the bike. It could get stolen or just damaged by some jerk.


Those reasons just out way any benefits a Dyno would have. I would love to have a Dyno-hub and light for my girlfriends and my bike but right now I just don't think it would be right for us right now.

jsohn

I use a combo of the cygolite expilion 400 and the minewt 600...I use both mostly because I need to be able to see ice on the road at night (although not really this year since there has basically not been a winter in minneapolis this year)...anyway...the 600 definitely lights up a bigger swath of road, but it is also bigger and heavier...both have multiple brightness modes, but I like the flashing mode on the 600 better...the 400's flash is a three strobe - pause pattern that I just don't care for...while the 600's is a constant on-off pattern...

Cheers,

Josh

a1penguin

DX is a total crap shoot. You have to read budgelightforums.com to find the gems among the turds.

Here's my recommended bright lights on the minimum budget. This is my setup, so I know it works. I have upgraded batteries to Callies Kustoms.

KD C8 ($18.38)
Bar mount ($1.80)

Uniquefire 2100 ($15.32)
Helmet mount ($2.06)

4 18650 batteries (2 * $9.90)
Charger ($6.90)

Total: $63.56

ivan_yulaev

I just picked up a Philips Saferide the other day. It's a bit pricey ($160) but the construction is solid and the light appears to be high quality. It's all one unit (which I like) and it uses 4 AA NiMH batteries, with an integrated USB-powered charger. Some people complain about the batteries as they make the unit quite hefty but I don't care about weight too much (an extra 200g isn't going to make my commute any longer) and I like the fact that I can replace the battery "pack" for $5.

The beam is quite bright and the throw is nice. It projects a wide beam with a hot spot towards the top middle and a relatively sharp cut-off just above that.

In the contention was a Magicshine. The magicshine is cheaper but I figured that if I keep the light long enough to wear out the battery once, I will be at least break-even.

Tomorrow is my first commute with it, I'll report on my experience.