Does anyone have any suggestions for good lights that are not too costly? I am very intrigued with the Monkey Light 8-Bit Wheel Light. Does anyone have any experience with these?

As for right now, the only lights that I have on Lola are the Bicycle Spoke LED Lights in Amber - one front & one back.

I was thinking about some lights by Knog. Does anyone have any thoughts on these, or any of the others?

Thank you.

They have a lot of thoughts here

https://www.bikeforums.net/forumdispl...ng-amp-Gadgets

I like your avatar, LiteraryChic, that is cool. One recommendation I have is that as you look at lights, an important consideration should be how they are powered. I personally like to use rechargeable AA and AAA batteries, along with a good battery charger. Some people just use regular alkaline batteries. Other lights that you can choose come equipped with a USB charger, so you can recharge them by plugging them into a computer USB port. There are also other power possibilities, such as dynamo lights and different battery types.

There are lots of good lights available. Any light is better than no light, so pick ones you like that meet your ideal powering/charging requirements. I like PDW lights, especially the Radbot 1000. Good luck, I hope you find good lights and use them regularly.

My wife has a set of older Monkey Lights on one of her bikes, and they're pretty cool. One downside is that the weight of them with 3 AA batteries is pretty significant, but it's not a major issue in the grand scheme.

They're definitely not the only lights on her bike though, and frankly, they're just toys that make nighttime riding fun, but don't add much in the way of safety or visibility.

If this ^^ is true, you should buy a decent headlight and taillight before adding more light to your wheels.

I use a Coleman LED flashlight (144 lumens, $20), strapped with elastic to a handlebar mount I made from an old reflector bracket and two brake pads. For a tail light, I like multi-bulb LED's with different flash modes.

Spoke lights are primarily vanity/flair minded. They are cool to have but they don't add much to your safety because they don't shine in the directions where you want to shine (straight ahead and straight back).

There are pages and pages written on this in the electronics & lighting forum. I currently run a Cygolite Metro 300 in front. If you were open to the idea of another $30 spoke light, you can afford a $50 Metro 300. It's very bright (though the beam is rather narrow) and rechargeable via USB.

In the rear, I run $30 Cygoline Hotshot, it's likewise bright and directional. I've been paying attention to other cyclists' tail lights recently. About the only tail light I saw that was comparable to mine was Axiom Pulse 60. (Performance Bike has them for $35) Not sure which one of these two is brighter - haven't compared them side by side - but either one would be a good choice for a safety conscious commuter.

Buy this

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B005WPXNQ6

$25, an honest 600 lumens, a spot pattern, bright-less-flashing settings, will run for an hour or more if using less or flashing, rechargeable, easy to mount on the handlebars, can be wedged in a helmet vent and zip tied in place, waterproof, and did I mention only $25?

I use these for my commute, on my helmet, it lights up whatever you look at, and if you wave it over a car's windshield the driver will definitely notice.

Up front, if you need them to see by, a headlight off eBay. $30 or so and many, many lumens. Be gentle with the wiring, almost all of the less expensive lights have wiring that's not super tough. Also note that the battery pack is NOT waterproof on any of the cheap lights - use a plastic bag, opening facing down, or stash it in something else waterproof

For self-contained and waterproof, go to eBay and look up "ultrafire wf-501b" - I have two of these and they work well. $20 for light, two batteries and a charger typically. Also search "flashlight handlebar" and get a mount. I find medium is bright enough on these lights almost all of the time and that gives more than an hour per battery per charge.

In the back, I think it's best to spend about $35. If you like Knog, the Blinder 4V is one I like, but all the Knogs have a drawback - they mount on the seatpost, period. If that works for you, great, otherwise, look elsewhere. The Cygolite Hotshot is good, the PDW Danger Zone or Radbot 1000 are all excellent lights and all < $40. You won't go wrong with any of them.

I just bought the new Knog blinder road 2 to replace my original blinder (the rubber strap broke), and would definitely recommend it. They've updated the road version to be 200 lumens and have made the straps replaceable. The light includes two sizes of straps to avoid the tearing that was occurring with the original models when they were mounted on road bars + tape and brake cables. I personally love the USB rechargeable feature and am really happy with the light overall. Just be warned that when the light is used on the 200 lumen setting it will only burn for one hour. It can last up to 6 hours on the lower setting in flash mode, though.

https://www.knog.com.au/gear-hi-power...oad-front.phps

Reelights, https://www.reelight.com/ Most Basic they flash the LED with every time
the magnet and sensor rotate past each other , as the wheel Rotates..

further up the offerings, they add capacitors to make a steady on, light.

happen to like lights that the motion itself makes the power for the light.



personally, I invested in a Dynohub and LED head and taillights.. German made stuff.

No love for the Mars 4.0? I find this hard to beat in combination with rechargeable batteries for the rear.

+1 for the ultrafire which you can also buy from dx.com, batteries, charger, mount. These things are brilliant (pun intended) and for under $30 you have light, 2 batteries, charger and mount. One thing about ordering from DX is expect to wait at least a couple weeks (though shipping is free). There are several threads with reviews

I have had a Cygolite Expilion 400 for the past two years and am loving it. Its one of those USB rechargeable ones. It makes riding at night quite a joy. I used to have sub 100 lumen lights that let me be seen by traffic, but I sure couldnt see ahead to me! Dark rainy nights were just miserable. If you want to have a safe and happy night ride, I would totally reccomend something 350 lumens and up. Its amazing how far lighting tech has come in the last few years. No longer do you have to buy a 10 point setup with huge water bottle batteries and 2" headlights for $400! My Expilion is very small, lightweight, self contained, and hassle free. There are many more out on the market like it from established lighting companies like Dinotte and Niterider.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B006QQ...pi=SL500_SY125

I use this.↑↑↑↑↑ It's super bright and on it's brightest level will last an hour and a half.

Others have already suggested the Cree XML T6 lights that I use and recommend for front lights. I'll add that they cost less and are far brighter than the Knog lights. Knog lights are cute but that's all they have going for them. The Crees are real lights in that you can see the road by them. "Be seen" lights are mostly useless for anything. They really can't "be seen" in most situations and they certainly aren't bright enough to see the road.

Most people make the mistake of thinking that you don't need much light in an urban environment because there is a lot of ambient light. However your light is going to have to compete with all those ambient light sources. You really need more light in a city then you do out in the country.

Yeah, that's why I don't order from DX anymore. The prices aren't really any better (often worse) and you can get them off eBay often from US shippers for the same money. I bought my last kit from a US seller and had it in 3 days. If getting from Asia, I try to get a Hong Kong dealer that uses Hong Kong post. China post is glacially slow, HK post is generally surprisingly fast (a week or even less).

Thanks for the help. I apologize for not posting this in the lights, gadgets etc. thread. I will copy & paste it in there in a little bit. Has anyone ever heard of the Smart Move BL112+ Traditional LED Headlight? I will most likely end up with a battery-operated, or USB-rechargeable light for front, and rear, since I do not believe that I can use any other type on my Schwinn Voyageur 7. Also, could someone, please explain to me what the other types of lights are (dynamo etc.), and how they operate, their differences etc.?

Also, I am looking for a rear light that will fit onto my Transit TS-1 Rear Rack. Any thoughts?
Thanks!

Sorry, I forgot to add that front and rear lights are what I also need the advice on.

Thank you Bluish Green!

Dynamo lights have a generator usually built into either the front hub or a generator that bolts to the frame and can be triggered to rotate against one of the tires. The generator is then wired to the lights eliminating the need for batteries. The two major disadvantages are 1; the lower end sets go out when you stop, and 2; they don't seem have as much side spill light. The biggest advantage is, you never have to worry about batteries again.

Reellights are the same general idea. Instead of a generator you put magnets in the spokes and the entire wheel becomes your generator.

I use sidewall bottle dynamos and my bikes and have the base model reellight on one and have been happy with what I have.

Note, dynamo systems and the reellight are not cheap. A decent dynamo using a bottle generator will set you back well over $100, and the base model of the reellight, which is a flashing headlight and tailight mounted at hub height, has a list price of 34 euros

Peter White https://peterwhitecycles.com/lightingsystems.htm has much information on dynamo systems and what makes a good light.

Reellight info is at https://www.reelight.com/

This. Get one of the Ultrafires for the handlebars and the other for the helmet and you'll be set up front.

Keep in mind that you're going to have to maintain the lights every day. Spoke lights are kind of neat but replacing the batteries in them constantly would get old fast, I'd think. Rechargables are the best for me, but I really don't want to charge every day. Ideally I want lights that can comfortably be used for 3 days, because then I can charge everything up on Wednesday then on the weekend.

I personally feel that it's absolutely essential for me to carry backups for both front and rear lights. I have an Ultrafire torch and a Cygolite Hotshot as spares with me all the time. Absolutely vital in the winter. If this is for summertime and especially if it's just for occasional "Stayed at work too long, now it's getting dark" use then you probably don't absolutely need backups. But if you do have them only for emergencies, be sure to check that they actually work once a week or so.

+1, good council and since you can likely get 2 headlights for less than $40 it's silly not to. In addition to the Ultrafire torch I have a cheap cateye that I use daily as a front flasher. It's got enough (barely) to run as a backup headlight and as a daily flasher it runs for 6-8 weeks before needing batteries (AAA's and I have generic rechargeables).

To be fair, we're talking about the REALLY low end there. The $50 "Lumotec Lyt N" has a standlight (powers light for 5 minutes after stopping).

Have you seen the Luxus U? It's very new, first dynamo light I've seen to have side spill and also a shaped beam -


Not as cheap though - $160 or $234 depending on the model.

I just wanted to know how you find your Reelights for riding in total darkness? I broke down, and purchased the 770 set, and currently have them installed, but am thinking that the front light may have been a mistake as it is not very bright.

Thoughts? Do you think that instead of running it to the rear magnets, putting its' own magnets and generators on the front wheel would provide more light?

Just a thought.

Thanks!