The way it's going, I will NEVER buy a light!
10-18-13, 03:40 PM
#76
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https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...light=Lights+I
Here's how I got to where I was 2 years ago, and that's no longer up to date for me.
Here's how I got to where I was 2 years ago, and that's no longer up to date for me.
10-18-13, 09:47 PM
#77
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I just got a Lezyne mega drive dropped off on the porch tonight. Just in time too - I left work at 4:30 today and the street lights came on before I got home. Haven't tried it on the road/trails yet but man is it well constructed and bright (up to 1200 lumen) and has good spill. I like that it has integrated removable battery pack, is made out of a single chunk of aluminum CNC machined (including the quick release connector), is nicely sealed in the back with a super gasket, and that the USB charger is sealed inside so no chance of water leak through a USB port. Anyhow, those are my fist impressions. The price is pretty reasonable for the quality IMO. Can't wait to try it on on the paths.
10-19-13, 01:04 AM
#78
Senior Member
In 2008, I bought a (then) top of line bike light for $500. In 2011, I replaced it with an even better light for $200. Now, I could buy an even stronger light for $50!
Knowing what I know now, buying expensive lights is a losing proposition. Just buy a couple of cheap lights (to have one as a spare), and then plan to buy a new cheap light every 2-3 years as the technology improves. No agony. No thinking this is going to be a 5-10 year investment. Think of it as a consumable. Like brake pads or a new chain and cassette.
Knowing what I know now, buying expensive lights is a losing proposition. Just buy a couple of cheap lights (to have one as a spare), and then plan to buy a new cheap light every 2-3 years as the technology improves. No agony. No thinking this is going to be a 5-10 year investment. Think of it as a consumable. Like brake pads or a new chain and cassette.
10-19-13, 04:58 AM
#79
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Prior to buying my present headlight, I got by with two inexpensive clip-on lights, one either side of the handlebar stem. One pointed down to illuminate the spot just in front of my wheel, the other pointed a bit further and higher. I had to slow down quite a bit for my one short bit of unlit pathway, but they did the job.
I just wish that some of the people I see riding around in the dark here would get something. For the price of a case of beer, those unlit university students could buy a package of two, headlight and tail-light, in any local bike shop or even most department stores.
I just wish that some of the people I see riding around in the dark here would get something. For the price of a case of beer, those unlit university students could buy a package of two, headlight and tail-light, in any local bike shop or even most department stores.
10-19-13, 08:29 AM
#80
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In 2008, I bought a (then) top of line bike light for $500. In 2011, I replaced it with an even better light for $200. Now, I could buy an even stronger light for $50!
Knowing what I know now, buying expensive lights is a losing proposition. Just buy a couple of cheap lights (to have one as a spare), and then plan to buy a new cheap light every 2-3 years as the technology improves. No agony. No thinking this is going to be a 5-10 year investment. Think of it as a consumable. Like brake pads or a new chain and cassette.
Knowing what I know now, buying expensive lights is a losing proposition. Just buy a couple of cheap lights (to have one as a spare), and then plan to buy a new cheap light every 2-3 years as the technology improves. No agony. No thinking this is going to be a 5-10 year investment. Think of it as a consumable. Like brake pads or a new chain and cassette.
Exactly! I've been saying this for 20+ years. Think of how the people who bought a Cateye Stadium in 1993 for $600. That would be a $1000 light today.
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Stuart Black
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Old School…When It Wasn’t Ancient bikepacking
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
10-19-13, 09:39 AM
#82
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In 2008, I bought a (then) top of line bike light for $500. In 2011, I replaced it with an even better light for $200. Now, I could buy an even stronger light for $50!
Knowing what I know now, buying expensive lights is a losing proposition. Just buy a couple of cheap lights (to have one as a spare), and then plan to buy a new cheap light every 2-3 years as the technology improves. No agony. No thinking this is going to be a 5-10 year investment. Think of it as a consumable. Like brake pads or a new chain and cassette.
Knowing what I know now, buying expensive lights is a losing proposition. Just buy a couple of cheap lights (to have one as a spare), and then plan to buy a new cheap light every 2-3 years as the technology improves. No agony. No thinking this is going to be a 5-10 year investment. Think of it as a consumable. Like brake pads or a new chain and cassette.
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10-20-13, 01:58 AM
#84
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I like my Niterider Lumina 700.
https://www.amazon.com/NiteRider-Lumi...der+lumina+700
Looks like it's selling for under $100 on Prime (free 2 day shipping).
https://www.amazon.com/NiteRider-Lumi...der+lumina+700
Looks like it's selling for under $100 on Prime (free 2 day shipping).
10-20-13, 08:32 AM
#86
Senior Member
Thread Starter
(From the OP): I don't want to sound snotty or anything, but the 80-or-so most recent posts in this thread illustrate the point, exactly, as to why I will never buy a light. In my initial post, I asked that replies not include even MORE recommendations for lights, as the reason I gave up my search in the first place was that there was too much information and too many opinions thrown at me while I was shopping the first time around. Now, it seems, there are 100 NEW lights to consider and 1000 reasons why none of them are any good.
I know everyone likes to talk about products they like and don't like, so, at this point, this might as well just be another "Which is the best light?" discussion. But does anybody get what I was trying to say when I started this thread?
I know everyone likes to talk about products they like and don't like, so, at this point, this might as well just be another "Which is the best light?" discussion. But does anybody get what I was trying to say when I started this thread?
10-20-13, 08:41 AM
#87
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I think you've kind of missed our point, which is that you can pick up pretty much any light off the bike store shelf and it will work just fine. Put on a blind fold when you get to a bike shop, whirl your hand around, grab the first light it falls on. Buy it, take it home. They're all pretty good, they'll all do what you need them to do. If it isn't powerful enough for the places you ride, exchange it for a more powerful one of the same make.
10-20-13, 08:43 AM
#88
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They're not fragile. You'd have to drop mine off a cliff onto rocks to break it, I think. I've dropped it on the pavement once or twice and it isn't even scratched. If I replace it, it will be to get a brighter one, not because it's stopped functioning.
10-20-13, 10:30 AM
#89
Senior Member
Not really, unless you never ride in the dark. If you need a light, then you will have to make a decision on which one, right? How did you buy your bicycle when there are over 100 different models and 1000 reasons why none of them are any good? But you did get one and it works for you, right? How is buying lights any different?
10-20-13, 10:35 AM
#90
Senior Member
I'll say this about expensive lights, though. They usually have excellent mounting systems. I've been known to disassemble some of my old lights, just so I could re-use the nice mounting mechanism on a newer, brighter, and less expensive model.
10-20-13, 11:14 AM
#91
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(From the OP): I don't want to sound snotty or anything, but the 80-or-so most recent posts in this thread illustrate the point, exactly, as to why I will never buy a light. In my initial post, I asked that replies not include even MORE recommendations for lights, as the reason I gave up my search in the first place was that there was too much information and too many opinions thrown at me while I was shopping the first time around. Now, it seems, there are 100 NEW lights to consider and 1000 reasons why none of them are any good.
I know everyone likes to talk about products they like and don't like, so, at this point, this might as well just be another "Which is the best light?" discussion. But does anybody get what I was trying to say when I started this thread?
I know everyone likes to talk about products they like and don't like, so, at this point, this might as well just be another "Which is the best light?" discussion. But does anybody get what I was trying to say when I started this thread?
10-20-13, 01:53 PM
#93
Banned
*my favourite term of the Obama administration even though I feel it's true (i've experienced it) ... I've never heard it that precisely coined.
10-20-13, 02:05 PM
#94
Senior Member
10-20-13, 02:15 PM
#95
Banned
10-20-13, 02:17 PM
#96
Senior Member
Mine haven't. My 5 year old lights are still working great and I do use them on occasion with other bikes. The most fragile thing is the rechargeable batteries. They shouldn't go more than a few months without a recharge. My main batteries get recharged every day, and have been for the last couple of years. No damage to them yet.
10-20-13, 02:25 PM
#97
Banned
Mine haven't. My 5 year old lights are still working great and I do use them on occasion with other bikes. The most fragile thing is the rechargeable batteries. They shouldn't go more than a few months without a recharge. My main batteries get recharged every day, and have been for the last couple of years. No damage to them yet.
10-20-13, 03:08 PM
#98
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Thread Starter
>>>>How did you buy your bicycle when there are over 100 different models and 1000 reasons why none of them are any good?<<<<<
Great point. My answer is that, when I bought my current bike in 1996 (yes, that's 1996), I had an excellent, extremely knowledgeable salesperson, who asked all sorts of questions before even letting me LOOK at a bike. By the time we finished talking, we had narrowed my choices down to three.
These days, when I shop for anything at the LBS, the salespeople first all point me toward one another, then finally, the last one standing points me toward a display of a hundred items similar to what I requested. And that's the end. I'm on my own after that. If I have a question, they give me a website address to research it on my own. As one salesman told me recently "There are way too many models and brands out there. I can't possibly know about them all."
In addition to there being more informed salespeople years ago, back then, the Internet was not quite as developed, and there weren't forums like these where somebody could talk you out of anything you wanted to buy. This is my point. Is all this easily accessible information a GOOD thing, or has it turned no-brainers (like buying a freakin' bike light) into yet another thing we stress way too much about?
Great point. My answer is that, when I bought my current bike in 1996 (yes, that's 1996), I had an excellent, extremely knowledgeable salesperson, who asked all sorts of questions before even letting me LOOK at a bike. By the time we finished talking, we had narrowed my choices down to three.
These days, when I shop for anything at the LBS, the salespeople first all point me toward one another, then finally, the last one standing points me toward a display of a hundred items similar to what I requested. And that's the end. I'm on my own after that. If I have a question, they give me a website address to research it on my own. As one salesman told me recently "There are way too many models and brands out there. I can't possibly know about them all."
In addition to there being more informed salespeople years ago, back then, the Internet was not quite as developed, and there weren't forums like these where somebody could talk you out of anything you wanted to buy. This is my point. Is all this easily accessible information a GOOD thing, or has it turned no-brainers (like buying a freakin' bike light) into yet another thing we stress way too much about?
10-20-13, 03:34 PM
#99
Banned
>>>>How did you buy your bicycle when there are over 100 different models and 1000 reasons why none of them are any good?<<<<<
Great point. My answer is that, when I bought my current bike in 1996 (yes, that's 1996), I had an excellent, extremely knowledgeable salesperson, who asked all sorts of questions before even letting me LOOK at a bike. By the time we finished talking, we had narrowed my choices down to three.
These days, when I shop for anything at the LBS, the salespeople first all point me toward one another, then finally, the last one standing points me toward a display of a hundred items similar to what I requested. And that's the end. I'm on my own after that. If I have a question, they give me a website address to research it on my own. As one salesman told me recently "There are way too many models and brands out there. I can't possibly know about them all."
In addition to there being more informed salespeople years ago, back then, the Internet was not quite as developed, and there weren't forums like these where somebody could talk you out of anything you wanted to buy. This is my point. Is all this easily accessible information a GOOD thing, or has it turned no-brainers (like buying a freakin' bike light) into yet another thing we stress way too much about?
Great point. My answer is that, when I bought my current bike in 1996 (yes, that's 1996), I had an excellent, extremely knowledgeable salesperson, who asked all sorts of questions before even letting me LOOK at a bike. By the time we finished talking, we had narrowed my choices down to three.
These days, when I shop for anything at the LBS, the salespeople first all point me toward one another, then finally, the last one standing points me toward a display of a hundred items similar to what I requested. And that's the end. I'm on my own after that. If I have a question, they give me a website address to research it on my own. As one salesman told me recently "There are way too many models and brands out there. I can't possibly know about them all."
In addition to there being more informed salespeople years ago, back then, the Internet was not quite as developed, and there weren't forums like these where somebody could talk you out of anything you wanted to buy. This is my point. Is all this easily accessible information a GOOD thing, or has it turned no-brainers (like buying a freakin' bike light) into yet another thing we stress way too much about?
with lights:
something is better than nothing ... most things don't need to perfect.
10-20-13, 03:44 PM
#100
Senior Member
I think you've kind of missed our point, which is that you can pick up pretty much any light off the bike store shelf and it will work just fine. Put on a blind fold when you get to a bike shop, whirl your hand around, grab the first light it falls on. Buy it, take it home. They're all pretty good, they'll all do what you need them to do.
The worst is not bad.
