Good bike lights on amazon?
 

Requirements:
Mounts on handlebar, helmet and seat post.
Bright enough to be seen but not blinding
Constant and flashing modes

I have the eBay knockoff of one of these (which I think is just a knock off of another more expensive light) and it's fantastic! It is super bright and has a couple of different modes to suit you.

Amazon.com: MetroFlash Safety Zone Tail Light: Sports & Outdoors

here's the exact one I got...

New 2 LED Super Bright Cycling Bicycle Bike Safety Rear Tail Flashing Light Lamp | eBay

For a headlight I use this...

Amazon.com: 5000 Lumen 2x CREE XML U2 LED Cycling Bicycle Bike Light Lamp HeadLight Headlamp: Sports & Outdoors

It is very bright and has 3 brightness levels. I have only had it for a few weeks, but so far, so good. The connector between the battery and light is a little off (quality control issue), but it has not been an issue. For the price I don't think it can be beat. The battery pack is the thing hanging below the stem in the following picture. It comes in a canvass bag with a velcro strap to attach to a stem or toptube.

http://s19.postimg.org/9pq1c3tn7/photo_2a.jpg

What's your budget?

What's your battery format preference- Li-Ion, AA/AAA, remote battery pack or self-contained?

More detail on requirements and budget would help with a better recommendation.

Do you ever need to see with your light, or just be seen?

Do you care about battery options (AA, USB li-ion, external battery, etc)/ Do you need to take it on and off easily?

By "Good" do you mean "good enough" or Good and should last, backed by warranty, etc.

About half of this forum will recommend the CREE magicshine clone, about $16-17 on Amazon. This is overkill brightness for a be seen light, has an external battery pack, and quality may be questionable, but they are cheap enough you can easily buy another. For the record, I do own one of these, and it is very bright for the price (though nowhere near as bright as claimed), but I do not use it on my regular commuter. I use it on my junker bike sometimes as I am not worried about it walking, and have honestly used it as a headlamp a few times working in a crawlspace. If you want to spend the least and don't mind the tradeoffs this is a good deal.

Personally I prefer smaller USB chargeable lights for commuting. I have had great experience with Light and Motion (urban 200 would work great) and NiteRider Lumina lights. You can probably get a good deal on one of the lower NR Lumina lights on Amazon. Also consider the Cygolite Metro series, which may be the best value for a USB headlight on Amazon (my friend has one and I am thinking of getting one for my wife).

If you need a tail light, you can get the Cygolite hotshot 2w bundled with a headlight. This is a great taillight, very bright. Only negative is its very directional so poor side visibility. NR Solas USB is a great tail light option as well, with better side visibility then the hotshot. If budget isn't an issue, L&M Vis 180 tail lights are very good.

I have a magicshine clone and diffuser lens, plus I got the bigger battery. I also run the cygolite hotshot on the rear. Both are rechargeable and they have survived commuting. Other lights with cheap brackets fall off or get broken, these two are still kicking. I did manage to snap the clone of its mounting base, so I zip tied it and used electric tape. I have epoxy hut I haven't needed it.

What is the suggested lumens for to be seen and the lumens to see?

You won't get a consensus on those questions. Some people will claim that 150 is all you need (it works for them), while others will say 300 is the minimum and 600+ preferred (what they need/like).

Everyone's night vision is different. Add to that your speed, your surface conditions, weather conditions, how much ambient light is around you...

Depends on many factors - your vision, ambient light, how fast you ride, etc.

I generally feel, based on riding I have done in the area of 100-200 lumen to be seen, though you could get by with less in cases. 200 is the minimum to see (if it is a well designed light) though generally I would say 400 or 500 is generally the minimum I would want to see (though my L&M Vis 360+ works well enough I can use it to see in many conditions, and its only 250 lumen). I personally have a light that is 700 lumen, though I use it most the time in medium or low.

Keep in mind, lumens are often over-reported and beam pattern matters. Some lights put all the light in a spot, others spread it out more. Quality of optics can make one light perform much better in real world use then another light with the same lumen rating.

wildlife on the paths you ride, drivers, pedestrians, is the road straight or curvy? , is there a bad shoulder? likely to be glass or other obstacles on the road?

Really depends on your situation. I bought a 200 lumen USB charged meteor for $49....works great for me. But might suck for you depending on your situation.

Can't find a helmet lighten amazon Link me to one?

Drivers are not bike friendly. :mad:

Just got my Philips Saferide LBL in the mail from Amazon today for $100. Slapped it on the bike and took it for a test ride and I was nothing but impressed. That thing puts out a ton of light evenly, doesn't wreck your nightvision, and is visible to others but doesn't blind them. Can't really ask for more than that.

When I finished my test ride I went to turn the light off and figured out that I'd been on low power the entire time. The high setting is a lot brighter and I'll check that out when I go into work in an hour or so.

Probably a little pricier than you're aiming for but I'd definitely consider it.

"Shaped Beam" lights like the Saferide are absolutely fantastic! For the reasons you mentioned - puts out light evenly, doesn't wreck you night visible, and is visible to other but doesn't blind them.

Want to point out that I think the Ixon IQ Premium is even better, though. :D
http://www.bikeforums.net/commuting/...e-ranking.html

The Saferides biggest drawback is coming with crappy batteries, and poor battery life. There was a trend of the stock batteries it comes with being defective, and even if they weren't runtime only seemed to be around 1 hour. Put better batteries in it (like Enelopp XX's) and it was less than 2 hours. The IQ Premium is 4-5 hours. :D

From online pics, it looks like the Ixon IQ beam pattern is wider, more even (as in less artifacts), and puts more light closer to the bike (convenient though not required), but I since I don't own a Saferide to try side by side I can't be 100% certain.

If the battery life isn't a problem for you, the Saferide otherwise sounded like a decent light. :-)

Found the Ixon IQ Premium for $106 shipped to the US from a German site. You'd have to swap out the plug (or get an adapter) but that's a pretty good deal I'd think. http://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/i...ry_country=191

My Bell lights seem to be enough in the suburbs, where there is some street lighting; my neighbors have noticed me from a distance and commented about my lights, saying that they thought I was a moped or motorcycle, and a couple of walkers have shielded their eyes; on smaller streets, drivers have slowed down, noticing me.

I have these lights: http://www.amazon.com/Bell-Lumina-Li...+Bicycle+Light

I'd prefer to have a slightly brighter, rechargeable headlight, though.

I just want to second this recommendation. I bought these based on recommendations from another forum in spite of my reservations about buying something suspiciously cheap from China, but have been absolutely wowed. I get 2+ hours runtime on the low setting, the light doesn't fade as the battery runs low, and the lowest setting is extremely bright - enough so that the only time I've needed the mid or highest settings when descending at 30mph or faster without ambient light or streetlights. Only downsides are that the beam pattern could be better (but really, the light is so powerful it doesn't make much difference) and you have to be somewhat creative with the velcro strap on the battery holder if you're attaching it to an older bike with small diameter tubing.

There's a guy I frequently cross ways with late at night who has some kind of super bright light weapon attached to his bike. It feels like I'm staring at a nuclear explosion just trying to find my way down the bike path. I've started grabbing my flashlight and trying to aim it at his eyes in retaliation. Nothing changes.

Well I'm hoping tonight's performance is just because the batteries haven't been broken in yet. From "fully charged" to "completely dead" in under 35 minutes is embarrassing. That's not even gonna cut it for my short commute.

Time to give this thing a little more time to figure it's act out before I figure out what to do with it.

35 minutes, not even good for a night trip to the grocery store!

I am curious if there are accessories that plug in somehow to any of these products either from a hub dyno or one you mount on the fork and rotated by the tire. Even if the dyno only charged the batteries and not power the lights, seems it would be an improvement?

- Andy

No. You could get a Luxos U I suppose and plug the LBL into the USB out of the Luxos. But that would be rather silly. And the LBL won't turn on while charging anyways.

I'm guessing this is just new batteries needing to break in, but not very impressive.

one place.

BudgetLightForum.com | ...where Frugal meets with Flashlight!

Hmm, what type of battery?

I have had trouble with NiMh batteries due to temperature and not holding a charge due to it being too cold where i had the charger, and not discharging enough to supply the proper current in the cold. When temperatures became more reasonable, the lifespan i get per charge seemed to increase by 20-30 percent. Lithium batteries on the other hand simply gave me a less powerful light in the cold, and more powerful in the warm, approximately same lifespan regardless. Lifespans ending in the cold always taper off more quickly.

I'm just glad i have a hub dyno on my new ride. I would often forget to charge the headlight, and boy is that scary when you cannot see a pothole, better than 5 pots of coffee though... :D

- Andy

You should be looking at LUX at 10m.

I looked into that site, but it looked a little sketchy - wanted me to enter my credit card info before it even showed me the price.

Yeah, the conversion plug is about $3 on amazon. If you order from Peter White in the US you have to order one anyways.

That's to bad...hard to say what to do there. If it was me, I would start using my Seca 900 or Seca 1400 :D, but it hardly seems worth spending that kind of money just to make a point.