crimsonsnake0

hi anyone had any new bike lights recently? i am looking for bright lights for my electric bike any ideas ? whats the best and brightest on the market at the moment ? regards crimsonsnake0

Llamero

I bought a pair of Planet Bike Blinky Super Flash LEDs for the rear and a Cateye HL-EL320 LED Bicycle Headlight (I also have a second older headlight). The super flash is VERY bright and completely weatherproof. The Cateye is bright enough to not just be seen, but to see where you're going (it also doubles as a great flashlight for hiking).

Retroreflectivity also never hurts, so I also got a reflective safety triangle from Adventure Cycling for the rear of the bike, and I also wear a reflective orange motorcycle vest from Conspicuity.

The biggest reason for the "extreme" visibility is that my wife and I ride in all weather, including near white-out conditions and pea-soup fog, so we need to be as absolutely visible as possible. Also, from the driver's perspective, I really appreciate when a cyclist is highly visible, and therefore you have plenty of time to slow down and drive around them. I've also found that the distance vehicles give you either on a bicycle or motorcycle is directly proportional to your visibility.

Here are some pictures of the total setup:

dgk02

I bought the Magicshine for $85 or so. Look in the Electronics and Lighting forum. It is absurdly bright for such a cheap light. I couldn't be happier with it.

crimsonsnake0

thanks to you both will look in to these regards crimsonsnake0

xtrajack

Personally, I don't believe that you can go wrong with Magicshine. I have one, and it is incredible.

nwmtnbkr

I have two Magicshines on my handlebars (I live in a rural area with no street lighting). Price-wise, you can't beat it unless you go with a high-powered LED flashlight mounted to your handlebars. I also have a good red blinky on the back. (Some might say I went overboard, but I also added amber turn signals--front and back--using large, superbright LED strobes and a center-off toggle from Radio Shack. I also added a red LED strip as a brake light; it's wired via a micro lever switch to my rear brake.)

Llamero

I've always though of doing this, but thought I was crazy for even considering it. I'd definitely feel 1000 times better if I were able to communicate my intentions to drivers at night. I just might copy your idea.

Thanks!

nwmtnbkr

Too many younger drivers though I was waiving when I signaled right turns. It got me worried that they may learn hand signals in driver's ed but it doesn't sink in because they've never had to use them. The LED strobes are large and cheap (less than $7.00 a pair, shipped from the suntekstore.com--this was my first purchase from them and I got my order, which shipped from Hong Kong, in 2 weeks; I will order from them again). Drivers definitely understand my intentions now. At night, it's amazing how most will stay behind me when I get to a stop sign, they don't tend to pull up by me but stay behind. You may have seen them in other threads, but here are some pictures of my turn signals, a blurry photo of the brake light and a short video that gives you a feel for the brightness of the LED strobes. All the LEDs require very little power. The 4 LED strobes are wired to 1 9V battery and the LED strip for the brake light is wired to a separate 9V battery.