Looking for a pretty bright commuter light
 

Hi all,

I commute to work in the dark and have a helmet light and a handlebar mount light, the latter of which just died. Here's what I'm looking for to replace:

• Bright enough to ride on very dark suburban roads.
• Decent battery life - at least 2 hours on high or medium.
• I'm ok with a separate battery with a strap or not
• USB charge would be nice if max battery life is less than 2 hours on high so I can charge at work
• Helmet mount
• At least 700 lumens
• Also has a blink mode
• Reasonably waterproof

So far, I've been very happy with my Light and Motion Stella 260, but lights have come a long way since I got that several years back.

I'm considering the following in my very early research:

• Niterider 750 lumens ($119) - NiteRider Lumina 750 Front Bike Light - REI.com
• Magic Shine 2000 lumena (do I need 2000 lumens?) - ($178) - http://www.amazon.com/MagicShine-200...attery-Charger
• Light and Motion Urban 800 Fast Charge ($180): Urban 800 Fast Charge - Light & Motion

Any thoughts or advice is appreciated!

Robyn

FYI the MagicShine "2000 lumen" light is probably closer to 600 or so.

I personally have no problems with very cheap lights - the $28 "5000 lumen" (really about 600 lumens) lights from eBay. The battery is usually horrible and will give sub-par life. A good 4 cell pack should last 3+ hours, the junk you get with those usually more like 1.5 to 2. But battery packs can be replaced. I don't really see anything wrong with buying a $30 light, spending $60 on a good battery and keeping the original battery as an emergency pack.

The other drawback with cheap lights is that the wiring is not particularly robust in general. The newer cheap light I have seems to have much better wiring than the older one, but still, if you tend to be hard on your equipment, a cheap light may not be for you. I'm the sort that is very careful with my equipment and rarely have anything break, but others are not. YMMV, take that into account.

FWIW, MagicShine seems to be an "upmarket" Chinese light these days. Originally they were the budget choice. My MagicShine light is from way back, like 5 years ago or more when they first came out. The newer ones actually seem to be very nice with very good wiring and batteries, so the above comments probably do not apply to MagicShine but rather to the real cheap stuff you get on eBay.

I use the NiteRider 650 on my helmet as a secondary light. They are well built with good materials. It is a very solid mount. It has a flashing mode for daytime. Personally for me that's just not enough at night. I have a CygoLite Centauri on a handlebar mount. There is no doubt when I am coming down the road.

You didn't mention the traffic on your dark suburban roads. Are they busy? Deserted? Remember the light is to illuminate but also to be seen.

I am extremely happy with my Fenix BC30 bike light. It takes li-ion rechargeable batteries, which I prefer over internal batteries.

I have a NiteRider MiNewt 600 Cordless light which the Lumina series replaced. Both models are USB rechargeable. I have rather poor eyesight, but even the 400 lumen setting is usually bright enough and lasts a good 3 hours. The Lumina may well have even greater battery life.

I also have a NiteRider Minewt 150 cordless light that I mount to my helmet. It's great for seeing around turns; shining at car drivers before the pull out in front of me; and looking at wildlife in the woods.

I also like the redundancy of having two lights in case one dies. That's why I also have two blinkies in the back and tires with reflective sidewalls on my night bike.

I have the NiteRider 700, and on medium or high, 2 hours is unlikely, especially high. It has a very long charging time as well which is disappointing.

I really like the Magic Shine Clones --- really bright, at a very nice price, usually under 20 bucks on Amazon or Ebay.

p.s. Buy the $5 focusing lens, it makes a huge difference.

I have the light and motion 700 and it's awesome, I imagine the 800 is even better. Cast my vote for the L&M 800