Bike Light Recommendations
 

Hi guys, I'm looking for some light recommendations for my Electra Amsterdam Sport 9D. I'll include a picture of my bike below.

I'd be using it in a flat, urban area, fairly well-lit, and at night. It doesn't rain too often in my area so waterproof isn't a big concern for me, but it never hurts. I'd love for it to match the bike, but not super important to me.

I just want to make sure that I can see well enough and that I'm visible to larger vehicles at night while riding around the city.

I'd prefer to keep the price around or below $50.

I appreciate the help~

Check the sticky thread on bike headlights under $50. It's on old thread so jump to the end for opinions on the most recent lights.

There are lots of good headlights for under $50, most of which will be weather resistant. The self-contained light/battery lights from Serfas, Light & Motion, Niterider, Cygolite, Planet Bike, Portland Design Works and many others are all pretty comparable.

Most are USB rechargeable. Serfas, Planet Bike and PDW still offer a few lights that use AA or AAA batteries. I have a Serfas SL-255 that uses a pair of AA's as a backup light and it's fine for the purpose. Mostly I use it with rechargeable NiMH AA batteries for economy. The advantage is you can buy batteries for this almost anywhere.

There are some very inexpensive generic LEDs from various Chinese manufacturers being sold under too many brand names to keep track of on Amazon, ebay and elsewhere. Many of these consist of separate lights and battery packs. I don't know whether these are weatherproof. Some reviewers complain of defective batteries, but these can be replaced. Check the Amazon reviews. But they offer a lot of light for the money.

Thank you! I've been doing my research as well and I'm leaning toward either a Cateye or the Light and Motion lights. I'm feeling that 400 lumens should be more than enough for my areas.

The Light & Motion Urban lights are very good. A little more expensive than some but worthwhile for the quality and US designed and assembled product, with good customer support. I've used a L&M Urban 500 for about six months and have no serious complaints. I can see room for improvement in a couple of features, but that's true of almost any product.

If there's an REI in your area they should have a display board with bike lights you can try and compare. I bought my L&M Urban 500 from REI after spending about 30 minutes or so comparing various bike headlights. Then I went back a couple of weeks later and bought a Cygolite Hotshot 50 after comparing their display taillights.

Keep in mind that in actual practice most bike headlights at any given price point will perform very comparably. While the online light comparison tests will show what appear to be significant differences, those are unintentionally biased by the limitations of still and video photography, which have limited dynamic range. A healthy human eye with average visual acuity will tend to ignore those minor differences.

In real world usage I see very few differences between the diverse range of bike headlights used by dozens of cyclists I meet at local nighttime group rides several times a month. Pretty much any self-contained bike headlight costing $50-$100 will cast a very similar beam in terms of brightness and coverage. Light & Motion, Serfas, Niterider, Cateye, Cygolite, etc. -- they'll all very comparable at night on the ground to the human eye.

My Serfas SL-255 casts a much narrower, more spotlight-type beam that's quite bright in the center for only 255 lumens. I use it on the MUP at night to avoid blinding other cyclists and joggers. It has remarkably little spill. In contrast my L&M Urban 500 appears brighter but has a much broader beam that can blind oncoming cyclists and joggers (I've seen some joggers and pedestrians shielding their eyes and looking annoyed, so I try to aim it downward or use the Serfas instead). But the L&M is great for my rural rides in very dark areas, and in the city where it must compete with bright car headlights.

There are a few lights with significant differences: the Light & Motion Taz lights, which have a broader, more diffuse beam that appears slightly less bright to my eye than my Urban 500, despite the Taz being rated as more powerful; the Busch & Muller Ixon IQ, also emphasizing a more broad and diffuse beam without the spotlight effect common to many US market headlights (B&M can be ordered easily from German -- they do their best to make it easy with exchange rates and shipping that are very competitive); the most recent Serfas E-Lume lights with dual LEDs. But those all cost more than your $50 budget. And you can get a very satisfactory light for $50.

So get the one that appeals to you. Pretty much everyone I meet who has a different light seems to like his/hers just fine.

http://www.atguys.com/store/images/usb_ac.jpg

and, If you don't have a sitting at a computer job ,
the replacement wall outlets with a USB plug , as well as the 2 mains plugs
are pretty cheap.. to recharge a USB battery light during the day..

lots of companies make lights with a USB rechargeable battery, now..







....

Anything over 300 actual lumens should be good for your purposes. I have a lil Serfas usl-305 I bought for $40 that is more than enough, usb rechargeable. Hour and a 1/2 full brightness. There are any number of brand name lights that differ mostly in beam pattern, not so much in brightness. People seem to love the light and motion lights, but they come at a premium. I also had a $35 Niterider swift 350 that was awesome, but it was more of a "flood" light.

https://www.bikelightdatabase.com is a good resource to read.

I don't have an REI nearby unfortunately. The closest one is 4 hours away in San Antonio, but I tend to go pretty often during the summer so I feel like I might just go ahead and wait to see if I do sometime soon. For right now, I'm still doing my research, but I greatly appreciate your suggestions! It's nice to have access to such knowledgeable people on these things

Luckily, I do have an office job~:thumb: thank you!

thank you! I actually drove by a biker on my way home and I was so tempted to stop him and ask what light he a using because it was so nice and visible at this time of night for us. and yes, my city is pretty well-lit at this time. we're not a huge city, but theres hardly any badly lit areas here and most of the city has sidewalks for me to us instead of a bike lane (which we also have, but I get skittish and we don't have many bikers/pedestrians in the area so it's allowed for us to use the sidewalk). my main concern is making my presence known while in the dark 300-400 lumens definitely seems appropriate~

Yup, 300-400 lumens is appropriate for most suburban/urban riding, especially if your rides are only an hour or a little longer. Most lithium ion rechargeable lights on maximum output are good for up to 90 minutes.

One advantage to lights with higher maximum output is being able to run them at lower power for longer battery life and still have enough light to see the road.

My Serfas SL-255 (255 lumens maximum) is just adequate for suburban/urban riding. As I mentioned before it's almost ideal for the local multi-use path at night because of the relatively low power and narrower beam with little spill. The MUP is quite dark with very few utility lights, mostly at least 100 yards away, so with dark adapted eyes it appears brighter than it really is.

But 255 lumens is pushing the limit of usability for suburban/urban riding. There's just enough ambient light to interfere with dark adaptation. With lots of utility lights around it's better to have more light to fill the shadows between pools of light.

And at maximum output on AA batteries it lasts only about an hour before it gradually dims with alkalines, or suddenly goes out with NiMH rechargeables. That's the disadvantage to alkaline powered lights -- the long, gradual dimming. I usually carry spare batteries, but replacements are available everywhere.

And for my rural rides I'm more comfortable with the 500 lumen maximum on the L&M Urban 500. I want to see deer and other critters long before I reach 'em, usually by watching for eyes reflecting light. The L&M beam is an appropriate shape to light the road directly in front of my wheel while also projecting far enough ahead to see animals.

But for longer rural rides I'd rather have either a backup light or one with a more powerful maximum output that can be run longer and still safely on medium or low output. I'm considering a Serfas E-Lume for that, but the models I'm looking at are $100 or higher.

I agree, and my actual ride time probably won't go over an hour at most honestly. but thank you! and update: I'm heading to the Houston area soon and there's an REI there so I'm gonna wait a little so I can actually see the lights before making a decision :) this was definitely a big help though, thank you!

I bought one of these just earlier this year after it got very good reviews over on MTBR. Raveman CR-500. Designed with a cut-off beam pattern in mind so as not to blind people using typical paved trails. Charges with typical USB phone charger. Comes with a quick-release mount so easy to take with you. Includes a removable wired remote so if you wish you can change modes from the remote button. When off the mount it easily slips into a pocket.

Personally I've been a dedicated night rider for about 20 some years. I'm used to lamps that output more light but this little light gets the job done. I'm not sure it's an actual 500 lumen on high ( maybe 400 ) but so far I've not had any major problems while using it. $49.99...includes shipping I believe. Vendor service has been well reviewed.

Oh, almost forgot...Looking at the photo of your bike I'm guessing you will need a rear light as well. Doesn't look like much room on your seat post so maybe something to attach to a seat stay or clip onto your clothing or bag. If you need recommendations just ask.

my personal recommendation is a Cygolite Metro 360 or anything with more lumens than the 350 (i Currently run a Metro 1100)

the 360 was awesome. nice tight pattern and the steady pulse was very comforting at night in a moderately well lit city with very little bike traffic. the steady pulse provides a steady beam of light and then the same LED's will flash over the steady beam so you get the light you need to see and then of course other drivers still see or are alerted to your presence. i commute in all weather so it's waterproof as far as torrential downpours go around here in massachusetts, customer service has always been spot on for me with Cygolite.

I like the Cygolite products, too. I have a Streak 350 which is smaller than a Metro. I don't use it often, as the bike I ride regularly has a dynamo-powered light. Cygolite's steady flash feature is really good, because it's on all the time, which lets me see. And the flash makes me visible.

I like the Cygolite's mount. It goes on quickly and really tight, because the bolt is long and locks into a spherical indentation and the nut is long enough to get a good grip on it.

Cygolite is also a nice company. They make their products in the USA, and customer service is excellent. I used it once.

But with that said, my German-made dynamo powered light is a lot dimmer, and honestly, it's sufficient for me. And it doesn't have a flash feature, and I haven't died yet. I don't know how many lumens it puts out, but it might be well under 200. One reason it works is that the German-designed lights have specially shaped beams which spread the light out in a deliberate pattern without wasting light where you don't need it.

I've had good luck with Cygolite products. Hotshot tail light, an older Expilion 250 headlight, and most recently a Dash 450. I rode at night quite a bit, and the Expilion 250 I used as a helmet light. Now that I'm retired and no longer ride at night, I'm using the Expilion on one of my road bikes as a bright blinky, and the Dash 450 serves in that roll on another road bike. I move the Hotshot from bike to bike as needed.

All of my Cygolites have been reliable.

Thanks for the tip, I may try that myself. I've been looking for an MUP-friendly light. While the Light & Motion is very bright and well suited to my rural rides, it's not quite right for the MUP. I've been swapping my Serfas SL-255 between two bikes for it's more concentrated beam with less spill that might blind oncoming cyclists and pedestrians on the MUP at night. The Ravemen looks well designed for that purpose, and nighttime group rides with friends.

oooh this certainly looks interesting and I really like the remote feature. and yes, my seat post is a bit low (the bike only came in one size, so I've had to adjust the seat post to fit my small stature), but I'm getting a rear rack and basket soon so I'm sure I can find something to mount on either of those. thank you for your suggestions!

That Ravemen does look good, especially since it has a beam cutoff, which is the one thing I wish for in my Cygolite headlight. To prevent blinding others, I have to point it down. I notice other conscious people do the same.

I really like my Cygolite Metro 500. I use the flashing mode for my morning commute. It's OK for night rides but on steady bright, it doesn't last more than 1.5 hours. I still like my trusty XinTD flashlight which has a few more lumens. The Cygolite taillights are excellent products. I have the original and recently purchased the Hotshot Pro which is 150 lumens.

I don't ride in the rain, so I can't comment on how waterproof these products are.

I wouldn't hesitate to purchase another Cygolite product. Good quality and value.

The Cygolite Metro 500 would of been my second choice for a self-contained handlebar lamp ( within the OP's price range ). It's too bad though that you don't get the , "easily exchangeable battery feature" unless you upgrade to the Expilion versions.

but those batteries are very expensive.

Angie, I know your post was about finding a good bike light but after looking at the photo of your bike I think it needs to be said that you really need to do something about the seat on your bike. With the nose of the seat ( or saddle if you may ) in the position that it is in...that can't be very comfortable. The nose of the saddle should almost always be parallel with the ground. If it's not you need to get the seat adjusted. Either that or in my opinion, buy a better seat. If it were me I'd recommend a better more comfortable seat. You might try something like these. These seats are usually for people who are "recreational riders" and are what you see a lot on the type of bike you have. Notice in the link that there are other similar seats and some with LED red lights built right into the saddle.

Anyway, if you buy a better seat you might want to take it to the nearest local bike shop ( LBS ) and have them help you set the seat up properly on your bike. More than likely they will do this for free.

I'll agree with the other thread. I have a Cygolite Metro 550. It's got modes I like, the battery lasts a fair amount of time, and it's held up for a couple of years so far.

I've been riding for a few years with L&M Urban (mine is 800 lumen... I normally have it mounted to my helmet.) Great light. However, I love having a dynohub on a commuter. I bought a pre-built wheel with a cheap shimano dynohub for $99. (the light's were more.) Probably my best purchase ever for my commuter bike. I never worry about batteries, recharging, and they are on and visible anytime I'm riding the bike. Might be something you want to think about now... or later.

i see there is other thread discussing about bike light under $50, you may have a look.