Before I retired I would ride as long as I could before winter hit New England. Since I worked 10 hours a day that meant that I had to ride in the dark. I think it was in 2008 that I bouught these Cygolite 420 lights that were excellent for night riding. But I gave up night riding after that and quit when it got too dark to ride, going into the gym and staying in shape until spring. I put the Cygolites in a drawer and forgot about them. I retired in 2015 and could now ride in daylight. People began telling me recently that I need lights to be visible both front and back. I went to the local bike shop and got some nice rechargeabel flashing tail lights. But I had no lights for the front and noticed that the shop had a clearance rack with cygolite 420's for $75. I don't remember what I paid for my cygolites in 2008 but I remembered I had them somewhere. I went home and found them thinking they would be no good after all this time. Boy was I wrong! I took them out of the drawer I had not opened in 17 years and found the charging wire with an end that is no longer made. The other end is a standard USB cable connector. I had three of them because I used two on the bike and one on my helmet. People said I looked like car coming at night. I put one of the old lights on a charger and it immediately started blinking green indicating it was taking a charge. It took 12 hours but it charged! I found the helmet mount and took it on a 2 1/2 hour ride. It lasted the whole ride! I charged the other two and got the same results. Never throw anything away!

Best wishes,
Ray

Yes, I think that stuff is made to last. Good company, good customer support, too, if you ever have questions or troubles. That connector you're looking at is probably called USB Mini, and you can still get the cables if you need them. I have a bunch lying around.

Timely post...

I bought a Dash 600 in January 2022 and like the light a lot. I have to McGyver it a bit to mount it on newer flat aero-type handlebars but that is not a reflection of the light. After using it on every ride for nearly three years (about 900 hours) it finally died: wouldn't hold a charge and would just shut down. I contacted Cygolite for alternatives and was given the option for "repair" - which ended up being $20 for a battery replacement. IMO this is better than just getting a new light: cheaper, reuse, etc. Got the repaired light back in December 2024 and used it sparingly until last month. Now, with <40 of use, the "repair" has failed. I am currently in contact with Cygolite again and have been offered another "repair."

The light is very good with lots of modes to choose from and the customer service has been good also - but having a "repair" fail so soon is disappointing.

I realize stuff happens and these lights are not meant to be heirlooms...but gee whiz, <40 hours? I'm starting to think I should have gone with my first instinct last year and just purchased a new light.

Congrats to OP for his Cygolite experience.

I've got a handful of CygoLite units, but only from the last few years. None so old that I would begin to worry about the Li-Ion pack inside.

Good to hear that, at least with those older ones, it looks like their choice of Li-Ion internals seems to last a good long time.

Now, if they can transition to making their lights to all run off actual replaceable Li-Ion cells that we the customers can update when the cells begin to loose their oomph. That'd be nice.

NoGlider thought it might be a USB-Mini. They still make and sell them, I use a mini for several devices I have. But sounds like you already have the cable you need.

The problem with that is that the batteries are so good, it'll be hard to find a replacement when the originals give up the ghost. Trying to find a replacement "standard" battery from 10 years ago is like shooting skeet, the "standards" are moving too fast.

What I meant was that internal, proprietary battery "packs" eventually cannot be replaced. When those give up the ghost, it's tough on an owner, especially with older unsupported models of lighting.

But owner-swappable individual battery cells can be easily replaced. And those older cells can be replaced with newer-style batteries of the same type that handle greater draw, last longer, can be cycled more times before fading. Going from a "standard" off-the-shelf alkaline to a newer top-end NiMh cell is easy. Going from one to a good rechargeable Li-Ion is easy. Getitng a better Li-Ion rechargeable when that older rechargeable begins to tank is easy. So long as the basic lighting unit isn't hamstrung by only allowing a certain older kind of cell.

And, you have to be able to get it open without damaging it so bad you can't close it up again.

A lot of devices that are not intended to be repaired are built in such a way that the only way to open it is a hack saw.

Yeah, it's a good thing when a light maker decides to design-in user swapping of battery cells, for increased longevity. Sadly, far too many makers have determined over the years that proprietary designs are in anyone's best interests outside their own.

Cygolite makes, or at least use to make, not sure about their newer stuff, good lights and great batteries. I have a 12 year old Mitycross 400, and that battery still holds a charge for just as long as it did when it was new, highly unusual if you ask me, but their batteries were like that.

Problem with Cygolite lights with self-contained batteries is that they no longer make a light with a user replaceable battery like they used to. So, I bought a NiteRider 1100 Lumina Pro light because when the battery fails, I can send it back and for $30 they will replace the battery, check all the circuits, reseal it and send it back.

You can do the same with Cygolite, too.

Do you know how much they charge to have them replace the battery?

I don't remember, but they said they would charge me something like $15 to replace the battery in a $35 light. When I received the package in the mail, they had replaced the entire light with new packaging and a new mount, and they didn't charge me anything. So it seems that sometimes they go above and beyond what they promise. That really sold me on the brand. I've had a few of their lights, and they're tough, and for what it's worth, they're made in the USA.

That was the other thing that had be looking at NiteRider, they too are made in the USA, in San Diego. I haven't had to send my light in for a battery replacement, so I don't know if they'll replace the battery or send a new unit. My Lumina is built like a tank, the best built headlight I've ever bought, probably tied with the Philips Saferide 80 in build quality.

The only thing that bugged me a little about the Philips was that the light housing was a bit too heavy for the mounting bracket, so I have to really crank down on it to make it hold so it doesn't move when hitting bumps, but it still runs 18 years later.

My problem too. The center of gravity of the Safelite is so far forward that it puts a tremendous moment on the mount.

I’ve tried double-sided adhesive tape and it helps some.

A future project will be to graft the Safelite mount onto a stronger handlebar mount.

Speaking of that model, I had a Safelite many years ago. Very good light in its day. Mine was the dynamo powered one so it was probably lighter with no batteries inside. I locked my bike in a neighborhood where I should have known better. A vandal tried to steal it but didn't have a wrench. He twisted the light with his hand and bent the bracket. I was able to bend in back into shape. I think that caused the lens to pop out, but the light worked fine without the lens. It kept working for years.

I tried mounting it hanging from the bottom of the bar, it actually worked, but finding the button to turn the light to a different setting or turning it off was a bit of problem; so I ended up putting black Gorilla tape around the bar where the bracket was going to go along with a rubber strip, that stopped the light from moving, but I still have to tighten it really well by using a tool once I get the light pattern adjusted correctly, but then I have to be careful not to over tighten it!

I ended up going with another repair which was covered under warranty. This time (I'm told) both the battery and circuit board were replaced. I just got it back today - so about a four week round trip. Here's to hoping I can squeeze some meaningful life out of this light. First ride with it will be tomorrow.

The customer service has been very good and the process itself was painless FWIW - in my book it's definitely worth something.

Good story. Thanks for letting us know.