http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...500_AA300_.jpg
TerraLUX TLF-3C2AAEX LightStar220 3-Watt LED Aluminum Flashlight




I've been using this light for about three months now, so I figure it's time for a review. Purchased at Amazon. It uses AA batteries and I get about 2 hours of runtime on rechargeable batteries. Good light for under $50. Mounted to the handlebars using a two fish lock block that works well. Doesn't really wiggle the light unless I hit a large bump or something like that. The light puts out a good size spot with a wide flood. Cars see me and it lights up the road ahead to notice debris, etc. Seems to live up to its rating of 220 lumens. But how should I really know since I have no way of measuring lumens. But it was brighter than the Romisen that I replaced. Has a high/low beam, but I just use the high beam. Overall for a AA flashlight it does the things that I look for in a flashlight. Strong, durable and dependent. Decent run time for a AA. Water-tight, hasn't failed me yet when riding in the rain. Just as comparable to a AA Fenix or anything that you'd get at Shiningbeam.com. For the AA category, I'd put this light at the top. My only other experience was with the Romisen RC-N3 Q5 cree. That was a good light. I had that one for four years until I wore it out. It just quit working due to the contact being jarred loose. The Terralux seems more durable. You won't get much brighter for a AA. Unless you switch over to a Li-ion set-up for a more powerful light with a longer runtime, supposedly. I don't know because I've never had one. But for someone who uses AA batteries, I think you'll be pleased with this light. I would put it up against any other AA out there.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...ls_o02_s00_i00

Genius that I am, I managed to ram into a pedestrian at about 75% speed while riding around the loop at an unnamed park in an unnamed large North American city. I have a flasher on my handlebars, but it apparently doesn't get the full point across. I don't think dude saw me at all, even though I would have been visible to him for about 15 seconds before he decided to dart out into my path.

Anyone have any thoughts on which flashies are good for forward-facing pedestrian/motorist avoidance?

The brighter the better, but in my experience there will always be people who look directly into your light and still fail to comprehend that there is a bike rapidly moving towards them. It usually happens to me when a pedestrian is crossing the street against a red or randomly in the middle of the street. Nothing you can do about it, in my experience.

As a Commuter with 46 miles round trip and more if I do laps in Central Park in NYC here are my thoughts.
1) Expect the unexpected
2) See Rule #1 Above

The issue is not your light but the fact that WE need to be able to avoid things that come in our way.
Other Cyclists, tree branches, squirrels, raccoons (in my park), deer, potholes and obviously Pedestrians.

I have a few Dinotte lights and they do not cost under $50 and did have some Romisen and Fenix that all worked great but either failed or broke off in a crash.
I love the Dinnottes because of the strong steady lights and multi flashing options. When I think I need to get someones attention, I hit the button for a 3x faster flash and it works.
Obviously flashing lights do help, steady lights help, BUT YOU MUST BE PREPARED TO REACT. Bottomline is that you have to SLOW down.
Adding a bell works and I like to shout if need be.

Trust me in that I am no angel on the bike, but I work very very hard to not hit someone and at the same time get myself home in one piece.

Bottomline is more pedestrians are not looking and have no idea how fast we are going or can go.

OK, first off, thanks to you both for the helpful answers to the post. Ziemas, I love your home town.

Robert, now, part of this was my fault for not fully describing the situation, but seriously, was it hard to stick the landing after your massive jump to the conclusion that I was speeding or riding recklessly? This was a simple question about which lights provide the most daytime visibility, and you took it to a lecture (with all-caps screaming, I might add) on responsible riding.

For the record, I was going *well* under the speed limit, meaning that I was prepared to react as defined by the traffic laws. The problem is, when someone rapidly and unpredictably changes direction about three feet in front of you when you're doing about 18 mph, there's not enough time to react. 18mph is 26.4 feet per second, meaning that you cover three feet in just over 1/10 sec. That's half the average human reaction time, for those of you who are counting. Even if my reaction time were half the average, I still would only have had time to just process the information before impact. And I certainly did not try to hit the guy, as your post would imply. What mentalist tries to seriously injure a pedestrian (and themselves) while also sacrificing their ride?

So, again, thanks to *both* of you for the helpful info. Robert, I agree that cyclists need to be responsible--I'm just looking for that extra line of defense provided by hi-vis flashing lights.

The traffic laws specify a maximum permitted speed, yes, but you can't assume that just because you are going under this speed that you are "prepared to react as defined by the traffic laws". It's rare, but people do occasionally get speeding tickets when they're going under the posted speed limit but are going "too fast for conditions".

If you're zooming past a pedestrian at 18 mph at only three feet (I'm going to go out on a limb here and assume he didn't suddenly go into a full sprint into your path, but instead meandered somewhat) from his expected path -- that's either too fast or too close. As you've realized, pedestrians are unpredictable.

Give them more room or slow down. More light might be nice, but it's not a substitute for giving them more room or slowing down.

They walk in front of cars and the cars are easier to see. You can't cure stupid.

I ended up getting both of these, recommend the headlight. Nice and bright & the mount is secure, though I had to add a nut to get it that way. Been working well for awhile now.

Based on that experience I got their taillight too, haven't used it for very long but so far it works well. At first I thought I might not be able to find a good mounting point, ended up hooking it around a seatbag loop. Seems bright and it has 3 or 4 blink modes. Provisionally recommended.

Both of them go on sale regularly and both qualify for their usual 20% off coupon.

Just my two cents here - About half of the time pedestrians on a bike path are going away from you where no light will make any difference. The pedestrian typically has right of way, regardless if they are stupid or not. That means you are liable for their stupidity and are supposed to slow to a safe speed where you could safely maneuver around them even if they walk in front of you. Also, sounding a bell as you approach is a good idea and is becoming a requirement on many busy bike paths.

Here is my new favorite (and I have owned a lot) http://dx.com/p/fandyfire-uv-s5-xm-l...x-18650-120679 . It is about $50 and puts out up to 3,000 lumens according to DX. Realistically it probably only puts out 1800 lumens, but still, on a lumens per dollar basis that is one of the best available... I use this to mount it http://dx.com/p/convenient-tie-on-si...ed-color-24369. And on some bikes I use this to mount the light lower, near the axle for better light angle on road http://www.ebay.com/itm/251066883528...84.m1438.l2649 .

I bought some of these for me, my brother and my brother-in-law, I bought a total of 6 off of ebay without the red trim over a year ago. They all still work great and still hold a long charge

I just went to Harbor Freight and picked up one of these headlights for my urban commuting. It's an ok light for the price. I got a taillight also. They were $3.99 on sale. I also picked up a $4.99 32 LED flashlight (has a good solid aluminum shell) to put on my Two Fish handlebar mount. The combination of the Bikepro headlight and the 32LED flashlight worked out very well for my commute home last night, less than $20 worth of lights.

the tail light link is dead, so im guessing there out....will b getting the headlight for sure tho!

For anyone who has this style of light... they're on amazon for about $30-40. On one of the reviews, it sounds like the battery pack is not sealed well. Is this true? What does your actual battery pack look like?

That's nothing a sandwich bag and some packing tape won't fix.

The battery looks like four cells in some shrinkwrap, and they give you a little cloth case with velcro on it that holds it to a stem or something similar. Not water proof, but that's easily fixed as I just said. If you fix it right, it can even handle full immersion, though I wouldn't suggest that, but fixing against even torrential rain is easy.

Hey I did a search in here and it didn't come up with anything. But I was wondering if anyone has tried the Owleye Highlux5 light out?

http://www.owleye.com.tw/product_det...p?product_id=9

I'm not sure why the prices of these stinkin' things are so high. I've about decided the best way to get a lighting kit is to engineer one yourself. I'm sure you have a handful of gel cells lying about, and I have had great success out of sealed beam PAR38 lamps, especially with a 30 degree beam. The flat, wide beam that is so common lends itself well to the purpose at hand. It was designed for this (cars actually). The next step up would be a fistful of CREE LED's. Give Google a workout looking for homebrews. If nothing else, a MAG Lite on the handlebars also works well.

your report please.

I ordered one of these 3 weeks ago and just got an email that they are out of stock.

They gave me the option to cancel the order so I did......

its winter so I don't ride at night at all. its sitting here in the box somewhere got to find it. IT WAS CRAZY bright when I was testing it in the house when it came in. I mean "ludicrous" bright but the real test is outside on the bike at night.

sadly the beam pattern is wrong for a vehicle headlight (I was hoping to use 4 of these as headlights for my car would give me an extra 2-3 mpg at night time.

I use the TerraLux 300 (lifetime warranty) wider beam flashlight in a funky looking Chinese mount that actually works well with a little shade tree modification along with Eneloop rechargeable AA batts (2 required).
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31PF7Iq%2BOPL.jpg
http://i1165.photobucket.com/albums/...L059_4_ALL.jpg
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...L._SL1091_.jpg

So March 2nd 2013 pricing is about $33 for the light, under $3 for the mount and $18 for the charger & 4 batteries. I've used this system for years (except I used the TerraLux 220 until the 300 came out) and it works well under 20mph on the street or smooth dirt trail. The light is bright, hold it in your hand & shine it in your eyes & you'll regret it for a few minutes.

1) Remove the pocket clip. Find the balance point of the flashlight & put that point in the center of the removable light mount and tighten the fastening knob.
2) Put the funky Chinese mount base on the bar, I use old inner tubes to make a bar spacer rather than what's supplied.
3) Slide the flashlight onto the mount, it will rotate left-right, use the handlebar mount fastener to get the up-down you want. Go look at it in the dark, freakin amazing isn't it? It seems more impressive aimed so the bottom of the beams dimmer halo is 3 feet in front in front of the tire/ground junction.
4) Now fix the wobbly nature of the mount by carefully sliding the light off the quick release mount so as not to disturb your L-R adjustment. Get some black electrical tape (45cents) and wrap 2 turns around the swivel portion of the base. Fold over & smooth & you don't even know it's there.

You now have a very good light for under 20mph use that doesn't blind oncoming, a mount (that you can duplicate for $3/bike, and 2 batts + 2 spare AND a charger for $54.45. For $36.45 you get the light & one mount, so I'm way under budget.
The mount is QR, just put a base on each bike & the light will go from any bike to another with a push on the front QR lever.
Other cyclists have been amazed by the price when they see the thing in action.
Is it as good as lights in the $150 & up range, absolutely not. Is it pretty freakin' impressive for $36.45? Absolutely.
Also, TerraLux is in the USA and does honor the warranty, we had one of six go out (older 220 model) & they sent a switch free of charge!

I have owned several of the lights mentioned here and others as well. I have gotten tired of DX lights from China that are amazingly bright but unpredictably stop working at inconvenient times too... I also do not like the big clunky dedicated lights that seem to be steal targets too. My newest favorite is this http://edcplus.com/black-xeno-e03-wi...e-t4-p-16.html which puts out 480 certified lumens on high and it uses either a single AA or a 14500 cell. Have to use the rechargeable 14500 to get the max output though,but still pretty bright with a regular AA. On medium it gets about 90 minutes of output before needing to have cell replaced or recharged. The light is basically tiny, just a little bigger than the battery and visually looks so small no one steals it because they are looking for something that looks like a real light. This is the equivalent of the "noisy cricket" gun that Will Smith gets in the Men in Black movie. Looks tiny but amazingly powerful when activated. This light is so great you will buy a second one to keep in your pocket or to take backpacling as it is so small. It is shock resistant and waterproof to 30 feet. It has really good quality o rings and nice square threads which feel so solid when you screw on the back too. All for $32 bucks (even less if you shop around).

Which headlight are you talking about?

If you use lights with replacable batteries, carry extra. I use some that use 18650 rechargables, and just carry one or two extra. Also, in well-lit areas, I just use a bright blinky, saving the flamethrowers for the descents and pitch-black zones.

I'm thinking of getting another flamethrower here: http://www.fasttech.com/products/160...00-lumen-led-b

The mtbr reviews say the headlamp is really nice quality, more of a spot than a flood (better for the road or helmet than handlebar-mount dirt), and maybe 1000 true lumen. The battery pack is of unknown quality, but can be replaced with a known high quality one.

I agree. for the money it's hard to beat in the AA flashlight category. Mounted with a two fish lock block, It gets decent run time, and works great in the rain and sub-freezing temperatures. I'm sure the XM-L T6 is a fine light for the price. And I thought about buying one. But I don't care for the battery pack. The ease of use, quality performance and low price of the Terralux keeps me a satisfied flashlight user. IMO the Terralux outperforms your high priced tactical flashlight anyday.

Not the exact model mentioned(SSC P7), but very similar:
http://dx.com/p/singfire-sf-90-cree-...Ernest20130619

A bit brighter than my SSC P7 single 18650 generic flashlight and the 4 18650 pack lasts much longer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLeZhBw3cjI

Soon we'll be needing lights again for evening rides. Just from looking around though I'm not seeing anything new and different, just a lot of variations on the XML-T6. Is there anything new from Cree? Are they being put together in interesting packages?

Just received this in the mail and getting ready to try it out against other lights:
http://dx.com/p/cree-xm-l-t6-4800lm-...x-18650-199920

Another BF member lent me his P7 Magicshine and I have a P7 flashlight to do beamshot comparisons.
If you or anybody else have a light they want to compare, please contact me. I'm very interested especially
in comparing beams with a dyno powered light.

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...s)-for-testing

Yes, there are some really good bargain lights that use the newer XM-L U2, such as this one: http://www.fasttech.com/products/160...00-lumen-led-b

There's also an even newer generation of ultrabright LEDs hitting the stores, I think they are called the XM-L2 ? Yeah, here's a couple bargain ones:

http://www.fasttech.com/products/160...-2000-lumen-le
http://www.fasttech.com/products/160...00-lumen-led-b

No affiliation with Fasttech, just got my light there...

Had to Chuckle
 

Looking through the reviews here for a cycle light to use, and went to tplanetbikes site to review their review, and found this

"Blaze™ one-watt LED is twice as bright as half-watt LED".........you don't think.

Actually, I wouldn't think.

1) "brightness" is a very subjective thing. Doubling the number of lumens or lux doesn't make the light seem "twice as bright", and

2) just because the light uses twice as much power, that doesn't mean it emits twice as much light -- it also matter how efficient that particular emitter is at that particular power level, and there's a lot of variation there. It's entirely possible that the one watt light emits less light than the half watt light. Our four times as much.

Really, "watts" is a really poor indicator of how good a LED light is -- if you must pick just one number to describe a complicated thing, lumens emitted would be the number to pick, but of course the beam pattern factors into how good it is too. (The beam pattern needs to be what you need it to be for your particular application.)