Questions about flashlight on bike?
 

http://www.szwholesale.com/romisen-r...t6-p-1899.html

Im looking at this flashlight. Is it good to use on a bike? Would the light be spread enough to see on the road? What kind of batteries do I have to buy for it? Can I get rechargables for it? It says its suitable for cycling but that might be a gimmick tempting me to buy it. Would it being 9 inches long be a problem when using it on a bike? Im thinking about ordering this.

That's not a good light for cycling. For one it's too large, and for two it's not nearly as bright as the specs say. Look for a single cell MC-E or P7 if you want a flash light. Both should take a 18650 rechargeable battery, and provide between 45-60 minutes of runtime. If you need more runtime look at the MagicShine light.

Whatever you do, I'd avoid most China based sellers are their quality control is spotty at best. I got my MC-E light at shiningbeam.com. It's currently out of stock, but should be back soon.

For $12 more, you could buy the MagicShine, highly rated in a recent MTB Review "LED light shootout" http://reviews.mtbr.com/blog/category/lights-shootout/.

Lumen ratings don't tell everything. For one, is the value quoted for the bare bulb or the light with reflector and lens (lower than for the naked bulb)? You're usually not told which it is. For another, is the beam pattern useful for cycling? It's pretty hard to tell unless you can see a reasonable comparison test such as done in the MTBR shootout.

Agree, for that kind of money, you're just getting a light with no mounting, battery or charger, you'd be better off getting a Magicshine which comes with all that for $85.


Or for around $55 you can go with this combo from DealExtreme (warning: it'll take 3 weeks to get this)

Light, $37 - http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.16092
Batteries, $8 for 2 (light uses 1 at a time) - http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.5790
Mount, $2 - http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.8274
Charger, $8 - http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.6105

This is the SAME light as the magicshine, as far as output goes. Mounting is about the same, but there's a little less fuss, especially if you need to take the light off when you leave the bike to keep it from getting stolen - it takes 3 seconds to grab the light out of the mount or put it bac, whereas the MagicShine takes about 20 seconds to remove, and about the same to put it back on. And there's wires running around with the Magicshine.

Also, the runtime on high is only about 40 to 50 minutes with the flashlight, but the Magicshine runs 3 hours on high, about 7 or 8 on low. I'd guess the flashlight would probably make 90 minutes on low.

If you're OK with this runtime, and especially if you need to take the light with you, this flashlight is a great way to go. If you need more runtime, the Magicshine is good too (I have a magicshine but have the above combo coming as a backup).

The recommendation for Shiningbeam is good - you'll get your stuff faster and will have the ability to work with them if you have failures. I use dealextreme because I don't really need the light right now, I can wait, and I'm willing to deal with some bother if I have problems.

Also, DX has some lights like you showed with two 18650 cells (for twice the runtime, but they're a bit long for bike use). That's also a possiblity, if you really like the idea of a flashlight but need a bit more runtime. Those cost about $10 more. And get 4 batteries instead of 2 (you'll want spares)

Yeah i will probably get a magicshine.

I got the setup that IJM posted. It works really well (except it often switches modes when I hit a pothole or RR tracks). Definitely worth a look.