Opinion on a bike light
 

OK lets try for the opinions on something before I buy it.
Blackburn voyager3.3 and mars1 combo
http://www.blackburndesign.com/image...mars1combo.gif



- Potent front/rear light set with plenty of be-seen visibility on both ends
- All batteries included
- Lifetime Warranty

LED's: 3 White (Front), 5 Red (Rear)
Run Time (Steady Flash): 100-300 hours (Front),
50-150 hours (Rear)
Batteries: 4 AAA (Front), 2 AAA (Rear)

Part #: 2011314

$43 CAD at the LBS.

oy @ LBS markup. $23usd on amazon. Personally I would spring for the Mars 4.0 though, $20usd. You want a nice light in the rear for sure.

Are you looking for a front light to see with or just to get legal? I doubt that Voyager is gonna light up any dark paths. I got a Princeton Tec EOS and it's lit up the night for me, and I like the versatility in that it came with a headstrap and helmet strap in addition to the bike mount.

Well seeing the path/road would be nice. How much for the Princeton Tec EOS? Uhh dumb question but "oy @ LBS markup", whassat?

I think I paid $45 at REI, little high, but I like it and some of that came back to me in refund/dividend. Like I said the headstrap and helmet strap are awesome, I can use it in the future camping, hiking, or as a helmet light if I get a different front light. And it uses AAA which I already had rechargeables for. In terms of raw bang for the buck powerful front light though you wanna look into a flashlight w/ mount. I live in a city so that's kind of overkill for me, what I have works great for occasional dark paths. Being seen from the rear is most important to me, I figure I have brakes to stop a front collision, plus we ride with traffic anyway

If ALL you need it for is to alert cars of your presence, it's probably minimally OK. That taillight looks uber-weak to me though. Personally I'd go for a Planet Bike SuperFlash/Blaze combo if you can swing it. I still wouldn't trust them in really bad weather, but that combo would be OK by me in clear weather.

One thing I've learned over the years is that cheap bike lights is expensive - either they break and you have to buy another light, or they turn out to just suck and you wind up buying a better light anyway. I have spent far more money on cheap lights that sucked than on my current setup that's really good.

OPinion on a bike light
 

Personally I'd go for a Planet Bike SuperFlash/Blaze combo if you can swing it. I still wouldn't trust them in really bad weather, but that combo would be OK by me in clear weather.

That set runs even cheaper, $36 CAD at MEC, don't know if the lights would be any brighter tho.

One thing I've learned over the years is that cheap bike lights is expensive - either they break and you have to buy another light, or they turn out to just suck and you wind up buying a better light anyway. I have spent far more money on cheap lights that sucked than on my current setup that's really good.[/QUOTE]

What is this setup and if you mind me asking how much does it go for?

look here they have a 2 combos with the superflash: one with 1W headlight, one with 0.5W headlight. I'd spring +$10 for the 1W if I were doing that
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_no...nation&x=0&y=0

PBSF is a very tried and true rear light, I have that one myself. I've read great things about the Mars 4.0 though and I think it may be even better and it's $5 cheaper.

Princeton tec eos frontlight + Mars 4.0 is the same cost as the top end PB combo. I compared the Princeton to the PB headlights at REI and preferred the Princeton, plus it has the accessories like I said

My only complaint about the Princeton Tec EOS is the blink mode is slooow and kinda pointless. So i just usually use it on medium for decent brightness and battery life, and switch to high if I need to see better

What is this setup and if you mind me asking how much does it go for?[/QUOTE]

Dunno in Canada. Amazon link:

Preston, uh dumb question but boes the EOS headlamp come with the same connectors or adapters as the EOS bike.

I'm not sure which headlamp exactly you're looking at, but no, I don't think it'll come with bike mount and helmet strap, good point. Gotta get the "Princeton Tec EOS Bike" and you get bike mount + strap mount for helmet + headband w/ mount

The EOS headlamp on the princeton tec website and on the west marine website.

+1

I have two $20 headlights and a $7 taillight that I won't know what to do with when I get finished upgrading. I think $50-75 is about the right amount of money to spend on a start-up light-set. If you spend less than that (or spend it unwisely) I think you'll regret it (I do).

My (new) setup:
PBSF taillight $23 (pretty attention grabbing without being blinding under day and night conditions)
PB Blaze 1/2W on my helmet: $21 (primary purpose is to point it directly at suspicious cross traffic to grab attention, it should work under most lighting conditions, flashing for daylight and continuous for night, I'm still reviewing it...)
Shiningbeam.com Romisen RC-N3 II Q5 for my headlight: $27 (I'm waiting on a replacement, mine was DOA, but most other reviewers have been very positive about this light), plus Twofish Lockblock $5

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...nder-50-thread

I used to think that daytime lighting was irrelevant, but I changed my mind after this happened:
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...urn-into-a-hit
(Lighting isn't really the "solution," but if it helps I'm all for it.)

Quick note: I know a lot of people are quite happy with shiningbeam.com, my experience with my RC-N3 II Q5 was poor. I think my light is probably only half power.