I have an old (2002) NiteRider headlight that no longer works very well and am in the market for a good, bright headlight. The technology is moving to LED, of course, but HID is still an option. So, if price were not an issue which units would be a good choice if brightness and at least 2 hours reliable operation were needed? OK, if price is and issue what units in the $350 range? $200 range?

I would think LED would be the most efficient and require the smallest battery but I wonder if they can compete with HID for brightness. If you were to go LED what are the best units?


Thanks,

Brian

I have an HID light and IMO it's not really an option anymore. Mine is a 13W HID, and it's not any brighter than a $40 P7 flashlight, and it requires a battery that's probably 4 times heavier than a Magicshine P7 (or pick your name brand 500+ lumen LED), and 10x heavier than a P7 flashlight.

OK, a P7 flashlight doesn't have that much runtime, but the Magicshine does.

If you want name brand, look for the Dinotte 400 lumen LiIon headlight. It goes 2.5 hours at full brightness on the 2 cell battery ($229), or 5 hours on the 4 cell battery ($259). It goes on sale sometimes too.

The Magicshine at $85 or so puts out about as much light, but you need to be willing to fiddle with things because the battery isn't really waterproof (the new one may be better but I still wouldn't trust it) and the wires and connectors are problematic. I have one and would buy it again but I'm a very DIY sort of person.

If you're not, I'd definitely give the Dinotte 400L a try, they make durable, reliable lights, though I don't have direct experience with that one, the price isn't really bad at all.

Well at least you say something about your price range. But you should get lights that fit your needs, worry about everything else later.

For instance, here's a suggestion. Think about what a helmet light will do for you and whether you want the hassle, or whether you need to "look around" when you ride. (read street signs or look out for wild life coming from the side are two good uses)

How much do you value a great tail light? Will you be happy and feel safe if you default to a $25 flashing blinky?

How fast, and how often do you ride off road? Do you know how important the light's beam pattern is? Do you want plenty of light for dark, high speed riding? Could you use a light that flashes - so that you can save your battery until it is really, really dark?

If you get a high power light, you'll be faced with using a battery charger. How often are you willing to charge, or do you really want to use throw away batteries.?

Have not tried any of the newer high-output LED lights. My Niterider MOAB HID is working too good. At low setting (10W) the battery is good for 10-12 hrs, so I think I'll keep it. At high (13W) it ONLY gets about 6-7hrs runtime, though! When on high, cars will flash their brights at me (even when I keep it aimed low). I don't think they are used to bicycles with good lights.

https://planetbike.com/page/learn/lightfinder/

OK, a little more info...

I will be doing road riding in the early morning (like 4AM). I have a tail light and I plan on using a handle bar mounted headlight instead of a helmet mounted light. I do not have any plans to go off road or trail riding.

I've done a little poking around and the Cygolite Trion 600 looks interesting -- a bit expensive, but I like the fact that it has no wires and does not take up a bottle cage. I wonder if anyone with this light can comment.


Brian

Without actually putting a meter(s) - yes actually you need two test instruments to know what is going on - you can't know what any light is really doing.... "performing"

These guys obviously make good stuff, but at least one "gotcha" was -- "use our batteries only"-- in the tech support answer section. In theory - 600 lumen, no matter how bad the beam pattern will work.....

Yeah, check out the price of replacing batteries. Some of the name brands are simply outrageous. The pack for them is usually just 2 or 4 18650 LiIon cells, a plastic box and a control circuit. Even if you bought the best cells and circuitry you could find and marked it up 100% (50% margin) over wholesale, a 4 cell pack should still only cost maybe $60, but some of the places will charge you over $200 for a new pack.
At that point personally I'd be cracking the pack open and soldering in generic cells for $5 each, but that's just me.