How about this "deal of the day?"
 

So, this is Bike Tires Direct's deal of the day:

http://www.biketiresdirect.com/produ...l450-headlight

I was wondering if anyone used this, either in the past or recently, with any success. At that price, I was thinking about getting two of them and running double, but I also heard about these:

http://www.geomangear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=4_41&products_id=180&zenid=2c4ldqqv7j5im46cn2dp89avk0

Avoiding all puns, could anyone shed any "light" on either of these? I would be using them strictly for commuting (dusk and dawn, respectively), and might ride a bit into the dusk hours as summer leaves and fall enters.

Not much of a deal if you need a light to actually see by. 400 candlepower is about 30 lumens. Think rather weak flashlight. That's roughly 1/10 the output of the Magicshine for about 1/3 the money. If you only need it as a locater light...i.e. something that the rescue squad can use to locate your body under the car:eek::eek::rolleyes:... it will probably work well.

Go for the Magicshine. Yes, it's more expensive. But it actually puts out enough light to see the road by. And, if you can see the road, by definition the cars can see you.

Thought so. Thanks for the help. I've had those types of lights in the past, and they're nothing more than blinker light on the front. They serve no purpose if you're hoping to see more than 3 feet in front of you.

Just take a look at the runtime and the batteries. Anything that runs 30 hours on three AAA cells is a very weak light. The MagicShine couldn't run 15 minutes on 3 AAA cells.

If you're attracted to the simplicity of a one-piece rig rather than the wires of the Magicshine, take a look at P7 flashlights. About as bright as the MagicShine, a little cheaper. Nowhere near the runtime since they mostly use a single 18650 cell when the MS has 4, but that may not be an issue for you. And they're guaranteed waterproof, and come off the bike in 3 seconds if you need to take it off to avoid theft.

The P7 flashlights from Deal Extreme are okay. They work well and are pretty bright but they do have some problems. The mulitmode one I have is touchy about battery bounce and will change modes annoyingly often. I only use it as a helmet light to avoid that problem. The 2 mode is very rugged and doesn't have the same problems as the multimode. Not nearly as bright as the MagicShine, however.

Duct tape or o-rings around the battery might help with that.

The best possible "deal" for a reasonable lighting system would be this:

By a MS 900 light head from geo man by itself for $45
By a MS 808 Tai Light "kit with battery also for $55
By a radio shack 4xAA batter holder - and necessasry connectors to connect to tail light jack - $<10

What you would have is a 900 lumen headlight using a 4x18650 Li Ion pack with charger, a 200 lumen tail light using 4xAA alkaline or recharge. and you could have all for less than $130 shipped -and

A 900 lumen head light - a 200 lumen tail light, an "all night battery if run on low, and a 40 hour battery for the tail light on blink and all for less than $130..........

Drawbacks, 900 lumen is really 600 lumen, and you have to know how to wire up a battery connector.

Yes, I had trouble with mine due to the endcap switch getting loose. I tightened it up and the problems went away.

It's not AS bright but it's in the same league.

I'm confused. Why don't you just buy the $5 Y adaptor and run both the MS head and tail light off the same battery? Why the screwing around with AAs?