Flatballer

Alright, so you guys know a lot more about this than I do (despite me being an electrical engineer...).

So I want something for training on the road, at various times of day, mostly in the early morning. I want to be able to descend at high speeds without having to worry, something like 50 mph at the most. I ride mostly in suburbs/city, but on longer rides I get onto rural stuff, so I want something for all of that.

Some of my training may run towards rush hour as well, so keep that in mind.

I also want to be able to ride my MTB on the trails, tight singletrack, fast stuff, etc. They'd be trails that I've already ridden, but I may not know them like the back of my hand.

So what do I need for all this?

I was thinking of two Superflash rears, one in blinking and one in solid.

Combine that with a Dinotte 1200L/400L combo with a helmet mount for the 400L.

2x$30 Superflash = $60
Dinotte package = $580


Total for that would be $640, and that includes a 4 cell battery for the 1200L and a 2 cell for the 400L and a charging station for the Dinotte stuff.

Is there something else I should be looking at instead?

Thanks.

ItsJustMe

Honestly, I'd try the MagicShine 1400 with a MagicShine taillight, with a Radbot 1000 backup. Total of about $150. If it works, you saved a crapload. If it doesn't, you can probably sell it and only lose a few bucks on the transaction.

Even if you do go with your plan, I'd go with Radbots instead of Superflashes. I think they're better lights for about the same money.

colleen c

Along with whatever you choose for the light front and rear, I strongly recommend a nice flashlight on a helmet mount with the handlebar light. I say at least a P7 or anything with the SST50 emitter on the helmet will work well. Having the ability to aim at curves or to the side of the trail while still having some lights shining ahead of you from a handlebar mount light is a big plus.

Flatballer

That's what the Dinotte 400L with the helmet mount is for.

dwilbur3

Dinotte = $580
P7 (with charger, batteries, mount) = $80

It's your call, but I could buy a whole new bike for $500.

ItsJustMe

A P7 isn't sufficient for what he's talking about. It's a great light for its purpose, I use one, but it doesn't cut it at 50 MPH nor does it cut it on MTB trails at night.

Flatballer

So should I just go with the Dinotte setup, or can what I want be done for cheaper?

Richard Cranium

Dude, if you've got $500 or more for bike lights - you should be advising us.

This purchase has more to do with style than value. Any major maker can supply you decent lights at $500.

I think Dinotte is probably the best, but their are three or more other really slick brands as well.

I you want the most "light" for the money the MS brand is easily a leader.

Flatballer

Alright. So I did some research and I think I'm gonna try the MagicShine 2300 package from GeoMan. It's not in stock right now, but I asked them when it would be.

It's a MS1400 bike mounted and MS900 helmet mounted, with charger and batteries and stuff, for $215.

I'm sure it's not actually 2300, but more like 1600 or something, which is still great for the price. It sounds like they're not as well made and have a shorter warranty, but I should be able to fix any problems I have pretty easily.

So onto the tailights. I'm thining maybe 1 Superflash and one Radbot 1000, and use one of them on solid and one on flashing. Sound like a decent idea?

Richard Cranium

Get the MS tailight - its as good as Dinotte 200 and will run on 4xAA or Li Ion. Forget 2xAAA tail lights, or 2xAA for that matter....

Flatballer

Nice, didn't even see that. I think I'll pick up two, one with a battery and one without, and run them off the same battery. Leave one blinking and one steady.

The MS2300 will be shipping on Friday supposedly. He said they're taking preorders today, so I'm gonna try and order it all today. Have it next week sometime, give it a shakedown cruise a couple days and then start training with it the week after.

Flatballer

Got my order in. Hopefully it ships Friday. UPS Ground would have it to me by next Thursday evening. $300 to my door.

I don't work Fridays normally, so I can do a shakedown on Friday morning to scope out what it's like training from 6-7:30. Then maybe a night MTB ride on Saturday night to get some more time to adjust.

I might just leave the lights on my bike and use them all the time on the road. I won't use the helmet mount during the day, but the rest can't hurt.

Richard Cranium

Yeah the only way to check the power of a tail light is to have some one eyeball-it from two hundred yards. Compared to little blinky lights - no way you'll go back to those after this.

You can easily run two tail lights for five hours steady or all night on one 4x18650 battery.