In need of a new front headlight for regular night riding
 

I have a planet bike insight 15 watt rechargeable front headlight and it no longer works. I am in the market for a new front headlight and I would like one that is both bright, and rechargeable. Any suggestions are appreciated, Thanks.

what is your price range, this will help narrow the field down..

Also what type of riding do you do? Urban, semi-lighted, rural, road, commuting, trail, etc. The more info you provide the better the response.

Price range between 1 and 300 dollars. I want quality, price is not a factor. I bike home from work late at night regularly. I go from the city to the country, about 10 miles. Urban to rural.

Here's a link to a recent thread with the same basic question you asked:

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...=#post11799976

There are numerous threads on the topic with a little research on back pages. Look them over and if you see something you're interested in, you can find more topics or ask questions on specific lights. Also, I hate to take you off these forums, but some of the best night riding and lighting discussions occur here:

http://forums.mtbr.com/forumdisplay.php?f=165

Baja Designs Strykr. Send them your non-working Insight and they'll give you $100 off. Total cost will be ~$215.

You can see my previous post about it here.

Am in my 2nd week using MagicShine headlight. Wow. Just wow. That is all you need to know, my friend. If you want to pay more money then buy the light the MagicShine copied: The Lupine Tesla (~300). However for half that money you can buy two (2) MS light-heads, a y-connector and batterypack (sourced separately and have nearly 1000 lumens (real). One MS blows away anything I have used before. I keep my Ascent Commuter light on flash and use the MS as needed on my commute. In the morning that means the 10 minutes out of town before I hit the next city and going home the last half (~15min) into town. Oncoming headlights still annoy but are no longer as crippling. I imagine w/two light-heads oncoming headlights wouldn't even affect me anymore. There are so many MagicShine threads on this forum it's hard to imagine anyone still asking "what headlight should I get" but here you are... do it. Buy the MagicShine. Thank me later.

H

I agree. There is definitely a wow factor with the MagicShine. It is a good light and is definitely brighter than many of the more expensive lights. Buy it, and hope they're not recalled within a year. And, hope your battery is still working properly. Or, wait and get a MS from Geoman when he makes good on the recall. IMHO, Geoman is the best MS source. I bought a MS from Geoman because it was less of a gamble. Only slightly more cost with the re-assurance of responsive, top-notch customer service.

All that being said, I believe the Baja Designs Strykr is every bit as nice as any light you can buy. And, it's bomb proof, can be used for diving, snorkeling, ATVing, motorcycling, and biking. It's quite incredible and the quality surpasses even the Geoman-I-stand-behind-my-product MagicShine. Baja Designs is new to the bicycle lighting market but has been in the lighting business for 18 years. At ~$215 (after the $100 trade in credit) it's probably the cheapest high quality light out there.

I did buy my MagicShine from Geoman. Since he isn't selling their batteries I bought a batterypack separately from Batterysource. The MagicShine itself is not under scrutiny it is the batteries that are causing issues. My MagicShine feels solid, durable and so far has given me no reason to have any buyer remorse.

H

For a similar length commute, I've been using an Aurora P7 flashlight (2 modes - I always leave it on high) for 2 years now. The whole set up including 8 batteries and 2 chargers cost me less than $100. I can ride on high for 45-70 minutes with no problems at all.

Originally I was using the blue Trustfire batteries, but I switched to the black ones and they seem to work a little better.

But do away with the trade in credit and it's more expensive and less lumens than the Dinotte 800 so keep that in mind.

I really like my Magicshine. I have had no problems with the original battery and am still using it despite Geoman's recall. It's just a backup that I use once a month to make sure it's still good though; mainly I use an 8 cell pack that I bought from Tenergy when they were on sale.

I don't think I'd look elsewhere for a light, the Magicshine just can't be beat for bang for the buck. But I think it helps if you are a bit of a DIYer in case you need to replace a frayed wire or something. If you really can't do any repairs yourself, or don't think it's worth your time, I'd probably go with a P7 flashlight or two, or spend the money and go up to a bigger name brand.

I think the flashlight is probably a better call though.

I know price isn't a factor, but for anyone else I recommend the Blackburn Flea. Rechargeable, bright, easy, lifetime warranty and under $30. My rear Flea is crap though.

$30.00 for 40 lumens, not much bang for the buck.. I can get a 1 watt luxeon that puts out 60 lumens for $9.00 shipped..

40 lumens is hardly enough to fix a flat tire with. If I tried to ride with it, I'd be the one that was flat.

I bought a Nite Rider MiNewt 400 Dual in November 2009. Love these lights. 400 lumens on high and 200 on low. Run time is 3.5 hours on high and 7 hours on low. Low works just fine for commuting 95% of the time. High beam really lights up the road. This time of year I commute to and from work in the dark. In flash mode (at dusk or dawn) I have had car drivers yell at me to turn off my lights. I really feel a lot more safer with these lights. I paid $234 w/out tax at a bike store. My guess is you can do better than that online. The battery is lithium ion. Can take an hour or so to charge. Mounting is really easy and adaptable to different locations.

http://www.niterider.com/prod_minewt400dual.shtml