front light help.
 

Alright I am looking to get a new headlight, the current one i have i got for free. it is a nashbar light. not sure what model. It is bright/can be seen from far...but i went down a street that had zero lights, and it just lit up in a white haze infront of me about 15ft ahead. i tried adjusting angle, etc. but def did not continue down that. I want something that wont turn into a blur/haze on a clear night...

I have heard knog boomers are decent. Any other opinions, or has anyone else used a knog boomer and have an opinion?

IIRC, some people have had issues with the Boomer changing modes/turning itself off.

So, what's your budget?

Check this: http://reviews.mtbr.com/2011-bike-lights-shootout

Don't want to spend a fortune on just a light.

I'd like to keep it to, an internal battery operated --> like double A; or a rechargable via usb (like the boomer) thats its biggest appeal to me.

I'd like to stay under 25, but if it's that good i might put a little more into it.

wow just went to that website looigi; so basically what i am getting is, for what i want a light to do, its not in my budget right now.

yepper, pretty much the way it is man. A lighting system is definitely a big budget item. There are alternatives in the mean time. have you looked at : http://www.candlepowerforums.com in their Transportation Lighting/bicycle forum?? A lot of ideas for flashlights that are less of an investment $$ wise that may hold you over until the time comes you can pony up for a big $$ system... (fwiw I have 4 200 lumen flashlights I use on the trike - works until I can get a serious set up)

Here's my favorite low-budget lighting system.

Flashlight ($16.70):
http://www.dealextreme.com/p/ultrafi...-1-18650-55241
18650 cells ($7.99 for two, gives you a spare)
http://www.dealextreme.com/p/trustfi...pack-blue-5790
Charger ($6.90)
http://www.dealextreme.com/p/digital...y-charger-6105
Handlebar mount ($2.20)
http://www.dealextreme.com/p/cycling...-holder-105213

$33.79 including shipping. It will take 3 weeks to arrive. I have a MagicShine 900, but honestly, this works just as well and if I were starting over, I'd get this plus a PDW Danger Zone and call it done. I've gotten other flashlights including more expensive ones that were not reliable, but this one has been solid for me. I don't have to run it on high regardless of whether I'm in town or out in the pitch black country going down potholed gravel roads, so I get more than the 50 minutes or so you'd expect to get on high with one cell. More like 90 minutes.

I might get a 2nd flashlight and keep the 2nd battery in it, just to have a full backup of everything when riding. for an extra $17 it seems worth it. I might even buy a 2nd mount and just keep the 2nd flashlight right on the bars so it would just be one button push if the first light went out.

This will blow away anything you can get from normal bike light suppliers for anything close to this price, and as a bonus it's a darn nice handheld flashlight, and it's totally waterproof.

Don't let the weird battery scare you off. They're cheap and the charger is cheap.

Awesome Light. $9.30

Adjustable Beam. 3 modes. Top switch.
Great for night rides.
Great for day light safety.

I have one and another on the way.
http://www.dealextreme.com/p/cree-q5...1x18650-102636

hub dynamo , and Headlight wired to it.. never needs a battery charge,
always there.
and I can see the road, and avoid riding thru junk, in the dark.

10 Wheels: the beam pattern for that Cree looks lousy, very spotty. Can you see the road for a ways ahead (say, 50 feet) and still see the ground a few feet in front of the wheel? Also, how's runtime on low? One comment says that there's not that much difference between high and low. I like to have a 50% and about a 20% mode, since I can ride at 50% most of the time (except when doing downhills on gravel with potholes) and 20% is more than enough for most handheld flashlight use.

With the adjustable beam you can shine it ahead as far as you want.
Big difference in High and Low.

Bright run time about is 90 minutes, guessing battery quality effects it the most.
My other Cree 5's are bright for 3 hours. Have not tested this one.
It should also have a 3 hour bright period.
I have cheap ones, but getting some good ones soon.
I use it for a Day Time Strobe Safety light.

I've used just about every Knog LED unit they make and IMO they're fine for MUPs and bike paths, but I wouldn't want to count on them to see with or to be seen on streets shared with motor vehicles. The Boomer is rated for 50 lumens which definately doesn't cut it as anything other than a running light.

There's also the problem with light intensity varying with the square of the distance so any light that needs to throw a beam any distance needs some serious power. More-so if you actually want to light up the lane you're driving in rather than being limited to the narrow pencil-beam spotlights that flashlights and most bike lights want to try to convince you is 'normal'.

I run with a PAIR of 900 lumen headlights in unlight areas. On the other hand, daylight visibility 'be seen lighting' requires a lot less than that.

What kind of mount are you using with this? I'd imagine the strap from a Twofish mount would cover that switch...

The switch is just in front of where the strap holds the light.

magicshine rules

If there was any truth to that statement they'd be winning all the awards in all the light comparisons - and they aren't. There are other lights available that have higher output, more reliability, better beam throws or are less expensive. Some systems offer all of those compared to some magicshine models.

Just when I think I've found it, something better comes along. Here is my latest bookmark-
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...-Bicycle-Light

what about catseye??

Basically, it boils down to this- when looking a cycling specific lights (Cateye, Knog, bunch of others)... they make decent "to be seen" lights, but aren't worth the plastic as a "to see by" light, unless your willing to drop at least a C-note. Even then, a flashlight powered by a 18650 lithium cell will put out more power for less money.

Okay, you've sold me. I was going to just get the cheapest MS clone I could find, but this set up is at least $10 cheaper. Plus, it will be easier to use off the bike (and thus easier to justify the expense). Got every item in the shopping cart, but their server is down or too busy... they told me to go have a cup of coffee and try again later...

FWIW after reading some responses and looking around, I think my next taillight will be a Cygolite Hotshot, not a Danger Zone. For the current < $30 price it's unbeatable.

I currently have a Cherrybomb and a 4D Toplight. Since I'm beefing up my lighting a bit, I'm torn between the Hotshot or getting a pair of the PBSF clones from Pricepoint...

And the DX order has been placed and confirmed. Once it gets inside CONUS, which carrier handles it? FedEx, UPS, or the USPS?

USPS.

I have the chinese PBSF clones. IMO they're as good as the superflash as far as brightness goes, but they're a bit less durable - the snaps have broken on two of mine, so they have zip ties holding them together. The Superflash isn't great shakes for build quality, they're just "OK" in my opinion. The SuperFlash and the clones are a great step up from department store "Bell" lights, and I use one on my helmet as a backup in case my main light dies without me knowing it, but I don't count the PBSF as a "serious" taillight.

When I say "serious" taillight, I mean one that, if I have it on my back, I feel pretty confident riding on 55+ MPH roads in bad conditions - either rain/fog or (worst case) heading into the sun. Though in heading into the sun situations, I don't know if any light is really good enough - this is one of the few situations where I'm scanning my mirror CONSTANTLY and ready to bail into the ditch, or I try to find an alternate route.

Okay, so then can't afford the "to see by" lights. What is the best value/price for the "to be seen" lights? (like best brands or specific models you may use)

Well, the Knog Boomer is rated at 50 lumens with pricing all over the board, depending on power supply and color of the body. For $25.60 shipped, you can get the Rominsen C8 from Shiningbeam that runs off of either 1x18650 or 3xAAA that will give you ~200 lumens. You could either order a mount or DIY using hose clamps, rubber bands, inner tubes, zip ties...

Knogs are overpriced pieces of plastic weird looking junk.

You didn't mention how much you were wanting to spend.

If you want to spend less the $100 is difficult to beat the Cygolite ExpiliOn 300. It puts out 300 lumens, has a self contained replaceable rechargeable battery. You can generally find these for around $79. However there is also a ExpiliOn 410 that is even brighter that can be found on sale for $89, so for $10 more you get 110 more lumens. These are great lights that will work great as main lights.

If you want a great light that puts out enormous amount of light for a reasonable price there is the Phillips LED BikeLight that has 1000 lumens and cost about $210. I just got this light and it is truely fantastic. My previous main light was a Cygolite Mitycross 480 ($190), which was very bright, bright enough to win a light war hands down with a friends 1200 lumen MagicShine (there's a reason they don't charge much for that light). However, the Phillips beat the Cygolite handly. It projects a pear shape beam with the smaller (stem) end forward that reaches out at least twice as far as the Cygolite. Then the body of the "pear" shape behind that spreads a flood pattern about twice as large as the Cygolite. Then the Phillips has a fairly dim side spillage that the Cygolite does not have at all in it's round very focused shaped beam that projects light out to the side of your bike in front of you about 9 feet in both directions. Add on top of that a unique lens design that is larger then others in surface area, and the edge of the lens is about 1/16th of an inch thick goes around the light glows making you more visible from the sides. The light uses 4 self contained replaceable and rechargable AA bats, but that could be a downfall for some because they only store enough energy to run the light for about 1.75 hours on high (they claim 2 hours), then the light automatically dims to the low setting and runs another 30 minutes. The Cygolite Mitycross on the other hand will burn for 3.5 hours on high and up to 17 hours on low, but it has a seperate battery that must be seperately attached to the bike which really bugs me. There is also no strobe feature on the Phillips which I found a bit odd. But dispite the Phillips shorter run time ( I never ride for more then 2 hours at night anyways), and the lack of a strobe, it is now my main light and the Cygolite is the helmet light.

Technology for LED lights are rapidly changing, when I got the Cygolite it was the best light I could find for the money, now the Phillips has doubled that for about the same amount of money in just a one year period.

Tail lights it's the same story. Currently the best tail light for the money (under $35) is the Cygolite Hotshot, the Hotshot is rechargeable and brighter then anything on the market under $100.

Once you get a good head light and a good tail light, then later get a good front flasher. A flasher will attract attention to you faster then a headlight alone will. Then later get either a set of Soma Road Flares for the barends, these are very bright single red LED lights, or get a rear helmet light, then later a front helmet light. You need to be lit up like a christmas tree to get noticed better. Yes they cost money, but they could save your life, just add a light as money allows. Also consider reflective clothing, bands that go around your legs and arms, reflective tape on the helmet (put it on without looking like a dork of course).

Les than $40 for a great "to see by" light - see my earlier post on flashlights. Seriously, a cheap 18650 based flashlight, with 2 batteries, charger and bar mount, is as good as most dedicated bike lights in the class.

Just received e-mail that 3/4 of my DX order has shipped- the light, mount, and cells. No idea when the charger will ship :(...

What you ordering in light, mount and cells?

I got a 26550 single cell light, about 5 more two fish copy mounts, and 2 trustfire 26650 cells coming from DX. I hope they ship this year ;)

It's the stuff IJM linked to in post #7. I was torn between a cheap MS clone off of ebay, but this set up was cheaper and more user friendly off of the bike.