Garfield Cat

I use the Cygolite Expilion 400 as a flashlight. It works well. Even in caves.

the combo package for some people is this https://www.cygolite.com/products/metroHotshotCombo.html

cehowardGS

If you do that, you will be the "da chit" I tell you that!! Any night time runs or daytime on blinky, with the above setup, the respect you will get will be astounding to say the least!!

noglider 

In response to this thread, I've written this article about my dynamo-powered light setup, which is not yet finished.

https://thedimbicycle.blogspot.com/20...ts-part-1.html

black_box 

what flashlights have power levels that are appropriate for biking? Is there a 100-60-20% split? I keep seeing 100-30-5 which seems like I'd be stuck with it on high all the time. I'm also looking at the new lezyne super drive xl, which has a race mode that cycles between 500 and 350 lumens.

zacster

This past Wednesday night, I took my Davidson road bike out with the Lezyne Super Drive mounted for a ride in Prospect Park. I kept it on flash most of the time, turning it to high when I got to the dark sections of the loop road. Last night, Thursday, I rode home from work with my Keygos XML-U2 flashlight mounted on my other road bike, and also went through the park. I mostly kept the flashlight on strobe, but also turned it to high in sections.

Both lights put out plenty of light for NYC streets, but I think the big difference was the strobe mode of the flashlight. It really flashes fast, whereas the Lezyne is a slow flash. I had 5 people come up to me with the flashlight on to comment on it and they always ask where it came from. I should buy up a bunch and sell them on the streets as I ride. I doubt I'd make much money but I'd be doing everyone a favor. Then I also consider the Geomangear experience and say fuhgeddaboudit.

brandini

From what I've tried, seen, and ridden with, casual riding (aka not fast/for pleasure) should be fine at night with 200+ lumens from a light with a bit f a hot spot in the center. At a wide beam you'll be seen with 100 lumens, but you'll not have any throw/reach on the light. Also the brighter you get, the more power it uses, and the more/bigger batteries you will need. Treat light just like sound- dispersion vs loudness vs distance

I just pieced together a single 26650 flashlight blank + Cree XP-G2 5000K drop-in, that on high, is doing 350+ lumens for 3.5 hours on a single battery. Did I beat the cost of a purchased setup with usb charging etc? Nope. But I also got a flashlight, with replaceable non-proprietary batteries that uses standard parts that are also replaceable. I bought repairability and upgradeability, so when the next big thing in LEDs arrives, I purchase a $30-40 drop in and I'm good to go.

Here's my 26650 light, it's just under 6" long:

Sheet of paper is 8.5in tall:


The catch is I had to purchase a hobby charger to charge li-ion, but it will also do NiMh in series, reducing the need for a separate aa/aaa/c/d charger. It's more complicated to operate, but will also allow me to analyze battery health with a measured discharge cycle. Now I'm building a battery charging cradle that will hold any size cylindrical battery using cheap ebay horrid quality single cell chargers:


Don't worry about getting a REALLY nice light, but do get one that:
-shuts off when battery voltage gets to ~2.8-3.0V, li-ion are NOT to be discharged to low voltage levels, and some batteries are unprotected, mislabeled, or are just poor quality, we don't want an explosion!
-uses a replaceable drop-in, will allow you to upgrade or try out new things without purchasing a new light: want more flood vs spot, it's a 30 sec swap job!
-can do a tail-stand, it's a wonder why some lights can't since it's extremely useful when you're short a few hands
-has been tested on a forum as most Chinese 'lumen' ratings are on a different scale, the numbers game scale. Look for real world tests and you'll find most ebay, alibaba, dealextreme lights are WAY overrated. Here's a nice chart: https://flashlightwiki.com/Cree#XM-L and that's in perfect conditions, with a perfect driver, with a lab power supply, and amazing heat dissipation
-is metal, high-output leds generate a good bit of heat, it has to go somewhere, and plastic doesn't allow that, my light is 1.4A and it gets handwarming-warm when on high but never hot, it's finned up to it's eyeballs because it's made to dissipate a lot of heat for those putting XMLs and overdriving them, lights that cannot operate on full blast for long are simply overheating or are programmed to step down to prevent it, good lights will not have this problem
-Decide what you want re: modes, memory or no. Ex my light 'remembers' what is was last set on, some start at low, others high, if it's a multi-use light- let's say camping, you might want it to start at low every time as not to blind you
-Takes 26650, yes some say 18650 will surpass in capacity since they are used more widely, but why limit yourself, I have 26650 batteries that can output 4000mAh and can always use 18650 (same length) by using a bit of a spacer to keep them centered. And if 26650 ever gets the newest technology applied, you'll get a heck of a boost in runtime.

Again they're not musts, or gospel, just things to consider and expect from someone that just did a lot of reading before buying and loving their first high-powered LED and li-ion light.

formulaP

They are all about the holders when it comes to lights, i mean once there is a suitable holder, there must be a light.

PhotoJoe 

IF you haven't bought yet and are leaning toward the Magicshine knockoff.....I ALMOST went that way, but read too many reviews from people who posted a review RAVING about them, then followed up a month later saying the battery wasn't holding up. I decided to go with the MJ-808E for $79 from Action LED. My wife and I both use lights almost 5 days a week and I am so glad I went the route I did. The recharging process is sooooo much easier than charging batteries every day. It's bright enough that we only use Medium on the dark MUPS and can get 3 hours EASILY.

I agree flashlights could be cool for multi-tasking, but for me, the MS was the absolute best way to go.

(Battery is mounted under stem)

kiltedcelt

I'm very intrigued with your DIY build. Can you post some more info regarding how you pieced your light together, specifically sources for everything you purchased, approximate costs, etc?

kiltedcelt

You sir have intrigued me. I have been doing some research on dynamo lighting and I think now I am leaning towards a bottle dynamo with front and rear LED lighting. Some of the front lights are impressively bright and they have reflectors designed to throw a good amount of light without blinding other riders and still making you very visible to cars. I like the idea of everything being installed on the bike and never having to worry about batteries. Still, might be a good idea to keep a couple tiny battery/li-ion powered lights available in case of some sort of mechanical issue.

noglider 

I agree that carrying spare battery powered lights is a good idea, but it's something you can safely forget or skip most of the time. If you keep one in your bag and don't use it often, be sure to check the battery occasionally. Turn the light on for a couple of minutes, because the first few seconds can fool you.

brandini

Limited run flashlight host - 99
Led assembly - 35
batteries - 10 each
hobby charger - 40

But I went with custom machined and hard anodized host, you can start with a lot of P60 hosts available for MUCH cheaper.