I'd really appreciate it if someone could help me understand what light would be the best for me. I've been doing research for weeks now (reading here, the Mtbr Lights Shootout, reviews of various lights, etc.), but if anything I'm more confused than when I started. The consensus seems to be Cygolite Hotshot for a taillight, but head lights are still baffling to me.

Ideally, I'd like a light that can be used for unlit roads as well as busy urban roads with multiple lanes, but if I need to change my usual routes during the winter for safety of course I'll do so. I usually ride on hilly terrain, so seeing what's in front of me when going downhill is important. The light would be primarily used for the beginning or end of my rides, not necessarily the entire ride; however, I would be willing to pay more for longer battery life so I have flexibility and don't have to worry about being caught without a light (3h+? would be great). I'm on a budget (<$150), but safety is paramount, so spending a few extra bucks to protect my life is worth it. I don't think I have a preference for battery pack vs. self contained, so a frame-mounted battery pack is probably the way to go as far as battery life. Not to start a debate, but I've looked into the Chinese copies and it seems like the batteries are hit-or-miss, so I don't think I want to go that route, unless someone ca convince me otherwise.

Also, how important is having helmet lights in addition to handlebar lights?

one of the best lights out there for seeing where you are going is the B&M Luxos. It needs a dynamo.

I don't think the B & M plus Dynamo will come remotely close to his budget, good grief.

Anywho, there are lots of good lights, in fact if you go back to the Electronics, Lights and Gadgets posting and click on the first post there is a huge discussion going on there with web sites I mentioned that show the various beam outputs of most lights on the market. I think those sites will answer most of your questions as well as the discussion going on.

For after-work rides in darkness, I use a MagicShine 900 (claimed) lumen light on the handle bar and a Cygolite Expilion 250 on my helmet. Both of my lights are older editions, but this setup works well for me. Typically, I run the MagicShine on low power and the Expilion on medium power.

I have a couple of PlanetBike Super Flashes and a Cygolite Hotshot for tail lights.

So far so good with this configuration.

$150 budget?
https://www.amazon.com/Philips-SafeRi.../dp/B00620Z97G

This is a good price at $131 (MSRP $199). It may be overkill for you I- it really can do 1200 lumen on high. I ride trails and through woods on my commute home. But it very well thought out and constructed, the battery is field is replaceable, and is well sealed and waerproof. The only thing I have found negative so far is it takes a long time to charge with USB unless you have a 2A USB charger (it only comes with a USB cable), and the batter is a proprietary dual cell - a spare will run you $30-$40.


https://www.amazon.com/Lezyne-Drive-L...ds=lezyne+mega

PM sent regarding my Lezyne Super Drive XL Fully Loaded kit for sale.

Self contained lights from reputable manufacturers for under $150

L&M Urban 550 $139 (lightweight, side markers, excellent customer service)

Cygolite Expillion 800 $139 (bang for the buck value, CREE led)

MagicShine Eagle 600 $149 (quick release mount, side markers, CREE led)

Niterider Lumina 700 $139 (quick release mount)

I currently use an L&M Urban on my commuter and very pleased with it so far, just wished it had a quick release bracket.
The Cygolite Holeshot is hard to beat for the $$. I’ve used just about every <$40 tail light made in the last decade and the Holeshot is by far my favorite in this price range.

For $150 or less consider getting two lights for your bike, like you might have on your car. You can put two on the handlebars or one there and one on your helmet. You can get one of the sub $30 head lamps and spend $120+ on a brand name light. The redundancy is good because two are less likely to entirely fail you on a ride than one. You can plan around longer rides by running one on low, or leaving it off entirely, until you really need it.

Get 2 of these for $40 each. Get one of these for the helmet mount for $12. You'll still have around $60 left over. The lights are a little bigger than a quarter and put out very good light.

I've been kind of looking at the B&M Ixon IQ. The Philips Saferide is interesting but the run time is FAR FAR FAR too short. But honestly I'm not going to dump $100 on a light that I can't try first, given that my current light was $30 and is really all I want out of a light OTHER than a shaped beam.

Honestly I think given an unlimited budget to buy a headlight, I'd go to Action LED Lights and buy a Gemini Duo, the 1500 lumen 2014 model. It's programmable so you can dial up whatever brightness levels make sense for you. I'd get the 4 cell pack.

On the back, I don't think that ANY one single light is enough - if the taillight goes out you won't know. I ride with at least two lights. I quite like the Magicshine taillight when wired to the battery from the headlight with a Y adapter - Action LED should be able to tell you if it can run off the Gemini battery.

I'd be happy with the MagicShine MJ-880 also, but Gemini is made in ... wait. They used to be made in Canada. They don't say that anymore, and they say they are in China now. So I'd guess that they may have moved their manufacturing. Still, I'd probably go with Gemini with the unlimited budget, or if the price is close anyway.

On a more limited budget I'd probably go with one of the $50 twin LED knockoffs on eBay. I'm running one of the $30 single LED knockoffs now, starting the 2nd year and it's very nice.

Dyno hubs and lights are the best answer (IMHO), but they're well outside OP's budget. So:

Go to your local bike shop and see what's available. Pay some attention to their advertised run times. Pick one out and buy it.

A few reasons why this approach should work:
A. LBS will filter out lousy brands (quality and support).
B. LBS will deal with any warranty issues that might pop up despite #1 .
C. You get to see what the beam looks like.
D. You get to see what's required to change batteries or recharge them. (Do you want to unmount / remount the whole light to take it to your computer; can you click it off; or to you run a cord to the light?)
E. You've read the reviews, but they'r from different sources and you can't reconcile them. So skip the analysis paralysis, limit your choices to what's available in one or two spots, and the decision gets much easier.

A couple more notes. First, most modern lights will have multiple power levels, so you can burn the battery in traffic or on a dirt road, and turn it down on quieter roads like neighborhoods or suburbs. Second, a helmet light is useful for trail rides or if you're riding unfamiliar roads and need to light up road signs without trying to blind oncoming cars.

Thats quite a well built looking light and high output for the price. I think I will buy one....Would you know what kind of cells the battery pack takes?



Sorry I didn't read close enough its right in the header: 4x18650s

Just be be clear, you don't have to get separate batteries. The pack is prebuilt and ready to go.

It's easy to get overwhelmed with too much information about lights. However, keep this in mind -- we are living in a golden age for cycling lights due to advancements in LED lights and batteries. You can buy a better light for $100 now than you would have gotten for $500 a few years ago. If you can spend $100-150, I would recommend some of the self-contained lights such as the Light & Motion Urban 550-700 series, Lezyne Superdrive or comparable Cygolite or Nightrider models. All of these lights are very bright with decent run times, light weight, convenient to mount and remove, easy to recharge and relatively inexpensive. If you don't want to spend that much, you can buy some good LED flashlights using 18650 rechargeable batteries, a charger and handlebar mount for much less than $100 (but it won't be as convenient as the self-contained models).

And you can also buy lights today for $22 that are better than $200 lights were a few years ago.

Helmet lights are great for not only providing additional illumination but also giving you a back up if one of your other lights fail. You'll have a hard time making a bad choice sticking with the choices suggested so far, and in a few years you can upgrade like the rest of us and spend less money on more performance.

https://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&key...sl_zdqvyridv_b

It feels like a well made light. Uses two 18650 Lithium batteries.

What's weird about the Phillips is that it only puts out 220 or 230 lumens, yet due it's aimed optics it outshines 800 to 1200 lumen lights. But for some the weakness of only a 2 hour run time on high is limiting, but I rarely run it on high because it is so bright so on next setting, there are only 2 settings, it will run for 8 hours, their battery times are spot on because at exactly 2 hours the light goes to the 2nd setting and will run for 2 hours on low. The other weakness to the Phillips is that there is no flash mode. But the strengths of having standard AA rechargeable bats means you can go to any store and get new ones as long as those new ones have at least the same 2600 mAh rating, there are 3200 mAh on the market and maybe more. Another strength is that the lens is quite a bit larger than other lights and makes it much more noticeable than a pin prick of light, and the lens edges glow so that it's easy to see from the side. The beam not only goes out a long ways with a pear shape beam, but the width is wide enough that it extends 90 degrees out to the side of the bike and lights up both sides of the road like a motorcycle light, and motorists from behind can see that effect.

First - this is an area with too many choices that are very much the same. Look for features you like. I really wanted USB recharging because buying batteries is stupid and I sit in front of a PC all day, and it's hard to beat this.

Cygolite Metro 360 & Hotshot

I built my dynamo system for about $160. It works great.

Dynamo wheels/lights are great for some people but have lots of limitations that proponents often gloss over. First, the wheels are much heavier and more expensive than a regular front wheel. The dynamo creates drag that will slow you down, and models with lower drag cost A LOT more. You will notice the extra weight and drag more if you ride on hilly roads. If you commute on several bikes, you can't easily swap the wheels/lights like you can with an LED rechargeable light.

I am intrigued by dynamo lights and would love to try one, but when I consider all of the limitations, my LED rechargeable light looks better and better.

I commute every morning in the dark and have done so for years. I use BOTH dynamo hub AND 18650 lights. I have a relatively low cost system based upon Shimanos excellent dynamo hubs, weight gain and resistance are negligible.

The safety advantage of the Dynamo light is that even if batteries fail, you still have a bright set of lights.

New dynamos have a very low drag, so low that Peter White said he couldn't even feel the drag in one of his articles I read. I think it was the Shimano dynamo he tested but I can't recall for certain. If I had to commute a long time at night or was touring and didn't want the hassle of having to recharge batteries I would get a dynamo light system, but the expense of those vs the fact that I can recharge and I don't spend hours riding at night negates any ideas of getting a dynomo. Each person has to weigh out the pros and cons of each for their own purposes.

It is a good deal but 360 lumens is a bit low for a head light under certain circumstances, you should be around 650 to 750 range...but...if your riding only on well lit city streets than 360 may be enough.