I think generator lights are an overkill for most people, just my opinion, unless you're commuting one way 2 hours at night and 2 hours back at night there is no reason for that expense. I've been commuting for 40 years and never ran out of battery even in the days before we had plug in rechargeable lights. Now it's freaking easy, simply come home and plug in your light, how hard is that? Why spend $500 for a hub generator? Yes about $500 by the time you get a hub generator and have your front wheel rebuilt to handle the hub, you have about $282 for the cheapest SON, then you have to pay another $1.15 (estimate) for each spoke times that by 24 since they don't make less than 24 hole generators (maybe they do?), that's $28 in spokes, add a rim for $65 if you need it in this example I'll exclude it, plus $40 labor, and you're hovering around $364 plus you still have to buy the light which could easily cost another $150 for around $500 just to have a generator light for "fear" of running out of juice. And on top of all of that generator lights are not any where near as powerful per dollar then battery lights, so you get less lighting and pay more just so you don't run out of juice.

OP, stick to your financial guns and be a bit reasonable. I think if you can afford to spend a bit more I would stay away from the $25 Chinese clone of a clone, but if not it may work fine for a 2 or 3 years. If you can afford to spend a bit more money this is the best light for the money, the Philips Saferide, it uses a shaped beam optical system that throws the light on the road instead of tree tops and wasting light energy, much like a motorcycle light, so it looks like a 1000 to 1100 lumen light on the road. It will last for 2 hours on high and 6 on low there is no flash option. It uses 4 AA rechargeable batteries so you don't have to call the company when the batteries fail to hold a charge anymore and spend big dollars on a custom battery pack. I found this special price on this light, see: Robot Check I have this light and it's so bright I rarely run it on high unless it's dark and raining.

Between the Cygolite Metro and the MagicShine Clones, which is brighter?

More importantly which will last longer, I have my first real bike light I got in the early 90's and it was the lowest costing Cygolite, a dual bulb 12.5 watt halogen that ran off of 8 D batteries called the Metro (I increased the one bulb so the max output was 14) and I used that for years commuting and night riding up until about 6 or 7 years ago when I got my first LED light and it that old light still works today though I don't use it anymore because the newer lights are so much brighter and the batteries last longer and all recharge easily without removing them and throwing them in a charger. Also those cheap clones FAR overate their lumens by at least 50%, so if they say it puts out 1,200 lumens you get closer to about 400.

I now own 2 newer Cycgolites, my first LED was a Expilion (I think it's a 400 lumen but can't recall exactly) this one is now on my wifes bike; the second one is a Cygolite Mitycross 480 OSP, this one is my helmet light which is used mostly on flash mode when I'm on city streets and steady on anything else. But my favorite light is my Philips Saferide light, that thing puts out gobs of light onto the street that others that have seen it have remarked about, I've had other cyclists I passed, or have passed me LOL, thought I was slow moving motorcycle.

Personally I would go with a Cygolite because I trust the brand and know it will last a long time, but again if you can afford it and want a long lasting durable and very bright light that Saferide I posted on Amazon site for is the best deal, otherwise I would get the Cygolite. If you get the Cygolite you can always save up more money and in a couple of years get another brighter light and mount the Cygolite to your helmet so you won't be wasting a light if you decide to upgrade. I swear by helmet lights because I can point the beam at cars in intersections, driveways, etc to let them know I'm there.

There are other good brands too but I just have a bad vibe when it comes to clones or clones of clones. No sense in spending $25 for 2 or 3 years of use when you can spend $50 to $75 and get a light that will last at least 10 years.

The MagicShine without a doubt. I have a Cygolite Explion 850 which is much brighter then the Metro and it's not quite as bright as the clones I use. It also cost, roughly, 6 times what I paid for one of my headlight units...and that was when my lights cost $30. Current offerings of the similar lights are in the $12 to $20 range. The USB type lights offer sleek lines and no battery wires but that's a lot to pay for "style", especially over function.

I agree with rekmeyata on some points however, I disagree with him on the pricepoints of the clones. Yes, they overate their lumens but many light manufacturers do the same. I've seen several reports on the output of MagicShine and the clones using homemade integration spheres and they all fall in the range of the Cree LED emitter's theoretical output. That range is from about 650 to about 750 given the current technology. We shouldn't underrate them either.

As for the cost, the technology is still changing rather rapidly. If I hadn't had a rebate from REI, I never would have spent nearly $150 on the Cygolite I have. That's too much money to pay for a light that is probably going to be obsolete in 2 to 3 years. Add to that a proprietary battery that has a limited lifetime (also 2 to 3 years) and the cost is just too high. The clones I use are inexpensive and if the technology changes, I have no problem with dumping a $15 to $30 light for a new, improved model.

You can build a wheel for a LOT less money than that. A Shimano hub is $80 or so on ebay, spokes are under a dollar, and I bought 2 rims for $50, Mavic XM317. Put it all together and it was maybe $150 total. I'm not saying it doesn't cost more to go dynamo instead of battery, but it isn't that much more. I needed a new wheel anyway so that was a good part of the cost, and I built a matching rear. And I didn't do this to save money on batteries, to ride for 2 hours each way in the dark or any reason other than I wanted to give it a try. I did it all myself too, so there was some satisfaction in building a wheel, mounting the light, and a whole host of other upgrades that would be considered excessive.

Thanks cyccommute. I asked because I've owned the clones so wonder if I should try the cygolite. As long as the cheaper lights are bright enough, I really don't see reasons to buy ones that are much more expensive, since the loss would be too much if it's either stolen or dropped and broken. Besides, each year old models become cheaper when new ones come out.