Best Daylight??? (with automatic on/off)???
 

I am looking for recommendations for a good and relatively inexpensive daytime flashing/strobe bike light for my 14 year old son. **He rides to and from school each day and would almost never be riding at night.

I am also looking for a feature that turn the light on when in motion and off when stopped for more then a minute. My son is big of absent minded professor, so he will kill the batteries quick if he had to remember to turn off the light each time.

Anyway recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

I don't know of any! I think it's a worthy cause, though, teenagers being who they are.

Cygolite Metro 360 USB
 

Since we don't have any suggestions yet, I'll bring up a post from a few weeks ago. I don't own a Cygolite headlight myself, but I ride with someone who does, and I'm impressed. At circa $50 they provide a flash mode that is very visible in full sunlight -- they brand it as "DayLightning™" and says it's brighter than the high steady mode on the same light.

If that's in the range of what you're willing to spend, this is a worthwhile fulfillment for your visibility objective. (But I don't have anything for you on your objective of having a headlight automatically turn on upon detecting motion and turning off after detecting lack of motion.)

At $50 the Cygolite Metro 360 USB Bicycle Headlight is an attractive option. 4.6-star rated.
The Metro 400 appears to be the current model at this performance point. It's available at $55 at the same site. It's 5-star rated but with just 3 reviews so far.

Or a dynamo system
 

Of course, if you went with a dynamo-powered headlight, you would get the automatic on/off feature you'd like, and there are no batteries to run down. I don't recall reading about dynamo-powered lights that give a good daytime-visible flash, however.

I don't know of any Dynamo powered lights that flash. They flicker at low speed because Dynamo output flickers at low speed.

In my opinion, flashing doesn't offer a big advantage, if any at all. However, the reason I didn't mention Dynamo lights is that they are not cheap. I happen to love them and have them on several of my bikes. They come on automatically, no matter what.

Aside: for some reason, my iPad thinks "Dynamo" should be capitalized. I disagree, but I'm not going to fight it.

The problem with automatic on/off is that there is no easy way to do it. It'd either require GPS or a wheel sensor. Sure, you could probably get away with an accelerometer, but technically if you're an extremely smooth rider you could trick it into thinking you're stopped when you are actually moving. (I doubt someone could achieve this.) There is no force when you're moving at a constant velocity, so the accelerometer would output nothing in that instance.

The Velodroom is a light that does have accelerometers in it for auto on/off, but I doubt it'd be cheap and it looks like it's only currently a taillight.

Cygolight is what I preffer for day ridding. I have the 760, which I seen for $89.00. One feature for the absentminded teenager (I had three), is that it's rechargable, and you could buy extra battery for about $20-30 to keep charged or replace if it goes bad.

I have the Cygolite Metro 360, and it is a very reliable lighting solution. There are no auto on/off or delay features, but I don't know if any non-dynamo lights that incorporate those features (although I am sure some ingenuity could overcome this obstacle). The daylight flashing mode on the Cygolite is quite effective where being visible is a concern.

Cateye use a light sensor and accelerometer on there "auto" lights, not especially expensive, lights are always on when its dark and you're moving. Its sensitive enough that it won't turn off when you're stopped relatively motionless at a stop light.
These aren't daytime bright though.

TL-LD570-R | CATEYE

Well...actually, there is exactly 1 light I know of. The Planet Bike Dynamo 1 Watt does flash. It's a relatively poor light for night riding (I mean it does the job if you don't really need a light except to be seen or for biking slowly through short stretches) -
Amazon.com : Planet Bike Blaze 1-Watt Generator Bicycle Light : Bike Headlights : Sports & Outdoors

I mean when you combine the cost of a dynamo hub and wheel ($135) -
Custom Dynamo Front Wheel

And the $60 light above, that's $195.

The good news - never runs out of battery, can leave on all the time, always works. Bad news - might cost as much as his son's entire bike...

If you just want something that flashes...

Try the ReeLight induction lights.

SL200 set - Reelight ApS

I believe the 100 model only lights with motion. The 200 model has a bit of storage power so it continues to flash while stopped at stop signs or lights.

Mount them on the bike, then forget about them. There are several models. The flashers won't illuminate the street, but will help a person be seen (use street lights to see by). There may be more powerful models to also see with.

Or the Magnic light. Also not cheap, but doesn't require anything else. And also so far unavailable...

Planet Bike's is a Superflash with a Cable Its like their 1W battery one , but you run the plug to a Hub dynamo..

Power supply Plug in the cord, so It comes Off to Go In your Pocket, Which of course turns it off.

Wearing Bright clothing, in the day, to me is probably fine , Thats what I do .. Buy a Neon Lime or Orange parka or Jacket.
For Night its got reflective stripes.

I use a Hub-dynamo wired LED Light Set... European stuff does not Blink, due to a chosen regulation .

they have a sensor in them for Light .. My Eyc T has 3 LEDs 2 for day running the 3rd one comes on at night.

This is nearly perfect. You could tape over the light sensor so it always thinks it is dark, so it would rely only on the motion sensor. The trouble is that it's a tail light, and OP (@bmeehan1966) is asking for a headlight. I'd love to know if this exists.

Yes cateye do a front version too. They work really well.

Note my B&M cyo dynamo light turns on when it gets dark too.

I had the same thought, and interestingly, it looks like they do:
TL-LD570-F | CATEYE

http://www.cateye.com/images/product...jpg?2044973554

From the page:
The Reflex Auto will automatically turn on whenever both darkness and motion are detected by the motion and light optic sensors. No more stopping on the bike path to double check that you’ve turned your safety light on – it’s automatic!

They also list what looks like an older 560 model which does not list out having any sort of automatic on/off (570 mentions it, 560 does not).

Interesting...

P.S. They also sell this one:
SL-LD210-F | CATEYE


The built in solar cell charges in 2 hours under good weather conditions and will power the Solar for up to 5 hrs. Available in both white and red for front and rear applications and comes with the FlexTight™ bracket.

If someone leaves their bike outside in sunlight, might be the thing for someone who's absent minded and doesn't remember to charge/change batteries...

Edit: The only 2 amazon reviews says that the light it puts out is to weak to really be effective though, unfortunately:
http://www.amazon.com/CatEye-Recharg...rds=SL-LD210-F

Well, I guess I call it progress. The right features, the wrong specs.

Ten reviews at Amazon give that model a 3.9 rating with a spread from 1 to 5 stars.

You might have misread. The first one gets good reviews. It's the second one with solar charging that doesn't.

The first battery powered one with no solar charging is fine.

Edit: Oops. Just got caught up in the back and forth and didn't reread the thread title. The light above is probably good for a front light for night riding, but not bright enough for day riding. I don't own it, but that would be my guess.