I use a rechargeable headlight: this one and love it: Bright Eyes - GUARANTEED Best Rechargeable Light on Amazon

and a battery operated tail light. It's bright with new battery's

Was wondering if you guys prefer battery or chargeable and why, thanks

Usb rechargeable, they make rechargeable batteries too.

I use a rechargeable front light. I use a battery blinky rear light.

Rechargeable AA and AAA batteries for front and rear light.

rechargeable battery. as in the USB type that's all built in.
Love my CYGOLITE 350. Got it on sale for like $45 last year. I've also got a SERFAS 200. I think I halved the battery life by running the light with a 10,000 mAh pack plugged into it. When I would ride in cold weather, the battery would not last long (as expected). So I'd carry a cell-phone sized battery pack to plug into it.
For tail lights I have both, USB rechargeable and replaceable battery. I go cheap on tail lights since you don't know until you get where you're going if you lost one.

USB rechargeable. And dynamo-powered.

Also, if you have an awesome blinkie (tail light), post the brand

Planet Bike Super Blinky, and/or Nite Rider Cherry Bomb.

This might help ...

Electronics, Lighting, & Gadgets - Bike Forums

Now that I have hub dynamo powered wired LED lights, I only revert to battery lights on the bikes I Dont Ride Much.

I mostly commute. Main headlight USB rechargable. Everything else AAA lithium. They last quite a while and I carry extra batteries with me. Since they're all the same size they work for all. I have three bikes. Each has a front and rear 180-degree blinker, plus I wear a mid power LED helmet light, and a 180-degree led blinkie on the rear of my helmet. The USB rechargable main headlight goes onto whichever bike I'm riding. Especially since I keep the bikes in the shed where there is no electricity. Using single use batteries keeps it simple for me. I have only to mount one light for night riding, and don't have to ferry four additional lights to chargers in the office or at home.

I prefer the lights with built-in batteries that can be charged without removal.
These lights are usually brighter as well than AA/AAA lights. Some of them can
be charged without removing from the mount/bike.

Brompton parked in the lockerroom by 1nterceptor, on Flickr

rechargeable - I bring a 24A-h power add to the bike to recharge them

It's even enough power for 5 or 6 days of touring.

Been using the Cygolite Hotshot Pro 80 for a while now; I like it a lot.
It's the one all the way to the right:

We're Turned On by 1nterceptor, on Flickr

The only problem with single-use batteries is the environmental imp[act ... and somewhat the coast.

All batteries wear out eventually, but rechargeables are lower-cost and lower impact ... and an AA/AAA charger takes up next to no space and spare charged batteries are easy to carry.

Mostly though, I have switched to USB-rechargeable. I don't mind having to occasionally remove a ligt after a ride----I like my lights easily removable anyway, so I can take them with me if I lock up somewhere I think they might be too attractive.

USB rechargeables on the helmet because they're very lightweight:
Vivo Bike Illuminati white front (there are similar models that cost less)
Blackburn 2'Fer rear red
I run both in flashing mode. They last about 4-5 hours and recharge at the same rate, so it's easy to keep up with.

On the bike front itself (handlebar or fork, depends), Serfas SL-255 (seems to be an honest 255 lumens at maximum brightness). Takes a pair of AA, alkaline or NiMH. About 5 hours on maximum. With alkalines it runs a bit longer but the light gradually dims so you don't get full output for 5 hours. With NiMH it's nearly full output until it goes out suddenly, but lasts a bit less time per charge than alkalines. Not the brightest but a good value if you prefer a AA powered light. Durable and seems weatherproof so far. I recharge the NiMH or swap alkalines about once a week. I'll run it on medium brightness in some areas to milk the batteries a bit longer, up to 7-8 hours.

On the rear rack, Planet Bike Rear Rack Blinky 5, combo 5-LED red and good sized reflector. In videos and photos from group rides it's more visible than technically brighter single point rear red LEDs because of the lens design and horizontal placement of LEDs. Runs a long dang time on a pair of AAA batteries. I may change batteries once or twice a month, depending on how many long night rides I do.

However the Planet Bike Blinky 5 is sometimes unavailable or on back order. If you like the idea of a red LED/reflector combo, check out the Serfas Stop Sign or TL-STP lights. Both look good for the money.

My next bike-mounted taillight will probably be the Cygolite Hotshot Pro 80 USB rechargeable for daytime use. It's very bright, almost too bright for nighttime use, but an attention getter in daylight at a good value at under $40. It's visibly brighter than the PDW Radbot 1000, PB Superflash -- I've seen all three lights together in local group rides. There are brighter lights but they cost more.

I've also begun carrying a $15 Jackery USB external battery/charger (recommended by friends locally, and a very good value in the crowded USB external battery market). Works to extend the run time for any compatible device, including my iPhone 4s, Ion Speed Pro video camera, and USB lights. But it's not weather proof and not convenient to use with helmet mounted lights. So it's mostly for fair weather use with my video camera, or as a recharger when I've stopped to eat or rest.

And my next AA battery headlight will be a B&M Ixon IQ Premium. The exchange value makes it a bargain now and there are a few US importers and a couple of German exporters, all reportedly reliable. I want something with a well shaped beam pattern rather than the common flashlight type circular pool.

For the <other bikes> lights..


I Got a B&M Ixon IQ, A surcharge and they supply a Charge in place wall wart charger & rechargeable AAs

I just take the batteries out and recharge them

I was all about having replaceable battery lights until I discovered Light & Motion lights. So now front and rear are USB rechargeable lights. They are just that good.

Just rechargeable batteries?

I use a dynamo on my commuter, but on my other bikes I use AA/AAA rechargeable lights as much as possible. I use eneloop batteries, they're glorious. I do have a Li-Ion powered rechargeable light (battery pack is separate from the light itself.) I've found that in a year of using it I've bought 2 other battery packs for it so I can always have one charged. I'll generally run 1 pack, and have one sitting at ~50% charge in case I forget to charge the first (Li Ion batteries don't like to be stored at 100%) Then I'll do the same at work in case the battery dies on the way over. (Cold kills batteries.)

The REALLY nice part about AA/AAA batteries is that even if you forget to recharge your batteries and your spares are also dead, you can ALWAYS go somewhere and purchase alkaline AAs or AAAs for the ride home. AND alkaline batteries last essentially forever if not in use, so they make GREAT backup batteries. (Ok, they last long enough to outlast whatever bag you probably have them in.) I've definitely had to do this a few times late at night when I'm riding home in complete darkness and my light starts dimming... Gas stations are almost always open.

So, if I had to vote, I have one of everything so, yeah, different lights/batteries for different situations.

Someone should invent a smart charging light so you can just bring it in and plug it in every day/night and not worry about keeping the battery at 100% damaging it.

This my favorite. USB rechargeable, but you can remove and switch to a spare battery if needed. Best of both worlds. 5 different lumen settings. The middle one is perfect on the bike. Lasts for hours.

MH20 | Nitecore

Mount with one of these... great setup.

https://www.amazon.com/Two-Fish-Lock.../dp/B001CJXB5E

While flashlights seem like good bike lights, they blind oncoming traffic, like many of the cheaper, high output lights. (Nightrider lumina...)

Dynamos for the win! I don't want to go back to charegables or battery operated ever again.

Otherwise I guess USB chargeables, but I struggle to remember to keep all of my devices charged. I like having one less thing to remember to take on and off the bike too. My bike is ready to go when I am!

The struggle is real. How do you even keep yourself hydrated and fed?

rechargeable AAA batteries on my lights