ranukic

I am looking for suggestions as to what bike lights are useful with either rechargeable or easy to replace batteries.

Thanks

RonH

You'll probably find plenty of advice in the Electronics & Lighting forum and in the Commuting forum.

ranukic

Thanks, I didn't even notice that. I spend most of my time in this general forum.

1nterceptor

Lezyne Mega Drive on handlebars, Cygolite Hotshot Micro and Niterider Solas 150
on seatpost, NiteRider Lumina Flare 650 front and rear light on helmet:
Lights on my Brompton by 1nterceptor, on Flickr

fietsbob

Be seen, or see by lights?

General answer.. There is a crowded market place in USB rechargeable bike lights by now..

My not hub dynamo powered lights, front 4AA German made B&M Ixon IQ, A see the road in the dark, light..

And since I needed the clip to go on my British saddle bag flap, to place the tail light, there.. included
Planet Bike's 'Grateful Red', it runs off 2 AAA..


My favorite, though, is hub dynamo powered, wired LED. fore and aft.. just get on and go & I have lights.






....

Mr IGH

I love dynohubs and LED lights but they're not for everyone.

52telecaster

+100

AlexCyclistRoch

I bought a fairly cheap rechargeable light on Amazon called a "Ride Lumen". Easy to install, heavy-duty construction, and HOLY COW, is it bright!!! On the high beam setting, I can see it reflecting off stop signs 1/2 mile away, IN BROAD DAYLIGHT. The flashing mode is like an airport landing light, not kidding! Even on my local MUT, walkers ahead of me get over before I arrive, because they can see the flashing light reflecting off tree trunks!

canklecat

Get at least a 250-300 lumen headlight that will last an hour or longer. Anything dimmer is just a to-be-seen light. It'll help cars, other cyclists and joggers/pedestrians see you, which is good. But you need at least 250 lumens to supplement typical cities and suburbs with streetlights -- mostly to illuminate the shadows between the streetlights, because our eyes can't adapt quickly enough. In very dark rural areas, unlighted bike paths, etc., you can get by with as little as 50-75 lumens, if you ride slowly -- under 10 mph.

All the major brand bike headlights are pretty much the same within a given output (usually in lumens) and price range. I see dozens of USB rechargeable headlights during local nighttime group rides and there isn't much visible difference between NiteRider, Blackburn, Serfas, Cygolite, Light & Motion, etc.

They all have strong central spots and dimmer peripheral lighting. Mostly they vary slightly in the width and brightness of the peripheral beam, not the central spot.

REI has a display board to check dozens of lights and I saw just a small difference in the Light & Motion, with a somewhat wider and brighter peripheral beam, so I ponied up the extra money for the L&M -- about $10-$15 higher than other lights with comparable output. In my photos and videos of nighttime group rides I can see the small advantage to the L&M lights over the others. But I would have been satisfied with any of the other 500 lumen headlights if the L&M had been unavailable. My only real gripe about the L&M is they can't be charged and run simultaneously from my external USB batteries. All my other rechargeable doodads -- lights, phone, cameras -- can be charged and operated simultaneously. But the L&M goes into standby recharge mode when plugged in. So on longer rides (up to 5 hours or so) I run the L&M Urban 500 on medium in the city and low on the MUP on the ride home. If we have a stop I'll plug it into the battery pack for a little recharging.

The best buys in really bright headlights are the many variations of three basic types of lights that use external batteries. These usually cost less than half the price of the major brands (NiteRider, Cygolite, etc.). The beams are good, I've seen plenty of 'em locally. But those external battery packs vary significantly in quality, so be prepared to replace it or buy a spare as a backup.

If you don't want to mess with external battery packs (usually strapped to the bike frame) and your budget is tight, look for the many generic LED flashlights. They're pretty good. The main weakness to those combo bike headlights/flashlights is the mount. During every nighttime group ride I've ridden the past year or so at least one rider's inexpensive headlight/flashlight pops off on rough roads or crossing railroad tracks. The lights are fine. But the mounts tend to be marginal. You can buy extra rubber band mounts and better mounts for a few bucks on Amazon, ebay and many other discounters.

If you prefer headlights that use ordinary AA and AAA batteries you're pretty much limited to the leftover stock of Serfas SL-255 (good light, I've used one for a year), the identical but dimmer and just barely adequate SL-155; some very dated and inadequate Planet Bike and Portland Design Works AA headlights; or ordering a Busch & Muller Ixon IQ from Germany (not a bad idea, because the exchange rate is very favorable for the U.S. and there are a few German online retailers who'll handle the transaction for you, no problems.). The B&M Ixon IQ is probably the best buy in a AA headlight. I've seen a couple of riders locally who use that B&M and/or a generator powered B&M. They have excellent beam shapes and look classy, if bulky.

Hiro11

https://www.amazon.com/Revtronic-160...evtronic+bt40s

I prefer external battery lights, flashlight style lights just don't have enough power or longevity. Just strap the battery under the top of the bars and wrap up the cable.

IMO, with a few notable exceptions LBS-sold name-brand lights are ridiculously overpriced. Lights continue to get better and cheaper monthly. Chinese generics have become much better in only the past 18 months and there are now lots of really good, durable options. I've had the above light for over a year without issue despite frequent use. There are probably even better options now. The above light is ridiculously bright for $55 shipped. The battery is made out of Samsung cells and has a standard connector, you can buy good quality replacement packs cheaply (~$20 for a 4 cell) in any number of places but I haven't needed to.

IamAlan

I picked up a set of 45 Lumen LED lights made for Schwinn that take AAA batteries. $24 the set, bright, and hella reliable.

drlogik 

I run two 600 lumen Cygolite Metro 600's on the front. One is one constant and the other flashing. I run a bright red flasher on the rear also. With the time change I drop both of those and just use a small Cycolite Dash on the front with the red rear flasher.

My feeling is if I'm going to run lights I want bright lights...lots of light so I can see the road as well as be seen.


-

indyfabz

Use the Advanced Search function and search key word "Lights" in thread titles only.

ranukic

Thanks for the responses! I had gone to the other forum. It seems that the links in the other forum are out dated. Maybe time to delete it and start over?

Phloom

I love my Cateye Volt 1200. About as powerful as a car headlight. Really solid mount. have received complaints from pedestrians that it is too bright. My first high powered light ever.

ColonelSanders

I was very close to buying that light myself, but due to my stuffing around, the Cateye Volt 1600 came out, so I got that instead.


The reason I got such a high powered light was two fold:


1. I wanted a very bright DAY LIGHT FLASH
2. At night I use the lowest setting, and I wanted to be able to go a long time between recharges.


Both of our Cateye lights do the above very well.


And like you, I am also a fan of their mounting system.

Maelochs

A new product from Cateye? Now I can shop for lights again .... cool.

jade408

+1 on these post. Dyno lights were a game change changer to me for riding my bike at night. No longer need to remember to keep things charged.

When I had rechargeables, this tail light was great: Serfas Thunderbolt Taillight. I was never particularly happy with the front lights I had.

Maelochs

In all my experiments, dynamo hubs work great until you slow down. Nothing is better than disappearing at a n unlighted rural intersection ... and having to pull of f on uncertain pavement in the dark.

I need a hybrid system which charges the battery while riding and never dims below say, 250 lumens until the battery dies.

Mr IGH

I have couple of modern LED lights, they don't have any issues at low speed but I don't ride in a rural setting so my conditions might not reflect your experience. They also have a standby function that keeps them lit for over 5mins when I'm stopped.

OTOH, they are not the best solution for everyone.

Maelochs

I was sort of hoping someone would come up with an answer like this. My commuter and sport bikes are fine, but my tourer ... cannot always count on finding a charger.

Thank you.

Maelochs

I don't wear a helmet.

Nachoman

Is it 1600 lumens? Or one of those lights with two built in lens, each one being 800 lumens?

ColonelSanders

Two built in lens, each one being 800 lumens.

mrodgers

Cygolite lights are dirt cheap on Amazon right now. Coworker just got an 800 lumen for $58. Another coworker bought 3 350 lumen lights for his and his boys' bikes for around $30 each.