Need front lights (blinking white will do)
 

Hey folks,

I normally don't ride at night, but sometimes you just can't beat the sunset. Roads are normally pretty bright where I ride, so I don't need a light to illuminate the road. I just want a bright blinking light to catch the attention of drivers & pedestrians (so they don't run me over or walk right in front of me). I don’t need HIDs or anything hardcore….just something small & light.

Right now, I'm using a red light clipped to my shirt.....but that's kinda "ghetto" and I’m using the wrong color.

Can anyone recommend a relatively cheap bright blinking white light that is light weight? I’ll probably clip it to my helmet or something.

I'm using this little set and it works well. http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?c...eid=&pagename=

I haven't had to change the batteries yet in more than three weeks of daily use. I also use a Cat Eye EL500 headlight and another red blinkie I got from Performance that I clip to my Camelbak. http://www.performancebike.com/shop/...tegory_ID=4322

The Cateye EL500 nice.....but too much for what I really need.....don't need 1,000 candlepower. I ended up buying the EL400 (only 90 candlepower), but it has what I want.....blinkers!

Thanks for your suggestion.

Anyone else use Cateye lights? Any general opinion about them?

First off as far as lights go Cateye make the best inexpensive (under $35) lights on the market and they stand behind their product. They make a front light called the HL-EL200 that has 3 LEDs runs off of 4AA bats for 110 hours on constant or 220 hours on flash. That's right this light not only flashes but if you ever need to switch to constant to throw some light on the road it can do that as well. I'm not sure of the cost but I believe they are under $30.

Cateye also makes a superbe rear taillight called the TLLD600 that is the brightest tail light with the exception of their new one the TLLD1000 but this one cost $35 vs only $20 for the 600. The 600 has 5 LED's runs off of 2AAA's for 30 hours, and works best if mounted vertically rather then horzontally because then you have at least 90 degree visiblity with it, this means cars coming from the side will more then see it, whereas the one your looking at is not visible from the side.

Also invest in some reflective leg bands for added safety, especially if bats die.

Visibility during late evening and into the evening is critical for your survival. Spend a little bit more and you won't be sorry.

I just got one of these topeak whitelites. It's surprisingly bright and tiny and weighs only 35 grams. The blinking mode shows up even in sunlight. It uses 2 coin batteries, claims 60 hours of run time. I'm expecting it might get dimmer as the batteries wear down, but it's easy to carry a spare set. It's much brighter than my old 2-AA 5-led light.

I'll tell you, with Inovalite 24/7 there aren't many people that won't see you! It's not specifically a bike light, but it has the brightest set of multicolored LEDs and different functions I've seen yet. There's even one mode where you could be mistaken for a police officer.

I was trying to avoid the coin batteries. I would rather carry a little more weight and have the standard cheapo AA batteries. :)

Do you know how bright it is (in terms of candle-light power)?

It would just suck to get pulled over. It could lead to big trouble!

Not to worry - you would have to have blue flashers to imitate a bike cop; these LEDs are Red and White. They just flash in such an alternating arrangement that people will, well kind of move aside thinking you're a bike cop.

BLT makes a white blinkie called the Doppler DX. Runs 200 hrs on a pair of N size batteries. Not as ubiquitous as AA's but not expensive or hard to find. hth

http://www.blt-lights.com/dopplerdx.htm