zeppinger

Hi all, I have been commuting by bike for about a year now and have been using the bike planet half watt Blaze front light with a super flash in the back, also by bike planet. I do most of my riding in the city with street lights.... most of the time. I hear a lot of people like hub generated lights while others think they are not bright enouhg, cost too much, turn off when at a stop, ect... Other people use expensive battery packs that go in your water bottle cage or by the bars. What are each lights best uses? I am planning on doing a 1-2 month tour and was thinking of upgrading my lights to use for commuting and touring but not sure what to get.

What kind of lights do you all use and what kind of riding are you doing? Has anyone used the new Planet Bike 1 Watt Blaze? Its the brightest light you can buy that run on standard AA batteries! Thanks!

Roody

Do you want lights that will work on a totally dark highway or trail? Or lights for street-lit areas only? How much do you want to spend?

Don't forget there's a Lighting subforum here at BF.

PotatoSlayer

Here is what I have..

Trek 3700 mountain bike (as seen in avatar)

Lighting wise I have a cateye 4 LED for the front that is primarily used as my headlight. I can set the strobe effect on the stretches where I need to be seen a little better. On my backpack I have a flashing blinky light and on my lower frame I have another blinky pointed at the ground flashing. I have a cateye 3.0 for beneth my seat, which is also flashing.

I have a total of 7 rear reflectors on top of all this (some are attacked to my backpack.)

If you are biking at night (and especially if you are on 4 lane highways like I am) you need to cover your ass as far as brightness.

Lights are good, but you need good relfectors to.

uke

The Superflash is good enough for a rear light; I'm looking into an LED flashlight (not bike light) for a headlights. One of these would do nicely, but it's hard to find cheap rechargeable 123s.

10 Wheels

Try Two of these:

https://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.10727

Roody

Why do you have it pointed at the ground?

zeppinger

Probably to light up the pavement around the bike. This actually works pretty well, especially for SUV drivers who are about 30 feet up in the air!

uke

Thanks, I'm looking into either a few of those or one of the P7 flashlights. My bigger qualm is that DX only seems to take Paypal, which I'd rather not use. If only they took credit cards...

bigfo

I know the Planet Bike 1 watt is alot brighter than the half watt. Plus when you are in the city riding, the blinking mode is the same flash pattern as the Superflash!

gwd

I use generators only. Batteries had a high failure rate especially in very low temperatures. Also a friend claims batteries have a toxic waste problem.

Modern generator lights have a capacitor that keeps an LED going when you stop. The cheapo bottle generators from Target seem to work well, but I like to use them to power the more expensive halogen lights. When the snow comes up from the streets onto the tires the bottle generators tend to slip against the wheel. I have a hub generator from Schmidt that doesn't have this problem.

folder fanatic

Simple battery powered lights is all I need.

mondaycurse

I've got a set of sigma x-pro endurance lights. Ebay special at $70. Bright as car lights, front and back. It might be "weird" to spend a lot of money on lights, but peace of mind is priceless.

gonzohill

https://www.cateye.com/en/product_detail/341
I use this it is just bright enough for me to ride on back roads.
Your results may vary.
works good as a flashlight to.

mattm

i use a shimano dynohub, the 3n71 model: https://www.peterwhitecycles.com/Shimano3N70.asp

it's relatively heavy (new 3n80 model is much lighter), but the drag is minimal, and it costs about $90, compared to $200(?) for the lighter schmidt dyno. i run it 24/7, and even for extended rides like brevets (200-600k). it probably slows me down a tiny bit, but my commute/known rides are about the same times they used to be.

i run an E6 halogen lamp in front, and a rear LED wired to the dynohub as well. the rear light has a standlight, and stays lit for about 5 minutes after stopping. i don't mind the front light going out when stopping.

the E6 casts an amazing beam of light in complete darkness, just about as far up the road as you can see! it directs the light in a rectangle of sorts on the ground, about 4-6 feet wide. some might not like that, but i think it keeps the light where you really need it. for urban riding it doesn't really show up on the ground under street lights, but definitely is enough to catch someone's eye.

hub dynos are definitely worth checking out!

ken cummings

I commute in heavy traffic at night. Ergo a xenon strobe tail-light, 50 to 100 watts up front, and a Class III reflective jacket. "Anything worth doing is worth overdoing." I feel so good freezing cars in their driveways with my aircraft landing light. No complaints from the cops either.

Allen

I use B&M dyno powered lights and shimano hubs.

scattered73

I have two front light main light is a Cygolite Dual Cross Pro Li-ion Version and a cateye Opti-cube for blinkie front. On High the dual cross is pretty amazing though you only get about 4-4.5 hrs in the brightest setting. On the back I have a Mars 3.0 which is nice but the three I have two of them the clips have broken and the third one side has broken but still holds with a superglue fix. Though I called Blackburn about the mars 3.0 today and they are sending me three new clips no questions asked for no charge, though they are on backorder makes me think I am not the only one breaking clips, great customer service.

mijome07

I recently bought a Topeak Whitelite HP 3W and I am very pleased with its' performance. I bought it for commuting and night rides around the city. I am yet to try it on some dirt trails. In the city, I run it on 1 watt pointed down, ten feet in front of me. When I take it out on some trails [on my new 'cross bike] I'll run the 3 watts.

Newspaperguy

My rear light is a cheap $5 blinkie. It runs on AAA batteries which last a long time. In front, I've got a Nitehawk Emitter. It puts out one watt on the low setting and 10 watts on the high setting. On high, it's got enough light to make a huge difference on dark rural roads. The low setting is great in town.

uke

Okay, I ordered a Superflash for the tail, and a P7 (this one) for the headlight. Hopefully they both come soon. Rode home without lights tonight, and much of it was too dark for comfort. Looking forward to having motorcycle-class lighting for my front!

gwd

One of my pet peeves about cyclists is that they use lights that are too bright and shine them in their fellow cyclists eyes. I notice this not in DC but in the rich suburbs. If I'm riding at night out on the suburban trails just as my eyes adjust to the low light levels some jerk coming the other way stabs me in the eyes and I have to slow down while my eyes recover. You don't need motorcycle-class lighting to travel 15 miles per hour, but you can use it to bother fellow cyclists and make their journey less safe.

wahoonc

3 out of my 5 are set up this way. The new LED generator powered lights from B&M are sweet. I also use several different battery light from Planet Bike with the Superflash being the most common, I think I have 4 of those. I also have one bike with a bottom bracket mount generator, it does well in all but the most inclement weather. I prefer the generator lights because they are attached to the bike and are one less thing to worry about. Another reason I like the Dutch style wheel locks with the optional chain...

Aaron

CliftonGK1

I recently switched to a SON28 hub and Supernova E3 light, and I couldn't be happier with moving away from batteries. I don't have to remember to plug in my lights every night, and I don't worry about riding longer than 2.5 hours since I don't have battery life as a constraint on my riding any more.
In back, I use a couple of PBSF blinkies. On my helmet I zip tied a Petzl Tikka hiker's light (3 LED, low power) for reading my computer and/or checking route sheets.

uke

In as much as you wouldn't assume cars capable of traveling at 100mph are incapable of traveling at less than 100mph, or that motorcycles with high beams are incapable of using anything but high beams, perhaps you shouldn't assume cyclists with bright lights are incapable of adapting them to their surroundings (that means modes other than high), or directing them beyond the sightlines of oncoming cyclists (that means pointing them down, left, up, or right). It's kind of a pet peeve of mine when people make generalizations about things they're uncomfortable with.

Ride Happy

I'm curious what kind of run time you get with the 3W Topeak. I'm assuming you use the battery pack with it. I purchased a Dual Cross Pro, but I've sent it to CygoLite because it has a charging problem. If it comes back and provides good service I'll probably keep it because it gives out awesome light, even with the optional diffusers added onto it. I considered the Topeak for it's cool looks, but the Cygolite won me over for the output it provides. Although it may be overkill, the Topeak would be a nice backup light since I do most of my riding at night.