DrugCoder

It is most convenient for me to ride after it gets dark, thanks to my job and then home improvement projects after work. I don't have any lights at the moment but am looking to pick some up. How strong of lights should I be looking for? I'm assuming jsut a blinking red light for the back, but for the front, I dont' know where to start. I've seen some for around $20 to recharchable systems that run over $150.

What kind of lighting systems do you guys use?

Do you have the handlebar mounted lights, helmet mounted lights, or both?

telenick

I use the NiteRider Storm and Blowtorch. I use both a helmet and handle bar light for mountain biking. I usually only use the handle bar for the road bike. I know they're expensive. They're awesome for mountain bike riding/racing at night. They cast a true white light by way of High Intensity Discharge (HID)

eviltangerine

From my understanding, the light brightness isn't for you..it's for the cars. You can probably get home alright with the street lights to guide you, but the flashers are for the cars to make sure that THEY can see you.

That said, you should be fine with a red flasher in the back and a white light in the front

I think the price is just depending on how you want to use it. Rechargeable would probably be better if you're going to be riding very often in the night, otherwise I'm sure you could go with regular AA or AAA battery versions.

consider sheldon's advice too: https://sheldonbrown.com/commute/index.html

DrugCoder

The niterider lights look sweet but are unfortunately out of my price range. I think i will start with the rear light and keep looking for the front. Thanks for your help!

bkrownd

Cateye EL500. I was also using a 4-LED headlamp before I got a new helmet it won't fit on. Now I'm puttiing together my own multi-Luxeon headlight, and I'd like to make one to strap to the top of my helmet, because I really miss having the light that points where I look.

Cerberusgl

For commuting I run a Cygolight Rover NiMH. I got it on sale for about $55 at performance. It lights the bike path enough to see where I'm going as long as I don't go over 18-20 MPH. I'm looking at an HID light for next winter.

2manybikes

For a headlight.....

You have to start with what kind of riding you do. What kind of tires you have and what the terrain is like. Then the power you need. The time you will ride at night greatly changes the price of the light. Longer run times with good lights add a lot to the price. If you need to see the ground and not hit small things.

Decent "see the ground" entry level lights can be had for $80 on sale at performance or Nashbar. (Around $100 full retail)
$150 is enough if you don't need a very long run time. Maybe 2 hours or so.

High end "see the ground" lights are $900 Mid level are $250 to $400

If you have big heavy thick tires ( like a mountain bike knobby) and can run over small things you can get by with a white led "be seen by cars" light if you are on well lit roads. $20 to $40 is enough. I don't recommend this though. If you have a road bike with high performance tires this is really not good enough.

mirona

You just bummed me out with all those big numbers! I'm also looking into lights, mostly for when I get caught out past sundown. I have a red blinkie on the back and a weak LED in the front that only works sometimes. The most I ride at night is usually 15 miles and I'm on 700x23's.

jsharr

One wreck from an unseen pothole, stick in road, etc will cost you the $100 bucks you save buying a cheap light.
I ride quite a bit at night and felt unsafe using the cateye halogen light (cl-500) at road bike speeds. I moved up to a 15 watt Marwi Nightpro Torch with NiMH battery and feel much better with my environment. A light enable you to be seen as others have stated, but it also allows you to see, which is of equal importance. I would ride with no less than a 10 watt light at night. The different batteries will give you longer burn time, faster charge, etc. Buy the most light you can afford, it will pay off in the long run.

squeegy200

Yup, I agree totally.
I use my light for both Road and Mountain trails when the sun goes down early.
The difference between a pothole and a shadow can sometimes be difficult to distinguish. Very dangerous at speed.

As others have indicated, better lights also make me more visable to automobiles.

Save up and buy a good one. Your life and well being is worth it.

jsharr

Here is where I bought my light, they offer free shipping on orders over $75.00 and had great customer service.

https://www.outdoorsportz.com/BGLTOOOO1010.html

sentinel

In addition to the flashing LED lights for the back, don't forget a reflective vest.

zonatandem

Minimum of 10 watts for the front, preferably 20 watts. Red blinkie in rear.
Less than 10 W and you can't see worth a darn. Route you ride in daytime looks awfully different at at night, especially if there are no streetlights!
Better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it!

bkrownd

I'm doing pretty darn peachy with around one Watt. Lighting needs are highly individual. I'd say about 3 Watts would be a perfect compromise between lightoutput and battery weight & lifetime for me.

661

Yup... I tried to do it on the cheap with a ~3 watt self-contained unit. Took about 2 blocks worth of riding to realize I wasted that money. Have a 12 watt Jet Lite Starfire on the way with an extra 20w lamp for nocturnal off-roading.

2manybikes

Sorry about the sticker shock, but you should understand now before you spend too much on lights that will not do what you want. You will end up doing what many do,(me included) and spend money on a few lights that are not good enough. Don't waste time and money, get right up to 10 or 15 watts.
As you read the posts, all the high mileage night riders will say about the same thing. 10 watts halogen is just good enough 15 watts is good. If you do only 15 miles you don't need much runtime (unless you get hooked on night riding, it's very easy). With the 700x23's you need to see holes in the pavement and small pieces of glass. Buy a rechargeable halogen somewhere in the 10 to 15 watt range and read the run time carefully. If you ride in the freezing cold, runtime capacity is reduced a lot. Start looking at 10 to 15 watt lights that go two hours. Cygolights give a lot for the money. Performance and Nashbar always have some lights on sale around that rating, some under $100. The rechargeable lights save a lot of money over the course of a year if you do much night riding.

If you hope to ride fast go for the 15 watts. You won't regret it after you try it.

my58vw

You need a brioght enough light so that the person in front of you is blinded and ended us crashing taking you with them...

Actually it really depends on what you are doing. For night training I use nothing short of my blowtorch HID kit...

jsharr

https://www.mtbr.com/spotlight/lightshootout/

Go to the link above and look at the beam patterns of different lights. The $50.00 light is basically worthless on a dark trail. One simply cannot compare the light output of a one watt light with a 15 watt light. You may well be able to ride with a 1 watt light, but I think you are the exception. I ride three nights a week on average, at around 17 mph on a mix of lit streets, unlit streets and bike trails. I used to use a Cateye Halogen, and at road bike speeds found it to be inadequate. Never wrecked but had some close calls and some pinch flats from hitting holes in road. I now ride with a Marwi NightPro Torch and am satisfied that I can see well and be seen. One wreck that takes out a wheel or brifter, or worse, causes serious injury is not worth the difference in price between an inexpensive light and a good light. The OP needs to consider how much night riding he/she will be doing, at what speeds, on what bike and in what sort of environment and then make a decision. You yourself say you really need a light 3 times more powerful than what you are using in the last sentence of your post.

bkrownd

I didn't say "need". What I said was that would be about the best compromise. That means I could put up with charging my batteries weekly instead of once every 3 weeks or month.

MikeN

I have this and love it... Great sale price right now too.

RiPHRaPH

for some reason performance stops at that model. the 1 or 2 models higher in the Rover line is excellent for all types of riding. it is a 16W spotlight and 14W wide angle i am thinking of. I like that one. It retails for $119.99..