lung

I have resorted to early "ass crack of dawn" rides and occasional late evening rides. Whatever it takes right? Any suggestions on a GOOD light that I won't have to sell a kid on the Black-Market to afford? Thanks bros and broettes.

mr_tom

Are your children more valuable to you than Dinottes?

Vireo

I use NiteRider lights.

The big daddy and most burn time is the Moab HID. Lots of burn time means you can commute to work and back and not have to charge it in between. Convenient. Ultra Bright and long burn time but Pricey. If you don't need 12 hours or even 8 hours.

On summer days I use a MiNewt. Nice and bright ultra compact headlight and battery. I mount the battery under the stem. On bright setting it gives about 3.5 hours and on low (still plenty of light) it gives 6.5 to 7 hours. The costs are much less than the big daddy Moab.

I have been riding pre-dawn and late at night for years. Four kids and my lovely also rides so it is challenging to get the miles in. Good luck and be safe.

AEO

Dinotte for the front, Planet bike super flash for the rear.

jsmithepa

Oh yes, they look particular hideous at dawn.

lung

Is this a good one?
https://store.dinottelighting.com/sha...unt2=979056954

yogi13

+1

That's my setup, except I sometimes add another Dinotte to the front. Another option is to get two high output LED flashlights and mounts for the front. I've got a 200L-AA and an older 140L-AA.

For other opinions, transfer this question to the electronics, lighting & gadgets forum. They live for this sort of thing over there.

AEO

get the 400L

That's what I'd get if I didn't already have an array of weaker lights like 200L, cateye-530, PB 1W, etc.

Nachoman

I use the dinotte 200L on my handlebar, the fenix P3d mounted on the helmet and the dinotte 140 for the rear. It's a chunk of change, but as Officer Friendly says: "safety first!"

jaxgtr

First how dark is the area you ride in. I use a Blackburn X4 and it is pretty bright, but since most of the area I ride in is fairly well lit, I really don't need a super bright light. However, if I was riding in a very dark area and wanted to put the Sun on the front of my bike the Dinotte is what I would get.

mrbubbles

Budget? The lights recommended here range from $50 to $400.

HID is obsolete, so is the MiNewt. Moad HID hasn't been the "big daddy" for a while.

https://reviews.mtbr.com/blog/lupine-betty-12/

The only way you can top that is DIY, and yes, night riding enthusiast has built an equivalent of 2 Lupine Betties.

Niterider is pretty far behind the leaders in bike lights. Dinotte, L&M, Lupine have the latest.

Get this. https://dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.12623 https://dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.12060
Both 1/4 of 400L price and it blows away 400L. 2 of these on your handlebar and you'll get the equivalent light of a Lupine Betty. It also doubles as a flashlight.

Review here. https://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=436303

Blackburn tends to make shoddy products, that extends to light as well. YMMV.

shawk

May be a bit higher than you're looking.... but the Cygolite 200 & 300's are phenominal little lights (and not overly expensive). I bought two from a sponsor here for my wife's and my bike. With my 3 kido's they really light of the path. Of course my kids have lights too but realistically they're good for being seen and not to see. IF you can... invest in a good one now... because you probably will anyway down the road. Enjoy your rides...

uke

Yup. Get a P7. There is no cheaper way to get 500-700 lumens without building a light yourself.

dekindy

Go to the Electronics, Lighting, and Gadgets forum and do a search on Fenix. This flashlight and an appropriate helmet mount is the most cost effective alternative and is much better than cycling specific offerings. You may require a second one for the bar but try the helmet only first. A helmet mount will take care of most cyclists needs and a helmet and bar pair will take care of almost all cyclists' needs.

If you are like me you will be skeptical at first. But the Fenix is every bit as good as claimed.

Vireo

When I said big daddy I meant in the NiteRider line up. I know that NiteRider has discontinued the Moab but that also means it can be found at a discount. As far as the MiNewts-- NiteRider is moving into more LED type lights. I'm sponsored by them and will eventually get prototypes of their next generation lights.

Lupine Betty 12 -- For a guy with 4 kids I think a $1,200 light might be too much -- just a guess.

Agreed on Blackburn.

mrbubbles

For what's out there, I wouldn't touch Niterider, but since you are sponsored by them, it's moot because you're not paying for it. I have demoed the Niterider stuff, I wouldn't buy them, their whole LED lineup has the switch on the bloody battery and the battery is proprietary, and overall I am unimpressed. If anything, I wouldn't be surprised if their latest prototypes is no different then what's on the market already, they are already behind.

If you aren't absolutely tied to Niterider, try out Cygolite and Dinotte, much better stuff. If you do 24 hour races, forget battery lights, go dynamo. Basically a TriNewt high level brightness on all the time, without worrying about battery runtime.

Other than that, I'm a DIY when it comes to light, it's the ohly way I can keep up with latest on LED tech before commercial manufacturers like Niterider even get the stuff on the drawing board.

beetz12

ChainLove ocassionally carries the Light & Motion Vega light (85L) for $75. I bought one a few weeks ago and I've been very happy.

When I ride at night now, I feel very safe because I have good visibility of the road in front of me, and the high intensity beam ensures I'm also seen by motorists.

Granted, there are brighter lights you can buy, but for the price the Vega is really hard to beat.

Sage23

+1

I've got the 200L up front and its amazing.

cyccommute 

Depends on how much you want to spend, how heavy you can tolerate, how much light you want or need, how long a run time you want and how much you want to do to make your own.

For cheap and okay, the Fenix LD10 isn't bad. 120 lumens for 1.5 hours in a lightweight package. You do need a mount and you probably want at least 2 ($120 total). 120 lumens is about the lowest output you want to actually see the road...and even that is pretty dim.

The Dinotte is a good package but pricier. As with the Fenix (or any light system), you want at least two of them so that's getting into $300 range.

Niterider is okay and the price of the MiNewt has come down to around $90.

Lupines are beautiful but...damn!

Now, if you can stand to carry some weight and want something to burn the pavement with, DIY is the way to go! Halogen DIY can blast any of the above out of the water in terms of price and performance. The Lupine Betty puts out 1500 lumens for $1000. 1500 lumens is about what a 100W incandescent puts out. It's more than HID puts out. It's a bucket load of light. The link above is for a system that cost about $100 per light and puts out what the Betty does. Depending on the battery selected, you can get run times up to 3 hours (4+ with lower wattage bulbs). I run 3 of these (I can even run a 4th now) and I can see the atomic structure of the rocks that make up the road No issues with seeing or being seen.

mrbubbles

Really?

https://dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.12623

$50 + $3 + $20 (battery and charger). 700 lumens (900 lumen on the site is a hoax, not true) vs 85 lumens of L&M Vega.

Not to rain on your parade, but that light is 3 years old, there's a reason why they are closing it out, just because it's on CL doesn't mean it's a steal.

This $21 flashlight running on AA battery is brighter than the Vega, and lighter.
https://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.7938

Slackerprince

I like Cateye.
My front light wasn't clipped into the bracket all the way, (my fault) and it fell on the street into five pieces. I snapped them all back together, and it works great.
They are a good value with great customer service if you need a part or something.
I like Cateye!

Slackerprince

ted ward

I roll with a knog frog front & rear

Keep the watch batteries fresh and they're very bright (brightness is not the same as light output), feather-light, and work on every bike.

https://www.bikeforums.net/singlespeed-fixed-gear/148645-knog-frog-light.html

Cateye

No kidding.........what a loser.

ir0nfist

is e needy wife worse than a needy wife? I would love to ride at night but it is so dark and scary. I know this is crazy, but I just imagine that every time I pass a corner someone is going to clothesline me. I mean, here in the mean streets of carlsbad you never know what could happen ::eyeroll emoticon about carlsbad::

but seriously, it seems so dangerous riding at night for so many reasons. Which is weird because the morning doesn't bother me at all, like after 4:30 AM. Like that guy who rode a night century. I wouldn't feel comfortable doing that unless I had at least 2 other people with me.

dekindy

https://www.fenix-store.com/product_...roducts_id=600
This will give you 175 lumens on turbo. You cannot tell very much difference between turbo and high so realistically you could probably use the high runtime as a standard to compare to other lights.

https://www.target.com/Duracell-Recha...battery&page=1
and will last 2 hours if you use high quality rechargeables riding in 30 degree Faherenheit temperatures

https://www.fenix-store.com/product_...roducts_id=273
You will need this if you put it on your bars.

https://www.fenix-store.com/product_...roducts_id=340
You may require the mount above for the helmet or this one depending on the orientation of your helmet vents. You can post your helmet type in the lighting forum and somene can probably advise you regarding whether you need a bikeblock or lockblock for your helmet.

This charger if starting from scratch.

$57.95 + $7.95 + $12.99 + $44.19 = $123.08 + shipping
This is one Fenix flashligtt package if you are starting completely from scratch.

$123.08 + $57.95 + $7.95 + $12.99 = $201.97 + shipping
This is two Fenix flashligtt packages if you are starting completely from scratch.

I would start with one on your helmet. It will light up both sides of a 2-lane country road and spill over the sides and give you enough distance ahead to ride at 20 mph or less. Plus you will be able to see where you are looking.

Adding the second to the bar makes this an awesome combination that runs on a rechargeable and generic AA's.

If you already have a charger and batteries this is a no-brainer.

Once my riding buddy, a retired gentleman that rides thousands of miles per year and has been riding at night for decades, saw the Fenix he immediately ordered it and could not be happier. Since he already had a charger it only cost him $160 instead of the $400 he budgeted based upon bicycle specific current technology.

Plus you have a great flashlight to use off the bike. I strongly encourage you to look at this option.

Plus if you are not using rechargeables for your family's AA, AAA, C, and D, battery needs, start. The new hybrid rechargeables retain their charge when not in use much better than previous rechargeables and can be recharged hundreds of times. Great way to save money and the environment. If you need to use C and D batteries then get this charger.

https://www.thomas-distributing.com/m...ry-charger.htm