Head light advice
 

I'm in the market for a head light for my road bike. I was thinking of light and motion stella 600 dual. Any advice or reviews?

What do you want to spend? I use a flashlight and it works great, but if I was prepared to spend $75 or more, there are bike-specific lights that work great.

I use both a headlight and a helmet light. I ride out in orchids and its pitch black the helmet light is nice cause anywhere you look you can see.

I just ordered a MagicShine on the advice of a year-round commuter friend. Less than $100, and supposedly plenty of light for seeing the road as long as I'm not flying along. I also use a Planet Bike Beamer on flash, a Cateye on my helmet in flash mode along with a swiveling PB Blinky on the back of the helmet, and a strobe on the back. And one on my backpack, and a steady beam on the back, too. Makes me bulletproof (I wish).

But the MagicShine seems to be a good deal for the money, and I am riding to commute, not bombing down trails in the middle of the night.

For the money you cannot beat this light, has different variations as well.

http://www.amazon.com/MagicShine-MJ-...8400339&sr=8-1

if you search for ' SSC P7' on ebay, you'll find some unbranded Magicshine lights that are even cheaper - I have a pair. They provide oodles of light to see where you're going on a dark road.

what he said as well ^^^^^^^^

I've been using the Serfas TSL-1000 and have been very happy with it's output. Considerably nicer and much wider throw than the Magic. Very long battery times too, if that's important to you.

There's a buncha good tips and product reviews in the electronics, lights & gadgets forum: http://www.bikeforums.net/forumdispl...ng-amp-Gadgets

MagicShine is a good one. If you're sticking mainstream retail, Serfas has a new TL-500 that is probably enough for most and a lot cheaper than the TL-1000.

Some people use LED flashlights, but they're not that great and I speak from experience. The good news is that if you decide the ~1 hr (full power) battery life from a Cree XML flashlight single 18650 cell isn't enough, then you can take it apart and rig up your own battery packs. (Candlepower and other forums dedicated to DIY lights are better than BF in that case.) For me, 1 hour is good enough because I'm only riding in the dark for 30-45 min before work. I've got about $60 invested in two LED flashlights, two 18650s and a cheap charger, which surprisingly works well.


ANYway... on a road bike your biggest/best light should be on your handlebar or stem. You need one on your helmet too, and if it is the same as what's on your bar that's gravy. For MTB or cross, your best light needs to be on your head because of all the small short hills and tight turns. If you're doing high speed descents on a roadbike you need two strong lights. Personally, I dial it back a few notches at night / early morning in fear of hitting debris, animal or a jogger in all black.

As with most things you get what you pay for. If you are serious about night riding, get a strong light. This year because of my work schedule I decided to get a headlight for my bike so I could ride into the darkness after work. Based upon a lot of research I bought a 2011 Cygolite MityCross LED headlight. For 2011 Cygolite upped the lumens to 480...an outstanding light...latest technology with LED for low power draw and Lith Ion battery for long life....3 power ranges and lasts a long time on its highest output...I can go a few rides before recharging. They are available on ebay for about $200 and worth it IMHO.

From the same stable, more or less, as Magicshine:

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/t6-assa...%20full%20view

Just got one. Effing bright and cheap.

It's probably the same as MS - sans new battery type and the customer service to back it up.

The battery overheating issue shouldn't be ignored even though I haven't heard of anyone really lighting it up big time from charging. The risk is that if the battery does ignite/spark while charging unattended, it can start a house fire, and you know what's next. This issue isn't totally bogus - I've had a Sony Vaio that had a battery spark once and there was literally a small flame coming out of the battery pack, with smoke and everything - if it had been sitting unattended near paper, my entire house could have burned down. I don't think I'm being a scaremonger here - if MS thought it was important enough to recall all of them and reissue new ones, you should probably also go with the more reliable battery.

I spent years using lithium ion/polymer batteries for model aircraft so I'm familiar with the risks. At some point I might do some DIY to enable cell balancing.

There's a P7 magicshine now with a high-medium-low-and flash modes instead of just high-medium-flash. I would get that one if you can find it. I would use the low mode to do house chores in the dark wearing the head strap or bike helmet. For example changing the furnace filters. I've had a couple battery backs for a couple years and haven't had any problems. I recharge them in a bar sink just to be sure. You could set them in a glass dish if you're ascared. It's reasonable to be concerned about high-powered batteries.

Agreed. I bought a flashlight because it houses the battery itself, making installation easy and making it less bulky. However, the beam pattern is more of a spot than a flood, so I can see a strip in front of me about 3' wide and 10" long really well, and not much of anything else. There are ways to fix that (see Candlepower and such), but the Magicshine is so close in price, I would have just gone that route if I had known about it (did it even exist 4 years ago?).

I also agree with supplementing it with a helmet light to look at specific things, and a rear blinky and/or solid for people to see you from behind. David58 may look like a Christmas tree on the road, but he will get noticed.

Is it just me or did this man just use the word "ascared"?

check out the exposure diablo. it's a good headlight blinkie, but can also reportedly throw out 900 lumens to bring you back after dusk.

I have a MS900. The battery went dead two hours into a ride one night. After that the run time got shorter and shorter until it failed completely.

I replaced it with a L&M Stella 300D. Not as bright, but much higher quality. More expensive, but reliable.

The vendor I bought the MS900 from replaced the battery under a voluntary recall. As far as I can tell, it works now.

I learned two things from the experience. First, never depend on just one light. Second, buying a cheap light because you do not plan to use it much is not really a good idea because you might be giving up reliability instead of performance.

So, if you can afford the Stella 600D, go for it. It is expensive and the replacement battery is expensive, but the L&M products are good. If you decide to go with the Magic Shine, get a second battery. In either case, carry a backup light. I carry a Princeton Tec headlamp as a backup. It's reasonably light and can be attached to my helmet.

BTW, MTBR has great reviews of lights.

This.

Best light I've had, and I've owned Nightsun, Light & Motion, etc. Those were too complicated, heavy, separate batteries. This light is OUTstanding. And if you need more burn time you can buy a second battery for $30 and carry it in your pocket. Light weight, compact, very bright. Tested this light rated @ 500 lumens against my old Light & Motion light, and this one was just as bright in a setup that weighs about 70%+ less and is far simpler. Burn time on highest setting is only about 90 mins, 2+ hours on second setting (still quite bright) but like I said, carrying a spare battery is easy and they only cost $30. I never really need more than 2 hours out of the light, I get that on the two highest settings no problem.

Piko 3

750 lumens, 22 degree throw angle. Super compact and light.

magicshine 900 lumens. dang bright light.

'dang'?

I have a Magic Shine MJ-808e (1000 Lumen) I wear...also a "dang" bright light :thumb:

I don't ride the road bike in the dark though...strictly MTB at night.

I use the MagicShine and have been really happy with it the past year and a half I've been using it. They rate it at 900 lumens but I remember reading that it tests at about 600 lumens but that's plenty bright to illuminate the road in front of you and certainly enough to be seen. I actually have to be careful not to shine it directly on motorists. For the $85 I paid it's a good deal.

http://www.amazon.com/Serfas-True-50.../dp/B005HQ2JC4

I have two of these and a magicshine "900" and can tell you first hand that one of these Serfas 500's is brighter, lighter, and much better quality. It also has the battery built in and is USB rechargable