Is 350 lumens enough?
 

looking for a headlight, with the day light savings time closing in im feeling the need to get one. Ive seen ranges from 150 to 1500. Im not trying to break the bank on this, do lots of trail riding (paved). Had my eye on the 'CygoLite Expilion 350 USB Headlight' on bike nashbar for just under $100. How many lumens do yall think is suffcient?

I would go with the MiNewt 600 for $109. I use it and it is an amazing light for the price.

http://www.amazon.com/NiteRider-600-.../dp/B005DNXXL2

+ 1 I have the same light, and it provides a good beam for night riding.

That one looks great...says 1.5 hours on high....how long does the battery last on medium and how is the light differance on medium vs high? 1.5 hours is prolly enough for the times ill ride but just wanna double check.

I like the magic shine 900 lumen (at least that's what the box says) - just at $100.

The only time you need high is on fast descents. On climbs I can get by with the low setting but generally use the middle setting for most everything except down hills. On medium it is still 400 lumens so more than the light you are looking at.

Not having an external battery is really a plus for me.

Just put it all on your helmet!

Helmet lights are not allowed on our group rides. Having the light there can blind cars as well as the people that you are riding with.

It might be the way that the picture looks but it looks like if you would land on the back of your head the battery could hurt you pretty bad.

I would say that if you are riding on FAMILIAR trails and/or roads, the 350 lumen light you suggested, or the MiNewt would be acceptable.

The Magicshine 900 is allegedly 900 lumens but really more like 600. It is ok too, cheaper but possibly some reliability and battery issues.

Any of the 3 are reasonable choices.

p.s. if you want mind-boggling info on lights, lumens, lux, batteries etc. head over to the electronics forum.

I think 200 lumens is even enough. Personally I like 200 on the bars illuminating the road and another 200 mounted on the helmet.

What are your riding conditions? 350 is reasonably bright and is adequate for most situations.

However if you ride in slop on 2 lane highways when there's a lot of spray, you'll probably find yourself wanting more.

FYI, the Serfas TSL500 has longer time on full. 1.75 hrs at 500 lumens. I use the 1000 and love it. Very well made as well.
http://www.serfas.com/product_details.asp?ID=899

350 is good for roads you are familar with like regular commutes. You need something brighter (like Magic Shine) for new rides or roads that get frequent pot holes

Everyone is recommending other lights, and their all decent lights; but the Expilion 350 that you're looking at now is a great light and should be more than enough for pretty much all riding.

Depends on whose lumens, really. Not all lumens are the same.

I've been quite happy with Dinotte 200 lumen lights, and very happy with two of them on the bars.

I go for redundant lights. One system is 150 lumens and the second is 300. One will often begin to lose power within 30 minutes of home or work. I just put the back-up system on full power and I always have a working system at full strength.

I also use a 1 watt blinker on the front, just to be sure I stand out in the clutter of urban lights.

It's enough. Next question.

In my experience the run time on this unit (which I'm very happy with )@ 500 lumens probably 90 minutes or less, but frankly the useable brightness difference between the highest setting and the next one isn't that great, running the light on the high setting for the first hour and then switching to the next one down nets me 2+ hours of run time which is great. If that's an issue a second battery only costs $30 and it's easily pocketable so you can take it with you and swap batteries if you need more burn time. Great little light. I wear it on top of my helmet, I like it much better than any other lighting setup I've ever used. This time of year I ride in the pre-dawn darkness 4-5 days every week.

This is always a good idea.

Light failures are rare, but they can happen (crash, water, etc). Being in the dark in the wrong place is dangerous.

I go for multi-lighting as well. I use my primary light and I also have a "see me" front light. I can't really see much with my backup light but cars can see me which is pretty important. I also have my primary blinkie on the back plus two small knogs, one on each chain stay.

I ride a lot at night. I have a LOT of light (2250 lumens). But for the min acceptable, I think you need to be around 600-700 lumens. That's basically half as bright as one car headlight. Understand, of course, that the lumen ratings on most lights is theoretical (and then some) as opposed to real lumens out the front.

The suggestion for two lights is a good one. Having been stuck a long way from home on a moonless and cloudy night, I learned that the hard way.

J.

I use a Zebralight SC600 flashlight. It's brightest continuous setting is 500 lumens, it has great run time on an 18650 battery, and is small and lightweight. Flashlights work for me as it is easy to carry extra batteries so I never have to worry about running out of power.

Took a night ride tonight and it was more than enough, even on the lower settings (330 lumens) there was plenty of light.

Keep in mind it isn't all about lumens, beam pattern and bin tint can make a lower lumens rated light a better choice. I prefer neutral tints, in the flashlight world this info is readily available, cruising the websites of bike light manufacturers I see they don't tell you what LED tint they use, not good IMHO as a crappy tint can make a great light useless.

+1. i have a 350 and a 500. i only use the 500 for mtn biking, the 350 is plenty for the road.

This. Sometimes it's all focused on a 2' diameter spot, while other times it's a nice wide flood. I think it's candlepowerforums.com or something like that where people post pictures of various flashlights and bike lights under the same conditions so you can see how well they work.

Also, it all depends on how fast you plan on going. You want a lot of throw when you're going fast, and less throw with a wide flood when you're going slow.

Yes, candlepowerforums, good idea to hang out there a little bit, lots of good info.