Recommend a good light for commuting?
 

Yo dudes,

I was using a pissy little flashing LED on the front of my bike at night for ages until it fell off a few months ago. I've been riding without a front light since then but it's winter now so things are getting dark and it's getting dangerous.

Can anyone recommend a good handlebar mounted light that's not massive but still gives out a decent amount of light? A link to buy online would be great too.

Cheers!

It was still Autumn here on my last count :) I guess it's probably bit colder already down in Tassie though.

I just use little detachable LEDs on the front and back. I'd be curious to hear of any good, compact detachable lighting that can be easily stashed in your bag though.

Mostly I use tiny LED blinkies, but I also cary this little flashlight which is small and light enough to affix to my bars with a rubber band when I need a good solid beam. It uses 4AAA batteries, and it really packs a punch casting a beam 68m, but the burn time is not so good. they have a larger light that uses 4AAs that casts a beam 100m, and burns 5x as long. I use one of those big long red rubber bands looped around the light and the bars a few times to hold it in place.

Check out the Commuting Forum, there are tons of threads about bike lights there.

L&M Vega - decent amount of light, self-contained - no external battery packs.
http://www.bikelights.com/Products/vega.htm
I've seen em on E-Bay for around $115

Yeah I'm not sure why I posted this in here rather than the commuting or general forum. I suppose I was here already, haha.

Thanks guys. That L&M light looks good, but a little pricey.

i use a cateye 410.
it's small, light, and bright!
3 leds with flashing or steady.
http://www.amazon.com/Cateye-EL-410-...6215803&sr=8-1

beat me to it. Awesome light.

The possibilities are infinite. You need to narrow things down before you can pick a light or even get a useful recommendation.

How fast do you want to go? do you want to see the ground well? Do you need to see small things that may give you a flat? This helps determine the brightness.

How long do you need the light to run, including extra time for repairs on the road and very cold weather?
This determines battery capacity and type of light, this changes the price.

What is you budget goal? Is it approiximate or an absolute limit?

Now you can start narrowing things down. Now you can see if your budget is appropriate.

Do you need to see or be seen?

Then perhaps a Cateye HL-EL530
http://www.cateye.com/en/product_detail/345

I dig my Turbocat S10 (comes with a single light). I have the version with the CNCed cam clamp (pictured below) and small battery pack that mounts to the top tube with a velcro strap. It takes up very little space on the bars and the whole system can be cleanly removed from the bike in a few seconds.

http://www.turbocatusa.com/Images/S32_47_big.gif

My gf got the S15 on my recommendation and it is bright as ****. Hers came with a water bottle battery pack which won't work on a track frame. Mine was $90 shipped and hers was a little over $100 - both brand new on ebay.

Cateye 530 to the max!

http://www.cateye.com/en/product_detail/345

(edit: dang, someone beat it to me, but this really is awesome light)

I use that one. It works to be seen but isn't going to light up every bit of gravel in the road if you're someplace without streetlights.

For a taillight I'm using a cateye LD-1000. It's a better taillight than the EL530 is a headlight.

Definately check out the commuting forum. Those guys have some plans for cheapy home-made halogen headlights made with Home Depot track lighting & plumbing parts. I don't have a link to the thread, sorry.

From the Commuting forum:

Buy: Light selection guide
Build: Total Geekiness

Thanks for the links guys, much appreciated.

cateye the cheap little lipsticky lookin one and serfas tl 2000(the brightest led tail light on the maret) seriously a dynamite pair and they cost you less than 60 bucks