chriskitch

I've been riding with a red Knog Beetle in back for the last year or so and it's been fine...never had any issues with waterproofness...wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone...

Unfortunately, I haven't found a front light that is durable as well as being bright enough at a price I'm willing to pay (a hundred bucks or less)...

I tried a 1watt Planet Bike Blaze that lasted about four months til the plastic slot where the bracket attaches cracked...

Then I tried a 1watt Cannondale light with an alloy casing that had issues with unsolicited shutting off right from my initial purchase and ended up getting returned...

I bought a Blackburn Voyager 4.0 light with a 1watt luxeon bulb and I thought I'd finally found my new light...It was brighter than any other LED headlight I'd ever used, even on the 50% setting...Sadly, like the Planet Bike light, the plastic cracked in the slot where the bracket attached...When I got my warranty replacement, the actual bracket cracked...After checking out some online reviews, I found out that these problems are common with the Voyager 4.0 which is probably why Blackburn is discontinuing it for 2010...

At some point during warranty returns on the Blackburn light, I picked up a white LED Knog Skink to use as a "being seen" light...It's not bright enough to illuminate country roads in pitch black but it's been pretty reliable as a backup light...

After all of my problems with front lights, I thought about which brand of light had given me the most trouble-free use over the years and the answer was BLT...Easily, the longest lasting headlights I had ever used were made by BLT so I figured, why not go with one of their better lights...I chose the Triton t4 because of it's cast alloy construction and the fact that it's 4watt LED bulb was supposed to be as bright as a 21watt halogen...It's not...It's not even as bright as any of the 1watt LEDs I had tried...It's barely brighter than the Knog Skink I'm using as a backup...

Any advice this forum has on a decent light that'll illuminate the road in pitch black conditions for under a hundred clams would be greatly appreciated...

antilogy

I use a P7 in the front, also sometimes a Blackburn Voyager 3.0. For the rear it's a Blackburn Mars 3.0 and a PBSF; I also happen to think the 3.0 is brighter than PBSF. I have to wonder if I should have gotten the Mars 4.0 instead.

dcdude

generic red blinkie on the back

nothing up front

antilogy

Two P7's with two batteries and a charger will run you a little less than $100.

Triple8Sol

Yes, I have knog frogs. Carry them in my backpack in case I need them, so they're never on the bike.

warfordium

red knog bullfrog in the back, white knog toad in the front. but then again, i never need to 'see'.

though, the other night a friend was showing me his planet bike superflash front thing. it was intense, and i was a little jealous! but i cant handle plastic clips. i'm not kind to them at all.

cc700

30 to 35 per light, 13 for the charger(you want the 13 dollar one, not the 11 dollar one), and another 10 for two batteries.

one light is MORE than enough. my two are a little overkill, and because i had a problem with the first one. tightened it up and now it works fine. i've only used both once, and it wasn't even any easier to see with than just one. one is basically all the light your eyes can process.

oh yeah, and three dollars for the strap mount. so you end up spending 61 dollars plus handling, so like 65.

chriskitch

Where are you guys buying this stuff?....DealExtreme?

PluperfectArson

One PBSF in the back, no light in the front.

I had a Blackburn Flea in the front, but it will not hold a charge for some reason.

the_don

Because logic and facts are unimportant for Adrino

adriano 

https://74.125.93.132/search?q=cache:...ient=firefox-a

2dois2b

we have eyes that see in the dark like cats

MysticRats

Sexy Sleek.

gnome

Homemade 1 watt LED on the front and a B&M Seculite Plus on the rear, all wired to a Shimano DH3N20 Dynohub.

My fixed gear was built up as a dedicated commuter. On my commuters I prefer hardwired dynamo lights and full mudguards.

PluperfectArson

I have no real need for lights on my bike, as I shine just like a ~*sTaR*~

JiveTurkey

Front: MiNewt Mini-USB


Rear: Planet Bike Super Flash

mumblesmumbles

How is the super flash working out for you? I was reading some comments about them on Amazon and few people find the mounting system is really cheap.

JiveTurkey

Well. I find the mount on par with comparable lights I've used. On my bike, I have the optional rack mount, which allows me to run the mount where a reflector would normally go. I did this as a solution for my rack trunk blocking the seatpost.

dinosore

both my bikes run knogs in back...my commuter has a cateye upfront and the noble polo steed runs a beetle upfront

caloso

It can rattle loose. I dropped one crossing some RR tracks last spring. I just used a ziptie for extra security after that and there's been no problem since.

cc700

i buy from dealextreme but there are a few places other than that.


i just dropped the pbsf off its mount yesterday, it's not bad but it's not the most secure mount around.

i'm going to cannibalize a fizik ICS bag to make a super sweet rear flashlight holder.

sooprvylyn

My bike is all black, I wear all black and I use night vision goggles. Ninja Bike sneak attack mode

JiveTurkey

Ninja Bike plowed from behind mode.

chriskitch

My updated 2009 bicycle light failure diary:


Light #1: Planet Bike 1watt blaze purchased January 2009. Bracket cracked and snapped off during a ride in May and the light smashed on the concrete and stopped working...Probably the best lumens to dollars ratio of the group...This light also has issues with it's battery compartment spontaneously opening mid-ride and launching the bulb section and the batteries out onto the road or trail...the easy fix for that is to wrap electrical tape around the outside so it doesn't twist open...


Light #2: Cannondale Alloy bodied 1watt LED purchased in May 2009. Never worked properly out of the box: shut off while riding. Also, the light vibrated in the bracket which was irritating...Not as bright as the Planet Bike Blaze but still nicer than the BLT Triton...It looks like the new version of this light has a better bracket...maybe they've fixed the reliability problems as well...I would only buy one of these off of a shop with a good return policy if I were you...


Light #3: Blackburn Voyager 4.0 Luxeon 1 watt LED purchased in June 2009. Did a great job of lighting the road and seemed well constructed but the bracket failed after a month and then the slots that hold the bracket in the light casing broke the following week...both failures happened spontaneously mid-ride...After checking online reviews, I found out that this is a common problem with this light which is probably why Blackburn stopped making it for 2010...Like the Cannondale, I would check the return policy of the store before buying this light...actually, I wouldn't buy that light again so the store's return policy is irrelevant...


Lights #4 & 5: Late summer, I got a good deal on a pair of heavy duty alloy bodied BLT Triton 4 watt LED rechargeable lights that were supposed to each give off as much light as a 21 watt halogen...BULLSH*T!!!...They were barely brighter than the Planet Bike Blaze...Neither of the Triton lights was reliable out of the box...sometimes they would work, sometimes they wouldn't...Also, one of the lights didn't fit in the handlebar bracket very well and slid out on my first night ride with them...The included helmet mount was useless...Too bad, because out of all the lights, I've tried, I liked the look of the Triton's cast aluminum casing the most...The quality of the light the Tritons produced on the road was also my least favourite of the group...BLT used to make such reliable stuff...what happened?....

Light #6: Knog Skink purchased as an emergency backup in September 2009...Died one hour into a two and a half hour rainy night ride last week...Not reliable...I like the idea of these lights more than I like their actual execution...They aren't really all that better built than something you would buy in a dollar store...Up until this light encountered rain, it was the most "fun" light of the group...Perhaps that is why I miss it the most......Fairwell little Skinky......



Light #7: Niterider Minewt Mini USB...Just bought it yesterday...Worked like a champ last night...Quite bright...Seems well made...This is the only light out of the bunch that wasn't manufactured in a Republic of China (for what that's worth)...It sure does make a lot of light for such a tiny thing...


Light #8: Niterider Ultrafazer Max 1 watt Luxeon LED ordered for commuting with part of the store credit I got when I returned the BLT Tritons...Should be in early next week...Since it has the same bulb as the Blackburn Voyager 4.0, I'm hoping for all the great lighting performance of that light without it's construction quality issues...We'll see......

(edit: just got a call from the shop and the ultrafazer max is on backorder and won't be in for a couple of months...citing the fact that they both use the same bulb, he offered me one of the blackburn voyager 4.0 lights they have in stock instead...i politely declined)...

jpdesjar

knog beetle for front and a superflash on the rear
once it starts getting darker earlier i will put my led light on my helmet as well (it's a cheapo energizer one, works fine)