I started commuting to work on bike June 1st and it has been great. As the number of daylight hours dwindles, my commute is beginning to effect my work hours 
So I need a light for my bike that is bright enough to ride on the unlit trails (Specifically that railroad track from millvale to sharpsburgh). So I am seeing bike lights ranging from $20 to $500, with lumens all the way up to 1400. I do not want any overkill, but I do not mind spending a few bucks either. These 47 year old eyes need all the help they can get. So how much is enough. I have been looking at a 250 lumen niterider light. But really I have no need to spend $100, if its not necessary. I got one of the $20 lights and it was definitely not bright enough to see the contour on the trail.
I just bought one of these. It's not even remotely cheap, but it's the best light I've ever owned. And no batteries or cables on the bike. I don't even use the 900 lumen setting very often but it would be perfect for an unlit path. You have to buy the handlebar mount as an extra, but it's the best made mount I've ever used. I was so happy with it I splurged again and bought one for my wife. Our 49 year old eyes are VERY happy.
I use a combination for front lights. I have two Dinotte 200L (200 lumens) and a Princeton Tec Switchback 3 (3 3-watt LED's). For me I'm not sure that there is such a thing as overkill for lights within reasonable weight and mounting considerations.
I recently bought a MagicShine. It's 900 nominal lumens (qualitatively, really bright: passerby comment "I thought that was a motorcycle" "That's bright-- too bright"). It lights up pitch dark roads.
It gets you into the big leagues for $90, or $120 with a very bright taillight that works off the same batteries.
That said, cheaper be-seen lights seem fine for most anywhere in Pittsburgh city limits, except maybe the trails.
@Eppi I'd say roughly 2-300 lumen is where you want to start. You can ride on ~150 (Niterider Minewt) but it's not a ton of fun.
The Magicshine gets a lot of rave reviews. I have not used one.
I'd also think about getting both a helmet and handlebar light. The handlebar light helps generate some shadows. The helmet light is really nice for pointing at things but it's high enough you don't get shadows. Also, redundancy is nice because you will forget to charge or bring a battery some time and having all your eggs in one basket will suck at that point.
Helmet lights create shadows directly behind what you are looking at. Your eyes are too close to the light source. Some people view this as a disadvantage since it is hard to tell how deep a hole is or how large a rock is if you have no shadow with which to judge the depth. If you are going to use a helmet light for illumination, make sure you have a handlebar one as well. I love having a helmet light if I need to see a road sign or something like that.
I have a Niterider Minewt mini-usb. It is listed as 110 lumens. It bright enough for me on the jail trail, junction hollow, the dirt trails through the park, or on the roads last week when the storm knocked out all the power for my ride home. If I have it on when I go on group bike rides, people complain it is too bright behind them. "I thought you were a car!" That said, sometimes I wouldn't mind a second, brighter light for unlit paths.
A nice LED flashlight and a LockBlock is a cheap way to get 200 lumens for like $25, though slightly less convenient than the purpose-built bike lights.
I think I will get the combo pack, the 250 minewt usb for the handlebars and then if I need to I will add the 900L Magicshine on my helmet.
As always, thanks for the help. I would have have started commuting to work on bike without the support of this community.
If it were me I'd buy a Minewt for the helmet and one for the bars. Gets you the same lumens with redundancy and better functionality.
When a car tries to pull out from a side street on you it will make more sense.
I don't own a Magicshine, but I've used a friend's in Frick. It is crazy bright. Sometimes-forum-participant xjoex recently reviewed one.
I would probably put the less bright light on my helmet, if I had two. The minewt I have easily swaps between bars and helmet though, so you could move it should you get second, brighter one.
Since the June Flock ride I've had a Planet Bike light on the handlebars and a cheapo 2-for-$5 9-LED Home Depot flashlight duct taped to the helmet. The Planet Bike light puts a nice spot on the street, while the helmet light casts a slightly wider beam. Between the two, fully charged I can see pretty well on a dark street. The handlebar light is on a bit loose so I can tweak it up/down/left/right as needed, too, which I've found helpful.
Sorry I don't have lumens data on either light.
Any opinions on the Cygolites? They look pretty similar to the Minewts in all aspects including price. I could definitely use a brighter light, and rechargeable.
FYI - I just received a promotional email from Performance Bikes saying that all of their lights are on sale. You may want to check it out.
I like having a light on my head/helmet so that I can see to the side without turning my bike that direction.
Everybody above has given better advice than I could, but I'd caution you to look at battery/charge time if you don't go dynamo. I picked up a light that uses a rechargable battery that will last three hours. The way I ride, if I can't charge after three hours of using it in the dark, I've done something horribly wrong and need to call for a ride anyway. If your commute is an hour and a half and you can't charge it at work, come December you may be up a creek with the same light.
Good luck!
If your commute is an hour and a half and you can't charge it at work, carry a spare battery.
Lyle - I'm not sure mine works that way... I was just trying to introduce the idea that battery charge/use time can also factor in to light purchase.
I can imagine having five sets of rechargeable batteries:
- Set #1: Installed on the bike
- Set #2: Charging on the home charger
- Set #3: Charging on the work charger
- Set #4: The backup set you carry with you
- Set #5: One more set sitting either at home or work, supposedly already charged, that you can grab and install on zero notice.
Without trying to be too obsessive-compulsive, the trick would be to keep all five sets regularly moving to be one of the others.
My new light can charge from the USB port on my computer just like a cell phone. I think more lights should adopt that technology. The wall charger is just a USB cable that plugs into a transformer brick--well, puck.
+1 on the MagicShine. I have the 900 lumen one and for the price, it's hard to beat.
I worked from home last week so I did not get to try out my light until today. I purchased the NiteRider MiNewt 350 Bike Light. I picked it up at REI for $199. Pricey but when possible I like to actually patronize local businesses and the REI folks are generally pretty OK.
I went in planning to buy the 250 lumen all in one USB unit, but after touching both I went with the 350 with the external battery. The 350 uses an O-Ring to attach to your handle bar. I thought this would be unstable but as it turns out I like this mount a lot. Taking the light on and off with the O-Ring is very easy, and the O-Ring mount allows you to re-aim the light as you are riding along the trail.
As for brightness, I am very happy. Riding on totally dark trails (like the train track from Millvale to Sharpsburg) I was able to see at least 5 seconds in front of me with full daylight conditions while riding at 15MPH .
One could always have more light, and having a helmet light would be nice for lighting up the place you are looking at rather than what your bike is pointing at, but I can say one 350 lumen light is definitely sufficient. I suspect I could have gotten away with a 250, but I am definitely happy with what I have.
Just got a CYGOLITE Pace 150 (lumens) rechargeable headlight and tried it for the first time tonight.
Fine enough for avoiding potholes and such about 2+ bike lengths ahead of me on Panther Hollow trail & Hawthorne Trail @ Frick in the dark. Not wide enough for seeing lions, tigers & bears lurking on the trail edges.
A couple of annoying things about the light: the little rubber plug meant to keep rain out of the USB charging port does not fit (cheap part). I had to find extra padding to get the clamp to work on my handlebars.
ATTN MAGICSHINE USERS: A distributor has just issued a recall notice on the battery packs.
I have the Cygolite Milion 200, $130 at REI, 200 lumens. Li Ion battery, rechargeable via AC or USB. (I used to use a cheap Cateye light but it was far too feeble.) I've got the Milion 200 on my helmet and I like it a lot. Other people like to bike near me at night because of my strong headlight. Unlike some helmet lights, the battery is internal - no wires required. http://www.cygolite.com/products/new/Milion/milion200.html
I got a CygoLite ExpiliOn 250 about a week ago - perfectly adequate for city riding. Mounted on bars, can see several lengths ahead at 20+ mph. Happy with its size, weight, and USB charging port. Have been running on daytime blink with it - actually prevented a guy from pulling out from a cross street in front of me this am.
In addition I'm using a 45 lumen camping headlight at night, aimed so that it's pointed where my eyes are looking.
@pseudachris - the rubber plug is annoying, but it does fit. Just need to poke it a bit with your fingernail to seat it.
Someone passed me on a bike outbound on Babcock yesterday around 4:30 while I was headed inbound. His dual flashing front lights made him stand out from traffic like a police car, which is, in fact, what I thought he was until I got a closer look. Almost too bright for daylight use. Must be hell to have him pull up behind you at night with those going.
http://m.rei.com/mt/www.rei.com/product/843559/niterider-lumina-650-bike-light
This would be my choice.
I am a huge fan of 500+ on the head and ~100 on the bars. The Niterider linked above at REI would be great.
This has been my light of choice expensive but drivers do see you. 1285 lumens. I have not had any problems since mounting this,
http://www.ibexsports.com/exposurelightsmaxxd.html
you guys realize this thread is almost 2 years old and got necro'd right? the OP hasn't been around in a while either...
anyways, wow have things changed in 2 years, you can now get self contained 650-700 lumen lights for the same price and form factor as 200-250. might be time to upgrade, put the 250 on my helmet.
^ Um no I didn't even notice how old this thread was.
I did notice the necro but didn't think it was enough of a reason to not post relevant thoughts.
@MrMarv... Are those lights worth the coin? I skipped them over to get a Lupine but I wouldn't mind another high output light because buying techie things is fun. plus bright is safe.
The nite riders are nicely built, but their runtime isn't the best. Be sure to check out cygolite and lupine's similar options.
@ orionz yes they are, the run time is amazing and it is bright and indestructible.
Anyone mess with these or hear any real world use stories?
http://www.glowormlites.co.nz/products?product_id=24315
I am still waiting for someone to give me a definitive answer on what light to buy for riding in the woods. There are too many options.
I'll throw Light & Motion's Urban line into the mix. I have the 500 (got on sale right after the 550 came out), which I like a LOT, and seem less clunky overall than the niteriders.
Cygolite triple led for the bars, single or double for the helmet.
cburch: I thought most people say you should use the more powerful one for your helmet. Or is this mostly a weight consideration?
I like having the more powerful one on my bars because that light will overpower the other one and cast shadows. If its on my bars this allows me to see the terrain better. If its on my helmet then i can't see the shadows and it flattens everything out. Same idea as an on camera flash vs another light source.
Ah, that makes sense, I never thought of that. I currently have two equally powered lights, perhaps I'll try running my helmet mount on a lower setting.
@cburch Wouldn't it be better to have two lights on a bar so it cast two shadows and help to estimate distance to an object?
Only if you are also going to still have a helmet light. Otherwise have fun trying to see in the woods on tight switchbacks when you're bike isn't point at the part of the trail you need to look at.
Yes, helmet is a must. And two lights on a bar should be separated and distance should at least 4 inches.
I think all of the previous "bicycle light" manufacturers have just been outdone.
aaand that goes to the top of my christmas list. i had heard exciting rumors about that a few months ago but had forgotten about it. fenix stuff is pretty awesome.
any battery experts wanna help me figure out which of the battery pack options makes more sense?
I don't know if this is the right place to ask — but...
How about the brightest bike light that takes standard AA or AAA batteries?
I go on a lot of long distance rides and I won't take any lights for those that require special rechargeable batteries since I probably won't have the time or place to charge them.
I have a handful of LEDs that take standard batteries — but none of them are bright enough to make me comfortable riding anything other than roads at night.
I would like something that is bright enough to ride the C&O canal trail at night — but not necessarily so bright that I can ride hardcore on technical singletrack at night. I am fine with using lights with special batteries for night-time mountain biking.
any battery experts wanna help me figure out which of the battery pack options makes more sense?
Lithium-ion battery technology is far outstripping what's available in the regular 1.5v AA/AAA batteries. You're looking at 1/8th the amount of runtime for the same amount of weight.
Don't get the stuff that they linked to, those are pretty low quality and (a) explode or (b) just die. I've only had (b) happen to me, but check on CandlePowerForums if you want some good lithium battery explosion carnage. You can however use those chargers.
Search eBay for NCR18650A. They're made by Panasonic, and deemed worthy enough to be used in the Tesla Roadster. They're very stable, won't explode with a direct short, and actually hit its advertised capacity.
There's a seller selling eight NCR18650As for $44, which I'd be willing to split with someone if they're interested ($5.50 a piece is the cheapest I've seen them come, I paid $13 each about 6 months ago).
The Fenix light posted above has a smaller (350-lumen) option that uses 4 AA batteries. 350 lumens is like 10x brighter than the old yellow niterider candles that many people used to use for singletrack.
@rr Those batteries are with a protection circuit (protects from over charging and over draining). So they are 1-2 mm longer than usual 18560 without circuit. Still can blow though. If you want to split then I am in. How many do you need?
@Adam: i use the busch and müller ixon iq (reviewed here, with images). it takes four AA, seems to last about forever (for regular commuting (~5 miles per day), i change the batteries probably once every two months or so (edited to add - actually i don't think i change them nearly that often, but it might just be because i'm used to summer commuting and not using lights very much, so two months is an estimate). on the bright setting, it's enough for me to comfortably ride the schenley bridle trail at about 15 mph at night. it has a very nice pattern, too.
beware, 18650 batteries and chargers are generally a pain in the ass. chances are good a lot of 18650s on ebay were recovered from used laptop battery packs.
check out something reputable like callies kustoms
partly due to not reading carefully enough, i thought one battery pack was for the 18650 batteries and the other was for cr123a, but now i see that those go in the same battery pack and that the other battery pack is for regular old aa. (batteries, how do they work.)
so i guess my question was really this: if i were to purchase that battery pack that can take both 18650 and cr123a, which of those two options would i want to use, given...
priority 1: no explosions, please.
priority 2: run time.
priority 3: not spending a zillion dollars on batteries.
i'm trying to get candlepowerforums to tell me, but i'm always slightly overwhelmed by the quantity of information there.
while AA NiMH batteries won't have the run or lifetime on paper, I've found them to be astronomically more dependable. the 18650s I had would love to undervolt on my dark ride home despite having charged just the night before.
you can buy aa rechargeables brand new at any number of stores and explosion is much less of a risk. carry an extra set.
Beware, CR123As are 3.0v, and not rechargeable. They're "standard" in some older film cameras. RCR123As are 3.0v nominal and ARE rechargeable, but not compatible with most Li-Ion chargers. They're LiFePO4 chemistry, which requires a different charger with a different cutoff voltage.
Anyways, one 18650 is about two RCR123As in size, but one 18650 is worth about 3 RCR123As in capacity. You'll probably find some voltage step down/up converter built into the light to allow it to run multiple battery configurations.
Mikhail, did you find this auction? Those don't have a protection circuit, just wrapped with a "standard" button head. I have the cells from Callie's which do have a protection circuit, but it's most likely redundant in this light since I would guess it has one built into it as well.
dmtroyer: Which batteries and charger do you have? I haven't had troubles with my quality cells...the $3 ones on eBay from China, yes.
ah. ok. thanks. hmmm. i have a bunch of aa eneloops already. maybe aa would be the answer after all, unless i were to find a good deal on a bunch of non-explodey, non-undervolty 18650s
FWIW, my Cygolite 250 has given me absolutely no grief in almost 2 years of use. Well, I guess I did run it out of charge one time but that was my own dumb fault. It basically just works and I've never had to worry about any battery or charger issue. And being self-contained is a huge plus in my book.
@rr button top is not an indicator of PCB absence. Look at the second battery in http://callieskustoms.com/CalliesKustoms-Batteries.html
I've send a question about PCB to the seller.
@rr you need to be careful with both overcharging and overdraining. I don't believe most LED lights have protection against averdraining. For usual lights working with regular AA or AAA batteries protection is not needed. LED loses brightness gradually up to the point is almost invisible. Usual lights have a usual driver that limits max voltage and amperage so LED could last longer. 18650 should not be below 2.5 V.
I have the Expillion 170 and really like it. Since I've never commuted with it or needed to use it at night on a regular basis I can't say how good it is in those circumstances. I can tell you that it lights up the Big Savage tunnel very nicely. I've had pedestrians cover their eyes when I rode toward them in blink mode around dusk, and the folks I ride with were impressed when they first saw it in action. The only thing I don't love about it is there's no indication of how much charge is on it. I have to guess when it's getting low based on what the beam looks like and since I use it mostly on daylight blink it's hard to judge. REI no longer sells the 170, and I don't know if Cygolight still makes it or not. I think the next one up is the 300.
