What lights do you use, and why?

[mcteague]

Cygolite Hotshot rear
Bontrager ION 200RT front

Tim

[cowsgowu]

Lights to stay away from: See.Sense

They're great until they fail after a few months. They stop holding charge and then completely die shortly after that.

[Mr. Pink]

Cygolite, front and rear. About five years ago I asked a dude what his tail light was, which was quite bright, and he said Cygolite. So I Amazoned it, and have been happy since. Never run out of juice, but I ride max 4.5 hours, and charge after every ride. Then I picked up their front light, which is just as potent and long lasting. Haven't thought about it since.

I rarely ride in dusk or night, but, who knows, the days are getting shorter.

[dustyrider]

I have an older set of front and rear Lezyne strip lights. One of my favorite rides requires lights for some tunnels and these just keep working. I do have a dinotte headlight if I’m riding in pitch black, and when I was a full time commuter I had a dinotte rear blinky to back it up. These days I’m riding between 5am and 8am on the weekends and maybe see 10-12 cars. I’ve become more of a runner before work and rely on a petzl head lamp in the winter months. I prefer not being seen while running since most people I see while running between 4am and 6am are not the type of people I want to see me!

[BobbyJones]

I started my light journey 3 decades (ouch) ago with a couple of NightSun set ups and celebrated the era when decent leds and battery tech came on the scene.

My current go to’s are NiteRider Luminas and I keep going back to the planet bike super flash series taillights.

The NightRiders are cheap and portable enough to carry two, and when needed the customer service has been excellent. I’ve never “outridden” the Luminas, but as I’m getting older that may be changing a bit. Up til now, I rarely use the highest brightness setting.


The same goes for the planet bike taillights, although price has creeped up. I usually have two of these going at the same time (one high, one low)

I’m only using these for road rides and commuting. If I was hard core trail riding I’d start looking into alternatives…although the Luminas are that good and the redundancy is a plus.

Regardless of what visibility testing shows, I’m not convinced the new crop of radar enabled taillights have any real world benefit over others but will probably give them a whirl at some point in the near future.

I’m also a firm believer in small spots of reflective tape, something oft forgotten in todays world.

[Likes2ridefar]

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[CZ413]

I used to use a Dinnotte Quad taillight. It was good, but a little big, and a little fussy re: mounting hardware. Switched to a Lezyne Zecto Max taillight. Side by side, it seems brighter than the Dinnotte, is smaller and cheaper, and attaches with a rubber band type mount. I’ve been stopped a handful of times by drivers asking what it is because of the brightness/visibility. “I saw you half a mile back” type comments. This is all in daytime riding. Many thousands of miles on the Lezyne and no problems at all. In flashing mode I’ve done plenty of 6+ hour rides without coming close to draining the battery.

[oldpotatoe]

Didn't used to ride with a tail light(I don't ride at night)..then I got dusted off by a lady in a minivan. I caught up to her at a light...'mentioned' that she came really close to me(I was in bike lane)..'lo siento mucho'..oh well..so got one of the below. Not expensive, easy on and off, USB charging, various 'modes', reliable, bright, GREAT warranty.

Blackburn Click.

[johnniecakes]

I don't ride at night but do use a rear blinky light. No idea of the brand because it came off Amazon for about $12. Been in use for 2 years now. It's rechargeable, gets about 10 hours of run time on a charge, enough for a week, and has steady on and 2 flashing speeds. Easy peasy.
IMG_20220917_114419.jpg

[RobbieTunes]

Mounts drive my decisions. Never enough good versatile mounts. Cliq is my favorite taillight, inadequate mounts. A lot of variables with lights and mounts.

[Likes2ridefar]

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[Spdntrxi]

Garmin Varia HT800?. blinking mode last a longtime.

Knog Qudos. At the time with the double bracket it could fit side by side with a GoPro. Weak output, but I occasionally still use it.

Lupine Betty : like 10 yrs + old but still will last 3 hours+ on high, but gets pretty hot on high. Low is good enough anyways and will go 8 hours, with a smaller battery it's good on the helmet.

Lupine SLAX7 : the commute/Trail serious light. Combined with Betty on the Helmet I can see a tons.

Only Varia's in the back.. 515 and 715(camera version)

[mudhead]

Cygolite Metro 1100 in front and either a Cygolite Hotshot or Lezyne Zecto Drive Max in the rear. In flashing mode, the Metro 1100 is very effective in daylight scenarios, and it's three levels in steady-state mode provide enough output for dusk to dark rides even on wooded rail-trails.

I do use a Garmin Varia radar w/out a light as I wanted the higher output (lumens) provided by the Cygolight or Lezyne.

[fourflys]

haven't read all the replies yet, but I'm a fan of NiteRider lights.. I was in San Diego when I started riding at times when I would need lights and they were a local, well respected company.. I liked the design and ease of use.. I have no doubt there are others just as good or better, but I like the company.. I do use a Garmin Varia with the taillight as well.. in the day, I just use the Varia, but if I was riding at night, I think I would add one of my Niterider tail lights as well..

[cdavis9697]

Want to buy Bontrager Flare R rear light