That time of year....Good, cheap lights?

[Lewis Moon]

Late summer to early fall is the hardest time of year to train in the Phoenix, AZ area. It's still brutally hot (especially this year) and the days are quickly getting shorter. This means it's getting a lot harder to fit any real training in prior to going to work. Add to this +- two hours of commuting every day and you have the picture: I'm going to have to start training in the dark.

Did I mention the Mount Graham hill climb is Sept. 29th?

I usually just train with the blinkies front and rear, and they're good during civil twilight, but they actually make things worse at night. I need some suggestions for headlights that throw an adequate beam to see at least the big crap at 20mph. I'd like the batteries to be changeable, as I'd hate to have a workout spiked because I forgot to hook up the charger. I also really appreciate cheap, which I have seen, is a movable target here. So what I'm looking for is one that can be had for less than $70 (note the word "less") or one I could trade a set of used Centaur Ultra Torque compact cranks (with BB!) for.

[rice rocket]

It doesn't get much cheaper than the Magicshine replicas on Amazon/eBay.

$40 for a 3 x XM-L light with a battery pack, probably ~1500-2000 lumens or so. Get the $5 wideangle lens from dapedaler on eBay and you get a nice wide beam that illuminates the whole road, yet has a decent cutoff so it doesn't blind oncoming drivers.

Only caveat is to open it up when you first get it, make sure all the connections are good and the LED doesn't move on the "pill" and is transferring heat properly to the body of the light. And consider using your own connectors for it, they're usually the first part that fails. About a 2 minute job if you're good w/ a soldering iron.

[Nooch]

i just picked up a cygolite expillion 800, and man am i impressed. 800 lumens, replaceable battery stick, self contained, and plenty bright on medium. plus, there's a medium with flash setting to both see and get attention -- i'm happy.

[ColonelJLloyd]

Awesome taillight (http://www.ebay.com/itm/Cygolite-Hotshot-2W-USB-Li-Ion-Tail-Light-with-Charger-NEW-/150978457441). Much better than your normal blinkie.

I only ride after dark with dynamos, but a lot of the people I ride with like the NiteRider headlights, but they're probably over your budget.

[Lewis Moon]

It doesn't get much cheaper than the Magicshine replicas on Amazon/eBay.

$40 for a 3 x XM-L light with a battery pack, probably ~1500-2000 lumens or so. Get the $5 wideangle lens from dapedaler on eBay and you get a nice wide beam that illuminates the whole road, yet has a decent cutoff so it doesn't blind oncoming drivers.

Only caveat is to open it up when you first get it, make sure all the connections are good and the LED doesn't move on the "pill" and is transferring heat properly to the body of the light. And consider using your own connectors for it, they're usually the first part that fails. About a 2 minute job if you're good w/ a soldering iron.

Great info. Which model does that one correspond to on the Magicshine site?

[Lewis Moon]

i just picked up a cygolite expillion 800, and man am i impressed. 800 lumens, replaceable battery stick, self contained, and plenty bright on medium. plus, there's a medium with flash setting to both see and get attention -- i'm happy.

Heh...see what I mean by moving target?

[saab2000]

Niterider Lumina 650 or one of the Light & Motion lights. They're not super cheap but not too bad either and they actually test at their rated outputs. I have a L&M 500 lumen commuter light and it's remarkably effective.

[rice rocket]

Great info. Which model does that one correspond to on the Magicshine site?

There's a couple.

The MJ-808E is the single Cree XM-L, and there's some other companies that have stuffed 3x XM-Ls into the same body (Magicshine doesn't do this themselves). There are some that use the MJ-870 body, but performance is pretty much the same.

Note that Magicshine just makes replicas of other industry products too, although they stand behind their battery pack more than some others.

I use the single XM-L and the triple when I'm night MTBing and they've both been great.

[FlashUNC]

They're not the cheapest, but I swear by their lights. Ridiculously good stuff. I think with their Mega Drive you could see to the Moon if need be:

http://www.lezyne.com/en/products/led-lights/performance#!mega-drive

http://www.lezyne.com/media/k2/items/cache/be28adfff47893c4519c1307dc6b8866_S.jpg?t=137402518 4

[xjoex]

Another Lezyne fan here. I use the Mega Drive and Super Drive XL. They are made incredibly well and are pretty much the bees knees.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Nb2qFM5UVVs/UMQUzr8tEDI/AAAAAAAAI4c/w4KZG54pczA/s400/PC080111.jpg

Review: http://robonza.blogspot.com/2012/12/review-lezyne-mega-drive-light.html


http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-up9f82G5ezk/UJ7JCFhOHhI/AAAAAAAAIEw/McA9To8VklU/s400/PB100015.jpg
Review: http://robonza.blogspot.com/2012/11/review-lezyne-super-drive-xl.html

-Joe

[Hartlin]

Cygo-Lite gets my vote. Cheap, durable, replaceable batteries.

[rice rocket]

Joe, your new site layout w/ the static top banner drives me bananas. :) I have to read your site as if my window was half my screen.

[crownjewelwl]

Niterider Lumina 650 or one of the Light & Motion lights. They're not super cheap but not too bad either and they actually test at their rated outputs. I have a L&M 500 lumen commuter light and it's remarkably effective.

i think the 650 is the best value in the market...it is blinding and has good battery life

[tmf]

Niterider Lumina 650 or one of the Light & Motion lights. They're not super cheap but not too bad either and they actually test at their rated outputs. I have a L&M 500 lumen commuter light and it's remarkably effective.

I do most of my riding in the dark morning hours from 4-6am. Pretty much total darkness this time of year.

I use the Lumina 650. I had the 500, but returned it for the 650. Most of the time I ride on the medium setting (which is about 500), but like having the option to go brighter if needed. Also, at the medium setting on the 650 the battery lasts about twice as long as the 500 on high. (these lights run about 1.5 hrs on high, 3.0 hrs on medium) This light is as bright as you need, but if you get less than the brightness of the 500 you can have issues in some spots and around corners, etc. I'm planning to get a Lumina 500 to mount as a backup headlight. The Luminas are USB rechargeable.

For a tail light, I use the PDW Radbot. It's quite bright, and has an attention-getting flash pattern. I just wish it was rechargeable. I also have one of the Serfas TL-ST tail lights on my seatstay as a backup. When you're an hour out in the dark, the idea of having your tail light go out is pretty scary to me.

[FlashUNC]

THERE....ARE....FOUR.....LIGHTS....

http://www.thepensivecitadel.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/fourlights.jpg

Okay, just had to get that out of my system. Carry on.

[Lewis Moon]

Anyone have a good illustration (website?) of the different lumin intensities? I was wondering if I could get away with an MJ-838U (400 Lumins)

I'll be riding at "night" just until it gets sub 100 on a regular basis...hopefully late september. Otherwise I'll ride in the afternoon.

Until then I'll ride on a park course with only one entrance (South Mountain), relatively smooth roads and low speed limits. I was out there yesterday and only saw other cyclists until daylight.

[Lewis Moon]

THERE....ARE....FOUR.....LIGHTS....

http://www.thepensivecitadel.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/fourlights.jpg

Okay, just had to get that out of my system. Carry on.

Dork (I'm a huge SF fan)

[cromo900]

I have an older Niterider Minewt 600. Niterider has subsequently replaced that model with the Lumina 650 and now 700. While those top of the line models are above the price you listed, I would guess that one of their lower level siblings, while putting out a little less light, would still be top notch and might be within your price range. The MTBR light shootout is the most comprehensive set of light reviews I've seen and provides good visuals for comparing output - http://reviews.mtbr.com/category/lights-shootout.

[tmf]

Here is another review of headlights. I found it useful to help figure out how much light I might need.

Light Buyers Guide (http://www.performancebike.com/bikes/Content_10052_10551_-1_HeadLightBuyersGuide)

[BumbleBeeDave]

Niterider Lumina 650 or one of the Light & Motion lights. They're not super cheap but not too bad either and they actually test at their rated outputs. I have a L&M 500 lumen commuter light and it's remarkably effective.

I have a NiteRider Lumina 600 from 2 years ago and it's incredible for a self-contained unit. They now have the 650. I think it goesretail for about $150.

I also have the L&M Hi-viz tail light and I'm running it al lthe time now, even during the day. Super bright, USB rechargeable, easily visible in daylight, and pulses, not flashing. The little one I have was $50 and their bigger one is $80-90. That's definitely not "cheap" for a tail light but it's still cheap insurance on every ride if you ask me.

BBD

[Lewis Moon]

Thanks a lot folks. I did a bit of looking at the two comparo sites and it looks like a good 300 - 400 lumin light will suffice. I don't need the environmental daylight that some provide. I like the little Magicshin MJ-838B and the price is right. The idiot proof mount and the detachable battery are a bonus.

Thanks again

[Louis]

awesome taillight (http://www.ebay.com/itm/cygolite-hotshot-2w-usb-li-ion-tail-light-with-charger-new-/150978457441). Much better than your normal blinkie.

+1

[RFC]

it doesn't get much cheaper than the magicshine replicas on amazon/ebay.

$40 for a 3 x xm-l light with a battery pack, probably ~1500-2000 lumens or so. Get the $5 wideangle lens from dapedaler on ebay and you get a nice wide beam that illuminates the whole road, yet has a decent cutoff so it doesn't blind oncoming drivers.

Only caveat is to open it up when you first get it, make sure all the connections are good and the led doesn't move on the "pill" and is transferring heat properly to the body of the light. And consider using your own connectors for it, they're usually the first part that fails. About a 2 minute job if you're good w/ a soldering iron.

+1

[sjbraun]

For commuting, I think a light with an integrated, usb rechargeable battery is best. I like the Light & Motion Urban 550. Lots of light and I prefer its beam pattern to the Lezyne Mega Drive pictured earlier.
If you want crazy amounts of light, L&M has upgraded their Taz 800 to a new model with 1000 lumens. I've seen the Taz 800 on sale for $149. That's a screaming deal. I'm not really in need of 800 or 1000 lumens These lights run 2-2.5 hours on high, but more impressively, they're good for up to 4 hours on their intermediate settings and 400-500 lumens of output is plenty of light, even for speeds well over 20mph.

-Steve
Not buying lights this year as I have to collect bike parts instead

[djg]

Niterider Lumina 650 or one of the Light & Motion lights. They're not super cheap but not too bad either and they actually test at their rated outputs. I have a L&M 500 lumen commuter light and it's remarkably effective.

Yes, indeed. These are about 100 bucks, but that seems a small price to pay for a ton of usable light in a small, easy on/off package. You can see big things at 20 mph, and you can see small ones that you really don't want to hit as well. And be seen. And, and, and.

The OP said he wants disposable batteries. His call, of course, but you can run through these too, and might not get any warning with the sort of light that uses them. On the lumina -- I've got a charger by the laptop and a compatible one stashed in a drawer at the office.

[mod6]

I have a Magicshine model that recalled a couple of years ago. Light has been great and I thinks was around 100 buck but can be had for 1/2 the price on Ebay

[mtnbkr]

Another vote for Cygolite Expilion. I have the 700 model, but I think it's the 800 and 650 now. Should be a little over $100. Depends how bright you really need but it's plenty bright. I use it on flashing normally when it's bright out and commuting. Get's like 1.5hrs on high if that's enough for you. USB charging and replaceable batteries.

[Lurch]

Here's a veritable plethora of comparison info: http://reviews.mtbr.com/category/lights-shootout