Bike front headlight recommendation?

[Jdm]

Since it’s almost Black Friday, I’m thinking about getting a new front headlight. I currently use a Cygolite Epsilon 850 that’s 9 years old (battery and circuit board replaced in the last 18 months).

I need something brighter for fast road biking in the dark on poorly it streets so I can see potholes. I think my night vision is getting worse with age.

My requirements:
- really bright light for road riding. High mode needs to last at least 90 minutes. Longer is better
- good daytime flash mode. I use a headlight every time I ride.
- fits a GoPro mount upside down under my Garmin
- lightweight
- waterproof
- easily removable for charging
- <$100 unless there’s a strong reason to spend more.

The Knog Blinder 1300 has good reviews and is on sale for $75.

[Derosid]

I’m commuting with the Lumina Micro 900 that I quite like. It mounts under my Karoo2 on a mount as you describe.

[ChainNoise]

https://www.outboundlighting.com/products/detour

Outbound lighting Detour if used for road. It is worth the extra money. End of thread. It has a cutoff exactly like a car headlight so you don't blind other road users, be it other cyclists, cars, walkers, etc. Customer service is amazing. They stand by their product 100%. 'Merican designed and made.

[Derosid]

Originally Posted by ChainNoise

https://www.outboundlighting.com/products/detour

Outbound lighting Detour if used for road. It is worth the extra money. End of thread. It has a cutoff exactly like a car headlight so you don't blind other road users, be it other cyclists, cars, walkers, etc. Customer service is amazing. They stand by their product 100%. 'Merican designed and made.

Wow, that looks fantastic. I might have to try it. One of the most annoying aspects of most bike lights is how they blind everything/everyone in their path.

[biker72]

I'm currently using Lezyne headlights. Brightness range from 500-2400 Lumens.

My night riding is usually fairly lit streets so the 600 Lumen works for me. Also works well as a daytime flash.

[ChainNoise]

Originally Posted by Derosid

Wow, that looks fantastic. I might have to try it. One of the most annoying aspects of most bike lights is how they blind everything/everyone in their path.

I had the first gen and it was insanely good. The updated road version no longer has an external battery pack and I believe the optics were tuned a bit for a better pattern. I do have the Detour but havent used it yet. I moved to a different area that is far busier and am a little intimidated to ride road in the dark around here.

[benb]

Right now I still have an old Niterider 650 and I have the Garmin UT800 which I got more recently.

I really, really like the double sided mount where the light mounts to the bottom of the computer mount. (Basically go-pro style to 1/4 turn)

However the UT800 is bizarrely complicated... the light is fine but the computer/smart aspects are overly complicated. The "auto beam forming" and adjustments seem like they were programmed by Syd Barrett and Jerry Garcia on a bad day. Probably not an issue in rural areas with no lights or on trails but very weird in urban areas. There are a lot of options in the computer but they are not explained well. The big issue is it will just about turn the light completely off on you when it shouldn't. And even with some of the auto beam forming off if you have a head mounted light and you look at the computer it will make the bar mounted light start flashing as the computer thinks the sun came up from your head mounted lamp! I think the UT800 has a lot of promise for areas that aren't super dark but only if you get those options set just right.

I kind of like having the helmet mounted light too.. if I look at drivers who are entering traffic they notice me really fast... one of my big worries is one of them popping me coming off their stop sign when I have the right of way. The light on the handlebars isn't pointing right at them and can be washed out if there are cars following me. No need to make it harder for them to see me.

[Wunder]

Bontrager Ion Pro RT is quite good. Looks like you can pick it up for $100 on cloesout already (I actually got mine included with a used bike I purchased).

Rated at 1300 Lumens on high. Size is comparable to my Cygolite 650 and 400 lights. Very good day flash mode. You can buy a Blendr adapter and mount it upside down on a GoPro mount (I have it this way on two bikes).

It also includes ANT+ integration so in theory it can turn on/off with your bike computer directly. This worked with my Wahoo for about a month after Wahoo addedd the feature but oddly neither this nor my Varia are computer controlled anymore.

https://bikeportland.org/2022/01/05/...adlight-343172

[SlowPokePete]

I've had good luck with Niterider and they currently have 20% off with free shipping on purchases over $80.

SPP

[froze]

Originally Posted by SlowPokePete

I've had good luck with Niterider and they currently have 20% off with free shipping on purchases over $80.

SPP

I like my Niterider Lumina Pro 1100 light too, but it is more of a road light not a MTB light for trails, which is ok with me since I don't ride offroad. What I really like about the light is that once the battery no longer holds a charge, I can send it back to Niterider, and for $30 they will check all the electronics, replace the battery, reseal it, and send it back. But so far after 3 years of use the battery is still holding a charge like it did when it was new, my Lezyne Macro Drive 1100XL I had the battery slowly went bye-bye, and by the end of the 3rd year the battery was toast. The other thing about that Niterider battery is that the battery actually lasts 15 minutes longer than the light manual said it would, so Niteride must underestimate their battery life; whereas the Lezyne lasted about 15 minutes less than they said it would when it was new. Both the Niterider and the Lezyne had the same lumens on the box, but on the road the Niterider is definitely brighter.

I had the same problem with Lezyne battery going dead in 3 years with the Zecto tail light, whereas I've have a Niterider Omega 300 still going strong after 3 years, and I have a Niterider Sentry Aero 260 for about 5 or 6 years and it too is still going strong.

I love Lezyne mini pumps, they're the best made, but I will never buy another light from them.

[Bob Ross]

Originally Posted by froze

I like my Niterider Lumina Pro 1100 light too, but it is more of a road light not a MTB light for trails

How do you make that distinction, is it because of the beam pattern? (width, spread, whatever it's called)

fwiw I'm a big fan of the Niterider Lumina for road use ... I don't do any off-road riding these days (or nights) ... but for genuine nighttime riding I go with a pair of them, one on the bars and one on the helmet.

[froze]

Originally Posted by Bob Ross

How do you make that distinction, is it because of the beam pattern? (width, spread, whatever it's called)

fwiw I'm a big fan of the Niterider Lumina for road use ... I don't do any off-road riding these days (or nights) ... but for genuine nighttime riding I go with a pair of them, one on the bars and one on the helmet.

Supposedly the MTB light has a more of a bright flood pattern; whereas the road light will have a bright elongated beam so the rider can see further down the road, something that isn't really useful for trail riding. Also, people who do offroad riding usually find that a much brighter light, like 1,800 lumens and higher is more beneficial riding offroad, whereas with a road bike, a person doesn't generally need anything more than 1,200 lumens...though some riders might get a brighter light than that.

I rarely turn my Niterider to the 1100-lumen boost setting, most of the time I'm using 900, which according to the manual will run an hour and a half, but I'm getting an hour and 45 minutes.

I always take two lights with me, I have a Phillips Saferide I take, and if the NR runs out of battery then I just turn on the Phillips. That Phillips was a very nice light, I've had it for roughly 16 years and it still works great, the only downfall was it uses 4 AA rechargeable batteries, the original set was low amp hour bats and would run for about an hour and 10 minutes on high, they claimed an 1.45 but I didn't get that much until I bought much higher amp hour bats and even with those I get 1.30 out of them. But it has an excellent beam, too bad Phillips didn't change the battery to a modern type that had a lot more amp hour rating and increased the LEDs brightness levels.

[Talrand]

Depending on your definition of lightweight (155g) Magicshine EVO 1700 might fit the bill. Has a high beam mode that lasts nearly 90 min and regular, cut-off mode that won't blind others. Also a remote to easily control it without taking your hands off the bars. Should be roughly in the budget too.

[makoti]

Originally Posted by Derosid

Wow, that looks fantastic. I might have to try it. One of the most annoying aspects of most bike lights is how they blind everything/everyone in their path.

I opened the thread to suggest this light, so I guess that's a +1

[jasflyfisher]

Originally Posted by ChainNoise

https://www.outboundlighting.com/products/detour

Outbound lighting Detour if used for road. It is worth the extra money. End of thread. It has a cutoff exactly like a car headlight so you don't blind other road users, be it other cyclists, cars, walkers, etc. Customer service is amazing. They stand by their product 100%. 'Merican designed and made.

Super +1. I have the mountain headlight/helmet combo and it is fantastic. I'm buying the Detour headlight when their Black Friday sale opens - soon (you can sign up for a heads up email when the sale is live).

The only thing that might not work for you is I'm not sure that there would be a way to mount it in the correct orientation on the same bracket under a Garmin. I fine the mounting arrangement to be super slick, rock solid, and it is also quite low profile. If you don't need it to be on the same bracket, it may fit under the Garmin.