bike light for commuting?

S

storyville

Joined
Aug 11, 1999
Messages
1,111
Fellow cyclists,

What are the best lights for commuting these days? My work is keeping me out late, and my old halo lamp is a little bulky, dims pretty fast and just isn't doing it for me anymore.

Related question: Do any of the new powerful LEDs (like the Fenix) come with handlebar attachments; or do any of you have nifty ways of rigging such a light?

Thanks,
Glen
 
I use a Light and Motion Vega (3W LED) for commuting. Lasts several hours on low, which is enough to make you visible to other drivers. The higher 2 levels are fine on dark roads. A bit pricey though, at around $160. The problem is that most other LED bike lights suck.

As for mounting a flashlight on your handlebars, do a search for Twofish lockblocks and cyclops blocks. You can find them at www.lighthound.com

I have a couple of Twofish's mounts myself, and they work pretty well, but there might be a problem if your handlebars are particularly curvy and there's not a straight left-right piece to mount it to (or the light won't be pointing forward). You might be able use them to mount a flashlight to your helmet too.
 
storyville said:
Related question: Do any of the new powerful LEDs (like the Fenix) come with handlebar attachments; or do any of you have nifty ways of rigging such a light?
Click to expand...

The Nite Ize Lite Ride™:

large_lite_ride.jpg


http://www.niteize.com/productdetai...79&PHPSESSID=c460406289cb664ad85a33ea7057d744

Personally, I'd go with purpose-built bike lights.

Planterz is your man to guide you through the US market.

maximus otter
 
I used to use a minimag in one of their freebie clips. The clip was cable tied over a rubber tube onto the handle bars. The Lamp had two elastic bands to stop forward or backwards movement. Where there were no street lights I put a second maglite into a head band.

I had a LED rear light on my helmet and lots of reflective gear and tape.

Nothing was as horrible as a hi-tech system being broken or knicked by a jerk so you need to be able to take it off the bike.
 
Our use of lights on the police bikes has been problematic. We generally set them up with the 5-LED rear lights, which put on a good show and get great battery life. However, they are rather fragile, and whanging potholes or going down stairs often causes them to fly apart. Better to mount them to a pack or use some sort of shock-mount.
We started out using the very expensive Niterider dual-beam lights with rechargable batteries. The lights are excellent, but the batteries have proved to be difficult as well. They are rated as being good for a 3-hour life on low, and half that on high. We never saw such performance, making it impossible to get through an 8-hour shift if you rode a lot. When they die (like most rechargables) they die quick.

It comes down to whether you want to see, or be seen. In most city driving, it's more important to be seen, and I can see using the LED-type lights front and rear for commuting. Not much in the way of illumination though, at least in our experience.
 
I use an old omni system, but there are a billion options out there. I will therefore direct you to Bikeforums, the 2 wheeled equivalent of BFC. Bladeforums never goes down, however, and I can't say the same for Bikeforums.

www.bikeforums.net
 
Hi All-

My experience with CatEye lighting systems and cycle computers has always been very positive. As mentioned by MWerner earlier, the crucial decision is deciding whether your goal is to see or be seen. In most conditions, there is enough ambient light and light from passing automobiles that a small LED would be sufficient. A quality LED battery-operated system will only cost you a handful of grams rather than pounds associated with strapping an aluminum duty flashlight to one's handlebars. If you couple one of their top-of-the-line headlamps with their top-of-the-line taillights, you'll still leave the bicycle shop having spent less than $75.00 for premium riding-specific gear. Get a dayglo jacket like a Pearl Izumi Barrier (with reflective surfaces) and put reflective tape on your helmet and you're good to go.

~ Blue Jays ~
 
The only product that I' ve seen in paper catalog that shows any promise of actual illumination in a relatively small white LED package are the ones made with a CREE module. Sorry, I don' t recall the name yet. These are fairly compact and possess several hundred lumens capability. They are rechargeable and requires about half a minute to achieve full brightness after they are tuned on. As with any hi- tech product that is still new on the market, the price runs several hundreds of dollars! :eek:

N.
 
Thanks for the tips and suggestions -- knew I could count on you guys! My commuter bike has a straight bar so maybe I could look into mounting one of my kit or EDC style lights after all...
Glen
 
Hi storyville-

Stick with a bicycle-specific lighting system. A traditional flashlight doesn't have flexibility to use a "blinking" pattern in traffic. A traditional flashlight also doesn't have the unique side marker lights like the bicycle-specific LED models hyperlinked above. Lastly, there is the problem of securely mounting a traditional flashlight to the bike...the last thing you want is the flashlight bouncing off the handlebars and into your spinning wheels and/or cranks at 45 m.p.h. on a steep downhill section. Spend a little bit of money and prevent yourself some real headaches out on the road. Good luck.

~ Blue Jays ~
 
Cateye makes good stuff. I have the old HL-500, which is decent for getting the attention of others in cars, but not too good on illuminating city streets (although, one usually finds city streets already lit). I'll probably upgrade to the HL-EL410 http://www.cateye.com/en/product_detail/341 , which is way more compact. I also use a led tail flasher.
 
Thanks Blue Jays, Darklight et al --
I just looked at a few bike lights at REI and will get a Cateye this weekend. I should've noted that I do indeed have a reflective jacket and a taillight that I hook onto my backpack. No doubt Cateye and other co's will come out with CREE LEDs within weeks after I buy a light :rolleyes: ... BUT I really do need the light now. Thanks again for the tips -- much appreciated --
Glen
 
i bought a light and motion light 4 years ago...and sadly have never used it. it is really bright.

cycling plus magazine out of england has an article about "enduro" lights in the 1/07 issue. it features several brands including the lumicycle www.lumicycle.com which is a great system. it uses a bottle battery.

they also had a new brand (to me) called exposure ( www.use1.com/exposure ) ...which has a compact 5w+5w LED that is compact and bright

both are expensive $3-500


www.worldcycling.com/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=EXLTET&Category_Code=EXPOSURE-B
 
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