Bicycle Lighting

[mot]

Holy cow, when was this section created?

I already have a flashing LED light in front which does a "decent" job of being seen by motorists and pedestrians for a casual riding, but I've had one too many close calls and one incident where I had sailed across a hood of a small car.

So I need something that I can really light up the road.

I would like to have the flexibility of being able to mount in either on the handlebar or on the helmet.

I would like the run time to be at least two hours (But doesn't have to be that much longer). It would be nice to have the power/brightness selection of full power and 3/4 or 1/2 even, so I can adjust it according to where I'm riding and how long I want the battery to last.

At present I do not do any off-road/MTB riding, so being able to withstand extreme vibrations, etc... is not that big of an issue for me.

And although it would be better if the cost was cheap, but I am prepared/willing to pay for a good, quality light.

So.... What do YOU use for your bicycle and how do you like it/them? And also what do you recommend and why?

Thanks in advance!

Mot

 

[Ruadhrigh]

Where have you been Mot!


I just replaced my NiteRider Classic after about 7 years of service. It was a great light, with two bulbs and three modes. 12w & 20w bulbs and you can pick one or the other, or both. Lots of light, but after so long the battery was needing to be charge fairly often. Also the battery is the size of a water bottle and took up a bottle cage. So I replaced it with the Niterider Mini LED USB. The output is a lot less (110 lumens) but it is actually perfect for my commute. The battery pack is tiny and mounts to frame or stem. The light is even smaller! I think the whole unit weighs 175 grams. And the battery will charge from your USB port! Price was right and the light is well worth it.

That said, I think you need to get some HID lights

Niterider SlickRock 900 Next Generation HID Bike Light

 

[mot]

For a second I thought you were gong to recommend me the sissy LED light.

I'll have to do some research and find out how much the Niterider costs.

I probably better do it while my wife is out of the room though as she probably would not be thrilled to find out how much it goes for!

Thanks for the tip, btw!

ANYONE ELSE???

 

[tcb]

ANYONE ELSE???

I used a couple of reflector mounts and a seatpost shim to ghetto fab a flashlight mount for my handle bars. I have a smallish LED mag-lite type flashlight mounted to my bars of my commuter.

It's not insane bright, but it has good battery life with rechargeable AAA's and it didn't cost $600.

 

[mot]

I have nothing against ghetto-fabbing.

The question is... does it throw out wide and bright enough light not only be seen by on-coming traffic (especially through intersections where there seem to be vehicles from all directions: Need to stand out!) but enough to allow me to keep pedaling briskly with confidence when I get past those intersections and go back into the darkness with potholes 'n stuff.

Thanks for the pics and the idea, btw!

 

[atoyot]

but I've had one too many close calls and one incident where I had sailed across a hood of a small car.

You might want to consider driving the cruiser. Cycling isn't for everyone!

If I where you I would install an aircraft taxi light on your handlebars. It might take a powerful battery though that you will have to strap to a rack.

 

[tcb]

I have nothing against ghetto-fabbing.

The question is... does it throw out wide and bright enough light not only be seen by on-coming traffic (especially through intersections where there seem to be vehicles from all directions: Need to stand out!) but enough to allow me to keep pedaling briskly with confidence when I get past those intersections and go back into the darkness with potholes 'n stuff.

Thanks for the pics and the idea, btw!

The says you can't miss it, but I've never watched anybody else ride it to say for myself. We went for a night ride the first night I put it on and I made her wait on the other side of the intersection while I rode at her to make sure I wasn't blinding drivers with it. The focal point of the beam is 7 or 8 feet in front of the bike and I have the lense in the widest focus it'll do. It casts a nice probably 6 foot diameter of light. I can see the road fine with it. But, as a caveat, I probably commute at less than 20 mph since it is on a MTB. At 35+ on a road bike, It might not be enough light to reach out far enough in front.

I think if you combined it with a flashing LED attention getter on the front, it would be suitable for most commuter applications. It is not sufficient enough for off road riding, I can tell you that.

If you are handy with a soldering iron, there are some pretty wicked threads on mtbr about guys constructing their own NiCad rechargeable headlamps for much less money than buying one.. I might try it one day.

Easy DIY - Mtbr.com Forums

DIY - 500 Trail Lumens - 50 Bucks! + Tech Talk - Mtbr.com Forums

and the mother load...

DIY Dinotte Style - Mtbr.com Forums

 

[MANUCHAO]

As stated above.. Night Rider HID's or Light and Motion HID's.....

I have NR HID's and they rock!!!
Do a search here for the best price.....

Best Bike Buys: bicycles, bicycle parts and accessories

If you want use try MTBR.com

I dont know if you want them for commuting (street) or MTB night riding..but if you do get them get the ones that go on the bar handle mount and not the ones that set on the helmet..
You loose depth perception when mounted on the helmet..

G'luck !!

 

[cary]

HID's are dead for bikes. They offer good output but can only run at one level. This is coming from a guy who uses and Light and Motion ARC. LED's have reached the level where when run in multiples they will put out the same output as HID's, but are dimmable, and more importantly they run more efficiently as you dim them.

I would strongly suggest you look at the L&M lamps and the Dinotte line of lights.

Home Page:Light & Motion

DiNotte Lighting USA Shopping Cart


I would skip nightrider, their customer service is crap.

 

[mot]

You might want to consider driving the cruiser. Cycling isn't for everyone!

If I where you I would install an aircraft taxi light on your handlebars. It might take a powerful battery though that you will have to strap to a rack.

If I get creamed again (and it doesn't kill me) I might give it a shot.

The says you can't miss it, but I've never watched anybody else ride it to say for myself. We went for a night ride the first night I put it on and I made her wait on the other side of the intersection while I rode at her to make sure I wasn't blinding drivers with it. The focal point of the beam is 7 or 8 feet in front of the bike and I have the lense in the widest focus it'll do. It casts a nice probably 6 foot diameter of light. I can see the road fine with it. But, as a caveat, I probably commute at less than 20 mph since it is on a MTB. At 35+ on a road bike, It might not be enough light to reach out far enough in front.

I think if you combined it with a flashing LED attention getter on the front, it would be suitable for most commuter applications. It is not sufficient enough for off road riding, I can tell you that.

If you are handy with a soldering iron, there are some pretty wicked threads on mtbr about guys constructing their own NiCad rechargeable headlamps for much less money than buying one.. I might try it one day.

Easy DIY - Mtbr.com Forums

DIY - 500 Trail Lumens - 50 Bucks! + Tech Talk - Mtbr.com Forums

and the mother load...

DIY Dinotte Style - Mtbr.com Forums

I'm on a cross bike and/but doubt I'm doing 20mph.

I'm no good with a soldering iron (Haven't really tried one yet), but I'll take a look at your links and see if I can work up enough courage to tackle it/them!

As stated above.. Night Rider HID's or Light and Motion HID's.....

I have NR HID's and they rock!!!
Do a search here for the best price.....

Best Bike Buys: bicycles, bicycle parts and accessories

If you want use try MTBR.com

I dont know if you want them for commuting (street) or MTB night riding..but if you do get them get the ones that go on the bar handle mount and not the ones that set on the helmet..
You loose depth perception when mounted on the helmet..

G'luck !!

I'll have to take a close look at them and compare features/performance and costs and see if I can justify either one of those units!

Thansk again guys and/but I'll welcome/appreciate any other input!

Mot

 

[mot]

HID's are dead for bikes. They offer good output but can only run at one level. This is coming from a guy who uses and Light and Motion ARC. LED's have reached the level where when run in multiples they will put out the same output as HID's, but are dimmable, and more importantly they run more efficiently as you dim them.

I would strongly suggest you look at the L&M lamps and the Dinotte line of lights.

Home Page:Light & Motion

DiNotte Lighting USA Shopping Cart


I would skip nightrider, their customer service is crap.

Hey Cary,

Thanks for chiming in!

I liked the following from your links:



Light & Motion:
Seca 700 Ultra:

Featuring an amazing 700-lumen output along with a 5-hour run time on high,


Dinotte Lighting:
The 800L/400L package includes (1) 800L light engine, (1) 400L Light engine, 2 batteries (user configurable), worldwide smart charger, extension cable, and straps. if you wish to add the headband it can be selected as an option

This package provides 2.5 hours of run time for each light, and when both in high, an amazing 1200 lumens!

I've checked the price on the latter set, but will have to check out the Seca unit and compare if the price difference is justifiable for the 500-lumen difference between them.

Thanks again for your input.

 

[mot]

OK, it seems that I've "ass-u-me" d that the "lower-lumen"ed L&M Seca 700 Ultra to be cheaper than the Dinotte.

Looks like they both have other quality products that would deserve my tight-wadded consideration.

 

[cary]

One thing I forgot to comment on. The high end L&M lights have much better optics than the high end Dinotte lights. The L&M Stella 200 would probably be a great choice for what you are doing. You may want to contact Larry at Mountain High Cyclery and see what his pricing is in the L&M lights.

I would suggest you spend some time on the MTBR lighting board. There is a ton of information, including beamshots that will help you make a well informed decision. You are only getting about 5% of the information over here.

 

[mot]

Cary,

If this is only about 5% (which I belive that is the case here) I'm not sure if I am ready to handle the 95% remaining out there!

I'll venture out into the MTBR lighting board and get overwhelmed, for the fun of it!
I trust your recommendations/suggestions on the L&M Stella 200.

You know the problem is, if you know that there's something better, you'll always lust after it!

Time to do some more research!

Thanks again!!

Mot

 

[mustardfj40]

I have the Niterider classic that I bought years ago and pretty happy with it, used for it mountain biking at night which was really freaky:

NiteRider Classic Select Halogen Headlight @ Performance Bicycle

Nowaday there are more fancy light such as HID and Niterider makes one of the best light out there:

NiteRider Bike Lighting Systems - From Commuting to Competition

 

[edog's 80]

I made my own. I use it to mountain bike at night around Boulder Colorado. I put my link to mtbr.com below(I go by kokothemonkey there), if you want specific instructions, PM me. If you can solder and have a dremel you can make this. It cost me about $90 and it burns for about 2 hours and is as bright as my HID lamp. It consists of a halogen lamp, 24 AA batteries, and some other miscellaneous items. Plus if I crash and break it into pieces I know I can replace specific parts. If you want to buy a setup without DIY, I highly recommend checking out batteryspace.com, they have tons of awesome lights at great prices. That is where I got my batteries. Enjoy, night riding rocks!

DIY light instructions (pond light-thanks scar!) - Mtbr.com Forums

 

[mot]

Thanks for keeping the info. coming, guys!

My bike's rear derailer(sp) got tweaked while riding and when I tried to force the issue (not smart, especailly being about 6-7 miles away from home, at night) the friggin' thing JUST SNAPPED!!! (from where it attaches to the frame).

The bike's less than 6 months old, but I'm not sure if they will cover it under warranty or they'll say that I am responsible for what happened.

I'm having to replace both of my batteries in my 80 this week as well!!! Not feeling very lucky lately!

Mot

 

[Fast Eddy]

HID's are dead for bikes.

No way.

I've had my Niterider HID/LED for 4 or 5 years. I've ridden with people with all the new LEDs. They don't compare to the HIDs wide, bright beam. My HID has three settings and the old battery will still last for six hours. If you switch to the three little white LEDs for climbing, you can easily ride all night.

Cost wise, the HID is hundreds and you could ghetto fab mount two or three LED flashlights to the bars for well under $100. They'd be good enough for the price, but if price was no object, I'll stick with the HID for a while longer.

 

[mustardfj40]

Thanks for keeping the info. coming, guys!

My bike's rear derailer(sp) got tweaked while riding and when I tried to force the issue (not smart, especailly being about 6-7 miles away from home, at night) the friggin' thing JUST SNAPPED!!! (from where it attaches to the frame).

Mot

U r blessed to live in the mother land of Shimano/Toyota/Nikon ...I would just get a new Shimano Dura Ace/XTR derailluer and make sure your derailluer hanger is not bent.

 

[mot]

I called SCOTT yesterday as well as the shop that I bought it from.

It didn't sound promising that they were gonna replace it under warranty since they were certain that it wouldn't happen w/o some outside force causing it to fail as catastrophically as it did.

I had to leave it at the shop and they were going to take pics of the area and either send the pics or the bike itself back to SCOTT for investigation.

I'm more concerned about the time it'll take for them to come to the conclusion because I won't be able to ride during that time.

I'll have to price them and see how much those things go for.

Thanks!!