What's everyone using for lights?

[mdilthey]

Hi all,

Looking for a new light for safe night-riding at low speeds. Nothing crazy (I don't need jeep floodlights). What's everyone using? Is there a great option for lights if I do NOT want to run a dynamo hub?

USB rechargeable is a plus, and would love a long runtime, but I know that cuts into my lumens. Right now I have a Cygolite Metro 300 Lumen, and that's okay, but not bright enough.

What's the balance point here?

[KittyOnMyFoot]

I'm still using old NiteRider Trailrat 2.0 lights. Compared to newer lighting systems, they weigh a ton, take forever to charge, and don't hold a charge as long. Still, they light up the trails just fine, and the thought of buying a decent set when I have a working set for rides that I do only on rare occasions has kept me from a purchase. The only reason I have those Trailrat 2.0s in the first place is because they were a gift (although at the time, the 9-hour charge time and advice not to operate them while stationary for too long in case the bulbs overheated didn't seem unreasonable).

[Mista Bone]

NiteRider Lumina 350 for my first light, clips on/off for charging or to use while walking, like I did tonight coming home from local fireworks....via the bike trail I've been cleaning up.

I got it from REI when they had a 30-35% off outlet clearance items.

[bmike-vt]

I run a dyno for my primary bike / light.
On my head I run an Exposure Diablo, which also doubles as a bar light on my other bike as needed. I'd get another of their lights if I needed more battery setups.

[sdr]

I recently picked up a NiteRider Lumina 750 and had a chance to use it last night for the first time. Very bright even on the lowest setting.

[Mista Bone]

I recently picked up a NiteRider Lumina 750 and had a chance to use it last night for the first time. Very bright even on the lowest setting.

.....750 vs 350, your low is equal to my medium, I might need a backup light

H 750.....350
M 350.....200
L 200......125
W 40.......30

[nepbug]

I'm doing a homemade LED light for my bar light.  I'm running a single LED that is really powerful, but I'm not driving it anywhere near it's potential giving me great battery run times and still plenty of adequate light.  Going DIY also made it so I could choose my own power supply, I'm using 3 x AA batteries to power it.

For my helmet I have a bike EOS unit, but I feel like I should upgrade that to something a little brighter and runs on AA instead of AAA for better run times.

[evdog]

I ordered a couple of these last year.  They were $17 each at the time with free shipping.  And they work with my old explodable magicshine batteries. 

The batteries are light and compact, the lights themselves are small and reasonably bright.  And the batteries last a decent amount of time.  You really can't go wrong for this price.  There are quite a few similar versions/models available. 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00F9UZABA?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00

[joeydurango]

+1 for the Exposure Diablo.  Full disclosure:  I sell these.  But that's because I use these - kinda the theme at my shop. 

[Area54]

Another for the Diablo, and also joystick.

[mtnbound]

The type of light best for you can vary greatly, depending on your needs such as how many days is your trip, ability to recharge or buy new batteries, how much night riding you are planning on doing, and whether you are mounting the light to your head or bike since some lights are better suited for helmets and others for attaching to your bike, how fast you are riding and how technical is the trail.  It will also vary greatly depending on your personal tastes as well.

With that being said, since you were looking for lights with more than 300 lumen, have you looked at Fenix PD35? It is well built/durable, relatively small and light (87 grams), only runs on one 18650 battery (can be rechargeable if you want) or 2 lithium CR123As and has decent runtimes (depending on what light setting you have it at).  It is very bright (up to 850 lumens) but is adjustable.  It also mounts pretty easily to helmet or a handlebar.  If you are on a road, I would use this on your handlebar and strap a red strobe (like a BD Storm, which is also a pretty good choice, depending on your needs) to your pack or back of your helmet for safety.

[Get Mounted]

I run a dyno for my primary bike / light.
On my head I run an Exposure Diablo, which also doubles as a bar light on my other bike as needed. I'd get another of their lights if I needed more battery setups.

I'm thinking of running a similar setup.

What battery life/lumen setting do you get from the diablo and how long does it roughly take to top the diablo up via dynamo? I know theres a lot of variables in the question.

[bmike-vt]

Have not had to fully charge the Diablo from the dyno yet, have topped it off and left it plugged in a bit on my last trip. Also kept the gopro battery topped off swapping between the two.

I swap between the setting with the longest 'low' burn time and the first setting. I've used the light on low in camp with their diffuser and for navigating at the end of a trip for a few hours.

Around my local trails I get a consistent full hour + when blazing high, but I rarely use that for a whole ride. Generally use high only fall / winter in the woods early in the morning, then switch to medium / low for dirt road / pavement / bike path.

[joeydurango]

On my Diablo, I run program number 3 when bikepacking.  Can use it all night across all three levels in that program without an issue.  During the day, I've had no issue charging both the Diablo to full and my GPS to full before nightfall with my dynamo - with the sole exception of a very slow, hike-a-bike day, at which point I tossed the single set of AA lithiums I now carry into the GPS.

[bmike-vt]

On my Diablo, I run program number 3 when bikepacking.  Can use it all night across all three levels in that program without an issue.  During the day, I've had no issue charging both the Diablo to full and my GPS to full before nightfall with my dynamo - with the sole exception of a very slow, hike-a-bike day, at which point I tossed the single set of AA lithiums I now carry into the GPS.

Thats the one I use, now that I've looked at my light sitting here on the desk, for bikepacking as well.

[Adam Alphabet]

Depending on the trip....
*Bikepacking/touring with no/limited night riding planned: one Black Diamond Storm.
*AZT 300 this year I used two PD35's and felt undergunned compared to most.
*CTR this year I went with two BT20's ran at low on the bars medium on the head and was able to ride at full capacity and did not feel limited by my lighting. Only problem is carrying that many 18650's is heavy. They're sick lights for the price though.

[THE LONG RANGER]

I've used a Fenix BT20 for a coupla years now, it's failed on me twice - the wiring going into the main light gets really messed up, from having it being pulled/shaked/etc. It's easy enough to fix with a little electrical tape and a ~3/8" screwdriver.

I use rechargable batteries most of the time, which are easy enough to find - ~$10 at Batteries+, or much, much cheaper online. There's also nonrechargable batteries you can get for them at any REI.

The rechargable batteries themselves seem to last around a year - after that, they start conking out. One old battery I have current after charging, just gets very, very hot, which makes me very, very worried.

I've gotta generator hub, I need to build up - some Shimano deal. Not sure if it's worth it, though (the hub, that is - the idea: yes).

[B@se]

for night biking on the mtb with a few friends I use a pair of Xeccon s14 lights with different sets of batteries. For day to day uses and slower biking I use a fenix bc30 running on two 18650 cells of my old trusty Armytek viking with a custom handlebar mount.

on the touring bike I use a SON hub with the B&M aa battery light to charge my batteries for my camera etc.

Bas

[Yogi the Barry]

For endurance Coco/AZT/CTR bikepacking events, I'm happy with Exposure Revo/dynamo setup for bars, but want something brighter and longer lasting for the helmet. Current helmet light is Black Diamond Revolt/Spot. I get anxious about running out of light and always wind up throttling back the helmet light to almost a useless brightness. I also hate AAAs.
Going to try Nitecore HC50 for the helmet. I basically want a brighter helmet light to use when the dynamo light fades during slow riding/HAB. The HC50 runs 6+ hours on the 170 Lumen setting with a single 18650 cell. I can probably make that single cell work for two evenings of riding. I'll carry an extra 18650 and two CR123s as backup. My dynamo can [partially] recharge the 18650s during day for more reserve power.
http://flashlight.nitecore.com/product/hc50
-Barry

Edit: 6 hrs @ 170 Lumens is approx time with a 2400 mAh 18650. Running a 3200 mAh cell will push the run time over 8 hrs.[/b]

[Lentamentalisk]

Not trying to hijack the thread, but how do you attach the bike lights to your helmet? I've been fiddling around with that for a while and can't keep them from slipping off one way or another.