Bike lights for city/path biker

I bike in a city environment and along a lake front path with several sections without lighting. I'm looking to get a light (or set of lights?) that'll both let people see me when I'm on the streets and let me see other runners/bikers when I'm on the lake path. All lights would be handlebar mounted as I'm not a fan of helmet mounts.


I was originally going to get the Planet Bike 2W Blaze but after reading, it seems like it's much better to get a flashlight and mount that instead. Budget is to keep the total under $70. I was thinking of the Flex LD20 (or LD25?) but I'm not sure if the strobe or SOS function on it is too bright or wide enough for me to be seen.


Any recommendations?

i run two ultrafire lights on DX mounts that cost 99 cents. the beams on the ultrafires are amazing for the $20 i paid for them. one is throwier than the other so i have it pointed farther down the path.

i have a quark AA2 tactical on my helmet on a twofish block.

i have two planetbike superbrights on the back--one on the seatpost, one on the backpack

i don't use the strobe because i don't want to look at it.

i'm not really concerned if my lights are too bright for someone else.

Hub dynamo, gets me across London and its traffic, and Richmond Park in the dark where there are no lights. Plenty of options too, from DIY circuits floating round here to reviews of the latest and sometimes greatest from the pros.

forgot to add, i have some eneloop AA batteries already so looking to reuse those for the lights

How well lit is the path? If the path has much light at all you'll need a fairly powerful light to show over the street lighting at which point its probably redundant since the path should be well enough light to allow you to see with out a head light. If the path is unlit then a (nominally) 5w light would be enough to ride along at a moderate pace.

Have a look at the Torchlab Triple. You can combine it with an Ogaz host, or FM host for 2X26500 or 1x26650.
It will give you plenty of light for when you get near a road. But also, it illuminates the area so that you can spot debris or hazards on the path. You would have to point it low so it doesn't blind anyone, then you could use one of the new Jetbeams as a spot light to spot people far ahead. If you wanted, you could put that on your glove, and make a glove mount. (Use a vented helmet mount and strap it to your glove).

funkymonkey1111 said:

i'm not really concerned if my lights are too bright for someone else.

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That's a supremely shitty attitude.

I am wont to fire 10 watts of high beam in the faces of people like you as well as various expletives on the ex-railway path I have used for 24 years.

The crazy thing is (on the Bristol to Bath path), the ground at this time of year is covered with leaves and twigs and there are idiots wasting light by strobing it in my eyes.



I hate the dazzlers even more than the ninjas - after all the pedestrians don't make an effort either ...

My front light is 6 watts of LEDs mounted low with a large cowling to kill as much dazzle as possible. I'm currently thinking about how I can emulate the brilliant dipped beam pattern of the Busch and Muller Cyo - but with many more lumens.

I even have a specially diffused, non-flashing rear light.

steveo_mcg said:

How well lit is the path? If the path has much light at all you'll need a fairly powerful light to show over the street lighting at which point its probably redundant since the path should be well enough light to allow you to see with out a head light. If the path is unlit then a (nominally) 5w light would be enough to ride along at a moderate pace.

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the path has overhead street lamps for most of it but there are some corners where the lights are out so I need to be able to see runners and bikers from a good distance away. it's not pitch black by any means but the path is narrow and crowded so i'm more concerned about swerving into people while trying to dodge other people

CPFBiology said:

Have a look at the Torchlab Triple. You can combine it with an Ogaz host, or FM host for 2X26500 or 1x26650.
It will give you plenty of light for when you get near a road. But also, it illuminates the area so that you can spot debris or hazards on the path. You would have to point it low so it doesn't blind anyone, then you could use one of the new Jetbeams as a spot light to spot people far ahead. If you wanted, you could put that on your glove, and make a glove mount. (Use a vented helmet mount and strap it to your glove).

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i'm just trying to find some stuff i can order on amazon prime and use within a week. as much as i love building things, especially electronics, i hate waiting for things to ship

Weizilla said:

the path has overhead street lamps for most of it but there are some corners where the lights are out so I need to be able to see runners and bikers from a good distance away. it's not pitch black by any means but the path is narrow and crowded so i'm more concerned about swerving into people while trying to dodge other people



i'm just trying to find some stuff i can order on amazon prime and use within a week. as much as i love building things, especially electronics, i hate waiting for things to ship

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Then you can order Jetbeam RRT-15 and Jetbeam RRT-21. These will be mounted on your handlebars.

CPFBiology said:

Then you can order Jetbeam RRT-15 and Jetbeam RRT-21. These will be mounted on your handlebars.

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I was hoping for a set up that totaled up to $70 or so (like something in the range of fenix ld20/25). A quick search shows the jetbeam flashlights at $110 to $125 each

I really think you need to readjust your budget. This is something for long-term and it's for safety. You are riding at speed and if you miss a hazard or don't see someone well enough in time, it could result in a fall from height or collision. That is one place you don't want to cut corners. Once you have a good reliable light, it's not something you will need to keep repurchasing (that depends on what level of flashaholic you are :devil. I recommend getting the RRT-21 and AW 18650 cells. The AA NiMH cells for the LD20/25 aren't as resilient in the cold as Li-ion cells. If you like Fenix, then get an offering from Fenix -TK21, get the special edition U2 if you can find it, but stay away from the LD series. I own one, it's not bad, but not really bright enough for bicycle riding. It is also not as tough. The LD sometimes has issues (it's been dropped before). I also have a Jetbeam III-Military, but if I could have it another way, I would get a Torchlab Triple/FM Host, or RRT-21.

CPFBiology said:

I really think you need to readjust your budget. This is something for long-term and it's for safety. You are riding at speed and if you miss a hazard or don't see someone well enough in time, it could result in a fall from height or collision. That is one place you don't want to cut corners. Once you have a good reliable light, it's not something you will need to keep repurchasing (that depends on what level of flashaholic you are :devil. I recommend getting the RRT-21 and AW 18650 cells. The AA NiMH cells for the LD20/25 aren't as resilient in the cold as Li-ion cells. If you like Fenix, then get an offering from Fenix -TK21, get the special edition U2 if you can find it, but stay away from the LD series. I own one, it's not bad, but not really bright enough for bicycle riding. It is also not as tough. The LD sometimes has issues (it's been dropped before). I also have a Jetbeam III-Military, but if I could have it another way, I would get a Torchlab Triple/FM Host, or RRT-21.

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well i plan on keeping the flashlight for a while but buying just one rrt 21 and new batteries/charger will end up costing 3-4x more than one of the $50 flashlights I was originally going to get. Is there that much of a difference? I'm not planning on riding down a mountain trail in the pitch black. It's more of flat roads where there's some light, just not enough to safely dodge runners. I'm looking at it from a value point of diminishing returns. A $50 light is better than a $10 led light but is something that costs 3x more going to be 3x safer?

Weizilla said:

well i plan on keeping the flashlight for a while but buying just one rrt 21 and new batteries/charger will end up costing 3-4x more than one of the $50 flashlights I was originally going to get. Is there that much of a difference? I'm not planning on riding down a mountain trail in the pitch black. It's more of flat roads where there's some light, just not enough to safely dodge runners. I'm looking at it from a value point of diminishing returns. A $50 light is better than a $10 led light but is something that costs 3x more going to be 3x safer?

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Sometimes, that few extra lumens will do a lot more. Diminishing returns doesn't kick in until 700 lumens. The difference between 200 and 400 lumens is noticeable. But, between 700 and 900 lumens, it's not as apparent. When you are buying new batteries and a new charger, you are investing in the future. The 18650 is pretty much the standard and will be for a long time. It is very energy dense for its size.

Honestly, if you get the LD series, you will regret it later, not right away, but you will. I know that I did. I hate the LD light for cycling, I really do. It is underpowered, and I feel that I wasted money on it for that purpose. I just use it as an around the house type light. I am currently looking at 1000+lumens lights for biking. You can see further and more around you. Cycling is dangerous, and more so at night. Safety comes first. Your safety and well-being is worth more than $50. The investment will pay for itself. One guy went biking, but there was a new pothole in the ground. His light wasn't bright enough to see it, and he didn't spot it until it was too late, he tried to swerve, but he fell partway into it and he got thrown off his bike. He chipped a tooth and broke a part of his face. (As an aside, colour tint of the beam is important for revealing road hazards).

The best thing I can suggest is if you can try out the two lights somehow on your bike path. I carry three lights when I bike. I am switching them out for something like:
TorchLab Triple + Jetbeam RRT-15 +Malkoff or:
Nitecore Little Monster + Jetbeam RRT-15, + Malkoff.

So, you going with a single RRT-21 would not be overkill.

I don't use these for mountain biking. I use them for on-road, and bike paths. You will be the brightest one on the path if you go with a single RRT-21, but you will also be the safest. If you were mountain biking, it would be two RRT-15's on the handlebars, and one RRT-15 on the helmet, or on your glove.

I use a lupine Wilma TL with a real 1100 otf lumens , on the Chicago lakefront path. I must be careful to aim low and right and use low or medium brightness, to be considerate to other's coming at me. But when I move on to unlit areas out in the country wow !! I sometimes wish for even more flood, as at higher speeds you kinda get a tunnel effect. They now make it in a wider 22 degree version. But this is one cool (yes expensive) light.

An alternative to the RRT-15, or RRT-20 is the Jetbeam IIIM - XM-L. It is quite a bit cheaper since it doesn't have the control ring which you won't need while cycling.

light junction, bugoutgear, and amazon have it for $84.00

Here is a cool light that literally just came out and I'm currently running battery run times on. Takes standard Protected 18650 batteries, puts out 450 lumens on high, built in USB charging, has a flashing mode and comes with 2 mounts for different size bars. http://www.lezyne.com/led-lights#panel-1 Recently on sale from Cambria bike for $79.
That being said a ZebraLight SC600 or Spark SL6(S)-800CW torch with a TwoFish Cycleblock mount make a killer commuter light. Now go over to MTBR and you can find some amazing deals on lights in the 750-1000 lumen range. For me 800 on the helmet and 1600 on the bars (over rated 1600 but stupid bright anyway) gets it done in the woods.

May I remind people that shared paths are not suitable for road racing behaviour and just as when riding on the roads you would wish the cagers to adjust their behaviour to suit your presence, so should you make allowances for suddenly encountering someone pushing a double buggy.
Therefore, as I said, the purpose of your lights should not be "get out of my way !" If you want to do that, join one of the emergency services.

Apologies for blasphemy :-

Hardly one person coming towards me on this shared path has acceptable lights IMHO - apologies for bad language.

gentlegreen said:

Hardly one person coming towards me on this shared path has acceptable lights IMHO - apologies for bad language.

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you seem to have some anger issues. You hate this, you hate that (whatever cute names you assign to folks that dare not conform to your wants)--going down a path making commentary for too bright lights, no lights. What's the common denominator of the complaints? You.

I tried to watch the crappy video, gave up. I agree with Funkymonkey on the anger issues the OP obviously has.