Any advice for LED bicycle light?

[Ravelyn]

I'm planning to try to ride my road bike to and from work once in a while. Also I sometimes find myself pushing nightfall on after-work training rides. And I'd like the option of getting out for my ride even if I'm a little late getting home from work. I'm a road cyclist, not a mountain biker.

There are some expensive bicycle light systems out there, but I'm wondering if these are good lights by the standards of folks here. Do any of you use LED lights for cycling, and what recommendations do you have?

It seems to me that factors would include: reasonably light weight, a combination of throw and flood so as to be able to safely ride on downhill stretches, re-chargeable battery that can be charged in a fairly short time (e.g., while at work). I'd be inclined to mount on handlebar, but interested in advice on that as well. I don't mind spending what it takes to get a safe, quality set-up.

 

[jacktheclipper]

Get a P60 host that takes an 18650 battery , an XML dropin , and mount it to your bike with a Twofish lockblock . Done .

 

[DM51]

We have a separate bike light section, so I'll move your thread there.

Have a look at some of the other threads there too - you may pick up some ideas and useful advice.

 

[licht55]

If you want a headlight that illuminates a well defined area of the way in front of you and does not blind people coming towards you (complying to German StVZO - road traffic act), I would recommend B+M (Busch und Müller Meinerzhagen) IQ-tec lights ( http://www.bumm.de/innovationoriginal/iq-tec.html ). They come in various models including some with proprietary rechargeables (Ixon IQ Speed), standard AA NiMH rechargeables (Ixon IQ) or for generators (Lumotec IQ Cyo, Lumotec IQ Fly), and many of them have different options like near field illumination or daytime running light. They generally illuminate the defined area in front of you at least 4 times the minimum level required by StVZO (10 lx at 10 m, i. e. 1 kcd). They beam pattern is optimized for bycicle use and not rotationally symmetric.

They have a rather sharp transition from bright to quite dim at the top of the defined area in order to avoid blinding oncoming traffic. So if you ride outside the roads regulated by StVZO, blinding oncoming traffic is not an issue and you need a good illumination of items above ground, e. g. tree branches protuding into your path, then StVZO compliant bicycle lights might not be optimal.

If you are willing to spend some more, have a look at their "Big Bang" ( http://www.bumm.de/produkte/akku-scheinwerfer/big-bang.html ) - 140 lx @ 10 m (i. e. 14 kcd). It also comes with a offroad flooder that also puts quite some light above ground - and must not be used where StVZO is applicable. (With this light I do not have any experience and it uses electric discharge, not an LED, however.)

 

[CPFBiology]

I use lights for cycling. I have a Surefire 6P host, that is bored to take a 18650, using an AW 18650 2900mAh battery. I am using a Malkoff M61W dropin. It puts out around 250 lumens, and is bright, and decent, however I want brighter. I have a Jetbeam III Military mounted to my helmet. I would like to get, as another poster stated, an XM-L light. Malkoff has an M91 that uses the XM-L emitter, and it is brighter than the M61W. The M91 puts out spill that is as bright as the hot spot of the M61W. I would recommend you try to get one of those once Gene makes more. Gene makes an excellent product that is reliable, something you would come to expect from a flashlight. Surefire is used by the military and PD's across the country and is known for reliability. AW is an excellent maker of cells, though there is also Redilast. Try to avoid Ultrafires, and those other cheapy lights from DX and others. I have tried quite a few of them, and they are not reliable. You really don't want to go on a training ride and have the light fail on you. Then you place yourself in danger for saving a few bucks.

You'll have to pick up some mounts. Get the Cyclopblocks from Twofish. They are excellent for those lights. You can buy some sort of generic helmet mount for some other light from MEC/REI for like $5, then get some zip ties and you can attach the flashlight to the mount.

 

[DaveyJones]

ive been wondering about mounting a light to my bike, but in such a way that it is easily removable.
an aspect worth considering if you want to be able to park your bike in public areas.
hell, im not sure i would even trust co-workers around a quality light.

 

[jdp298]

Lumicycle do what I think is a pretty good set of choices. All can be handlebar mounted with quick releases and the battery can come packed in a water bottle. Wife has the single halogen light and used it regularly going Bristol to Bath for rowing practice several times a week. They also have LED options since she got hers.

I'm a hub dynamo standlight chap but the couple of times I've borrowed her machine, very impressed.

 

[vickers214]

Tried a few light for this purpose, but my current set up is a two fish lock block, generic ones can be had for a couple of dollars if you look about
http://www.4sevens.com/product_info.php?products_id=273

An Eagletac T20c2 Mk2 XM-L (regular not the Turbo model)
http://www.illuminationgear.com/14322/26992.html

18650 rechargable batteries, Red and black Trustfire (with flames on the side) Forum rules prevent links to DX so google them,

And a WP2 charger, for me the best budget charger (Pila is regarded as the best but expensive)
http://www.torchdirect.co.uk/lithium-ion-battery-chargers/cytak-18650-battery-charger.html

I find the runtime and out put modes are perfect 5 Lumens for 100+ hours as when you just need to be seen in traffic, 60 Lumens for 10 hours for lighting up lit main roads, and 480 lumens for 2 hours for DARK farm tracks which if you are on a road bike you are unlikely to come across.

this set up puts out a huge amount of floody light, and I find it perfect

 

[kbark]

Are you wanting to buy an off the shelf light or are you wanting to D.I.Y.? There are tons of DIY designs in the lights section on mtbr.com. I've made a 1000 lumen bike light that I saw on there.