Best bicycle flashlight for <$80?

[mr_bicycler]

Hello,

I am looking for a new front light for my bicycle that's around $80 or less.
I don't do much riding in the dark, but occasionally I will bike to work in the early morning (5am).

I was looking at the Fenix LD20 and L2D. Would either be good to buy in my situation? I like that these are actual flashlights too, so I can use it around the house and on camping trips. However, I would like something that is relatively secure on my bike and has a long battery life.

What would you suggest?

Thanks,
--m

 

[tacosauce]

Secure and long life are very relative terms depending on how bright, runtime, and how permanent you want to go.

The easy answer would be to take a look at the magicshine lights. I've been thinking about getting one for a while, but I also feel the need to build a better one from scratch.

I don't know much about the fenix lights other than people seem to like them. Maybe someone in the know could chime in.

If I have learned anything, it is that if an item is multipurposed, it will definitely be a compromise somewhere.

 

[mr_bicycler]

Thanks for the info. I checked out some of the popular brands of bike lights.

What would be the better option: the Magicshine GMG 900 Special or the Planet Bike Blaze 2W?

 

[KentS]

I used a P3D for a season or two. Unfortunately it gets pitch dark i the winter where I live and 200 lumens just didn't seem enough. I have a home made triple xp-g R4 light now. It should be around 850 lumens. That is enough for really dark nights.

 

[mr_bicycler]

I ride normally on the street, so there is a dim light source. I also want to make sure the light does not blind someone coming in the opposite direction.

I guess my goal with having a front light is to make sure others can see me, instead of allowing me to see something (although, that would be nice).

 

[LED_Thrift]

I think the Fenix L2D / LD20 would be a great choice. They have good brightness, GREAT efficiency, and are great overall lights. I'm not familiar with Magicshine at all.

To mount them to the bike, the TwoFish Lockblocks are a good choice and are widely recommended here. They are available, among other places, at 4Sevens, a very well-respected dealer and supporter of CPF. He would have the Fenix lights also.

 

[noisebeam]

I also recommend the LD20 R4 for a good balance between run time and brightness, plus the very useful strobe mode for daylight use.

I use an L2D q5, but am considering upgrading to the R4 for the slight extra brightness and larger hotspot with no reduction in run time.

Works well enough for total darkness on winding roads at 25mph+

 

[mr_bicycler]

Ah, okay, thanks for the help. I think I will get the Fenix LD20 R4 from Amazon and see if I like it. Also, one more question. All of the dedicated bike lights I've had before have a blinking strobe feature (e.g., on for 100ms, off for 900ms, repeat). What is the on/off strobe pattern for the Fenix lights (LD20 in particular)?

 

[noisebeam]

I believe it is a 7hz strobe

 

[mr_bicycler]

Would 7Hz be too fast?

I ask because I used to have a CatEye HL-EL135. It was a pretty inexpensive bike light and it had a very useful strobe function that made others notice me. The strobe light was about 2Hz. The only problem is it didn't provided enough light.

From the CatEye site:
HL-EL135
Total Candlepower : 1200
Candlepower at center of light (10 meters away): 80

What is the difference between candlepower and lumens? How much better is the LD20 R4 than the CatEye HL-EL135?

 

[noisebeam]

I prefer the fast intense strobe of the L2D/LD20 over bike specific headlights I've seen others use. I think the fast strobe is more eye catching. Some slower flashing lights are simply too slow, more of a blink which defeats the purpose as they can be more easily missed with a very quick glance. Again I only use the strobe during daylight and dusk/dawn when there is enough ambient light so the headlight doesn't provide any useful road illumination.

 

[tandem]

I opted to drop some runtime and output and go for shorter - the LD10 R4. It is about the same length as a Planet Bike Blaze 2W, but much narrower in diameter of course. Brighter, although not astoundingly so.

The strobe however is much, much, brighter. Quite often someone will ask me what I'm running when I have the strobe on - and I only run it during daylight / dusk hours. I think in the black of night it is too distracting to on-coming motorists and perhaps even to other cyclists.

In a perfect world I'd get another half hour of runtime and then I wouldn't have to swap out a cell during longer training rides (i.e. 2 hours instead of 1 1/2) but I don't find it troublesome.

For doing all night riding (say in a brevet) swapping cells all the time would be too troublesome, and I want more light output too.

 

[noisebeam]

I first bought an L2D q5 and have used it for about two years. A few months ago on a whim I bought the L1d body for it. I now use it as an L1d for my commutes which are only 30min each way so I can use turbo/strobe for the round trip. Strobe with the L1d is bright enough. It is note quite yet getting into the time of year where it is dark vs. dim/dusk/dawn for my commute so I don't have any experience comparing the turbo brightness of L1d vs. L2d for darkness.

I would get the LD20 R4 over the LD10 R4 simply because the price difference is small and the extra run time and brightness can only be better and while the 1AA size is slightly more compact it hardly makes a difference once mounted on the bike

I get maybe about 1:45 hr:min turbo with decent NiMH batteries, maybe a bit more with new ones, less with worn ones. I do go on longer rides and switch batteries at the midway break point and/or extend life by using lower modes when turbo is not necessary.

Unfortunately I understand one can not get the LDxx bodies separately otherwise getting the LD10 and a LD20 body would be ideal.

I also would not use strobe in darkness, not only would it be unpleasant for other drivers, but the strobe illumination on the road is very hard to take for myself.

 

[Robinda]

Unfortunately I understand one can not get the LDxx bodies separately otherwise getting the LD10 and a LD20 body would be ideal.

You can get them here http://www.thephotonshop.co.uk/page62.htm in the UK so I assume they must be available.

 

[tandem]

You can get them here http://www.thephotonshop.co.uk/page62.htm in the UK so I assume they must be available.

Just be aware that the bodies referenced in the link you've provided are for older LD10/LD20 lights -- Fenix moved to a different thread for the recent R4 version of the lights and surely will continue this with newer releases. The two are not compatible.

 

[Robinda]

Ah didn't realise thanks for that.

 

[Teobaldo]

I use the TA21 in the front of my mountain bike and the LD20 in the rear with the red filter and strobe. The Twofish holders are good and a cheap option. I use the TA21 and the LD20 in my bicycle without problems for months and always give me a great and continuous output. In the helmet sometimes put the LD10 by extra precaution.

Regards.

 

[UpChUcK]

As already mentioned, the Magicshine is probably your best bet. It is a bit more than your $80 limit but you get a really bright light. OTF about 500-600 lumens with a ~3 hour runtime. So I guess it would depend if you need the runtime for your ride/commute. I usually ride for more than and hour with 2-3 hours being typical. I've used a friend of mine's MS and it was very bright! I will be order one for myself now.

The trouble with flashlights is they are either not bright enough, run for about an hour or both. I've used my EagleTac T20C2 300 lumen (OTF) flashlight along side my old Planet Bike 10w Halogen and it did a decent job. The MS was noticeably brighter than both those lights combined though. So When my MS gets here, I'll use that on my handlebars and my naibender SST-90 drop-in in a Surefire 6P on my helmet on medium.

 

[noisebeam]

I agree than lights like magicshine and similar may have longer life/brighter, but I prefer a flashlight as it is multi use and self contained and easy to source replacement/extra batteries - I found using separate light/battery to be a hassle especially when having to remove it from bike when parking. I won't go back to the separate systems.

 

[UpChUcK]

I agree than lights like magicshine and similar may have longer life/brighter, but I prefer a flashlight as it is multi use and self contained and easy to source replacement/extra batteries - I found using separate light/battery to be a hassle especially when having to remove it from bike when parking. I won't go back to the separate systems.

I guess it would be up to the individual to decide if they want to make compromises. Do they want a dedicated bike light that is bright enough and last long enough for a safe ride or do they want a flashlight that can serve as a short-term bike light as well as fulfill its other flashlight duties. Personally, I would want as bright of a light as possible that has long runtimes for commuting or recreational riding at night. It is dangerous enough riding at night so why compound the danger with a weak light or a light that'll leave you in the dark in the middle of your ride. When I get my Magicshine in to replace my halogen, I will also carry an emergency backup light like the aforementioned nailbender or EagleTac lights like I do now. I have the 2fish block on my bars all the time since it is light enough to do just that. "One light = none".

Oh and by the way to the OP, make sure you have a bright rear blinkie like the Planet Bike Super Flash or the MagicShine tail light as well as reflective bits all over.