Bike lights

Candle Power Flashlight Forum

Help Support CPF:

shadowbuds

shadowbuds

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Sep 4, 2006
Messages
138
Location
California
I need to find a good bike light for me and the girl. I'd like this to be LED since I love them so much and hoping for some good output but not at an outrageous price. Any bikers have suggestions? I've been searching and most bike lights just say "300% brighter!" blah blah and no lumens/lux. I've tried to search on CPF but it always gives me an error or blank page 🙁
​
 
Shadowbuds, you didn't mention what kind of cycling you'll be doing. Is it for road riding or mountain biking? The answer to that question will most likely result in different recommendations.

Edit: Oh and really "good output" will come at an outrageous price! ($300 - $400 HID systems)
 
Last edited:
What's the purpose of the light? Is it so that you can be seen by vehicles or is it so that you can see (potholes, trail obstacles etc)? What kind of ambient light conditions are you going to be in? Road or trail riding? Based on your answers to these questions will determine whether a LED based light is appropriate, or as nightrider says, a $300-$400 HID light is more suitable for you.
 
I have a cateye triple shot and double shot. I think the triple shot is the best bang for your buck. I also have a Light and Motion Vega and it cost more or close to the same as the triple shot and is no where near as nice. The triple shot is a great light, 3 Leds and 3 hours of bright runtime with plenty of decreased output to get you home. It is also very lightweight. I also have a Cateye Stadium 3 which blows any light out of the water for shear output....it's amazing 😀
You can get a Triple shot for 175ish now, and they should drop a little in price now that the triple shot pro has been released.
 
I'd just like to have a light to light my path in front of me. A bike light for regular street/road biking, no mountain biking involved. I'm willing to spend $50, if there's no such light for this price I think i'd be better off using a LED flashlight and taping it on.
 
Then do exactly what you said. Get a light, but don't use tape.

http://www.twofish.biz/bike.html

Lock block. I use them when I just need a little light with my flashlight. Excellent product. Won't slip around. Bombproof. Easy on/off.

Because for $50 you're not gonna get much in the way of a bike light.
 
An alternative is to make your own bike light using a 12 volt MR16 halogen bulb. This seems to be a popular project with bike riders. Fairly inexpensive and easy to make, usually out of PVC plumbling fittings, flexible (10 to 75+ watts, spot and flood, also avaliable in LED although more expensive and not all that bright) and parts available at your nearest Home Depot, hardware store, etc. Just search for MR16 on this forum and look for stuff on bike lights to get started.

Another alternative is to use one of the higher powered headlamps such as the PT Apex.

Hope this helps.
 
it's hard to beat bike specific lights for price and/or performance.

LED lights really need to be multiple luxeons to do any good. the earlier question of do you want to see or be seen... is a good one.

most folks don't ride in pitch dark conditions, so a partially lit bike path needs 100+ lumens just to be barely adequate. but that's me, your mileage may veri.

I'll usually run a Niterider HID for a primary light with a Stenlight or Surefire U2 on helmet. Just got a Lights & motion HID in the door. have not ran it much, but having two levels is pretty sweet.

Now I'll be able to run Arc HID Nihm for handlebar duties, with HID storm for helmet mount.

now that's bright!
 
Last edited:
I use the mount available from Lighthound and mount my U2 on it. I love knowing I'm getting good use from the U2. The spill is great for road biking too and the hot spot is more than enough to see 20-30 yards down the road. To cars it looks like a HID and I get instant respect from motorists when the beam sweeps them. I'm often more worried about rear visibility.
 
While I use Niterider HID's for mountain biking (handlebar and helmet), their roadrat and trailrat models ($100 - $120) are excellent for biking around town or on well maintained beginner - intermediate trails. For biking two or three times a week for less than 3 hours per ride, these are excellent. I use the trailrat myself for these purposes.

The beam is powerful (not compared to the HIDs) and very useful. The features these lights lack compared to more explensive models include a smart charger, lithium ion battery, multiple light output levels, and HID technology. So long as you don't mind up to 8 hour charge times and are conscious of the risk of overcharging due to the lack of having smartcharging technology the trailrat (and I'm sure the roadrat) are great investments. They may cost a bit more up front, but their usefullness will far outweigh the $50 cateye LEDs.

My opinion is that there is no such thing as a "being seen" bike light. There are obstacles during night biking even when there is ambient light present. If you plan to maintain these lights, they will reward you far beyond the $120 investment.

Finally, mount these to the handlebar. There is no better to place your mount your powerful light. You can get one of the cateye LEDs for helmet mount (to check gears, bike computer, and most importantly for better visibility when turning). I am in a hurry, have to go out, so I am being brief. I hope this is helpful, let me know if you want anymore info on my setup.

p.s. I used the twofish flashlight mount before I picked up the trailrat (for regular biking). It's a great little mount but flashlights aren't designed to be bike lights (high battery cost and/or low comparative runtime at high output). I think it's a neat gadget to toss in your pack for emergency mount (better than duct tape), but get yourself a dedicated bike light. If you do ever use the twofish mount, make sure you mount the flashlight down; a lot of people mount the flashlight up and complain about the light shifting on rough terain.

Also, here is an older thread on handlebar flashlight mounts: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=79435
 
Last edited:
I ended up purchasing two flashlight mounts for my L4 and my 3/6w Super Bright LED flashlight. I plan on using them at night throughout the streets, there should be streetlights but there's always lots of dark spots to fill. I've yet to use them but it holds the lights good as far as I can tell. I'll update when I fix my new bike I broke.
​
 
I've been using an ultra-clamp along with an aleph1 2x123 and standard
tailcap with tri-pod threaded hole.

ultra-clamp:
g18871.jpg


Now I've got a ti tripod threaded tailcap for my U2! whoo hoo!
100604044-M.jpg


I didn't make it. Please don't ask, cuz he's probably too busy to make
another 🙂

But now I have 6 levels of light using 18650's for my night mtg biking! 😀
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top