Bring me up-to-date on serious bike lights

[LostHighway]

I used to be a serious bicyclist but for a variety of reasons I haven't been riding much in the past decade. I still own TurboCat and NiteRider bike light setups which were close to state-of-the-art ten to fifteen years ago but now seem quite dated given the rapid evolution of flashlight technology. I'm looking for new lights that offer rechargeable batteries, two hour plus run times at 500+ lumens, suitable for use in temps as cold as +10F/-12C and have great manufacturer support. Added points for made in the USA. My use is primarily road riding and commuting along with some night trail riding (not real off road/singletrack). I've done some searching and read quite a few threads but I still feel like I don't have a very good handle on current light technology. I gather that NiteRider is still very well regarded but what are the other contenders these days? Is there any reason not to go with LED lights and Li-ion batteries?

 

[BrianMc]

You may find good discussions here especially the lights shoot out section. Bear in mind, that lights suitable for road use (not blinding oncoming traffic) are not what are deemed best on the trail. Check out the Philips bike light thread by swhs here for an excellent road beam useable on trails. LEDs efficacy increases make then the best option IMHO. Li-ion 18650 packs if of good quality offer a runtime/weight/price advantage over others.

BrianMc

 

[turbodog]

I do a lot of night riding on the road. While led looks good from several angles, I have noticed a distinct difference in the way cars treat me when I am using HID lights. I've had several cars practically come to a stop and pull to the side of the road when they see me.

The HID light is much more noticeable to me when I see it on another car, I assume the same applies to my bike lights.

I'm running some light and motion HID units with their li-ion batteries. Lumens are 400+, maybe more. Runtime is 3+ hours or so.

You should be able to find some good deals on these lights since everyone wants LED now...

 

[Steve K]

I think that the instinct to go with LEDs and Li-ions is correct. I haven't done it because I'm a commuter and use a SON hub dynamo with homemade LED headlight, and because I'd rather build one myself.

For road use, I think the ideal is to have a beam that conforms to the German standard, so the battery powered B&M LED lights might be worth considering. Peter White had/has some good comparisons of the beams:
http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/b&m.asp

regards,
Steve K.

 

[LostHighway]

Thanks for the replies, guys. I still have quite a bit of research to do but I'm leaning toward NiteRider or Light and Motion. I like the idea of U.S. based manufacturer. It may be just a matter of familiarity but I also like the form factor of a remote battery pack. It gets unnecessary weight off your helmet or handlebars/stem, it permits insulating the battery in really cold conditions and I think it reduces the chances of serious damage in a crash. I gather that TurboCat is still around but they seem to still be producing essentially the same light they were making fifteen years ago. I discovered that Nightsun, another big name from the 1990s is also still in business but, at least as of a decade ago, they had a horrible reputation for support and service. Now I need to get back in shape.

 

[BrianMc]

Scar is a cottage industry builder and here are recent posts in a thread about his lights. He has a superb reputtaion in service.

I had a Cygolite HID which was NOS and I got great support rejuvenating the battery. They are based in Santat Ana, CA.

Dinotte has New hampshire built lights.

Choices, chjoices...

BrianMc

 

[hydrou]

Thanks for the nice links.

However, we have very straightforward and strict laws over here in Europe concerning lights for bikes. Any ideas for suited lights for Germany?

 

[BrianMc]

Any ideas for suited lights for Germany?

Assuming OP is OK with the slight OT: Self contained: Phillips Bike Light. See swhs's thread on it. Dyno lights and dynos? See swhs's blog (link on the Philllips thread). Separate battery pack? No idea. See if B & M or Lupine have something.

Maybe swhs or panicmechanic will have suggestions.

BrianMc

 

[skidad]

I'll second the DiNotte lights designed/built in NH. Great quality lights and great customer service.

Night Rider makes nice lights (nice looking to) and has great customer support....and from reading till my eyes bleed research, to some extent needed it. I know this is the net where you read everything bad and obviously they sell a ton of lights but more than their fair share of warranty issues...which do get taken care of quick from what everyone says. Another thing that bothered me was reported funky light reset problem where the light would not turn on (even with a full battery) and the only way to make it work was to return the battery pack to the charger dock to make it reset itself. Now if you're out in the middle of no where and turn your light off that's the last thing you need happening. Something to do with the light electronics housed in the battery vs the light head itself IIRC. It was enough to rule out NR.


And although I HIGHLY recommend the DiNotte from all my research I was just getting into the mtn. bike nite riding thing (and not knowing how I would like it) and went a cheaper route. So far so good with my Magic Shine MJ856 bar light rated at 1600 lumens (probably more like 1200) and my Gemini XERA 800 lumen helmet light (very close to honest rating IMO). Both amazing lights but the XERA is really amazing when you see how tiny and light weight it is and the power it has is stunning. With a 2 cell battery on my helmet with the light it's no big deal at all. It comes with an extension cable (and a headband for runing) and if you prefer a 4 cell battery pack. For what the OP described for his use a single XERA on the bars would be all he needs and it also has a flashing mode. Have a look on MTBR in the Gemin Titan/Xera thread http://forums.mtbr.com/lights-night-riding/gemini-lights-titan-led-xera-led-2012-a-737838.html

 

[LostHighway]

DiNotte is just over a two-hour drive from me so I may swing down and take a look at some point. It is close to the excellent Portsmouth Brewery so that helps to justify the drive. I'm not super impressed with the mounts although it is difficult to be certain from just looking at photos. The fact that the 400L requires a screwdriver for removal if handlebar mounted is a no-go for me but the XML-3 looks more promising.
The NiteRider Pro 750 is still in the running for me but there is no shortage of competition.
I'm not a fan of dyno lights unless there is some battery or capacitor storage. Having your lights die when you stop is not a good thing IMO.

 

[skidad]

DiNotte is just over a two-hour drive from me so I may swing down and take a look at some point

Where are you located? I'm in Medfield MA but will be in Lincoln NH this weekend if you want to check out my XERA light (or the magic Shine)

If you like the DiNotte I would pay the $50 difference and get the XML-3. Amazing power and easily bar mounted (or helmet even) Have a look over on MTBR for reviews.

Here is an interesting chart for the lights tested so far for the 2012 MTBR light shoot out. http://reviews.mtbr.com/lights-shootout-light-meter-measurements Nightrider 750 lux measurment not to impressive for the $$ IMO. BTW the XERA with the 2 cell pack is $150 and the 4 cell $170 (not the $200 listed) http://gemini-lights.com/products/xera It also beats out the popular and far more expensive Lupine Piko 3 750 lumen light On that chart the DiNotte XML-3 = WOW and for $260 a great light.

 

[LostHighway]

I'm a few miles northeast of Damariscotta, Maine. Thanks for the offer but I have to work this weekend so no road trips.

 

[mtang2]

Hi there,

Long story short, my wife and I got Cygolites for our night riding - the Mitycross 480 OSP and the Expilion 400 USB - and I definitely recommend them.

Backgrounder: My wife and I live in Vancouver, BC, and we do both road riding and what passes for XC here (think tight, technical, wet, muddy, rooty singletrack punctuated by ladders, skinnies, and other stunts), riding mostly in Squamish. With winter cold and rain conditions settling in, we're doing more local night trail rides to get our riding fix in when we're not heading up the local mountains in our snowshoes or skis.

In looking for lights, we started with a bar light setup. Criteria (in priority):

1. Price - around $200 USD I thought was reasonable.
2. Beam pattern - something with decent flood, due to the technical nature of trails
3. Battery life - it's cold here in Canada, and we earn our turns by riding to our trailheads, typically about 45 mins one-way.
4. Durability/water resistance - falling is a way of life, and water resistance... need I say more than winter in the Pacific NW?
5. Weight - we wanted something that we could transition to our helmets, should we upgrade our bar lights in the future.

Based on this criteria and the lights the online shops I tend to go to stock, I narrowed it down to the Mitycross 480 OSP and the Minewt Pro 750. Mitycross won for me based on price (was just under $200, less than the Niterider), beam pattern (noticed it was a little more floody), battery life (3.5 hours vs. 3 hours), and weight (240g vs. 255g). Niterider had a better throw at max power. Both were about even in terms of a neat programming feature for the lights, but I've hardly used it for my Mitycross. Niterider had a neat battery mount. I've also noticed since that the light head for the Mitycross stays fairly cool - the Niterider appears to get hot, according to a MTBR review. Flash mode is great, I'm definitely noticing that cars stop for me when I've got the Mitycross on flash. The SOS flash feature and ultra-low walk modes are interesting too, hope I never need to use the SOS.

One other light that I might consider now in competition would be the MagicShine MJ-872 - more light but at less cost for sure, but battery life is a little less, the head just seems a little big for durability issues, and it weighes 360g. Still, for $$$/lux, it's huge.

Once we got the bar lights, we were hooked and decided to get helmet mounted lights. Using the same criteria, but bringing the price we were willing to pay to $100 and increase emphasis on a low-weight setup, we narrowed the field down to the Minewt 600 and Expilion 400. Both are very comparible, but the Expilion cost a little less, had better battery life again, a smaller form-factor, and less weight (130g vs. 188g). Minewt had a better beam pattern (more flood), but the Expilion had better throw I think - and for a helmet light, having more throw-less flood isn't a dealbreaker. On that note - the Expilion has a "boost" mode that's roughly equivalent to the Minewt's "high" mode. The helmet light has been amazing when paired with the bar lights, and when commuting, drivers *know* when you're looking at them!

Lastly, I've heard good things about Cygolite for customer service - hope I never need to use it, but if I do, I think I should be well supported.

That's my 2 cents about my lights, based on my criteria

 

[a1penguin]

You don't mention your budget, but use the word serious I don't know how my cheap torches will do in wet weather. I commute and the ride home is always in the dark. For me, 1000 lumens of front light is minimum. I'm thinking of using my recent bonus to get the Dinotte XML-3 for the bars. 1200 lumens JUST FOR THE BARS! I might only need medium! The lumens per $ can't be beat, unless you want Magicshine. MS is not in the same league as Dinotte. You also need something for the helmet. I generally like something less floody for the helmet. The Xera looks like it might be a good choice for the helmet. It's certainly small. Or perhaps the Lezyne Superdrive (although there is no helmet mount yet). Total cost, about $400.

For rear facing lights, I feel fine with two PBSF. The Turbos have 2x the light. There are several good choices for rear lights; from the reviews I've read, non stand out as THE ONE. You don't mention if you want daylight lights or not.

I still am using my Junkfire torches because I like torches: no battery packs, no cables.

I also recommend reading mtbr.com. Those people are lumens freaks. The shootout has side by side beam shots in the backyard and on the trail. Don't forget to look at those in addition to reading the reviews. Hope this helps. Let us know what you decide!