The Chainlink

Bike lights to see the road ahead

Hello everyone,I did a quick search and didn't come up with what I needed.       I am looking for a bike light to be able to see ahead of me. As I ride on the lake bike path, I often times cannot see ahead of me. I have tried the typical lights and they only work a few feet ahead of me.    thank you for your help.

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Permalink Reply by Seri97 on September 16, 2011 at 10:16am

I have a cygolite rechargeable handlebar mounted 200 lumen light that will last 12 hours on low that is more than enough on a pitch dark night or the lakefront.  They now make a 250, 350 and 400 lumen light.  I payed $140 two years ago.  The light is easily removeable and I purchased an additional mount for my other bicycle allowing for easy transfer.  Julie also has this light and seems to be happy with it.  Ebay is selling these lights for as low as $100

 

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=cygolite+expilion&_sacat=0&...

 

Permalink Reply by David Lieb on September 16, 2011 at 10:37am
Another vote for the Light & Motion Vis 360. It is not cheap, but having the ability to point the light wherever you need to is highly addictive. Especially nice for "being sure the driver approaching the intersection from the side has noticed you". The weight of the headlight, taillight and battery (contained in the taillight housing) on my helmet is not annoying to me, to the point where I do not bother to remove them when riding in the daylight, although, as mentioned above, it is quite easily done and I could pop them into a pocket of my Topeak bag. I do wish there was more sideways illumination than the two tiny LEDs on the sides of the headlight, as bicycles can be difficult to see and identify from the sides at night, but that is mere quibbling on my part. I also have Blackburn Flea headlight and taillight on my bike in flash mode when riding at night. Heck, for that matter, I usually wear a safety vest from Work'N Gear with major reflective stripes on it, too. If a driver doesn't see me, it ain't my fault ;-)
Permalink Reply by daWillinChi on September 16, 2011 at 11:10am

I bought one of those small LED flashlight that mounts on my handle bar, only to break after 2 weeks.

Since the light came with the mount, I decided to use my 2 years old LED flash light and that fit just right and it's a heck of a lot brighter. The only thing missing is the different flashings, where as now it either turns on or off.

 

This is the flash light: Inova

 

It looks the same as the flashlights TSAs are using, except that's it isn't UV lights.

Permalink Reply by zerofivenein on September 16, 2011 at 11:26am
i've had good results with this light... and i commute in the suburbs in near pitch black with the light pointed up far enough that i dont outride the beam at 17-20mph, and it's even usb rechargeable and fairly small/lightweight.

http://www.amazon.com/OwlEye-LED-Rechargable-Bicycle-Headlight/dp/B...
Permalink Reply by daWillinChi on September 16, 2011 at 11:46am
I thought about getting a USB rechargeable lights, but I realized that I don't always take my lights off my bike. Then, by the time I want to ride my bike, I'll realize that I haven't charged my battery and will then have to wait to recharge my battery.
Permalink Reply by Craig Williams on September 16, 2011 at 3:13pm
Light and Motion make perhaps the best lights available.  Can be found for $100.00 and much more.  Worth every penny!
Permalink Reply by ambimb on September 17, 2011 at 8:24am
Minoura's light mount is a cheap/simple way to mount just about any handlebar light on your front fork to get it down closer to the pavement. Get two lights and put one an each side... 

Mike Zumwalt said:
There needs to be a way to mount these lower on the bike like the front forks I know YOU can see great with those but if you're an oncoming bike staring at the ground to avoid being blinded is annoying and dangerous.
Permalink Reply by jonathan on September 17, 2011 at 6:28pm
I would check out the Princeton Tec EOS light It costs 50 bucks at REI and runs on three AAs. You can bar mount it or helmet mount it.
Permalink Reply by Joe Studer 8.0 mi on September 18, 2011 at 4:48pm
+1 on the Minoura light mount.  They work great.

ambimb said:
Minoura's light mount is a cheap/simple way to mount just about any handlebar light on your front fork to get it down closer to the pavement. Get two lights and put one an each side... 

Mike Zumwalt said:
There needs to be a way to mount these lower on the bike like the front forks I know YOU can see great with those but if you're an oncoming bike staring at the ground to avoid being blinded is annoying and dangerous.
Permalink Reply by Monte Martin on September 23, 2011 at 12:16am

If you are looking for something to see with, a helmet mounted light is great.  If you need further info, I recommend looking at some of the Mountain Bike forums (cambr.com, mtbr.com, etc.)  Mountain Bike night riding requires a very good light setup so you will find a lot more info there.

 

Regarding blinding other riders, it has already been mentioned that where you point the light is the main thing. If using something with a focused beam (as most mountain bike lights will have) it needs to be pointed at the road, not into the distance.  That being said, I am a big fan of the Princeton Tec Push light. It's high setting has a focused beam pattern for seeing into the distance, but a quick switch to low and the beam pattern is much more diffused.  It reminds me of the 'high' and 'low' beam settings on a car. 

Permalink Reply by David P. on September 24, 2011 at 7:13am

I'd second the suggestions for dynamo-based lighting systems. And I doubt you'll get out the door for under $100 unless you're clever. 'Clever' will get you some semi-DIY battery-based systems that would do great. I have a MiNewt USB that I used to use on my everyday ride that was decent in pitch dark, but ~15mph was about as fast as I could go with it. Now using a Supernova E3 on a dynohub, which is terrific - I can bomb along at 20mph+ in the dark if I need to.

 

David

Permalink Reply by Larry on November 8, 2013 at 9:22am

I work in a bike shop that sells Light & Motion lights....  I just got an Urban 400 from them....  I'm still waiting on the new Urban 700.... (They sent me a refurb 400 for N/C since my order for the 700 was delayed AGAIN!!!!)  I was very impressed with how bright to 400 is and can't wait to try out the 700 when it gets here....  They are not cheap....  But when it comes to being safe, I think that it's worth it....  And, the Lithium Ion rechargeable battery means never having to buy a set of AAs for it!!!!

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