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| Lezyne's mini-drive is small, but puts out up to 100 lumens. Credit: Lezyne. |
It's hard to keep up with the latest bicycle light technology these days (see my updated, yet already outdated, Bright Lights post), so I'm not even going to try. Instead, why don't you tell us, in the comments, how you're lighting up your bike these days.
UPDATE: Last January, Mountain Bike Reviews did a great job reviewing and rating bike lights. If you're shopping for lights, it's a great place to start your research.
10 comments:
I have to be honest: 100 lumens is just nowhere near bright enough!
Of course different people use lights for different purposes, but a 100 lumens light is simply a "to be seen by" light, whereas I need a "to see with" light.
I have a head torch that outputs 1000 lumen, which gives me easily 2 hours run time at the brightest setting, off a single 18650 battery. Seeing as I have 5 batteries I have the capacity to ride all through the night.
I very regulalrly go cycling at night, and I prefer to cycle in places where there are no other sources of light, so there's a definite need for a torch that produces enough light.
I find 1000 lumen to be sufficient light for safely riding at 20 mph.
William, good points.
For front lighting, I have a Planet Bike Alias HID headlight and a Surefire headlamp. The advantage of the headlamp is that you can direct the light in different places, which is handy when you're approaching a curve.
For rear lighting, I use at least 2 tail lights (1 in steady mode, 1 blinking) with reflectors.
Shimano dh-3n72 dynamo hub plus Schmidt Edelux and Busch and Muller Taillight. Totally awesome, and I always have great lighting when I need it.
Axa Traction Control Bottle Dynamo, B&M Lumotec Toplight Plus tailight (rack mounted), B&M Lyt 25 Lux headlight. I also run a superflash in back when on the roads. I have a helmet-mounted petzl Tikka X2 headlight as well that I'll break out when the time changes.
I was just thinking about doing a post on my current lighting setup, which I really like for urban commuting.
Front light = Light & Motion Urban 180
Rear Light = Light & Motion VIS 180° Micro
I like that both lights are rechargeable (via USB, yay!), and offer up sufficient light for nighttime riding along both paved trails/MUPs as well as city streets.
I'm very happy with my Reelights. I like knowing that they're always on, and will never need batteries. Mine are "to be seen" lights, but the company is now making "to see by" lights as well. www.reelight.com
$3.49 was the cost of my front light. It is a 24 L.E.D unit powered by AAA-cells and was purchased on sale from Harbor Freight Tools. While not specifically manufactured as a light for cycles, it works at tha task quite well. Of course a small bit of ingenuity was envolved in securing it to the cycle.
Now for those so interested, it is Harbor Freight Tools item #67227
Al in Philadelphia
Shimano DH-3N70 dynohub pushing a Supernova E3PRO for 800(!) lumens of nightbusting.
SO good.
We just launched a Kickstarter project for fixed bike lights, to eliminate the hassle of taking them on and off so they aren't stolen. Check it out if you like: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sparse/sparse-bicycle-lights
That's a nice bike light! Since I just recently starting biking to work, I might as well consider getting this at the motorbike accessories in Perth for night biking. It's going to keep me safe too.
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