Who makes a good bicycle light?

Question

I am looking to buy a front and rear light for my bicycle and i was just curious if anyone had suggestions as to what i should get. Looking for something really really bright obviously.

Answer 1

My old bike light broke after I dropped it. It was good but I decided when I got something new it should be more sturdy and also really bright!

I got this CatEye front light: http://www.cateye.com/en/product_detail/...

Not only does it increase drivers' awareness of you (from about 500+m away they have switched their headlight brightness down in the dark), but this also lights the road enough for you to safely see where you are going (it's battery powered so obviously not as good as car headlights but does a good job).

Also, while my old light broke when I dropped it, I once forgot to clip this light on properly, and I was going along at 20+mph when it flew off and bounced along the road - it still worked.

As for a rear lights this is the top-end model for cateye:

http://www.cateye.com/en/product_detail/...

It is possible to get more powerful rechargeable CatEye lights but you would be looking at paying a high price and it's probably not necessary. Also the charge does not last a long time. Here is a comparison chart:

http://www.cateye.com/sites/cateye/uploa...

Answer 2

I agree with the last answer, but I would like to add that you should ask yourself the question: Do you want to be seen or do you want to see and be seen? If you want an ultra bright light, you will have to pay at least $125 on one. 10 Watt is the minimun that you'll want. With that much power, you're talking about a light that doesn't run on standard household batteries. It will come with a battery pack and recharger. You can actually ride mountain bike trails at night or on roads with minimum visibility with one of those. The downfall is that you have about a 2- 2 and a half hour limit before having to recharge again on most. However, Halogen is the way to go for brightness at a decent price. There are some that will go 12 hours between charges but those are usually HID lights that run around $400 or more.  If you're doing just surface street riding with a little lighting around , I would suggest the Cateye EL500-530 model range. Those are the brightest lights that run on household batteries. If you look at performancebike.com, you can actually order the EL500 headlight/taillight combo for a pretty low price. Good luck

Answer 3

Cateye

Answer 4

trek try 8 pounds but it comes at a price $3,500

Answer 5

Terrance has stated the fundamental question you need to ask.  Do you want to see or to be seen?

If you are riding on streets, you need remarkably little light to see where you are going.  However, you really want to be seen quite well.  Being seen well requires flashers - preferable a white and a red one and a minimalistic headlight.  Inexpensive LED's should fit the bill well here.  If you want rechargables, expect to spend a bit more.

If you really need light to see with, you need to figure out how much battery life you need.  Battery life, brightness, weight and dollars are all very closely related.  Halogen, HID, and LED's are your choices.  Nearly all of these lights come with rechargeable batteries.  The most expensive lights (longest battery life and least weight) tend to use Lithium ION batteries.

If you want to post back with some additional parameters, I am sure you'll get plenty of recommendations.

Hope this helps.

Answer 6

Cateye makes some good lights, although are plenty of other perfectly adequate/legal lights on the market - such as planetbike etc.

I find that it's best to have multiple lights set up on the bike. With at least 2 rear lights & maybe 2 on the front.

The rear lights work well set up on the seat post, rear rack or rear of the helmet.

Answer 7

Nite Rider

Cat Eye

Light & Motion

Jet

Princeton Tec

There are a wide range of styles & prices. Check them out at http://www.universalcycles.com/

Answer 8

cateye and bells and there are so many other good ones too. but those two are the topest.