Hi guys, hoping to buy a front and rear cycling light set for my road bike, struggling to pick something with so many options available. I'm looking at spending approx $100, do anyone have any recommendations? Thanks in advance.
(95% of my riding will be during the day but I might get caught out occasionally and need to ride in the dark through the suburbs.)
When you're just an occassional night rider, you don't need to buy such expensive lights.
Something in the $20~30 dollar range will do for urban rides, where your environment is not really super-dark anyway.
Here's my setup: at least 250+ lumens if using a Lithium ION battery which is very bright and won't burn a hole in your wallet)
no-name Cree T6 torch with included bike mount. Cost $13 USD.
This torch can run on either triple AAA or a single 18650.
Alternative - more powerful option for $11 AUD This only takes two 18650 batteries and is quite long.
Rear light — USB rechargeable tail light, less than $2.30 USD ea
OPTIONAL extras — Batteries and charger (recommended for extra brightness, but it's completely optional)
Genuine Panasonic Lithium cells, 2-Pack Protected (3100mah) $10 USD
Li-ION battery charger, Nitecore i2
$15 USD
https://www.fasttech.com/products/0/10001638/1119500-authent…
Or if you want Australian stock for faster postage: $24 AUD
There are loads of cheap lights on Alie and the 'Bay, for the best performance I'd recommend keeping to 6-watt Cree T6 lights over the Q5, although it is hard to tell which lamps are 6 watts and which are less. hence, lamps which take 18650 batteries are a safer bet
I got a massive 9 LED front light, only downside is it uses an external battery but for $50 it is the brightest thing ever!
Rear light I user a SuperFlash, the rear light in my eyes is more important than the front.
I used Cygolite 700lumens, they come in a set for $110 from ebay.
Best thing about this is being high beamed back from cars because the lights are too bright haha
rear light: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/272095647652. I bought a couple and they are great, but I know eventually they'll get lost/stolen/broken so I bought another 6. (But now I feel bad because Scrimshaw pointed out the same light but cheaper)
I totally agree with Drew22, rear lights are the most important, I run them day & night, too many blind idiots on the road.
Front light: "it depends"
Do you need to light the way on a dark path, or more just trying to be seen ?
Do you ride in the rain - does it need to be waterproof ?
How far are you riding - what battery life do you need (at full brightness) ?
Big external battery packs are heavy and painful to mount reliably, but that's what you'll need if you're riding a long way on dark paths.
Big external battery packs are heavy and painful to mount reliably,
actually from a little bit of browsing Aliexpress last night, I found headlamps which come with no battery pack BUT they are simply powered from a USB source.
In essence, you can plug in your headlamp into a Xiaomi Powerbank for example. The question then remains is how to reliably mount that powerbank — but it's actually very simple. You just need one of those frame mounted zipper pouches that can hold your stuff.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Bicycle-Cycling-Bike-Frame-Pannie…
Just make sure you Ziplock because in rainy conditions, water may get into and corrode your USB port.
I'd suggest usb connector + rain/dust = 100% tears, eventually at least.
Also not sure I'd like to expose my beloved Xiaomi Powerbank to the inevitable vibration of a bike, especially with a cable plugged in.
I've got a couple of bike lights/headlamps with plug/jack connectors to the external powerpack, which I think is more robust and easier to keep dry than usb
Very happy with the Knog Boomer front light. Don't bother with the rear version as it can fall off easily. I prefer rechargeable AAAs instead of the USB version, too.
http://www.pushys.com.au/knog-boomer-front-light-white.html?…
I know your problem well, I have had the same problem myself. Forget any of those lights that need a battery pack strapped to your downtube. Makes no sense to spend money on a light bike then strap a housebrick to the frame! Best light around is probably the exposure joystick but it is anything but cheap! tail-lights are a dime a dozen, I prefer USB rechargeable ones because I dont want to be changing batteries, i already have 2-3 lights in the garage that need new watch batteries, the USB rechargeables I just plug into the PC and then onto the bike.
Pushys had a massive light sale last week, have a look on there. Bikebug was also having a sale and some of the more obscure sites like Mr Cycling World often have good deals on Knog lights. Difference between the good and bad for me has been the clip or attachment to the seatpost, the better lights have a secure attachment, the cheapies have a dodgy at best attachment. Also what kind of seatpost do you have? i had a bike with an aero seatpost and needed to buy a specific light to fit.
For the front light i tried using a cheap-ish 200 lumen light. it was OK whilst i was right under street lights but the 1 or 2 times I rode up a dark street or dark bit between widely placed streetlights i might as well have had no light at all. Get a 700 lumen-ish light. I have a knog flasher for when i just need to be seen and a 1000 lumen Lezyne light for when i actually need to see myself.
I bought this set when I needed front and rear light:
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/CATEYE-CAT-EYE-HL-EL135-TL-LD135-…
It's a lot cheaper than your budget though.