Bike light recommendations

[Brett L.]

This is the bare minimum you should have on the trail.

[bentbike33]

@EasyRider 154653 wrote:

Do Schmidt products go on sale in the spring?

Unlikely. They are not exactly a mass-market product in the U.S. Dynamo hubs from Shimano and Shutter Precision are cheaper and a little more widely available than Schmidt hubs, and you may run into sales on them.

[dbb]

@Vicegrip 154651 wrote:

so I got a Garmin edge 200, which caused me to get a 500, which caused me to get an 800, which caused me to get a 1000. (I sold the 800 for almost enough to cover the 1000 but still….) :rolleyes:

As they say, the first step is to admit you have a problem!

[ab20854]

Does anyone have any experience with the NiteRider Lumina 750 Headlight Combo? I’m looking to use it on the CCT.

[FFX_Hinterlands]

@EasyRider 154653 wrote:

Do Schmidt products go on sale in the spring? I’d like to finally bite the bullet and get a winter wheel, a generator hub and headlamp for my commuter bike. Maybe this spring or summer I’ll pony up for one.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]13644[/ATTACH]

Why not just get a shimano dyno wheel? You probably won’t notice the difference. I got my front wheel from Taylor Wheels in Germany for about $175 for a double-walled sturdy rim. I got the lights from Bikes at Vienna (they order/stock B&M lights from Peter White Cycles).

[Vicegrip]

@ab20854 162911 wrote:

Does anyone have any experience with the NiteRider Lumina 750 Headlight Combo? I’m looking to use it on the CCT.

I use the NiteRider lights. Good light for the $ and plenty of light for standard speed road travel. I like that the base can be swiveled side to side. This lets me flick the light beam to the curb when there is oncoming traffic on the MUP. No need to keep a hand over the light. Flick it hard right and back to center after the pass. The cone of light is good for a non European format light. Good field of vision for the rider but standard amount of glare for the oncoming traffic hence the flick right. (does not matter if you have a non glare light or not on the MUPs to not block / turn the light will garner comments glare or not. I had a guy with a 1000 watt eye washing / brain shunting flasher on his front fork nag at me at dusk and my light was low bean and turned full right)
I do take care when unplugging the charger cord. I hamfisted the cord one day and pulled the port out of the light.
Should you ever wear the battery out after 500+ recharges the battery inside is the very standard 18650 format. Inexpensive, easy to find and can be replaced with standard home hack skills.

[americancyclo]

@Vicegrip 162920 wrote:

I do take care when unplugging the charger cord. I hamfisted the cord one day and pulled the port out of the light.
Should you ever wear the battery out after 500+ recharges the battery inside is the very standard 18650 format. Inexpensive, easy to find and can be replaced with standard home hack skills.

I’ve had the same Nightrider light for at least five years now and its been replaced twice for a $20 bench fee, after the usb rubber surround came out and after the retention tab broke off. both times they were super easy to deal with.

[Crickey7]

I have two NiteRider 650’s. They’ve been durable, surviving several falls without incident. Good run time, easy to remove. The only knock is that they move around a bit on the handlebar.

[EasyRider]

My thinking on this has evolved a bit since February. Kinda interested in the B&M Ixon IQ Premium described on Peter White’s site. Battery powered and has a cutoff beam. Not cheap at ~$100, but seems like it’d be a step up from the Cygolite 300 I’ve been using the past few years. Anyone using one of these?

[Anonymous]

I have 3* Lumina 750s. I like them very much. My only negative notes– the most recent one, the little rubber cover that protects the usb charging port from weather fits so tightly that I can’t actually close it, thus negating the weather protection. I think once I manage to get it to close. Once. And for me at least there was a learning curve in popping the light into the holder part that attaches to the handlebar. You need to push it in until you hear it click– if you** aren’t paying attention and stop as soon as you feel resistance it’s not locked in place and will go flying when you** hit a bump.

*yes, 3. I had 2 because I wanted a spare. Then I lost one proving the need for a spare, so I bought another. Eventually, I found the lost one back.

**or, well, I, at least

[mstone]

@EasyRider 162937 wrote:

My thinking on this has evolved a bit since February. Kinda interested in the B&M Ixon IQ Premium described on Peter White’s site. Battery powered and has a cutoff beam. Not cheap at ~$100, but seems like it’d be a step up from the Cygolite 300 I’ve been using the past few years. Anyone using one of these?

Excellent light–it puts the light where it needs to be, so even though it doesn’t have the same lumens as some of the flashlight lights, it does a better job of lighting the road. (It’s a much more even beam pattern, so you don’t get dazzled by a bright spot in the middle foreground.) I also recommend mounting it lower than the handlebars, which helps bring out road irregularities. (Fork crown or front rack mount.) I supplement with a helmet mounted light, usually on low as a backup, but also as a steerable high beam when off-road (e.g., on trails where you also need to watch for branches). They’ve been out a few years now, so they’re starting to be available at pretty steep discounts online.

[jdricks]

I have a NiteRider 650 that I got from amazon. Very powerful and easily mounted.

[ab20854]

The cygolite dash 600 is now 50% off on Amazon. Anyone here use it? I’m looking for something that will get me home on the CCT in the fall/winter.

[dbb]

A quick shout out to Niterider. Sent a 5-6 year old lumina style light back for repair as the bulb was awfully dim. I was expecting to pay the $20-30 shop fee plus parts. It came back yesterday repaired for no charge as they blamed the actual LED which had a lifetime warranty.

Pretty much makes the decision about the brand of the next light I buy.

[Author]

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