Battery powered lights for the commute
 

I'm looking for a new set of lights for my bike. I commute 5,5k one way everyday for the last 3 years. When there is snow or ice I take the bus. At the moment I have a knog blinder mob front light. I'm in the market for something more powerful with better illumination of the road ahead. I'm also up to recommendations regarding dyno hubs and front lights, but keep in mind I'm using an old 80s road bike conversion to Single speed. I really don't want more rolling resistance... Budget is variable, up to 250€ I'd say is ok. To further complicate things I'm from Germany, laws for lights are quite strict, they can't be blinding to other road users.

Any recommendations?

I'm not familiar with German laws regarding bike lights, so am hesitant to suggest any battery-operated lights; will leave that to others with more knowledge. However, I will say that for your price limit, you could get a decent setup built on a Shimano dyno hub. Your commute is about the same length as mine, which is rather short...But I still end up screwing around with recharging lights more often that I would like. With a dyno setup, you will always have light.

OOOH, OOOH! I know this! I've found a good match with a Busch & Muller IXON premium light. I liked that it uses 4 AA (LR 15?) batteries rather than a non-replaceable LIon pack. I bought it from the authorized US importer, Peter White Cycles, who may have had some old stock. To my knowledge, the model is on the old side. While the lights aren't cheap, they illuminate the bike paths and provide excellent illumination for unlit roads. The illumination is similar to my car's headlights, though you actually have to aim these. Since they're german made, they have been made to meet or exceed the german lighting standards. If you're comfortable reading English, Peter White's website provides a wealth of information about lighting with dynamos too.

Busch and Muller have many battery and dynamo powered lights. Another article by Jan Heine: https://www.renehersecycles.com/myth...-better-light/ He highly regards B&M and Schmidt Maschinenbau lights. In Germany you can probably buy locally and check the brightness before purchase.
Electronics subforum has a thread on cheap lights: https://www.bikeforums.net/electroni...50-thread.html

Does Germany also restrict flashers?

I've found good prices here, and it might be a good place to start.

https://www.bike-discount.de/

Especially on things like Generators and Accessories.

There is a discussion about rim based generators, worth considering.

https://www.bikeforums.net/long-dist...ub-dynamo.html

I've been using a Fenix BC21R headlight for about three years now. It's 880 Lumens on high setting, which will run about 90 minutes.

The really excellent feature of this light is that, although it's rechargeable though the port in its underside, the battery is not permanently sealed in its body; you can unscrew the back and swap it out for a fully charged one, letting you ride long hours. I bought an extra 18650 battery and a charging dock so I can leave on rides with 3+ hours of full brightness.

The down side is that the handlebar mount isn't a proper clamp, but rather the type that uses a rubber strap. It's okay for smooth conditions, but probably wouldn't be adequate for off road.

Not sure if 880 Lumens is enough for your needs, and with your budget, you may be able to find something brighter, but I thought I'd mention this as it's been a good, solid, well-built and well-featured light for me.

If you want a quality light that will last, try Lupine. They are a German company, and make lights for the German market. I have a Piko 3, bought in 2011. It is still working perfectly on the original battery. It is small, powerful, and most importantly, the beam is properly focused.

They offer a Piko R on their German site, but I am not sure if it is allowed for on road bike use, they duo offer it for off road use. They have other lights specific for on road bike use on the site.

The Piko was expensive, but well worth it for me. I rarely run it at full brightness, it lights the road well on low and medium. It works great, and after eight years, it is still working with no issues. I used it this year on a two week tour and never had to recharge. I did use it, but not a lot. The last night of the tour though, I used it for over an hour, that was after light use over the two weeks. The battery holds a charge very well.

https://www.lupine.de/products/bike-lights

The OP has not come back. BTW, the OP's profile has country of residence as US, not Germany. Maybe this is another one of those threads which come up in winter...

what kind of thread is that?

Unca Sam got it mostly right. Busch & Muller Ixon lights are zehr gut. I'm using the bottom of group Ixon Core which has been just great 4 years now. Low setting is usually good enough, high setting lights up the road ahead well enough for most bicycle speeds. Fast downhill you would want more. Totally reliable, simple as could be. The wife has had hers two years now and she is as happy as I am.

However. We tried the next light up, the Ixon IQ Premium with the 4 AA batteries. Flimsy plastic case. Supplied mount did not work at all, American distributor quickly supplied replacement. Worked OK but never felt solid. Then it was left in a drawer for the long days of summer. The batteries went dead. OK, recharge them. And the light would not work at all. Contacted B&M and was informed if the batteries ever went dead the electronics were fried. (Not given information in original instructions) And since we were responsible for letting the batteries die no warranty coverage at all. American distributor concurred with that. Out $100.

Even after that dismal experience we could not find a better light for our purposes than the Ixon Core so we got another. Included lithium battery does not expire over summer. Lithium battery works better in cold than most.

Top line Ixon Space light is expensive. Looks same as Ixon Core but much bigger. Throws as much light as a car headlight. Legal in Germany of course.

People may register their clones and open threads with common questions or threads with controversial topics: 1x vs 3x drivetrain, carbon vs aluminum vs other materials, Shimano vs Sram etc.
Isn't it suspicious that the OP has a 20-30 Euro light and is eager to go 10x up in price right away?

Plus one for Lupine. One of the first quality lights I bought was a Lupine Tesla which lasted me for many years. The cost of replacement batteries has put me off still using it, plus the fact that I prefer an all-in-one unit now. At the time good lights with the battery built in were a lot rarer than they are now. I now use an Exposure Strada RS, also very high quality with a good run time.

It sounds like such a waste of time.
Or is that the point? They sit back munching popcorn reading answers. 😐

RockBros has a very nice helmet with a built-in, rechargeable headlight. I know someone that wears the "YELLOW" colored RockBros helmet with the headlight, and they really love it.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/RockBros-Ro...arms=aid%3D111

I'm quite happy with my Niteriders. I have a 350 and 500 set up so I have a low beam and high beam. The 350 is fine for actually lighting up the road enough to see. When I'm going faster, I'll add the high beam. I tend to run them both at the same brightness setting, but the high beam is set a little higher up to illuminate a bit further up the road. I can easily reach them while I'm riding.