wilfried

I've been riding with a Niterider Minewt Mini 350 for the last several years, and I've been pretty happy with it. However, tonight I got caught in a major downpour. A few hours later as I set of for home, the light freaked out and died. So I think I'm in the market for a new light. I've been thinking of getting another one anyway, for a second bike, and as an upgrade, so now might be the time to pull the trigger, though I might also try to get the Niterider repaired, if the charge isn't too outrageous.

I had my eye on the Cygolite Metro 550. Amazon has it for a decent price, ~$60 (and American Express is giving me cash back on an Amazon purchase for some reason). What are your thoughts on Cygolite, and the Metro, in general? Is it a decent light? How's Cygolite as a company, and how's their customer service? Niterider's customer service seems to be exceptional.

My other concern is that the 550 might actually be too bright for urban street riding. The Minewt Mini works pretty well for me. I usually run it at the medium setting, rated at 250 lumens I think, which seems pretty good as a be seen light, and I use high for dark patches. 350 lumens isn't enough for a truly dark road, but those are pretty rare; I'm almost always on lit streets. The Metro is rated at 380 medium and 550 high. Is that too bright? I've seen some obnoxiously bright lights around lately, and I don't want to be one of those people. Trouble is, I don't know what kind of lights they're using, and since I'm on my bike, I don't know what I look like. Is the Metro 550 a reasonable light for city riding, or is it overkill?

I hope this wasn't lt;dr. Are there any other lights at a similar price point I should consider? Any thoughts about Cygolite or other options appreciated.

unterhausen

I can't imagine it being too bright. I have a Cygolite Expilion 850 that I commute with, and it's fine on the lower settings.

keyven

I was using the Cygolite Expilion 680 and it's a great light but kinda bulky. My current go-to light for short rides is the Light & Motion Urban 550... maybe for that price you can look at L&M Urban 300 on Amazon? Definitely smaller and the mount is slightly less convenient, but it's a small and powerful light.

Looigi

You may be able to resurrect your Niterider if you open it up or at least open the charging port and place it it a warm spot for a day or so.

Athens80

I've been happy using the Cygolite Metro 550 as my primary front light from dawn to twilight in recent weeks/months. With daylight savings time, I haven't been out in pitch dark. The DayLightning mode is effective in the light of day. I switch to the SteadyPulse when the sun's not in the sky because that provides plenty of contrast in lower light. After twilight it's on to a steady mode. Low is rated at 90 lumens so more of a "be seen" level.

The Cygolite Dash 320 might match the levels of your Niterider better, and it still has good DayLightning and SteadyPulse modes. I like how it fits snugger on the handlebars and has more mounting flexibility than a more rigid bar mount.

Either one might be a good first or second light for you. If it were my only front light, I'd want more than 300-something lumens for riding in the dark.

ItsJustMe

I actually just ordered a Metro 550 last night from Amazon. It'll be here on Monday. I found no videos on YouTube of it. I'll post one by next weekend, hopefully. All I have to compare it to are several generic Chinese MagicShine type lights.

I was going to get a dash 320 but I figured the 550 would keep me happy in the winter as well, and I like that they're moving to an at least somewhat shaped beam (also I don't buy that the little dinky LEDs on the Dash320 do much for me).

I do find myself wondering about the brightness - in the day flash mode they turbo the LED and crank it up well over 600 lumens. Even the Dash 320 goes over 500 in day flash mode. I hope the 550 has a reasonable "medium" mode - I'd like it if they had even 4 levels - a 50 lumen walking mode, maybe 200, 400 and 550.

wilfried

Specs from Cygolite:

Med (350 lm): 2:15 hrs
High (500 lm): 1:30 hrs
Low (80 lm): 10 hrs
SteadyPulse™: 3 hrs
DayLightning™: 6 hrs
Walking: 30 hrs

I wish they had one more step at 200-250. Then it would more or less mirror my Niterider, with a an extra added bright setting at high. The run times aren't great, though probably adequate for my riding, if I remember to charge it each time I use it.

ItsJustMe

Thanks. If they're only going to have one mode, 350 is good. 200 is a bit thin for my riding, even where the road is "good" - at 350 I could probably ride most of my route. There are parts where I'll want to kick it up.

Another at 200 would be nice though; that would be decent for maybe riding in very casual areas like on paths in the evening where there are pedestrians and I'm only going 10 MPH or less.

LGHT

I have a 550 and don't use it anymore. Bottom line is it just didn't last long enough for me even on the med setting which defeats the purpose of getting a really bright light.

Specs from Cygolite:

Med (350 lm): 2:15 hrs
High (500 lm): 1:30 hrs
Low (80 lm): 10 hrs
SteadyPulse™: 3 hrs
DayLightning™: 6 hrs
Walking: 30 hrs

Yeah it's bright, but it's a narrow beam. I went with 2 niterider usb lights and I get twice as much battery life. Plus I like having the option of only turning one on during dusk and the other when I need it. Also if 1 dies you always have a 2nd backup light you can rely on to get you home.

boobymcgoo

I have the Cygolite 550 on one of my bikes, and the Cygolite 800 on another bike. Both lights are great, and I would recommend buying the 550. I can barely tell the difference between my two lights, and believe the 550 is a bargain at $60. It's not too bright for urban commuting because the light is very directed. Unless you pointed it directly at someone it's not offensive.

Hangtownmatt

NiteRider customer support is awesome. Send them an email and explain what happened. They worked on my out-of-warranty light, upgraded a circuit board too boot, and it didn't cost me anything except shipping to them.

wilfried

Yup, I did that, and they are indeed awesome. I called and explained, saying that it's out of warrantee. He said it would cost $20 plus parts to fix. But then mentioned in passing that I'd sent it in for warrantee repair before, so he said that they extended the warrantee, and they'd repair it for free. I sent it off yesterday. The only trouble is the turnaround with shipping will be about two weeks.

In the end, if anyone cares, I ordered a Light and Motion Urban 500 from Amazon, though it costs $20 more. L&M lights seem to get consistently good reviews. The build quality looks good, and it's rated as waterproof according to some standard, which now seems important . The medium setting is rated at 225 lumens, which is closer to the setting I use most of the time now, with a 3 hour run time, vs. 380 lumens and 2 hours. It's also more compact, which matters because I'll be using it on two folding bikes, so handlebar space is limited, and the light is less likely to interfere with the fold. I also considered the Niterider Lumina 550 (partly to reward them for good customer service), but it's really bulky compared to the L&M.

I tend to obsess and over thing these things, but I think I'm good. Thanks for the input.