krobinson103

IOverkill? No way. I run a 900 lumen 3 18650 cell as my primary unfocused beam, a 300 lumen focussed flash light right next to it, another 300 lumen light identical on my head. I run a solar powered rear flasher, a flexible bar type flasher for definition and two small blinikes on the side of my rear luggage pack for extra clarity that there is a bike here. Also all my bags (triangle frame, small cell phone/key holder,luggage system and under seat emergency bag) all have reflective tape. My jacket is equipped with reflective tape.

Overkill? Perhaps, but I ride everyday at 3am and I like to be seen.

Roody

I'm so old-fashioned! What are the pros & cons of USB charging vs. just plugging it into the wall?

krobinson103

Not sure... my usb charged devices get plugged into an adapter that plugs.... into the wall. I guess it gives a few more options on the move.

AsanaCycles

I haven't owned a car for more than 10 years now. Not only do I commute, but I also have a passion for touring, and classic sport rides, be it road or dirt. With that said, I only use rechargeable lights. Light and Motion, ARC Ultra, Stella 300, Seca 1400, and recently a new SoLite 150. I use the lights according to demand.

Lately, I've been using the SoLite 150. Its less than 150gm, is helmet mounted, provides 150lumes for about 3hrs, which is more than my typical 2hr ride. However it pails in comparison to the Seca 1400 mounted on the bar with the Stella 300 on the helmet. So it really depends on how I am riding and what my schedule is. For awhile I was working graveyard shift, so my 2.5hr rides would start around dusk, and finish at work. Having super bright lights helps with "mood". Typically more light helps me get in a stronger workout. Low lights, typically lull me into a torpor.

The SoLite 150 is pretty good, in that its enough for a couple of hours, and at less than 150gm, I don't even realize I have it on my helmet, which makes for convenient day after day use.


USB charging is more convenient vs wall charger in that when you get to work, you can simply plug it into a USB outlet (found on work computers), which means you don't have to leave a wall charger at work, and keep one at home. In that respect, if you have a USB light that will last for 2hrs, there is a solid chance that you're going to be covered thru early morning and late night commutes. Being able to charge your light twice a day means you can use a smaller battery, which means less bulk and less weight. Or conversely, you can choose a light that cranks out a bunch of lumens and burns for 1.5hrs and rest assured that when you get to work, you can charge it.

krobinson103

I agree, but the output from a computer USB terminal compared to that of a dedicated wall wart/adapter is usually less. This means when I charge my 3000mah torch batteries it can take as long as 7 hours compared to 3-4 hours on the adapter. If you are talking the main light running 7000mah in 3 batteries well... the more power you can feed them the better. I also never work in one place for more than 2 hours at a time so charging pretty much has to happen at home.

I do however use a car usb adapter and a 12v power source to keep the gps on my phone running for 12 hours. A plus when you like to ride 250km in one ride.

wahoonc

Plug into car chargers, computers and other places. In many cases if your cellphone and other electronics use the same type of charger you can carry one charger for multiple devices.

Aaron

gerv 

I would have thought rechargeable light would be a PITA for a touring cyclist. That's one of the reasons I invested in a hynohub. Light is undoubtedly better on the rechargeable, but after 3 hours, you're left in the dark. (And although I normally need a light for about 45 minutes commute, it's amazing how often I was caught with a weak battery.)

AsanaCycles

depending on the demand, you can pick and choose light/battery combos. when I'm on tour, my typical choice is the Stella 300 combined with a 3cell LiIon battery. On high at 300 lumens it runs for about 5hrs. On low at 75 lumens it runs for over 20hrs. On bike tour, it seems that I typically ride during the day and sleep at night. But there is an occasion here and there that I may ride for a couple of hours in the dark.

lubes17319

Amoeba in front, Super Flash in back.

AsanaCycles

just so happens that Light and Motion is clearing out their SoLite 150s

https://www.lightandmotion.com/bike/solite150.html

bragi

I do plug it into the wall; it's exactly like recharging a cell phone.

krobinson103

This is why I carry spare cells with me when I ride from before sunrise until after dark. You can also carry more than one light (I have 3) and just leave one off for when the others fail. What I want is a light I can recharge, yet still have the power of a 18650 cell to keep it bright at all speeds. These days with the solar rechargable cell phone booster batteries I can see mounting one on the touring bag behind the seat and running that to a charger then charging the other batteries. I've done it with a 12v motorcycle battery and a simple set of 8 AA batteries so it works. I can ride all day, then use the freshly charged booster battery to recharge the phone/primary lighting batteries when they get weak. It would also be feasible with a dynamo.. as long it puts out the right voltage.

folder fanatic

I prefer to use small to tiny lights that can be easily removed and stored without much fuss or room taken up by them on/off the bike. Plus I like to switch bikes on occasion & I don't care to buy multiple sets of lights for each bike. My favorite ones resembled this one: https://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/59...ht_signal.html. I like my own very much & don't have to worry about battery replacement anymore. I am also exploring purchasing another style of light-a solar powered one. I want a back-up for any of my bikes I own or happen to be using at the time & the battery runs low or even out and quits on me.

Present tiny light for both front & rear (click on image below for a much larger one):


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1LD8HpVa8s

krobinson103

^^^^ Just got one of those. Love it. Its not bright but it never runs out batteries.

folder fanatic

Since I bought my own pair of tiny lights (front & rear), I decided to look into the Bike Glow wrap arounds a bit further as an decorative item as well as additional safety side view device. I am seriously thinking about buying one when I have the money.
https://www.bikeglow.com/

buck65

I've been very pleased with my 350 lumen Cygolite Expilion up front and Planet Bike Superflash in the back. Both have been very helpful considering the recent time change.

gerv 

Yesterday I installed a bunch of cheap Dutch dyno lighting on my winter bike. Spanninga products. Including a noisy bottle generator. I got the whole thing put together for about $90-100. The headlight wasn't that great... probably like a 1 watt Planet Bike battery light, but the tail light is super.

I'll try to post back about the bottle generator. Not sure how reliable that will be.

Meanwhile I'll probably run a battery light and super flash as backup on this bike.

bjjoondo 

I use 2-Cateye Uno's, (single AA battery), there more of a "spot light" but with two, they do a decent job of lighting a whole dark bike path. I have a little guppy light, (shaped a bit like a fish), that I run as a constant "blinking" light, just as an attention getter! One solid red and one flashing red light on the back.

Newspaperguy

I'm looking at where to mount lights on my bike. I use my bike for touring as well as riding around town, so I have the handlebar set up to accommodate a handlebar bag. I have been able to get one headlight in place with this system, but I'm strongly considering adding more lighting, especially now that we're into the short days of the winter season.

wahoonc

If you have a front rack you can mount them under that, I have two set up that way. I also mount them of the hole in the center of the fork, some are mounted with brakes some without. They also make a mount that will replace the skewer nut on a QR axle. I have also seen a similar mount that uses the fender or front rack mounting holes.


Aaron

gerv 

This is about what I need for a backup got my winter bike. I see it sells for around $20.

lostforawhile

The Schwinn I'm restoring came with a 70's era star light, great reflector, but the bulb was just bright enough to see the pothole before you fell into it, I had one just like it back in the day, I pulled the bulb and replaced it with a 6 volt high power LED, I haven't got the bike on the road yet but the light is extremely bright, the bike had the generator which I'll leave on for looks, but the bike lights will be powered by a hidden battery pack with AA batteries, I'm just going to use energizer rechargeable because I can carry spares, I saw a reproduction Schwinn bullet type light on ebay, and I'm going to get one of those and also modify it with a high power LED, for riding on the road at night I have a personal wearable red strobe, it's a tube strobe not an LED, and is hard to miss, we have a trail here which isnt well lit, so front lighting is very important to me, I also have a helmet light to wear on the trail in addition to the bike light

masterofsilence

I would buy some lithium rechargeable batteries. If you're talking about a good high-power LED, it should be a major power sucker, which the energizer nimh batteries aren't good for.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/6400mAh-8-4v...item3ccaf7d202

lostforawhile

i've thought about some of the packs they use in radio control cars, they have leads with a plug,which I can change for my needs, I'll just carry a spare. I still have my car but at 13 MPG i'm going to be putting a lot of miles on this bike

bjjoondo 

I think closer to $25 but I'm sure you can find them cheaper online, than in you LBS. Using only a "single" AA battery, it will last quite a while. I have two on the bike, (extra mounts for the other bike). I Use one in, "blink" mode in the "day time". I can get 2 months of blink mode (using it everyday) out of one battery. Had them for 3 years now and they've been in the rain and COLD too and keep on ticking!