bikeGOTHAM

Hi All,

I'm looking to light myself up like a Christmas tree for my city commute. I want to have one superbright surface light and then other backup/flashers. I bike about 10 miles into Boston along side streets.

What do you guys recommend for rear blinkers? What do you recommend for front lights? I'm thinking about Knogs / Nightriders.

Slava

no1mad 

Forget about the Knogs. A bunch of reports stating that they have a tendency to shut themselves off.

For the rear, the Cygolite Hotshot 2W is the current best price for performance light on the market. There's a rather extensive thread on it down in Electronics and Gadgets. Flank it with either the Portland Design Works Danger Zone, PDW Radbot 1000, or the new Planet Bike Superflash Turbo. Also, you might consider lights in your bars. Soma Road Flares are some bright ones for drop bars, and Trek/Bontrager Beacons come in either drop or flat/riser flavors. And apply liberal amounts of reflective tape- users k'tesh and mechBgon I think are perhaps the two most artistic when it comes to making bikes glow at night.

As for the front, you won't get a consensus. Everyone has different needs- they ride at different speeds, surface conditions vary, night vision is worse for some and better for others, and run time requirements will all be different. It will be up to you to determine how much light you need to comfortably ride at night in your area.

weshigh

I just got a Nightrider Mininewt 600 and like it a lot. I switch between the blinking to solid depending on section of commute I am on. Its very bright and have had many people make comments about how its really bright. Most like it, a few have asked what kind it is so they could get one. A few peds and drivers look right into it and give "thats too bright!" look. but they see it.

bhop

I have a couple knogs. IMO the front lights are useless. I have a 'Boomer' and it's pretty bright for the size, and convenient with the way it attaches, but as no1mad mentioned, it does shut itself off on bumps. I also have a 'Skink' headlight and it sucks.. it's too wide to fit on bars with brake levers and you can't aim it anywhere. I think I tossed it. I do, however, use a "Skink" rear light from knog as my secondary rear light. It attaches to the seatpost and it hasn't given me any problems other than not being water resistant, for me that's not an issue, but for most it would be.

So, with that out of the way.

My main "be seen" front light is a blackburn flea. It's usb rechargeable and bright for its size, which is tiny, which is why I got it. The velcro strap attachment means I can easily secure it to both my small bars on my fixie or my oversize bars on my roadie.

My "see everything" light is a magic shine. I've been flashed by cars because it's so bright..it's an awesome light.

On the rear, I just use the knog previously mentioned and a planet bike superflash on my backpack. The pair seems to work fine.

K'Tesh

Thanks for the plug no1mad.

I've started a thread for making your bike glow down the road....


2011 Trek Montare (Using Avery blue, white, and black reflective films)

As for your lighting needs for city commuting... Go as bright as you can afford. The NiteRider MiNewt 600 is going for $120-$150 (depending on who's running a sale). Bright, easy to recharge, good run time, and a good mount. Having a second system for a back up is important, just in case.

Knog lights? Wouldn't trust my life with those puny things in a city commute. They're too small, not bright enough for safe usage, and I hate anything that doesn't use a standard battery I can find at a 7-11 (unless it's a rechargeable system). (My rules for buying battery powered lights can be found here)

jayr

Like the post above lot's of reflective tape, I even added some of the red tape to the heels of my shoes to get some movement, and the magicshine rear tail light is unbelievable. It's so bright you don't even see my old superflash. I like my MS front light too. I've had both for just over a year, used rain and shine and have had no problems yet. Every bit as bright as my friends $400 Nightrider at just over 1/4 the cost plus the brightest tail light I've ever seen on a bike.

Andy_K 

+1

I also am a happy recent Minewt 600 buyer, although personally I can't imagine using the blink mode at night -- too bright for flashing. On high the thing is crazy bright. The run time is only advertised at 1.5 hours on high, but chances are you won't need high power most of the time. I've got a charger next to where I hang my bike at night so I just plug it in at the end of the day, and I haven't run out of power on the road yet on my 15 mile round trip commute.

weshigh

My commute is through middle of LA so lots of street/ambient lights. The regular beam doesn't do much in those areas so I switch to flashing as more of a be seen mode. Works great for both.

fietsbob

Unlimited
budget, we can
help
you spend
it.

Andy_K 

A helpful link:

https://reviews.mtbr.com/2012-bike-lights-shootout

HardyWeinberg

I like my planet bike turbosuperflash tail light.

Mark Stone

Plus One on the MiNewt 600 Cordless, for the money it's very good. You can see it in the mtbr shootout that Andy_k linked to two posts up - -

I use the MiNewt 600 and an older MiNewt 200 on the front, and right now a PB SuperFlash Turbo and a SuperFlash Stealth on the rear.

daredevil

I'm sure the new Cygolite is nice but it hasn't made the Dinotte obsolete has it? Did I miss it or has it not even been mentioned yet?

Kojak

I've got a helmet light (Light & Motion Vis 360), a rear seat post mount blinky (generic) and a handlebar mount 600 lumen set up (Light & Motion Stellla 600).

Of the 3, I would say that the helmet light is the most vital. It has a rear helmet mount blinky and a fairly high intensity front light that has 3 modes, high - low - blink. The best thing about it is I can point it where I want to look, or at drivers of cars as they look to cross my path or turn on to the street that I'm riding on. This is now the one light that I would not ride without after dusk. I will say that the combination (Helmet light and handlebar mount, both blinking) I know that I'm seen. You can tell by the way that cars react as you are heading down the road, they stop to figure out what the hell you are. I still don't assume that people see me, but I do feel like I'm very visible.

SamChevre

I have an 8-mile commute, also in a city, mostly on side streets.

I use a this XP-G Romisen flashlight, and am very pleased with it.

sci_femme

Front - Magicshine FTW. Had my battery exchanged under recall, it is waterproof now. Highly recommend for a high-speed commute.

Rear is a matter of taste, terrain and budget.

Good Luck

SF

daredevil

The rear is the more important, you need two and they should either be the new Cygolite Hotshot or a Dinotte. All the others are generally worthless compared to these, including the Superflash although it could be used as your second tail light.

Mark Stone

Never used a hotshot. I bought a Dinotte headlight 5 or 6 years ago and the quality/customer service were not very good, especially considering the money spent. I don't think I want to pay a couple hundred dollars for a tail light from them with their track record with me. My Superflash lights are very, very bright (one 1/2 watt Superflash and one 1 watt Turbo) and attract comments from drivers, so although the Dinotte and HotShot are probably brighter I wouldn't characterize the Superflash lights as "worthless"

no1mad 

Not probably- they are.

Check out this thread about the Hotshot, scroll to the bottom of the OP and follow the instructions on the links. Also, see post #3 in this thread for a low budget option from DX.

tcs

More links:
https://www.peterwhitecycles.com/lightingsystems.htm
https://swhs.home.xs4all.nl/fiets/tes.../index_en.html

daredevil

No, it's an impressive little light, just not good enough if you're gonna be in traffic. You owe it to drivers to make yourself as visible as possible, the earlier the better. Don't underestimate the value of a couple extra seconds of reaction time for the cagers.

brianinc-ville

At the other end of the price scale, I've actually been really impressed with this cheapie Bell taillight -- outperforms much more expensive bike-shop lights, and you can afford to get several of them. Get some rechargeable AAAs and you're in business.

When I did my LCI training course, we compared the night-riding setups of about 20 serious bike geeks, and we found that, above a certain minimum point, the brightness of the lights themselves is less important than their location. The higher on your body you put the lights, the more visible you'll be. I typically use two of those Bell taillights -- one on my bike's rear rack, and one on my helmet, one steady and one blinky. I use a fairly cheap headlight, and I keep it on flash - but I will say that I spent the summer in Boston and up there I did want more. You might like two headlights, one steady and one flashing. I also use a high-vis yellow reflective vest -- the flimsy kind you can get for $7 at Walmart is great, because you can roll it up and stick it in your pocket. And, as others say, put reflective tape all over, particularly on moving parts like cranks and pedals. Ride safe!

Erick L

Noma makes battery-operated Christmas lights.




Portland DEsign Works Radbot 1000 is excellent and includes a rear rack mount and reflector. The latter is required by law here.

I just received a wheel build around a dynohub and a Busch & Müller Lumotec IQ Cyo and it's great! It also has a reflector, also required by law here.

Mark Stone

Good comparison, except it uses the older 1/2 watt Superflash instead of their current 1 watt model, which is substantially brighter and has a better spread. The Dinotte sure fills the room with light!

Mark Stone

I actually use one of those Bells - they are very bright for the price, and have a lot of flash patterns to choose from. You can see it in pictures of the Rig mounted below the PBSF