Jessica1995

Along with a properly fitted helmet and a good understanding of the rules of the road, bicycle lights are a crucial element for safe cycling.
How long will you replace a bike light set?

02Giant 

Often?

Only as needed.

FlMTNdude

Same as 02 Giant said. I would add in another parameter. After maybe 5 years, assuming it was a decent light to start off with, I might buy a backup just in case. I commute as part of my bike activities, so those lights are pretty crucial for me.

indyfabz

When it no longer functions properly?

shelbyfv

Hi Jessica and welcome to BF! Do you have a link to a really great bike light set?

duffer1960

I have a Cygolite Rover II LED with 255 lumen stated output from 2 LEDs and lenses. It still works perfectly; even the original 4/3A x 4 NiMH battery pack is still going strong. I think it's about 10 years old but don't recall when I bought it. It's adequate for my needs, though the manual charging and NiMH tendency to lose charge in storage makes it a slight hassle. I've even kludged up a backup AA x 4 NiMH battery pack for it. Yet, yet,... the new lights with more efficient LEDs, compact footprints (no water bottle battery), better beam patterns, longer run times with either dynamo or Li-ion batteries, are so awesome I'm thinking about getting a new one.

cb400bill

I got tired of below average lighting and just bought the L&M Seca 2500. What a step up.

indyfabz

But how long will you replace it?

cb400bill

Long time, every time.

rumrunn6

I would love to replace my main headlight but i was able to adapt it for better performance. meaning I added a wide angle diffuser & beam cutoff hood. a new unit wouldn't need those things. I also spent some good money on a bigger battery so I need to keep using that to get my money's worth out of it. I suppose I could get a new head unit for the battery, so I might do that. not sure how old the head unit is, maybe 10 yrs old? still works like new

Nyah

I'm not into batteries when they aren't necessary, what with the invention and implementation of dynamo hubs. So I guess I would replace it if it needed to be. Right? Does that answer the question? I would take only as long as necessary to complete the task of replacement.

Maelochs

I burned out a Light and Motion Urban 250, (took several years,) replaced it with a 500 and a 750 which have lasted another decade or so and seem to be going strong still. usb recharge, simple, secure mounting, flawless dependable performance. Plenty of other brands offer similar products.

I run Cycgolite Hotshot tail lights--USB rechargeable, multi-mode, retina-searing brightness. Again, excellent in my experience, but there are many other manufacturers offering similar goods.

Drew Eckhardt 

Hopefully never again.

I upgraded to dynamo lights with optics meeting German StVZO standards and super capacitors for backup when stopped.

Before that I bought a new $30 Chinese front light every few years, an $80 Chinese light after a few years, and a new Nite Rider for $150-$200 every few years.

My headlamp has lower measured output, but with uniform light makes it easier to see road imperfections. It never runs out, even starting before sunrise and finishing my last 100km after sunset.

I also wired in a USB power supply, so my GPS doesn't run out on rides over 12 hours and I never need to charge it.

I ordered direct from Germany for half US prices.



Schmidt SON28 dynamo hub, Schmidt Edelux II headlight, Busch & Müller USB-Werk USB power supply, Busch & Müller Line Plus tail light.

rumrunn6

wow, darn nice beam pattern!!!!

Nyah

I didn't know that these hubs needed a power supply in order to charge USB with them. I am still learning about them though. Good to know.

This is the kind of post I really like! I would Like it, if that option were available to me (those options at the bottom are obscured from me on certain posts).

Drew Eckhardt 

You may also want a "cache battery" whether external or built-in.

Some GPSes pop up annoying "external power lost" messages when you stop or slow without that.

The B&M USB-Werk includes a small one.

Nyah

Right on. And one question that missed getting in my previous post: Which business in Germany did you order from, and did you source all of these items there?

Drew Eckhardt 

I ordered everything from starbike.com in 2016 apart from some micro banana plugs from Sinewave Cycles and a longer front brake nut to accommodate the fork crown mounting.

The blade type connectors for Schmidt hubs are a bit stiff and hard to reach on the inside of the fork blade, so I made a short pig tail with male connectors for the hub and an offset pair of micro bananas on the wiring running up my fork leg where they're easy to reach.

I also used those plugs for attaching the USB supply so it'd be easier to remove if I wanted to swap it out for something else.

Happy Feet

I'll replace my light when I can't find carbide any more.

Nyah

Thank you for sharing about your setup. I've been ready to embrace a new bicycle and it will surely have Schmidt self-generated lighting. And maybe I won't be the only one.

Gresp15C

I use lights until they break. More often than not, the attachment mechanism is what breaks first. I've repaired broken lights, attached them with zip ties, and so forth. When I have to buy a new one, I prefer rechargeable.

Winter is tough on lights. Plastic gets brittle, hands in mittens are clumsy, water gets in and freezes.

bpcyclist

I am looking at an StVZO as a possible Santa situation. How many lux is that Edelux II? It looks insanely bright!

Drew Eckhardt 

90 lux at 15 kph, and "Illumination increases up to 100 Lux at high speed."

It works very well.

While not as bright as a $35 Chinese light, there's no signifiant hot spot so you can see road detail farther out.

Miele Man

Can that nice beam pattern light in the image be run solely off a battery? I like an external battery pack for two main reasons. One is that I can use the light on any of my bicycles, and two is that I can carry the battery under my jacket in winter when it's well below freezing and onboard batteries don't last nearly as long per charge as they do in summer.

Thanks and cheers

Drew Eckhardt 

Supposedly they'll run off DC no more than 7.5V, although you'd want to ask Schmidt.

You might be happier with the two piece Ixon IQ Speed Premium. It should have a similar or identical beam pattern - the Edelux II shares optics with the one-piece battery powered B&M Ixon IQ Premium.

https://www.bumm.de/en/products/akku.../1932qla.html?

I also have a one-piece Ixon IQ Premium for backup because a light failure 100+ km from home after dark would be lousy.

The beam pattern is the same, but handle bar mounting is not as solid as the fork crown mount and isn't quite as good at showing road detail.