willieb

Update 2: The first update above was from 1-16-17. I just started back riding and used this same light Saturday, and I can't believe it still works fine. I only had it on for an hr and a half, but the battery meter never dropped from 3 bars (highest). This is amazing. The links above are dead after 5 years but I'm sure you can find a similar light based on the title. I've been using the light on and off for over 5 years, mostly for ghost crab hunting at the beach lol, and when I need a super bright light outside. Seems like I paid around $25 for the front headlight. I'm excited to be back in the saddle again.

H.Franco

Simply you can search from amazon, eBay and wallmart they are most biggest marketplace and their is a very huge discounted offers available so do it and enjoy

Rollfast

I don't bother, all of my headlight except for one are Delta Rocket Rays and I match Rocket horns to them.




The other one is a light tank on my '62 J.C. Higgins Flightliner.

Converted to 12V LED.

VegasTriker

The Solarstorm light mentioned by willieb uses the fictitious "Chinese lumen count" for the CREE XML2 LED. If you look up the actual lumen output from the CREE website you will find this: "The XM-L2 LED offers the unique combination of high efficacy and high lumen output at high drive currents, delivering an unprecedented 1198 lumens at 116 lumens-per-watt efficacy at 3 A, 25°C." Two times 1198 does not equal 5000. I see single LED XML-T6 flashlights like the one I use with fake lumen counts as high as 10,000 lumens when the maximum output for the LED is around 1000 lumens. Buyer beware!.

The other two factors that limit brightness are heat and battery capacity. Notice the "3 A, 25°C". It takes a lot of power to run two of these at maximum output so battery life (run time) suffers. The other problem is heat. The LEDs produce a lot of heat when run at 3A so you need to dissipate heat to keep from ruining the LEDs. That is why a lot of expensive lights with high output automatically go to a lower mode after a few minutes in order to save the LEDs from destruction.

Rollfast

My Higgins' light tank was converted to a 12V multi-LED array. I have two 4xAA cell packs chained to operate it.

alo

These are my favourite bicycle headlights. You just put them on your bike, and don't need to recharge them, or replace batteries. This model is the brightest solar bicycle headlights I have seen. It also has the largest battery, and a built in horn.

At the time of writing, you can buy these on ebay for less than US$15.





In the future there may be new models.

More information here: https://www.bikeforums.net/electroni...le-lights.html

VC CYCLE

There is a new headlight called RIDEIWAKE. 1800 lumens with big screen and GPS. Can have a look in their pages.

Ogsarg

REI is selling the Cyglolite Dash 460 for 30 bucks right now. Great light for the money. compact, lightweight, lots of modes, and decent battery life.

qclabrat

Are there any decent low cost Dyno lights?
Using Alfine hubs. Thanks

polyphrast

Low cost meaning <50 USD as specified in the thread title or a would you be willing to spend a bit more (if so, please say how much more)? to help you a bit more specifically: for which purpose do you need the light i.e.

• where do you ride at night and
• how much (oncoming) traffic do you encounter and
• how much background light (streetlights, houses, shops) is there?
• Shall it be it a to-be-seen light or a to-see light?

noglider 

xxcycle.com in France seems to have just about every B&M dynamo headlight available. If you spend some time browsing the site, you can see that each letter in the model name refers to a feature such as light sensing, manual or auto switching. It tells you how bright the light is in Lux which is different from lumens, making things hard to compare. A 50 Lux light is adequate for most of us and might be roughly equivalent to 200 or 300 lumens. The difference the measurement methods is that Lux is at the lighted object whereas lumens is the measure of output from the source of light.

I put this light on my wife's bike. It's called an Eyc, pronounced Ike. It's so tiny it looks like a toy but it works like a champ. It is currently listed at 33.33 € which is $37.75. They have cheaper ones going down to 15 Lux. 15 Lux might be good for in the city and just being seen.

qclabrat

I'd like to stay under $100 but would consider more depending on what's better. Im looking for a light to see with on the road for streets which may not have street lamps. I live in the suburbs but plans to do some long weekend tours to DC and Maine some time soon

polyphrast

i personally find the beam shape of the Eyc a tad narrow, but i have only seen the beam shots from the B&M webpage.
i just checked a dynamo light test from a bike magazine, so I'd recommend either the Hermanns H-Black MR8 (80 lux) or the B&M IQ-X (100 lux), both can be ordered i.e. at Bike24.de for 23€ and 65€ eur. Shipping to the states costs 20 Eur. The H-Black MR8 is a bit narrower and has a bit less throw than the IQ-X. If you want to do a lot of (longer) riding at night on unlit roads/gravel roads, then go for the IQ-X, if you do not intend to ride so much/so long at night, go for the H-Black MR8, definitely an excellent bang for the buck and better than the above recommended EYC (which isn't a bad light).
The IQ-X beam shape is pretty solid, i had tested the battery powered version of that light and was pretty happy with it (but i still went for a different, even more expensive and better light...)

Goofball

Just purchased schwinn intensa100 light set from wally-world for under $20, will it be the best ? I dunno 😐

Biker GD

More great lighting products here too. There are some good buys if you just take the time to look carefully.

Kind regards

Biker GD

Paniolo

I don't see this on Amazon anymore, but current version:

XANES SFL-01 600LM XPG + 2 LED Bicycle German Standard Smart Sensor Warning Light Waterproof Bike Front Light Headlight Flashlight 5 Modes USB Charging Night Riding

is on sale right now at link: Banggood.com for $7.99 + 2.96 shipping and$ 0.29 insurance - total $11.24 in stock to ship immediately. I also bought

XANES 2 in 1 500LM Bicycle USB Rechargeable LED Bike Light Taillight Ultralight Warning Night that has 1711 positive reviews sale at $6.59. Total for both shipped $17.45

UPDATE 4/1/21 : BANGOOD will NOT stand behind delivery and will Keep your money. I highly recommend giving your hard earned money to a reputable business!

noglider 

Well I've bought about eight of these Xanes SFL-01 headlights. The last two I bought by accident because I had forgotten that two were already on the way. One of them seems defective. It's a weird battery problem. After charging the battery, the light will last for the proper number of hours. But if I don't use it for a few days after charging, the battery is discharged. I guess that means there is a short circuit that drains the battery. At this price, I'm not complaining. I used a label maker to put a serial number on each unit so I can keep track of when I charged each unit, and it helped me detect which one doesn't hold a charge.

Paniolo

A quick review on the Eanes SFL-01 headlight and 2 in 1 taillight. I've used them on a dozen or so night rides. Mounted both on my helmet. Mounted the tail light through vent holes at back with supplied rubber straps. Those weren't long enough for the headlight on top. Used just the bracket for the included head mount, it isn't designed to attach to helmet, and some velcro straps from my parts bin to secure. With this setup the headlight is easily removed for charging without removing entire mount from helmet.

I run the 2in1 taillight in solid red helmet mounted up high combined with an old Planet Bike Super Flash blinking mounted to seat post. This light appears brighter than the super flash with better width of field. I've ran it over 2.5 hours between charges. It lasts longer than headlight and usually just charge both at same time. Like the redundancy and supposedly the solid light gives better depth perception to overtaking cars than the flashing. The flashing is to catch their attention.

The SFL-01 headlight I run on the light sensor mode mounted on top of helmet combined with handle bar mounted Rio mentioned in this thread. Occasionally notice it dimming in lighted sections, but basically seems to run in high all the time. It does automatically start dimming when battery is discharged which gives you some warning of low battery if you lose track. I seem to get about 3 rides or 2.5+ hours on a charge. Really like the redundancy and flexibility this offers. It is dimmer than the bar light, but has a wider pattern and fills in great on the longer throw Rio giving a triangular lit area in front of bike. Helmet mount works great for looking at street signs, looking inside of an upcoming corner, looking at any vehicles you want to make sure notice you. at stops/side roads or off bike looking in seat bag or changing flat adjusting shoes etc. I lost track of the Rio charging cycle a few days ago and it quit abruptly about 75% into ride. Was able to get home comfortably with just the SFL-01 at a slightly reduced pace on totally dark streets. I felt OK with the SFL-01 on known streets about 15mph. With both lights I am good into the mid 20's. Will be interested to see how the battery lasts over the winter.

Highly recommend both of these products

UPDATE 4/1/21 : BANGOOD will NOT stand behind delivery and will Keep your money. I highly recommend giving your hard earned money to a reputable business! Good lights for under $20 are easily available from other Chinese mail order companies that do stand behind their deliveries.

noglider 

@Paniolo, I found the taillight mode of the SFL-01 to be useless. It's very dim. But I otherwise like it very much as a headlight. I've bought six or eight of them!

maxcityjones

I bought the xanes after doing a search for budget lights. I wasn't as impressed as others have been. The power button in particular requires a lot of pressure to activate, and is very finicky, as you have to press exactly in the center, straight down to turn the light on. Press it at an angle or off to the side, and it won't turn on. Add to that, the button is triangular, a terrible ergonomic decision.

It's bright enough for slow riding on multi use trails. It's less useful in traffic and/or when riding at pace. Overall, it's a decent light for being seen, but less useful for actually illuminating the road. Also, the beam pattern is very strange: it doesn't throw a uniform wide rectangular beam , nor does it have a circular hotspot. The beam pattern if you want to call it that, is just a mess--lighting is very uneven, with some areas brightly lit, others dimly so, again in no uniform pattern.

It's a $10 light, so keep your expectations in check; it simply can't compete with higher priced lights. Once you buy higher priced lights, you won't want to go back to using cheap lights.

If I wanted to pile on, I would add that the mount is not especially secure, and removing the light isn't especially easy or convenient. Then again, think about all of the features you're getting at this ridiculously low price point: usb rechargeable, quick release, and internal battery. Overall, it's a much better option than a cheap flashlight if you absolutely cannot or will not spend more than $10.

noglider 

I bought this light in July for $30. The price is down to $16 now. It's heavier and much brighter than that Xanes light. It has a round beam. It seems very solid. Battery life is excellent.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It comes with a taillight which is useless.

duke_of_hazard

Which of these under $20 front/back combos come with a good taillight? Here's what I see in Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=bike+ligh...f=nb_sb_noss_1

noglider 

My guess is that none of those taillights will be good.

panzerwagon 

If you go even a bit higher than 50, you can really get quality lights. For example, these are for $67: https://www.modernbike.com/cygolite-...-taillight-set

We’re running half a dozen of these at home.

so-ichiro

Thanks for this recommendation. I bought this. I was using a flashlight as a bike light which has a very focused beam, while this has much wider spread. I like that the switch button act as a battery indicator light. At the max brightness, it will get very hot, though the temp sensor will reduced the brightness to prevent overheating. Hopefully it will last.