ALLSTOTT

Like a lot of posters already recommended the Niterider Lumina Series. I've had the 600 back when it was the highest to now where I have the 950. Great light best bang for buck i think. I remember shelling out $200 for my L&M Stella 200 which in 2008 was bright, and now you can pick up a $950 lumen light for <$100.

kingston 

That's a kludge at best. I just don't see any advantage to an external battery. My commuter doesn't have a water bottle cage and I'm not willing to sacrifice a water bottle for a battery on my other bikes when there are better options available.

RidingMatthew

I am not sure if I have commented before but I like my Cygolite Expilion 850. I have a Cygolite Metro 550 as back up if the Expilion is ever low on power. (mainly because I forgot to charge it.) I can usually get 2 days round trip before it needs charging in the winter and can run almost the whole week during the summer on flash.

Texico

I use two Cygolites, an Expilion 800 and a Streak 280. Purchased both of them almost three years ago and they are still going strong. The Streak gets daily use and the Expilion comes out for riding at night. I purchased the Expilion because it has a removable battery core, so I purchased a second one to extend the battery life when run at full power. Cygolite and Nightrider make very good lights, but I really like the ability to keep a spare battery charged for the more powerful light. It's a good "safety" feature for me.

AstroEng

I've been using this light (Riorand Cree XML T6) for 2 years now with this spreader lens (for Magicshine type lights). I had one for a year before that, but the wire went bad (most likely because of how I had it wrapped around my frame). I bought this battery (8.4V 6600mAh) to go with it at the same time. I get 4+ hours with typically 50% on flash and 50% on medium. I'm skeptical that the batteries are actually 6600mAh, but they work for my needs. The only part that has failed on me was the cloth battery case to hold the battery to my frame. It still works, but is held by a lot of tape.

I've thought about getting a real Magicshine, but if I assume a 2+ year life on battery and light, at <$40 combined, it looks cheaper to keep buying the clones.

P.S. I should mention that I ride all year, all weather with that setup and got that lifespan.

AdvXtrm

Not sure if you saw my previous reply to the OP, but I'm using the Expilion 850, same basic light as yours, but I'm running it form a high-capacity battery bank, which will let me run it for huge amounts of hours before running low. This can be a huge plus, and is something anyone who may have the need should consider.

Leisesturm

You may already know that a MagicShine is itself a clone of a $400+ German light called a Lupine Tesla. I owned 3 MagicShines before I bought my first ~25 Amazon.com MagicShine knock-off. You wouldn't say that buying knock-offs every two years is a satisfactory arrangement if you had ever seen a genuine MagicShine in operation! The difference is night and day, no pun intended.

RubeRad

Surprising, all the time I spend around here, I had never heard about the Lupine Tesla!

I got two magicshine knock-offs with spreader lenses for my kids' bikes, during basketball season they ride home from school in the dark with me once a week. They like the lens to spread forward, I think it's still too narrow. I'll stick with my zoomable flashlight, I can get just the beam width I want and point it downwards enough so it's not blinding anybody.

no motor?

One of the lights I use is a Light and Motion Viz 360, and it's battery pack lasted as long as they advertised when I got it, something the Magicshines weren't able to do. Years later the battery pack is still working even if the runtime is less now.

gregjones

The L&M Urban series are the best that I've found...with one exception---runtime on high is 1.5 hours. I have a 650 that requires recharging every other day. So, I've gone with a Taz 1200. Run it on half power and get a week's runtime out of it. I really do like the beam pattern of the Taz, it's the best that I've used.

And, you are correct about 350 lumens being good enough most of the time, at least for me. I learned more about lights and their power from a flashlight geek forum than I ever did from a bike forum. I learned to run a higher rated light on a lower setting to allow more use between recharges. And, lumens ain't all there is to lights........

gregjones

As you can an L&M 800. I just bought a NR 950.....ok bright, but runtime on high is FORTY MINUTES. Read that to be useless. Not to mention that in every other way the L&M outperforms the NR.

Just my opinion---I own, and have used both on the same handlebar at the same time. The L&M wins, hands down in my experience.

ALLSTOTT

Yea I can see where a 40Min run time is pretty terrible. I rarely run it on the boost mode for that reason unless i'm descending at high rates of speed. I do however constantly keep it on highest setting w/o boost (800L). The 1.5 hr run time is perfect for relatively short commute in the dark. Just out of curiosity is the L&M 800 brighter at 800 than the NR 950 at 800? just curious what makes it better, in case my NR dies on me and i have to purchase a new one .

gregjones

This is where a bit of time hanging out with the flashlight geeks was a wonderful learning experience, I didn't even register on the forum or make a post---just searched and lurked. Because of the properties of light, no matter the source, and the way that it's power naturally acts it seems from what I found out that to make an actual perceived difference in brightness to a human eye one has to produce at least 25% more power. One 800 is the so close to the output of another that you can't tell the difference (unless one of them is Chinese!!!) I actually bought the 800 because it had to be better than my 650, right? Wrong, the 650 is not significantly different enough from either to make it unusable where an 800 would be the cat's meow.

The flashlight guys say that it takes at least a 50% increase in power to make any real difference, I believe this since I have the Taz 1200 to compare the other lights to.

The difference is where the light goes and the beam pattern. The NR and the Urban aren't worth the difference to bother with. This is where the Taz wins, hands down, in my book. I run it on the medium setting and the beam with it's main light above two secondary lights just lights up the roadway with a pattern that makes me feel more comfortable.....shoulder to shoulder right in front of the bike and bright centered further down the road. It doesn't much matter how bright your light is when it's lighting up the woods as you make a turn!! I had the Taz running (medium) along with the 650. I think the 650 actually seems to be just a bit brighter down the road where it does shine than the TAZ (roughly same power spread over greater area) but when I turn off the TAZ the lack of shoulder lighting makes me feel like I'm in a tunnel.

The Taz is widely available off of eBarf for around $140. Quite often one will pop up for $125 new. I just bought a spare (new) for $111 in an auction, not a Buy It Now. Just be aware that if you buy it from someone that is not an authorized L&M dealer that, now matter how new it is, there is no warranty on the light. L&M protects their dealers.

Light for light the L&M and the NR are so close neither has an advantage. The Urban series is my choice because of the package that the light comes out of. Sleek and trim. Basically, the L&M is similar to having a carrot strapped to your handlebars while the NR is like a baking potato.

PatrickGSR94

Another vote for Cygolite lights. I run Expilion up front and Hotshot Pro 80 rear lights. I bought the Expilion 700 about 3 years ago, and it's still working great. The newer, brighter versions are much cheaper than when I bought mine when the 700 was around $100.

Another reason I like the light is the mount. It's a GREAT, solid, rigid mount, and I have one on all 3 bikes. I like the mount that way so that it holds its aim all the time, even when removing and putting the light back on. The Hotshot rear light mounts are great, also.

I've tried L&M lights, and I hate, no, ABHOR their rubber strap mounting of their lights. Besides their tendency to wear out and break, you have to readjust and set it up again every time you put it on. No thank you.

fuzz2050

I just drop the battery pack into my handlebar bag. It works perfectly, there's no stress on the junction, no unsightly cables winding around my frame and I get a lot of lumens (although nowhere near 1600) for really cheap.

I also just mounted my headlamp to my front rack, so it's now pretty permanently affixed. The main disadvantage to the remote battery (as I see it) is the increased fiddle factor, which is important for a commuter, as you might find yourself mounting and removing the light several times a day. A single unit makes it a lot easier.

Although you really can't beat the magicshine clones for lumens per dollar.

To the OP, I think it is best to have more than one light, just in case. I use a magicshine clone mounted to my bike, and a smaller flashlight on my helmet. This means that in case one fails, I have a back-up, and if I have a short trip (think a couple of blocks) being to lazy to mount my larger light isn't going to stop me from being lit.

canklecat

Yeah, the L&M strap is one of my only two gripes. Excellent light but two factors would dissuade me from buying another L&M:

• The rubber band strap.
• The light cannot be charged and operating simultaneously. It's the only rechargeable device I use routinely on rides that cannot be charged and operated simultaneously for extended use. All my other lights, my phone, video camera, etc., all can charge and run from an external battery via USB cord. So for long rides, including Sunday night between a 40 mile solo and group nighttime ride, I had to run the L&M on medium and low to be sure it would last all the way home.

Over the years arthritis has worsened in my hands and it's painful some days to snug that strap tightly enough, or to remove it later. With cold or wet hands it's even worse.

And while the light can be detached from the strap it's not easy. And it's a simple friction fit that would wear after many detach/attach cycles, so I'd worry about the light popping loose on rough roads.

Simple elastic stretchy type light fasteners are okay with very small, lightweight lights like the Vivo-Bike Illuminati I use on my helmet as a to-be-seen light (and it helps a bit too see where I'm looking). That light's strap is easily stretched but secure enough to hold that light. But the L&M Urban 500 is heavier and the heavier elastic needed to secure it to the bike is a pain in the hands.

The Serfas straps are pretty good too, at least on the SL-255 and similar lights. The rubber strap is much too stiff to operate without assistance, but Serfas uses a camming latch mechanism for leverage. The light is easily removable from the mounting strap so I usually take the light with me when I'm off the bike, and leave the mount in place.

If the newer Serfas E-Lume lights use the same mount I'll probably consider those for my next higher output light.

aaronrob222

I'm not sure about the Light and Motion actually living up to 3 hours. I love mine (a 350) but can't seem to get more than 3 nights out of it with 30 minute commute each.

ksryder

I've used a Niterider MiniNewt 350, Niterider Lumina 500, and a Bontrager Ion 700. They're all fine.

MiniNewt -- first one I ever bought. Came with a helmet mount, but the external battery is a pain. Don't use it much these days. Also had some issues with it randomly shutting off every once in a while, and not because of charging issues.

Lumina 500- used a lot on short commutes but also on long gravel rides. I think I've gotten 3 hours or so out of it on the lowest setting. Never an issue. However, Niterider mounts are crap. They always start to rattle, even brand new. I've bought several replacement mounts, and a helmet mount, and they all rattle. It's irritating.

Bontrager -- a little pricey, but a good bright light. Not sure how long it will last, I haven't had a chance to test that out yet. I like the beam pattern on it the best, it's more focused.

Modern bike has pictures of various lights in action. https://www.modernbike.com/bicycle-l...mparison-guide

gregjones

Isn't three hours based on the medium setting?

I started a longer commute and on the way home the battery level changed to amber, 1st ride after recharging and daylight savings time would require a solid beam on the way to work as well as coming home before sunrise. L&M support suggested timing it with a full charge until it cut off. On high it should run 1.5 hours. It made it--10 seconds over the run time. I made it every day, without fail, with the medium setting.

I did the run time test on high and never tested it on medium.

The, the so close, 10 seconds to exact published run time makes me wonder if it's not a timer in the software.....and maybe the difference between the 350 to the 800 is not also in the software. You just pay more for how much they let you use the power that the light really has.