The Thin Man 

You can feel the weather in my neck of the woods start to shift from Summer to Fall. The mornings are darker and the sun is going down sooner. Lighting is starting to become an issue and the online bike companies know it due to the amount of emails I've received from Nashbar and the like reminding me to 'get your lights now!'.

On my '91 Voyageur I currently have black colored Knog's on the front and rear as lights designed to be noticed, not to light my path. I like them because they are minimal, clean, simple, fairly powerful and easy to transfer to different bikes in the stable quickly. What I don't like is that they suck batteries down and I feel like I need stronger, tougher lights when it comes to the shifting weather and harsher conditions that I plan on riding in.

I want lighting that is strong, able to be used as a path lighter not just a 'notice me' light, minimal in design, not a helmet light, does not have an external battery pack (unless it somehow keeps it minimal), rechargeable/USB would be nice and aesthetically pleasing.

That said, what do you use and/or suggest?

Knog lights*:




*This is not my bike or my pictures

RobbieTunes

I have a Newt that meets all of the above except the battery pack, from a friend in CA that no longer needed it.
I like it a lot, and I hate bike lights.

Chris_in_Miami

I've got several LED flashlights from dealextreme that run on a single 18650 rechargeable battery. They're not pretty, but not too obtrusive either, and the output is fantastic.

fender1

Are you against using a generator hub? You can mount the head light to the front wheel's quick relaease to facilitate easy swapping between bike and PB Super flash for the back.

ColonelJLloyd 

I can't really help. I want the lights to be on when I'm on the bike. I don't want to mess with batteries. I'm forgetful. I want to have bright lights that light the road well ahead of me. These are some of the reasons I use a dynamo hub. The only bikes I ride at night are those equipped with dynamo hubs.

A battery tail light is fine with me as they're very efficient. Fender1 is right. The PB Super Flash is ridiculously bright. It's annoying to ride behind someone who uses one. And now, they have a Turbo Flash. It's an attention getter for sure.

Ex Pres 

+1
for ~$15 for the light itself you can get 300 lumens.
A little over double that gives you 900 lumens (claimed).
2 18650 Batteries + charger IIRC ~$18.

I use a TwoFish block to mount the light under my handlebar. I think I paid ~$12 for 3 pkgs of 3. More than I need.

The Thin Man 

Thanks everyone. Fender, I like the idea of a generator hub but since it requires a bit more research, planning and cash, I'm going to consider that a long term option I'd like to eventually build up too. Good suggestion!

scotjonscot

Those Knog lights don't look too bad. I may order me up a pair. Just checked their web site, they do have at least one rechargeable, athough it's larger than those pictured above.

The Thin Man 

They aren't bad lights if you know their limitations. I've got them on my rides and my gals but, like I said, they go through batteries fast and in the past, I have come out to dead lights, even when I know they were shut off properly. In total darkness, they pierce the night very well too. I have also broken one due to the fragile nature of the light as I replaced batteries. But, for minimal, clean lighting, it's hard to beat 'em!

Colonel/Fender, does the generator hub need to be rear wheel driven? I'm starting to like the idea the more I (re)consider it.

Sixty Fiver

I use knogs and other blinkies as backup lights for bikes that typically don't have anything mounted... for serious night riding I have much brighter LED and Halogen lights that are battery powered as well as a few generator hubs wired up.

Nice solution is to use an old incandescent headlight and convert it to LED... classic look and modern performance and believe one company makes a nice retro light in this manner... just cannot recall who makes it.

sillygolem

Generator hubs are used in the front, and there's a two wire connector on top for lights. Sanyo makes one that costs around $40, Shimano has a smoother one for around $100, and Sturmey Archer makes a generator/drum combo that uses Sanyo hub parts that runs around $70 or so. Germany requires bikes to have an approved lighting system, so they've added all sorts of accessories like phone chargers that can be run off the hub.

20grit

For rear lights, I generally get one that has a reflector type surface as well. That way should my batteries die, the car's headlights might reflect off the surface.

Wino Ryder

Built this one out of pvc in 2006. Uses an mr-16 quartz halogen bulb/reflector. Lights up the road like a motorcycle headlight.

Roger M

I don't like putting lights on my bikes. I wear whatever clip on tail light on my backpack(which I usually wear when riding) at night. Where I live, there aren't a lot of street lights, so I use a Niterider Cyclone on my Helmet. It's pretty dang bright, and gets me to where I need to go after dark. Only drawback is the weight of the light on my head, and the heft of the battery pack.

Sometimes, I'll use a cheap LED light strapped on the bars with a rubber band.

NOTE: for bikes with fenders, I have seen a couple of fender mounted tail lights that don't look terribly bad. I may end up trying one of these just for ..its and grins:

P_M

There are these from SOMA:

https://www.somafab.com/accessories/lighting

I read though that the body of the front light is made of plastic. Not sure how durable that's going to be.

unterhausen

I would ask someone you trust to check and see if they can see your light from a distance. My experience with lights on bags or helmets is that they are effectively invisible except for short, useless flashes.

Sixty Fiver

SA used to make a rear mounted IGH / generator hub but ceased production of the AG in the early 80's... I run one of these on my winter bike and have another to fit into my Raleigh 20 with a 451 wheel.

These work well with LED lighting but do not generate enough to run a halogen.

Roger M

I will do that, thanks for pointing it out. I should mention that my backpack has a sewn on reflector(about an inch thick) that stretches across the back, and a little to the sides.

wahoonc

I use the PB SuperFlash Stealth on several bikes. Is all but invisible on a silver seat post. For headlights I like the looks of the B&M Cyo in chrome. I use generator hubs on several of my bikes. I also use rack and fender mount tail lights those vary by bike.

Aaron

gmt13

+1 I used to see a cyclist heading the other way from me in the morning. I noticed that he had a helmet mounted light, but the problem was that it was all but obscured by his backpack.

due ruote 

There's a ton of information on the lighting, electronics and gadgets sf. Check that out too.