HerrKaLeun

I lost my niterider Sentinel 150 on the trials today. Must have fallen out of the holder. i had used that during the day as a bright taillight for daylight running light.

For the front i have a niterider Lumina 600, but also witnessed that falling out going over rocks. Fortunately I saw it happening and could retrieve it. But I have less than good faith in their method of securing the lights. (yes, i had it secured properly and this happened after 30 km of riding)

Now I need replacement, but like one to attach to the helmet. The advantage would be for commuting less hassle (only need to take the helmet and have lights with me), and I have 2 bikes.

Ideally it should have the following features:
- 150 lumen or similar in strobe mode (for DRL)
- low profile
- secure helmet mounting
- battery large enough to last a few hours in strobe mode
- micro-usb recharge and/or a replaceable 18650 battery

I don't want to say cost doesn't matter, but i realize lights can get lost (ask me how i know...). So it shouldn't be too expensive

I didn't really find something. Most helmet-mounted small lights don't have enough light.

Edit: I found the Cyborg 168 and 180. There isn't much description on the 180T, but that seems to have a tad more output.

tengtengvn

Check out the ThorFire light on Amazon. They're cheap and bright.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

HerrKaLeun

thanks, i ordered one and will see. they didn't list any run hours or lumens, though.

tengtengvn

They lists the hours there in the description. It's already very bright. I can't imaging being brighter is any more useful. Well, it costs $10, not $50. I've sampled some of the more expensive lights at LBS and other stores. I can't say that they're any better, some are less but costs significant more.

Red brightness( runtime up to 2 hours)
Red Strobe( runtime up to 4 hours )
White brightness( runtime up to 2 hours)
White Strobe( runtime up to 4 hours )
Red/White Strobe (runtime up to 3 hours)

noglider 

I bought one of those cheap lights, and it worked for about two rides. Get something by one of the bigger companies such as Lezyne, Cygolite, or Niterider. They make things to work well. Cygolite products are made in the USA.

VegasTriker

Be careful what you read into the advertisement about where they are made. From a listing on eBay: Cygolite Hotshot Pro 150 USB Rechargeable Bike Tail Light "Designed, engineered, and assembled in the USA" That means the parts inside were made in Taiwan or more likely China. I can guarantee you that in the flashing mode where you get "up to 210 hours on a single charge" the intensity is vastly reduced. No internal battery lasts that long with a bright flash.

It's a pretty expensive light compared to some of the nice lights you can get from China these days. I use some that are sold here under the Blitzu name for multiples of the price I paid by direct import. You can compare these two, one sold by Blitzu and the other without the brand name. Both have 50 LEDs in the chip-on-board and the case and crappy o-ring mount are identical. Blitzu doesn't reveal the battery size but the eBay seller does. The battery in the light is 800 mAh which is reasonable for this bright a light.
Thorfire $8.90 postpaid from US seller ThorFire Bike Light Red/White 5 Modes USB Rechargeable Bicycle,Sale Off 30% | eBay
Thorfire on Amazon possibly with shipping extra $13 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Blitzu Cyborg 180 at the Blitzu website $24.37 plus shipping https://www.blitzugear.com/collectio...able-headlight
Same light in red as a tail light on eBay $8.90 postpaid Bicycle Bike Cycling USB Rechargeable LED Tail Light Warning Safety Rear Lamp | eBay

These lights shouldn't be super expensive. I just bought a couple of red and white COBs from China for some DIY bike lights. They are the size and type used in these lights. They come in 1W 3V DC with 30 LEDs in the COB and 3W 3V DC with 50 LEDs in the COB. They were $3.36 for a package of 5 and that included shipping halfway around the world.

HerrKaLeun

Ih see, was all the way on the bottom. I got them after 2 days and mounted them on the helmet. Unless i do some zip-tie (does that cut into the styrofoam?), I have to mount it a bit cricket. they are very bright and i like the blue-red flashing since that likely gets car driver's attention (not sure about legality....)

I had an expensive niterider... but the way they designed the holder it fell off rom shaking on the trails. Now I try a cheaper one.... at least I will cry less if that happens again. I also looked at the Lezyne site, but they didn't have something decent to mount on the the helmet. In the end they all have non-replaceable batteries, all of them are throwaway devices. in addition on the bike they can fall off, get stolen,.... really no point for me to spend 5 times the money. and again, i started out with the expensive lights.

tengtengvn

You can use some rubber from old tube to make the band grip the helmet better.
Looks like you got the red\blue version. The link I sent is red\white. I have both. I use the red\white in the front as the supplement for my headlight. If my rear one runs out, I can always switch the front light to the back easily. They use the same mount.

TimothyH

Blue lights are not permitted in most places, reserved for police.

My guess is that an officer would not be happy about blue flashing lights on a bike.

A bike should have white in front, red in rear, just like a motor vehicle. Motorists understand this and can act accordingly. Anything else is simply going to confuse them more and puts yourself at risk.

tengtengvn

Yup. Fortunately, there're red only modes. The blue\red modes are reserved for the time when you need to troll the pot head neighbors.

noglider 

I see some people in NYC running red lights in the front and white lights in the back. WHAT ARE THEY TRYING TO CONVEY?

VegasTriker

Got your attention, didn't it?

HerrKaLeun

I ran those lights for about 7 hours (rated at 4 hours) in blue/red blinking and the battery still doesn't give out and keeps blinking. Maybe a bit dimmer than in the beginning (hard to tell without measuring), but still bright.

Yeah the blue light seems illegal, so I should have better bought the red/white or so. Well, I can always just use the red flashing. Cool idea though, and sure draws attention... I know i see blue lights from very far and slow down immediately thinking there is a cop.

tengtengvn

So is it a good buy? The red\white version is a little bit brighter to my eyes.

HerrKaLeun

Obviously I can't tell long-term... but definitely recommend to give this a try.

tdonline

Is it bright enough to use during daytime?

HerrKaLeun

i wish i still had my old ones to compare, so it is a guess. I tested during day in the shade and in sunlight. You can see it blinking in sunlight, but it isn't extremely bright. they don't really show a lumen rating, so hard to tell. it si darker than my headlight, but that is rated at 600 lumens and white.

I also ordered the Cyborg 168T (rated at 168 lumens) and will compare.

It definitely is good for night time, but not sure about DRL yet.

HerrKaLeun

I actually also had ordered the Blitzu Cyborg 168T for comparison. I meant to take a video to compare to the thorfire, but my phone seemed to make one appear more white (it is red in real life).

The cyborg actually was not really brighter. They are about the same. the thorfire is a bit smaller, so the light is a bit more concentrated. But with them virtually the same, I returned the cyborg. Obviously I couldn't actually measure lumens.

I also found this mount to attach the front light to my helmet. I guess one could get one for the rear.
and i liked those cheap lights so much, I bought another one to attach to my seatpost.

Rightfully people here have stated a much more expensive light might be better, and that may be true. but with these cheap ones that still are pretty good, I don't worry about losing one.

VegasTriker

If you like this helmet mount, don't buy it off Amazon where the price is $15. It is a Magicshine 6058 helmet mount which can be purchased on eBay for $9 from a US seller in NC. MagicShine Helmet mount for MJ 808E 808U 872 868 856 880 880U LED Bike Light 8.95 postpaid
MagicShine Helmet mount for MJ 808E 808U 872 868 856 880 880U LED Bike Light | eBay

I quit buying stuff off Amazon a couple of years ago when I realized you can almost always get the same item on eBay. These days, most lightweight items come with free shipping on eBay anyway. If there is a shipping charge it is often still less expensive with shipping taken into account.

HerrKaLeun

mmmhhh... I paid $9.99 on Amazon (even verified in my account). They must have raised prices after my endorsement. I demand commission! :-)

Bob Ross

There's plenty of legally-sanctioned precedent suggesting that a flashing orange light in the rear would not only be acceptable, but arguably preferable. It's fairly universally recognized -- and in some areas, required -- as an indication of Slow Moving Vehicle or Caution! Non-Standard Vehicle.

I think ideally you'd want both a solid red plus a flashing orange...now, if only someone actually made an orange taillight for bicycles.

angerdan

There's at least amber available as rearlight:
2018 Quad Amber Headlight with built in battery ? DiNotte Lighting USA Online Store
orfos.us/collections/flarepro/products/amber-flarepro-pre-order

HerrKaLeun

i think you were right. I wasn't really happy with the daylight performance. i found the Lezyne Zector Drive Max for $50. it has 250 lumen in flashing mode (and it is really bright!) and supposed to last 9 hours in that mode (not tested yet).

i mounted it to my helmet and had to use some zip tie to shim since it would have aimed a bit to the left (it is tapered for seattube). I would have wished for a more low-profile solution, but this is the best i could find with the performance and the price is OK.



I'm looking for something better in front. Lezyne makes a white version of that, but that only has 80 lumens in steady mode, too little for night riding (I like a maybe 500 lumen on helmet and more on handlebar). Right now i have my 600 lumen Niterider, but this is a bit bulky and too far off the helmet.

Edit: found the nitecore HC60 for around $60. 1000 lumens... only has one hour runtime, but I can use replaceable spare 18650 batteries to carry with me. At 450 lumens it runs 2.5 hours. So that should be OK. any other suggestions or opinions on this one?

HerrKaLeun

So I got my nitecore HC60 and it is really great. the 100° beam angle works really well for the helmet light to see things closer by (i have a tactical flashlight on handlebar for far vision). 1,000 lumens is good and I wouldn't want to have less (I rode at night over a construction site with my fat bike). I fitted it with velcro strap. It looks much better than the Leyzene Zektor since it has much lower profile. I couldn't find a good way to mount the taillight and to keep it level without that mount, so that sticks out a bit.




So here what you need for my final solution:
Nitecore HC60
Lezyne Zecto Max 250
Helmet Mount for Lezyne
Velcro Strap

rseeker

@HerrKaLeun, how is runtime working out with your Nitecore HC60? (I'm shopping around and looking at options, time to upgrade my helmet lighting.)

I see you planned to swap batteries to support full brightness, but what about in 400-lumen mode?