What Front Light Should I Get?
#1
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What Front Light Should I Get?
Hi all,
I'm fairly new here and to cycling in general. I currently use one of those cheap 9-LED flashlights mounted to my handlebars via and elastic band to light my way home from work.... I'm looking to upgrade and I'm not sure what to get. I bought a couple of MEC 1-Watt lights that I'm going to mount to the forks or to the handlebars, but I want BRIGHT. I considered a Petzl Tikka XP 2 Core headlamp mounted to the bike, but never seen one in action. Nite Ize also sells a front lamp for about $45 and it's quite bright.
What are people using these days? I want bright and I want it decently priced - maybe about $100. Less is ok, but not much over $100. I'm not made of money, but where my safety is concerned, I don't mind shelling out SOME cash.
Thanks for any info you can throw my way
Mysta02
I'm fairly new here and to cycling in general. I currently use one of those cheap 9-LED flashlights mounted to my handlebars via and elastic band to light my way home from work.... I'm looking to upgrade and I'm not sure what to get. I bought a couple of MEC 1-Watt lights that I'm going to mount to the forks or to the handlebars, but I want BRIGHT. I considered a Petzl Tikka XP 2 Core headlamp mounted to the bike, but never seen one in action. Nite Ize also sells a front lamp for about $45 and it's quite bright.
What are people using these days? I want bright and I want it decently priced - maybe about $100. Less is ok, but not much over $100. I'm not made of money, but where my safety is concerned, I don't mind shelling out SOME cash.
Thanks for any info you can throw my way
Mysta02
#2
Commander, UFO Bike
A NiteRider Minewt 600 cordless is now on sale for $100 at my school's LBS (PDX.edu's Bike Hub). If I didn't have one already, I'd snap that up in a New York minute.
My belief is that you always go with the brightest (rechargeable) light you can afford as a primary light, and then have a battery powered backup as a fall back (oops, forgot to recharge or other problem) and you won't be the guy riding a bike with a firefly in a fireworks display kind of rider.
My belief is that you always go with the brightest (rechargeable) light you can afford as a primary light, and then have a battery powered backup as a fall back (oops, forgot to recharge or other problem) and you won't be the guy riding a bike with a firefly in a fireworks display kind of rider.
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What Front Light Should I Get?
I'm ordering the USB Cygolite 350 from Amazon by the end of the week. I love my USB Cygolite taillight, so I am hopeful that the front light has the same quality.
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Hi all,
I'm fairly new here and to cycling in general. I currently use one of those cheap 9-LED flashlights mounted to my handlebars via and elastic band to light my way home from work.... I'm looking to upgrade and I'm not sure what to get. I bought a couple of MEC 1-Watt lights that I'm going to mount to the forks or to the handlebars, but I want BRIGHT. I considered a Petzl Tikka XP 2 Core headlamp mounted to the bike, but never seen one in action. Nite Ize also sells a front lamp for about $45 and it's quite bright.
What are people using these days? I want bright and I want it decently priced - maybe about $100. Less is ok, but not much over $100. I'm not made of money, but where my safety is concerned, I don't mind shelling out SOME cash.
Thanks for any info you can throw my way
Mysta02
I'm fairly new here and to cycling in general. I currently use one of those cheap 9-LED flashlights mounted to my handlebars via and elastic band to light my way home from work.... I'm looking to upgrade and I'm not sure what to get. I bought a couple of MEC 1-Watt lights that I'm going to mount to the forks or to the handlebars, but I want BRIGHT. I considered a Petzl Tikka XP 2 Core headlamp mounted to the bike, but never seen one in action. Nite Ize also sells a front lamp for about $45 and it's quite bright.
What are people using these days? I want bright and I want it decently priced - maybe about $100. Less is ok, but not much over $100. I'm not made of money, but where my safety is concerned, I don't mind shelling out SOME cash.
Thanks for any info you can throw my way
Mysta02
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Hi all,
I'm fairly new here and to cycling in general. I currently use one of those cheap 9-LED flashlights mounted to my handlebars via and elastic band to light my way home from work.... I'm looking to upgrade and I'm not sure what to get. I bought a couple of MEC 1-Watt lights that I'm going to mount to the forks or to the handlebars, but I want BRIGHT. I considered a Petzl Tikka XP 2 Core headlamp mounted to the bike, but never seen one in action. Nite Ize also sells a front lamp for about $45 and it's quite bright.
What are people using these days? I want bright and I want it decently priced - maybe about $100. Less is ok, but not much over $100. I'm not made of money, but where my safety is concerned, I don't mind shelling out SOME cash.
Thanks for any info you can throw my way
Mysta02
I'm fairly new here and to cycling in general. I currently use one of those cheap 9-LED flashlights mounted to my handlebars via and elastic band to light my way home from work.... I'm looking to upgrade and I'm not sure what to get. I bought a couple of MEC 1-Watt lights that I'm going to mount to the forks or to the handlebars, but I want BRIGHT. I considered a Petzl Tikka XP 2 Core headlamp mounted to the bike, but never seen one in action. Nite Ize also sells a front lamp for about $45 and it's quite bright.
What are people using these days? I want bright and I want it decently priced - maybe about $100. Less is ok, but not much over $100. I'm not made of money, but where my safety is concerned, I don't mind shelling out SOME cash.
Thanks for any info you can throw my way
Mysta02
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Stuart Black
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Old School…When It Wasn’t Ancient bikepacking
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
#6
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Best to go with two lights up front. One on the helmet and the other on the bars. I have the Cygolite Expilion which comes with mounts for both places. Light weight, so no issues on the helmet, and very bright with great run times. In rain, snow, and fog, a helmet light reflects too much light back into your eyes, so you want to have the option to move to the bars.
#8
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NiteRider is updating their lineup so last year's models are going down in price. The MiNewt 600 Cordless (which is being upgraded to a 650 for next year) is everywhere for about $100+ and is very good (as mentioned by K'Tesh). Actual measured lumens is in the high 400s and quality is very high. Click here https://reviews.mtbr.com/2012-bike-lights-shootout to see some comparisons with it and other lights. I'm using a NiteRider Pro 1500 which is a flamethrower, but it's more than you want to pay . . .
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I use Cygolite Expillions, I feel they are great lights for the money.
https://www.cygolite.com/products/expilion350.html
https://www.cygolite.com/products/expilion350.html
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"When I hear another express an opinion, which is not mine, I say to myself, He has a right to his opinion, as I to mine; why should I question it. His error does me no injury, and shall I become a Don Quixot to bring all men by force of argument, to one opinion? If a fact be misstated, it is probable he is gratified by a belief of it, and I have no right to deprive him of the gratification."
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Petzls and Nite Ize aren't all that bright. If you want bright, go for this one for your head and this one for the bike. You'll be right at $100 for both. I'm really not sure if there is a difference but I bought the first one recently and it is damned bright and has a higher capacity battery. Either would be roughly 10 times brighter than the Petzl or Nite Ize at the same cost.
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Hi all,
I'm fairly new here and to cycling in general. I currently use one of those cheap 9-LED flashlights mounted to my handlebars via and elastic band to light my way home from work.... I'm looking to upgrade and I'm not sure what to get. I bought a couple of MEC 1-Watt lights that I'm going to mount to the forks or to the handlebars, but I want BRIGHT. I considered a Petzl Tikka XP 2 Core headlamp mounted to the bike, but never seen one in action. Nite Ize also sells a front lamp for about $45 and it's quite bright.
What are people using these days? I want bright and I want it decently priced - maybe about $100. Less is ok, but not much over $100. I'm not made of money, but where my safety is concerned, I don't mind shelling out SOME cash.
Thanks for any info you can throw my way
Mysta02
I'm fairly new here and to cycling in general. I currently use one of those cheap 9-LED flashlights mounted to my handlebars via and elastic band to light my way home from work.... I'm looking to upgrade and I'm not sure what to get. I bought a couple of MEC 1-Watt lights that I'm going to mount to the forks or to the handlebars, but I want BRIGHT. I considered a Petzl Tikka XP 2 Core headlamp mounted to the bike, but never seen one in action. Nite Ize also sells a front lamp for about $45 and it's quite bright.
What are people using these days? I want bright and I want it decently priced - maybe about $100. Less is ok, but not much over $100. I'm not made of money, but where my safety is concerned, I don't mind shelling out SOME cash.
Thanks for any info you can throw my way
Mysta02
https://www.lightandmotion.com/bike/urban550.html
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I've been using a Magicshine for the past couple of years, which is around 900-1,000 lumens and I swear by it. One unexpected and welcome side effect is that when cars pass me, they give me an additional 2-3 feet more than normal. I have to use it on its lowest setting when on group rides because the people in front of me think a car is behind them.
There's basically two types of headlights: the cheap low-watt/low-lumen types are made for the bike to be seen by other types of traffic, they aren't really meant to light the way. The high output lights, however, are made to illuminate the path in front of the rider.
There's one caveat to the high output lights: they attract bugs at night so there's a good chance you will get hit in the faced by bugs...more than normal, anyway.
There's basically two types of headlights: the cheap low-watt/low-lumen types are made for the bike to be seen by other types of traffic, they aren't really meant to light the way. The high output lights, however, are made to illuminate the path in front of the rider.
There's one caveat to the high output lights: they attract bugs at night so there's a good chance you will get hit in the faced by bugs...more than normal, anyway.
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Hahahaha! True! I always have to brush my teeth after night rides
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Very true! I've been commuting at night and I swear I have wiped out half of the moth population around here.
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If I were buying new, I'd spend the extra money for the new light (Universal Cycles has the 650 listed at $139.99, but not in stock yet).
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#19
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Lights to get: Magicshine.
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I'm waiting for a manufacturer to make a light that has a built in, one shot, 20 MW (or so...) laser. Just enough to burn a hole in a think piece of sheet metal (like a trunk), or leave a nice word in the paint of that brand new Audi that almost ran you off the road.....
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I'm waiting for a manufacturer to make a light that has a built in, one shot, 20 MW (or so...) laser. Just enough to burn a hole in a think piece of sheet metal (like a trunk), or leave a nice word in the paint of that brand new Audi that almost ran you off the road.....
#23
Senior Member
Best to go with two lights up front. One on the helmet and the other on the bars. I have the Cygolite Expilion which comes with mounts for both places. Light weight, so no issues on the helmet, and very bright with great run times. In rain, snow, and fog, a helmet light reflects too much light back into your eyes, so you want to have the option to move to the bars.
#25
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I looked this up and I'm glad I did. It looks like NiteRider finally has a screw-tight handlebar mount, replacing the ratcheting version that I could never quite get tight enough. Hopefully the new mount will be compatible with the MiNewt 600 because I love the light and would happily plunk down $20 or so to get a better mount for it.
If I were buying new, I'd spend the extra money for the new light (Universal Cycles has the 650 listed at $139.99, but not in stock yet).
If I were buying new, I'd spend the extra money for the new light (Universal Cycles has the 650 listed at $139.99, but not in stock yet).
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