hankj

No real need to illuminate the road ahead. I'll be bike touring in Europe in the height of summer and will benefit from daylight +-17 hours a day. I do though LOVE to ride daylight hours with a front flasher. Traffic and oncoming riders really notice me more, feels much safer.

At home I do this with my Nightrider lights, but they are much heavier than I want to travel with, great for wintertime Seattle but otherwise overkill for CC touring.

SO: do you know a little small lightweight flashing front light I should look at? Reliable good. USB recharge for sure please, versatile mounting not a strictly required but would be nice. 30-80 grams would be sweet.

Thank you!

Ogsarg

Bontrager Ion 200 RT. Roughly a 1" cube, weighs practically nothing, has a good daytime flash mode, and will last many hours. Standard USB rechargeable.

hankj

thank you! On my short list.

Anybody have an opinion of the Ion 200 RT vs the Cygolite Dice HL 150? The latter is about half the price at similar weight, but I'm happy enough to spring for the former if it is better/higher quality.

thank you

Barry2 

I have a pair of Knog Lil Cobber.
They are programmable so I've cut down the flash rate to extend the battery life and removed all the flash modes I've no interest in.

Barry

t2p

we use Lezyne Femto Drive lights ; they weigh around 30g

typically keep one or two on the bikes during fall thru spring months




and will add a Knog Plug (65g) or similar when more light required for tunnels etc

first / top picture above shows bikes with both lights installed / lit (Lezyne Femto Drive and Knog Plug)

blacknbluebikes 

Some of the lezynes also run in a "swell" mode rather than a sharp flash (eg 800XL). Much easier on the eyes of the drivers. Also, doesn't Germany have a "no flash" law ?

tcs

The CatEye Orb Rechargeable just misses your 30~80g requirement, coming in at 25g.

https://www.cateye.com/intl/products.../SL-LD160RC-F/

The Planet Bike Spok 50 USB is another 25g flashing headlamp.

https://www.planetbike.com/spok-50-usb-bike-head-light/

Polaris OBark

I've used both (well, a slightly different Cygolite). Cygolite is generally extremely good and best bang for your buck. I am using the 200 RT right now, mainly because I am a geek and have it connected to my Garmin. It is adequate, but not exceptional. I do a lot of daytime riding under redwood canopies, and it is ideal for those conditions.

I just looked up the Dice. The web page says "DayLightning® Triple (3x) Flash: 24 hrs" If true, that is FAR better than my Bontrager light.

chaadster

My absolute favorite lights in this category are the Specialized Stix lights. They’re sleek, low-profile, and extremely versatile…more so than any other light I’ve seen. Specialized did an outstanding job with mount options, so that you can put a Stix almost anywhere on your bike or person.

I don’t know the weight of the current model, but it’s featherweight. It has a good variety of modes, too, with variable intensity options in steady, pulse, and all flash modes. It also has mode memory, so it returns on to your previously used mode after being switched off.

On two of my bikes, I run the seatpost mount flipped upside down under the stem, which tucks the light discreetly out of the way. On another bike, I use the all-weather DuoTec “velcro” to stick Stix directly to the headtube, and it works great; secure, out of the way, and easy as pie.

I reckon the headset mount as I do it— Specialized do offer a replacement headset spacer with integrated mount, if you prefer— requires about 15mm of stack:

veganbikes

PLEASE DO NOT FLASH YOUR LIGHTS! You are not an emergency vehicle and are not in emergency. Just use a solid front light like all other standard users of the road. When you flash lights I literally have to close one eye and look away from the road or path I am on. There is no way you can claim they are safer as a fellow road user on a bicycle has to look away and close an eye which IS NOT SAFE. If you are absolutely dead set on creating a dangerous situation like as described find the lowest lumen light with the worst beam pattern and with the absolute warmest light possible or maybe even a rear light and point it at the ground.

In Germany they do not permit flashing lights they use a very smart system/law called StVZO which calls for solid front lights with a nice cut off so it doesn't blind other road users. It is fantastic and very smart for others to use.

chaadster

That ship has sailed…

daihard 

My CatEye heaglight includes a mode they call "hyper-constant," which is a steady light with additional flashing. So instead of toggling between ON and OFF, it stays ON but adds an extra flash every second (or so).

Flashing headlights are prohibited except for emergency vehicles where I live, too, but I've always been wondering about the legality of this type of lighting mode. Is it still considered a flashing light, or since it's "always on," is it a steady light?

veganbikes

It is a flashing light it is still problematic. Legal or not legal it is still dangerous. I know that setting and I still have to look away and close an eye and do my best to avoid it. I would assume if flashing lights are prohibited they are are prohibited. It is not just a constant on but a flashing on.

daihard 

Just curious, do you have to avoid such lights any time of the day, or are you more tolerant of it in the daytime? I'm asking because I've read studies that indicate flashing (and by extension hyper-constant / pulsing) lights make you more visible than steady lights in the daytime. I use my headlight and taillight any time I ride, and I use the hyper-constant mode whenever I ride with or next to vehicular traffic. When I ride on trails, I use the low steady mode (i.e. 200 lumen). FWIW, I use a brighter headlight in high steady mode (800) when riding at night.

veganbikes

I look away just about any time of day or night. Sometimes people have really weak lights which are a bit harder to see so it is slightly less bothersome and an even less useful light. I have decent vision and I don't get seizures or anything like that but those flashers of any variant will have their effect on my eyes.

I will say I probably encounter more flashing during the day on some rides but that is usually due to more people being out.