Best bicycle headlight?

I'm looking for a really good headlight for my bicycle, for my daily commute.

I need something that not only can be seen by motorists, but can help me see where I am going; I'd pefer something with a rechargeable battery pack that has a decent run time between chargings, rather than one that takes batteries (C or D cells)

A friend of mine mountain bikes here in the desert and ride at dusk and dawn because of the heat. He actually prefers the the lamps on their helmets with a rechargeable battery pack.

Maybe something to look into.

I don't have any personal experience with them but they do make hubs that have a built in generator to provide juice to a LED light.

I use one of these, along with a couple really powerful flashlights with rechargeable Li Ion batteries.

Elekro Lumens. He makes bike headlights also. You said best.
http://www.elektrolumens.com/index.html

Doc4 said:

I'm looking for a really good headlight for my bicycle, for my daily commute.

I need something that not only can be seen by motorists, but can help me see where I am going; I'd pefer something with a rechargeable battery pack that has a decent run time between chargings, rather than one that takes batteries (C or D cells)

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It really depends upon what you need and how much you want to spend. I mean for $399.99 you can get a NiteRider TriNewt LED light that mounts on either handle bar or helmet that puts out 500 Lumens with run times ranging from 3:30hours–7:00hours with a lightweight Li-Ion battery.

I just use a headlamp type headlight. Super Bright 3W Luxeon K2 LED that puts out 85 Lumens with a 20 hours run time. I use rechargeable NIMH AA batteries. The headlamp cost around $30 and also has a red safety light on the rear of the battery pack. It works just fine for me for trail use and for street use.

I've always heard that the brighter the area you are riding the brighter the light you want. So if you're riding in really heavy city traffic with bright city street lights you'll want a brighter light to stand out better in a "sea of light."

Don't forget the reflective clothing/bands/vest and tail-light.

beardsareforcavemen said:

It really depends upon what you need and how much you want to spend. I mean for $399.99 you can get ...

I've always heard that the brighter the area you are riding the brighter the light you want. So if you're riding in really heavy city traffic with bright city street lights you'll want a brighter light to stand out better in a "sea of light."

Don't forget the reflective clothing/bands/vest and tail-light.

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While saving money always appeals to me, this is one of those things where I don't mind spending more to get a better product ... safety is key! I prefer the handlebar mounted to the headlamp style; I'd like to keep the light pointing ahead without having to worry about where I'm pointing my noggin.

That "sea of light" comment makes a lot of sense, definitely. But I also have a few dark roads to ride down, and need to avoid potholes &c., so a bright light comes in handy in those situations too.

Your points about reflective clothing and tail lights &c. are very good ones and often overlooked by cyclists. I have taken a very anal approach to making sure my clothing has lots of high-vis and reflective material, and I have a reliable flashing-red back light too. I am always amazed at guys riding their bikes at night in dark clothing with no lights and sometimes even no reflectors!

Try an LED. Uses far less juice and tend to brighter. Most are small and light weight. You can find a decent selection at just about any bike shop.

I use 2 P7 flashlights from this place http://www.dealextreme.com/search.dx/search.P7, really light the road up.

Tony_B said:

I use 2 P7 flashlights from this place http://www.dealextreme.com/search.dx/search.P7, really light the road up.

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That MagicShine handlebar mount/headlamp bicycle light on that page looks like a good deal. The HA-III Cree SSC P7-C (SXO) 900-Lumen with 3 hour runtime.

edit: This bike light seems such a low price for a 900 lumen light!?! From what I see looking at online bike shops most of the high-end bike lights that put out 900 lumens cost $600+

Night Rider makes an excellent halogen lamp I used when I was mountain biking. It uses a rechargable battery that it the same size and shape as a water bottle, so it fits on one of those holders.

Good luck!

I use halogen dynamo powered headlights on all my bikes. Bolts to bike so unlikely to be stolen, always ready for action, no need to bother with recharging and it doesn't have to cost the earth. Modern bottle dynamoes work very well and have very little drag although the noise can be irritating.

I've got a cygolite halogen with a separate battery pack that puts out enough light to not only be seen, but also see what's in front of me. I've had it for a few years and it ran around $100. Here's the LED version. I'd give anything in that range the thumbs up honestly, more lumens is better but also much more expensive.

really depends on what your needs are - for me i use a frog light bc it only needs to be seen by cars as im riding on the streets but there are streetlights every now and again. so its basically a single led that straps onto just about anywhere on the bike.

you can go to the other end of the spectrum and get yourself something like a full on fog light if you are looking for that.

either way - http://www.cateye.com/en/product_category/52
is where most of my lights have come from.

I've been using Ay-Ups for two years now. Small, easy to mount & remove, tiny battery pack, can be mounted on the bars or on your helmet (the pack comes with both mounts). Very, very bright - I use them all year round and they certainly get you noticed.

DO NOT set your lights to flashing on your bike. The human brain has a hard time gagusing distance and speed of a flashing object, you will look like a bike and drivers with give you less room then if they think you migh be a car or motorcycle.

Yes its true that a flashing light gets more attention form the human eye then a solid one, but this might not be the best thing, as it distracts drivers and they tend to vere towards distractions.

I ordered a Fenix TK11 today to mount on my bike.

C Reed said:

DO NOT set your lights to flashing on your bike. The human brain has a hard time gagusing distance and speed of a flashing object, you will look like a bike and drivers with give you less room then if they think you might be a car or motorcycle.

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People give motorcycles room? That's news to me.

C Reed said:

DO NOT set your lights to flashing on your bike. The human brain has a hard time gagusing distance and speed of a flashing object, you will look like a bike and drivers with give you less room then if they think you migh be a car or motorcycle.

Yes its true that a flashing light gets more attention form the human eye then a solid one, but this might not be the best thing, as it distracts drivers and they tend to vere towards distractions.

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Absolutely. And leaving that aside, the thing which amazes me is that people can ride a bike with a flashing headlight. I've tried that it's annoying and likely to induce a seizure.

thebikingengineer said:

People give motorcycles room? That's news to me.

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Most motorcycles are large enough to seriously scratch the paint of most cars, so yeah, they have to give them some room.