Best headlight for about $100?

[tostino]

I'll second the recommendation of Dealextreme. Specifically I recommend sku 15691. It is $35.90! I have tried several from them and this is the best by far. The flashlight says "900 lumens" on the casing but that is overly optimistic. It has an honest 450-500 lumens. It uses the Seoul p7 which actually has 4 leds on a single die.
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.15691
I get about 75 minutes of runtime from one 18650 cell & then it dims significantly over the next 30 min. I carry an extra 18650 cell in my pocket on longer rides. Dealextreme also has a mount which is a perfect fit. I use this mount for riding some blue off road paths on my mountain bike (Santos Trail) -- no problem in many months of riding. The light snaps right off when I reach my destination. The mount is strong and costs $1.90. http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.8274
I purchased a set of two 2500mAh unprotected 18650s for $9.00 http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.6979
and a 2 hour charger for $6.71. https://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.936
Putting it together:
Aurora SSC P7 flashlight - $35.80
Mount - $1.90
18650 batteries (2) - $9.00
Charger - $6.71
Total = $53.41
That's the shipped cost
Not bad for approximately 500 lumens. With your budget you could get two and have an honest 1,000 lumens. The lithium batteries are light, and the whole setup is surprisingly lightweight, significantly lighter than my Fenix l2d Q5 (which runs on 2 aas). The light is reasonably weatherproof and although it gets pretty warm, it worked fine for me during the past Florida summer. The spill and beam are perfect for riding. Plenty of throw & distance, lots of light for peripheral objects. Point it down a little and motorists do not get upset. I ride it on the road regularly. Believe me, I get noticed. It is a good feeling to have an oncoming motorist dim down from high beams from a distant hill. I get that all the time.
Here is pic on my bike:

I just made an order from there for a very similar setup. I chose to go for a different flashlight, but same batteries, charger, and mount. I'm really looking forward to seeing the light output!

 

[dogman dan]

Refering back to the sam's club 4 watt led flashlights, K2, just got home with them and they are pretty bright. For 15 bucks apiece I'm pretty impressed! Little mag lite style aluminum housing flashlights with adjustable focus beams, quality switch and batteries, two for under $30 bucks is hard to beat. I am going to make a neoprene sleeve to hold one on my helmet. It flat out blows away my 1 watt headlamp. Not as bright as some of the clearly best examples on this thread, but bright enough for me. And a second one for backup and houshold use.

 

[dogman dan]

Here's a pic of the flashlight. It's beam shines 300 feet, and at a distance of 30 feet is as wide as my double car garage door. It will run on 3 aaa nimh the same as the 1 watt headlight it replaced. I may have to recharge the batteries more often, since it is going to use more power, and weigh myself down with excessive weight carrying a few non rechargeable aaa cells for when the battery dies en route. I mounted it to my helmet with a neoprene sleeve cut from an old glove finger. Since the whole thing cost about 35 bucks including the glove, and two flashlights, I can have 65 bucks for my tequila budget.

 

[dogman dan]

Hmm, the called me stupid post dissapeared while I was typing my flame post. I'll edit the reply.

 

[bmachine]

Dogman,

I like your setup a lot. I have also ordered the Deal Extreme setup with one light and I think I will add your Sams one for the helmet. That should make for a most lethal setup!

There are also a lot of other equally great ideas on this thread. I love this board!!!

Thank you all.

Bo.

P.S. One thing about the Deal Extreme thing is that one better not be in a hurry! I placed my order more than 2 weeks ago now and I still havent received anything. Not exactly Amazon's free 2 day shipping!

 

[dogman dan]

That handlebar mount from deal extreme looks very nice. For the most part when I do ride at night, actually early morning in summer, the road is pretty clean and free of potholes, so I should be very happy with my new light. I found the old 1watt one adequate at peadle speeds, but at 28 mph, it was a bit too dim to see anything in time. This new one thows a lot further with 4 watt led. Love the adjustable focus just like the ol maglites.

The ones from Justin still look like the best thing ever, since they run on whatever pack voltage you have. I just like the head mount so I can give cars the evil eye at night. In the day I do the same thing with non offensive hand gestures that say I see you, do you see me?

 

[bmachine]

I'm afraid I'm not sure what or who "Justin's setup" is...

 

[Zoot Katz]

I'm afraid I'm not sure what or who "Justin's setup" is...

The bomb proof submersible lights made by Renaissance Bicycle Company. http://www.ebikes.ca/lights/

Justin (justin_le) developed them and tested them by riding through a hurricane after crossing Canada mostly at night.
His 10W HID lamp was better for high speed but it died before completing the epic journey.

Mick (retread) posted pics of his set-up here:
http://www.endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=7739&p=117914&hilit=lucky+me#p116718

I just bought a front and two rear lights for my Xtracycle.
My first impression is they're great lights for being seen and flooding your immediate foreground with ample light. The tail lights are very bright and visible from the sides.

Mine are wired to run off current generated by the hub motor even if the batteries are removed.
I've not yet had opportunity to test it on unlit roads. The headlamp is mounted at the fork crown instead of the handlebar.

They're nice units made by hand in Vancouver and they're guaranteed for life.

 

[bmachine]

Thank you. That looks really cool indeed.

Based on what I see on their site, it looks like a front + rear light system will be about $100 US plus the price of the converter which is not posted yet. Curious to see where that will end up...
Bo

 

[Zoot Katz]

Thank you. That looks really cool indeed.

Based on what I see on their site, it looks like a front + rear light system will be about $100 US plus the price of the converter which is not posted yet. Curious to see where that will end up...
Bo

You don't need a DC DC convertor to run the lights off your bike's battery. They operate from about 15V to 100V. They'll even work without batteries if you have a direct drive hub motor. With their lifetime guarantee you only have to buy them once.

 

[dogman dan]

Sorry about the vague reference to ebikes ca. Indeed the cool thing about that one is it runs on whatever voltage you have the controller using. Very cool, and far superior to a flashlight for serious riding where you may not know all the potholes along the way like Justins ride across the continent.

 

[totals]

I found that the bike lighting out there just isn't satisfactory. I turned to what I know works: automotive headlights. A pair of 35 to 55 watt halogen foglights work great. I posted a video that shows the lighting set up: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5sa6fC5Hig

Rory

 

[dogman dan]

Just rode 15 miles at night with my new helmet mount headlight, Sadly, I still hit some potholes I didn't see. It was a whole lot better that what I used before but the 3 watt led flashlight was good for showing an object in the road, but not potholes. Since you can fail to see potholes with car headlights it's clear that more light is better. I'm just going to stick to smoother routes.

 

[bmachine]

I finally got my DealExtreme setup. Installed it and all and I am hoping to be able to start using it to commute to work on Tuesday. I would have tested it earlier but, uhhh, the original reason for writing this post is that, as I was coming back from work 5 weeks ago now, I changed my route at the last minute and didn't see a curb because my light was too weak. Next thing I know I and flying over the handlebars and landed on my elbow, shoulder and head. Thank goodness for the helmet is all I have to say!!!

Anyway, I was left with a broken elbow and have been unable to ride since. (Although I still had to ride 12 miles with one arm in order to get home). This gave me plenty of time to research this "better light" business. But I am VERY anxious to get back on my bike!!!

Bo

 

[dogman dan]

Owch! I know the feeling, it's really looking like a when not if thing about going to the hospital. Mine last summer was both collarbones, thank god for helmets, or I'd be dead. I got a waterbottle into the front wheel and wheee! Fortunately I did it a block from a hospital. :lol:

 

[biohazardman]

Double OUCH! Both of you nasty to crash like that. I ran over a saw horse type of no parking sign cuz I did not see it and off of a curb for the same reason. I am lucky I did not crash as I was really moving at the time. I already hurt bad enough don't need no stinking broken bones. I will make sure my light is working well before I ride again. Get well both of you and good luck with your lights.

 

[Zoot Katz]

I owe partial thanks for my ti tibia to an inadequate LED headlight.
Side of the curb looked convincingly enough like a painted line that I steered into it twice.
The ambulance was forty minutes reaching me and another forty minutes before arriving at hospital.
I figure I could have crawled the distance in about three hours.

 

[recumbent]

The lights from ebikes.ca are amazing how they brightly light-up the front pathway.
I thought the square flat layout of LED's wouldn't give a proper light pattern, but they throw a beam with a perfect swath of brilliant light.

The headlight body looks rather bland, so nobody would bother to steal it either.

 

[bmachine]

OK, I was finally able to test the DealExtreme light. I have about an hour commute, 65% of which is in complete darkness on the beach bike path.

All I can say is "Wow". This apparently simple flashlight is simply amazing. Extremely bright with an excellent light dispersion shape. I really can't think of anything I would change about it, except for two minor things.

One problem I have is for tight turns. I think I will need to add a helmet mounted light because since this one is attached to the handlebar, it will obviously only light what they are pointed towards. In curves, you want to be able to see tighter into the turns so a second light would probably be a good idea.

Another problem is that it is so bright that it blinds other cyclists coming the other way. There is a "half intensity" button, but it is hard to remove your hand and fumble in darkness to try and find where this button is. Oftentimes I just put my hand over the light but that's not too good either. Ideally there would be a remote hi / lo switch that could be attached next to the left hand.

Now I'm sure the Justin light would be even better but I don't like the idea of running the light off the bike battery. My commute is about 20 miles and I have barely enough juice to make it as it is (I have the Phylion 36v battery from ampedbikes.com). Last thing I need is more drain on that battery.

Now if only my elbow would heal up a little faster and stop hurting so much after each ride...

 

[rdobolina]

OK, I was finally able to test the DealExtreme light. I have about an hour commute, 65% of which is in complete darkness on the beach bike path.

All I can say is "Wow". This apparently simple flashlight is simply amazing. Extremely bright with an excellent light dispersion shape.

I agree that the light output is truly outstanding. Friends in the neighborhood mistake me for an oncoming car.

One problem I have is for tight turns. I think I will need to add a helmet mounted light because since this one is attached to the handlebar, it will obviously only light what they are pointed towards. In curves, you want to be able to see tighter into the turns so a second light would probably be a good idea.

I have done this, but it is harder to dim the bulb, so I use a light with less intensity on my helmet when riding on the street. I flip the setup and put the brighter light on my helmet when off-road. You can get a light with approx. half the light output (200-300 lumens) for less than $20.

Another problem is that it is so bright that it blinds other cyclists coming the other way. There is a "half intensity" button, but it is hard to remove your hand and fumble in darkness to try and find where this button is. Oftentimes I just put my hand over the light but that's not too good either. Ideally there would be a remote hi / lo switch that could be attached next to the left hand.

If you lower the angle of the light, the flood is significantly less bright and is far less problematic for oncoming cyclists. Otherwise, Dealextreme actually sells remote pressure switches for these lights, they typically cost $5-$6. The switches are a modified version of the backcap of the light. I have one and it is set up to be a mere flick of my left index finger. Here is an example of one, I am not sure it will fit for you as I don't know what you purchased:
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.12895
Sometimes these remote switches will fit various models/brands.

Now if only my elbow would heal up a little faster and stop hurting so much after each ride...

Be careful riding when injured. Your risk of further injury is significanly higher if you do so.... I'm sorry I had to throw that in because I have experienced it firsthand.

 

[bmachine]

Thanks rdobolina. Excellent info once again.

I have the same setup you have, ie:
Aurora SSC P7 flashlight - $35.80
Mount - $1.90
18650 batteries (2) - $9.00
Charger - $6.71
So I guess that remote switch should work. Excellent tip. I will order that. I also want to order a second light for helmet mount. Which one did you see for 200-300 lumens?

I hear you on the "Give it time to heal". It's been 5 weeks already and it still hurts when I apply force to it. I tried to go surfing again last weekend and after an hour my arm was a nothing but a lump of jelly.

 

[rdobolina]

bmachine,
The link to the switch in my previous post may not fit our light, so hold off on ordering for the moment. I will look into it and try to find the right SKU#. When I find it, I will pm you the link.
Here is a link to a good $16 250 lumen light I own:
http://www2.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.16240

 

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[John in CR]

Got this in my email box today from Northern Tool. Seems to have "Hack me into a solar charged bike headlight." written all over it. Go ahead and make it 3 for maybe something easy, under $100, and close to the same league at Dr. Bass's eyeball burner. http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200349785_200349785

John