best bike light

[caligurl]

what is the best bike light for both road and MTB?

i would prefer to NOT have a water bottle cage battery!

what about helmet mounted vs handlebar mounted?

any of these any good? (team performance member and coupons always available.. so ya... i'm looking for a deal too! lol!)

http://www.performancebike.com/shop/sub_cat.cfm?subcategory_id=4320

[tatormc]

I just bought the Performance® ViewPoint™ Gen 3 Digital Commuter Combo (http://www.performancebike.com/shop/profile_combo.cfm?SKU=19629&estore_ID=&subcategory_ID=4320&CFID=38296182&CFTOKEN=86931563) . I've only used it once but liked it. The batteries are in the base of the light so you don't have to worry about where to put the battery pack. And I liked that the light has different features such as flashing and different brightness.

[caligurl]

hubby had that one and it interferred with his polar HRM :( so we sent it back....

[Deanna]

what about helmet mounted vs handlebar mounted?

http://www.performancebike.com/shop/sub_cat.cfm?subcategory_id=4320

I would recommend handlebar if you are going to be riding on streets at night. I spoke with somebody who received a ticket from an overly zealous member of law enforcement for not having a headlight, even though there was one on his helmet. Apparently the law in CA states that the BIKE must be equipped with the headlight, not the rider.

[archibella]

I just bought one of the $12 trek variety last sunday because my old light always seems to fade so fast-- it was very bright, even at dusk, and I'm pretty happy with it. In fact-- lol, I got such a kick out of this. A homeless guy was checking out my bike on monday while I ran into a convenience store to get some gatorade. This guy happened to be in a wheelchair. Another customer motioned to me and said be carefull (I'm thinking.. wow, it would be something if the guy in a wheelchair took off on my bike :rolleyes: ) So I go out and start talking to him, and it turns out, he was really interested in the blinkie! He wanted to get one for his chair, lol. I felt kinda bad for him so I gave him my old light (had attached it to my helmet as a backup)-- I thought, man, as much as it stinks to be in traffic in the dark on a bike, think how scary it must be to be in a wheelchair in the dark....

[pkq]

You can't go wrong with Nite Rider HID lights. I've got mounts for helmet and handlebars; works great on both. I'd recommend getting one for handlebar mount and one for helmet mount, which will keep your field of view for road ever present and allow for looking off road at other stuff, i.e., animals on the trails, motorists, waterfalls, people, etc.

[newfsmith]

I'm not so sure about HID for many people. They don't like to be started up frequently, that shortens bulb life significantly. Also, I have had such miserable luck with the Nite Rider digital evolution that I got 2 years ago that I don't think I could bring myself to lay out the money for a HID if it came from Nite Rider. I've had good luck with Nite Hawk brand products and Cateye, I've used both on a daily basis from October to March. These are the taillight & sidemarker lights I built last year. My headlight was less successful.

[newfsmith]

For someone that electronically challenged, this was not impossible, but at times close.

[pkq]

http://www.mtbr.com/reviews/lights/

Maybe those reviews will help you. My old eyes like lots of light so HID is the ticket for me.

[eofelis]

I have a Nite Rider Digital Evolution I got a few years ago. It has a NiMH battery that can be recharged. I used it for commuting and it works great.

[Blueberry]

hub generators? Opinions on whether the light is bright enough when you're crawling up a hill? Bright enough to *see* on dark country roads??

I really like the thoughts of not having to worry about charging batteries every day or every few days (I always forget). They are definately pricey - but it seems that they are very durable and would last a lot longer than the battery lights.

[pkq]

I've not used one but the rando guys do. One of the rando riders at bikejournal.com got one last year. It took a long time to get the wheel built up with it. Seems he, Zurichman, likes it.

Bumped the thread on the Schmidt hub generators at bikejournal for those interested.

[gretassister]

I've never had much luck with hub generators and I don't like the fact that there's no light unless you're moving.