Headlight suggestions

[Denise223]

Hi

It has been awhile since I've been here at the TE forums. I need to buy a new headlight and wanted to know what suggestions you have. There are so many choices, as with pretty much anything!
I have no plans on riding in the dark. I want a light so that I am seen. One that flashes would be a good idea, I think.

Thanks for any advice you might have. I look forward to coming back to the forums.

Denise

[rebeccaC]

The cygolite dash 320 headlight has a very good daytime visibility mode with a bright constant and/or flashing led’s. It’s light, easily movable from bike to bike and the lithium battery has reasonable hour times. Used it on a ride while going over a mist/very light rain summit a few weeks ago with no problems. Don’t know if they still make that model, mines a little over a year old and it's been good for day and night and it's been reliable. There should be reviews of it on the net too. There are ones with better material construction and more lumens but they are heavier and more costly too.

[Crankin]

I have had many, many lights. I use both front and back lights for daytime riding, as well as night riding. Right now, I have 2 lights by Exposure. The "big boy," is the Toro, which has an incredible # of lumens, variable settings that are easy to change, and a great blinking mode. This is the light I use for truly dark rides. Most of my dark rides are before sunrise, so I like this, because I can have 2,000 lumens at 5 AM, and switch it down to less lumens, or blinking mode as the sun rises. The model I have for daily use is the Sirius. It is much smaller, has blinkie, high beam, and regular beam modes. I use it on the blinkie mode most of the time, or full mode, if it is cloudy, rainy, etc. Both lights slide on and off the same simple clamp that I have installed on the bar of both my bikes. There are no wires or battery packs to put on the bike and the lights can be charged in a USB port or charger.
I live in an area with few street lights, so it is really dark when I ride early in the AM. When I commute, only part of my ride is well lit. We bought both of these lights on line, after much research. They are not cheap, but definitely the very best I've had. I've had the Toro for over a year, and the Sirius since the beginning of this season. Since I started using the Sirius for every ride, daytime included, there is a noticeable difference in the way cars waiting to pull out of side streets see me.Both DH and I started using the lights after his crash with a car that turned left in front of him. Truly worth it.

[Helene2013]

This is the model used here : Planet Bike Blaze 500 XLR Front Light
http://www.mec.ca/product/5041-711/planet-bike-blaze-500-xlr-front-light/?Ntk=productsearch_en_q32008&Ns=p_max_sale_price%7C1&h=10+50002+50037&q=lights

You can be seen from far. it had various options and intensity. It was around $70(cdn) for ours.

[ny biker]

I like my Bontrager light. Very bright with multiple settings for a good price. The only drawback is that the battery only lasts about 80-90 minutes on the highest setting, but in blink mode I think it lasts long enough. Actually the second brightest setting is also quite bright and has better battery life.

http://www.bontrager.com/model/10945

[pinsonp2]

I have a Cygo-lite Metro that I like a lot when it does not interfere with my wireless computer. Can only use with bike that has more expensive ant+ wireless. Seems to be a common issue with the higher powered lights and original wireless computers.

P2

[rebeccaC]

good point p2

the downside to led light circuitry is it can generate some electromagnetic interference, which can interfere with some wireless computers and other sensitive sending units. Try moving the computers sending unit farther down on the front fork or the led light farther away from it….or as you suggested use an ant+ or a newer wireless computer that shields led rfi or even a wired one. If you don’t want to get a newer computer then look for a light that has lower power draw led’s. they still work well for visibility and also gives better battery life. The higher the power the more interference with sensitive wireless computers.

[Denise223]

Hi:

Thank you to everyone who replied to my post. I appreciate it very much!

Have a peaceful evening,
Denise