Best lights?

[HipGnosis6]

I bought a NiteRider 15W bar-mount headlight, NiMH battery and two chargers (one at home one at work to be sure the battery's strong for the night ride home) for $90. It's awesome. Ugly and heavy, but awesome.

[xeney]

I just use be-seen lights, not the giant expensive ones that actually work as headlights to illuminate the road. I mostly stick with CatEye in spite of some problems I've had (namely housings cracking, and people stealing them when I forget and leave them on the bike), because they mostly use the same attachment mechanism so I can use the same headlights on different bikes. (Of course, I have extra attachment mechanisms because I have gone through so many CatEyes, so I don't really recommend my approach.)

I think the CatEye TL-LD1000 is the best taillight on the market right now, except that it will not attach to a rack without major MacGyvering. It is super bright and has decent side visibility. I used to like the TL-LD500, but it is tricky to mount so that it doesn't bump your leg, and if you mount it vertically like most people do on road bikes, it is not very visible at all. And side visibility kind of sucks.

In terms of headlights, I like the HL-EL200 or HL-EL210, although I think both have been discontinued. The former has only three LEDs but it has better side visibility; the latter has five LEDs so it's a bit brighter. They both have a flashing mode, which saves batteries, and some people think that you are more likely to be seen with a flashing light than with a steady one. I think they have been replaced by the HL-EL220, which is the same as the 210 but it doesn't have a mounting bracket that stays on the bike; you can mount it without tools like some of the older smaller models.

The HL-EL300 is currently very popular -- it is huge and bright enough to actually light up the road a bit, but it doesn't blink so you will eat batteries faster. And did I mention huge? I worry about its stability on the bike. You definitely don't want to leave any of the larger ones attached unless you need them, because bumps in the road are really hard on the assemblies.

The only other headlight I've tried recently is the Planet Bike Dual Spot, which I don't think is anywhere near as good as the CatEyes listed above. It's probably better than the really tiny CatEyes. I mostly use mine as a hand-held flashlight, because I don't think it's bright enough for a bike light.

[bikerHen]

I just got the NiteRider Trail Rat 2.0. It lights the ground, and hopefully makes me more visible. And it worked fine on my commute last night in the pouring rain. For a tail light I have an assortment of brands, mostly CatEye that blink and can be attached to the bike and/or clipped to my backpack. bikerHen

[Haudlady]

http://www.topeak.com/2006/products/lights/redlite.php

I, too, have the lights that make me more visible, but don't illuminate the road for me. I have the Topeak red light for my seat tube, and their white light on my bars. They are LED, and have blink, steady, and off modes. The set cost about $28.