Night Lights for Bicycling

[Rebecca19804]

I then found the Dinotte brand. German lights that are the bomb, but expensive.

+1 on German lights. Their statutory minimum requirements are higher than any standards in the US and higher than most other countries in Europe.
I like the B&M Ixon IQ Speed. This is more than sufficient to "be seen" and goes some way towards adequate "illuminating the road" (though I found it best if you have TWO not just one and/or are cycling in a group with a few other good lights). Not sure if there are distributors in the US, there's only 1 in the UK and so I've found it more reliable to order direct from Germany such as from the renowned Rose Bikes.

My new all-singing-and-dancing "illuminate the road" light is from a fairly new UK company called USE Ltd, whose Exposure range has taken the cycling world here by storm. Prices range from about £40 to an eye-watering £400, but I've found the Strada to be quite satisfactory for lone night time cycling - though probably not good for hurtling downhill at speeds in excess of 30mph in the black of night! The Strada Mk3 retails at about £245 but I picked up a Mk2 on Ebay for about half that. Wiggle ships to the USA.

Your mileage may vary of course... but this is the kind of nighttime riding I do, and the Strada is perfect.

[Jaclyn]

I'll second the recommendation of the B&M Ixon IQ Speed. You can buy it from Peter White Cycles. We use it with a dynamo hub wheel, also built by Peter White. This allows us to recharge not only the light but AA batteries that we use in other devices on the bike. If we run out of charge, we can use a spare set of AA batteries - in a pinch. When we are not concerned about riding for many, many hours, we use the CygoLite MityCross which we feel is brighter. The handlebar lights are supplemented with a DiNotte helmet mounted light.

For rear lights, we always have two chain stay lights. Favorites include the Portland Radbot. Two are important to us because one can lose battery power and leave us underlit. We use the the Di Notte on the seat post (absolutely the brightest tail light). And, for good measure, a Blackburn Flea or something similar on back of helmet.

For riding at night, we always wear reflective vests and reflective ankle straps (there's research that the circular motion of reflective ankle straps really get motorists' attention). The comment about side lighting is important - many accidents at night occur from the side.

We ride a tandem ... lots of money invested in lighting because as randonneurs we ride for many hours throughout the night. I find that with proper lighting we actually get greater respect and distance from passing motorists than when we ride in daylight. We've grown to love night riding.

I'd suggest establishing your budget (bigger the better, but of course not everyone can afford a $1,000 lighting budget) and then focusing on maximizing front and back illumination. Especially for the back, I feel two lights are essential. Fortunately, vests and ankle straps are cheap (I heard that Ikea is selling reflective vests right now for only $4.99).

[carlotta]

I have a B&M Ixon IQ (also from Peter White). I love it and it's a massive upgrade from previous lights (of the be-seen variety, the longer commute required investing in a better light).

I wanted something that didn't have a separate battery pack and this is great-- you just push a little rubber bit out of the way and plug in the wall charger. I charge it every night so I don't have to think about did I charge it last night? two nights ago? etc, but assuming the battery indicator is accurate I could easily get 4 commutes out of it (~4 hours on the bike) with a mix of high and low settings. I try to run it on low most of the time, high is pretty bright (but good for dark MUP).

I also run a blackburn flea on flash most of the time. Good for be-seen, and also easily rechargeable.

At some future point, I can definitely see the appeal of a dynohub, and if/when my front wheel meets an end I may go that route.

[Crankin]

I recent got a Bikeray front light. It's from China, but it's not one of the ones that blew up! It is so bright and lights up the road so much better than the Night Rider one I have. And it lasts for about 4 hours on one charge.

[radacrider]

I had been using a B&M IXON-IQ, very nice for our dark streets where trees obscure the street lights.

For my project MB-1, I bought a DiNotte XML-3 and have been testing it on my commutes on the SUB. All I can say is WOW! Dark, rainy mornings and evenings are no big deal. I can see the road and I am definitely seen by others out there on the road.

I use a DiNotte 120R (many years old) that is super bright and I constantly get comments on its brightness.

The 120R takes 4 AAs, the XML-3 requires a proprietary 4cell lithium pack.

A side note: I had a problem the 2nd time I used the XML-3 and contacted DiNotte. I contacted them by email and they sent a new light head out with a return shipping envelope. Just the customer service alone, I am sold on DiNotte!