What kind of headlight do you use (or recommend)?

Operator7

Operator7

Active Member
Hi guys/gals,

As I'm taking my first steps, I am purchasing accessories for my wants/needs... I know very little about headlight brands and so forth, although it seems common sense that on an ebike, of all things, the headlight is even MORE important, because we are traveling at higher speeds, and need to see farther/better view in front of us. With that in mind, what do you use/recommend?
 
I really like Mr cygolite metro 400. Nice and bright, and has a cool mode where the light is on but at the same time is also pulsing/strobing. It is also well reviewed and about the best value based on lumen per dollar as well. I also have an orp horn/light on the way to try out!
 
I got a headlight and a tail light from Light and Motion. The Urban 800 up front and the VIS 180 (not Micro) tail light.
These weren't cheap, but they are well-made (in the US), charge by USB, and the company provides excellent support. For example, about two days after I got them, I ripped the waterproof rubber cover off the tail light's on-off switch, thinking it was the cover for the charging port (wrong side doh). L&M replaced that light tout de suite at no charge.
Too bad I'm so old cuz' they've got a customer for life here.
On a more salient note, the brightness and the beam patterns of these puppies is top shelf. IMHO if you go with Light and Motion you will never look back. (If someone rear ends me at night they really meant to.)
Allen
 
Vern, If you look at the detailed product information on the web page link I included in my post, you'll see it comes with the following:

Package includes:

1 * CREE XML T6 HeadLight (up to 1200 lumens)
1 * HeadLight Band - to wear headlight on head if desired
1 * 4400mah Battery pack
1 * AC Power Charger
2 * rubber rings to attach light to handlebars
 
Last edited:
Cygolite Pace 800 / Hotshot ST headlight and tail light combo. USB rechargeable, 8 and 4 modes of operation respectively, very easy to install and remove for recharging, somewhat on the high end of price but will last a lifetime and will rarely need batteries. There are many choices available, and this one is mine and I love it. At the end of the day depending on how much you really need a headlight, but you definitely need a good tail light day and night for safety, you can always get an inexpensive LED light meant to wear on your head and find a way to attach it to your handle bars. I have a number of these I purchased from various stores for under $20 each and they are nearly as bright as my Cygolite. Whatever keeps you safe and guides your way work, you don't necessarily need a light made specifically for bikes. Have fun choosing, that's all part of the fun
 
I've been looking at the Orfos Flare. They illuminate a sphere of light on the ground around the bike for maximum visibility: http://www.amazon.com/Orfos-Flare-Degree-Headlight-Light/dp/B00SIN4D3G

Another good choice would be the Cyclic Fly6 & Fly12, which include built-in cameras: https://cycliq.com/

I'm probably not going to get the Orfos Flare, as my ST2 already has a headlight and taillight built-in, but will get the Fly6 & Fly12 as I'm looking to add a camera setup to my bike.
 
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PowerMe said:
Vern, If you look at the detailed product information on the web page link I included in my post, you'll see it comes with the following:

Package includes:

1 * CREE XML T6 HeadLight (up to 1200 lumens)
1 * HeadLight Band - to wear headlight on head if desired
1 * 4400mah Battery pack
1 * AC Power Charger
2 * rubber rings to attach light to handlebars
Click to expand...
Thanks PowerMe, I should have seen that for myself. Interesting that I've looked at this light 4 times on Amazon since yesterday. The price of it has ranged from $2 yesterday to $9 this morning to $18 now. Very strange!! I should have snagged it for the $2 I saw it for yesterday!!!!!
 
I have a Cygo- lite 310 that I love, easy removal for theft prevention. Also I like Nite - Ize spoke lights , the little round ones you twist to turn on . They seem provide high visibility when out at night.
 
I swear by this:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00E38I3XQ

SecurityIng Waterproof 5600 Lumens 5X T6 LED Bicycle Light 3 Modes Headlight with 8.4V 8000mAh Rechargeable Battery Pack and Charger

It's a 5-LED version of the light that PowerMe posted above. I used to use a $10 LED flashlight with the same LED that powers both of these lights (http://www.amazon.com/UltraFire-WF-502B-Cree-LED-Flashlight/dp/B004L072RE), and it worked really well for a long time, but I found that its beam was too focused and didn't broadly illuminate the road, and I've found that with the 5-LED version, the beam is still relatively focused, but that I can point the beam 40 ft in front of me to illuminate the road and see any potholes or road debris, and the LED array is bright enough that it still illuminates the road closer to the bike really well, whereas with the 1-LED light, you have to sacrifice either the proximity lighting or the far-off lighting. Some may say that this 5-LED headlight is overkill and that bikes only need <1000 lumens, but there are situations (traveling over 20MPH in a zone without streetlights, for instance) when you don't want to be caught without enough lighting, and this light will never let you down in those situations. If I have to choose between having a headlight that offers more than I will need in most situations and having a headlight that won't illuminate potholes/debris until it's too late, I'll choose the overkill-headlamp every time.
 
Cameron Newland said:
I swear by this:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00E38I3XQ

SecurityIng Waterproof 5600 Lumens 5X T6 LED Bicycle Light 3 Modes Headlight with 8.4V 8000mAh Rechargeable Battery Pack and Charger

It's a 5-LED version of the light that PowerMe posted above. I used to use a $10 LED flashlight with the same LED that powers both of these lights (http://www.amazon.com/UltraFire-WF-502B-Cree-LED-Flashlight/dp/B004L072RE), and it worked really well for a long time, but I found that its beam was too focused and didn't broadly illuminate the road, and I've found that with the 5-LED version, the beam is still relatively focused, but that I can point the beam 40 ft in front of me to illuminate the road and see any potholes or road debris, and the LED array is bright enough that it still illuminates the road closer to the bike really well, whereas with the 1-LED light, you have to sacrifice either the proximity lighting or the far-off lighting. Some may say that this 5-LED headlight is overkill and that bikes only need <1000 lumens, but there are situations (traveling over 20MPH in a zone without streetlights, for instance) when you don't want to be caught without enough lighting, and this light will never let you down in those situations. If I have to choose between having a headlight that offers more than I will need in most situations and having a headlight that won't illuminate potholes/debris until it's too late, I'll choose the overkill-headlamp every time.
Click to expand...

Cameron, thanks so much for this explanation. I must admit that I have been confused about headlights, because ones like Power Me use are so cheap, yet so highly rated - meanwhile, other headlights are a lot more expensive.
 
PowerMe said:
Vern, If you look at the detailed product information on the web page link I included in my post, you'll see it comes with the following:

Package includes:

1 * CREE XML T6 HeadLight (up to 1200 lumens)
1 * HeadLight Band - to wear headlight on head if desired
1 * 4400mah Battery pack
1 * AC Power Charger
2 * rubber rings to attach light to handlebars
Click to expand...

I have to agree with Vern - this price seems to good to be true!! Not doubting you Power Me, because I know you know your stuff, but this seems awfully cheap price, no?
 
Operator7 said:
I have to agree with Vern - this price seems to good to be true!! Not doubting you Power Me, because I know you know your stuff, but this seems awfully cheap price, no?
Click to expand...

It's inexpensive because it's a standard LED light design for bicycles and head-mounted uses (caves, mining, nighttime work outdoors, etc). It uses a single inexpensive CREE LED to power it and is made in fantastically high volume for sale on Ebay, Amazon, and wholesale/bulk via Alibaba and elsewhere. We're talking tens of millions of headlights per year.

The design and materials are just fine. Ditto for the battery. The only issues that people seem to have with these lights are:

1) Their beam isn't optimized for a bicycle headlight lighting pattern and is more likely to blind drivers, pedestrians, and other road users (you can buy a corrective lens on Ebay for these single-LED lamps that fixes this issue)
2) the barrel jack connector cable(s) that lead from the battery to the headlamp will disconnect after a lot of use/wire bending/disconnect-reconnect cycles. The solution is to buy a new battery or lamp or simply to make sure that the cables/connector never get bent or stretched.

But overall, the headlight is not "too good to be true". Interestingly enough, one of the top-selling cycling lights sold on Amazon is a ~$45 version of this headlamp, with one of the only differences being that it's more expensive and offers a warranty (that no one will ever bother to use!), therefore customers trust it more, even though it's a product that is largely equivalent to the ~$10 version. Seems strange to me, but if there are people who would rather pay $45 for a $10 headlight, who am I to stop them? ;-)

~$45 verison:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GJZ015Y/

$10 version:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008KUXRAW/
 
.
Cameron Newland said:
It's inexpensive because it's a standard LED light design for bicycles and head-mounted uses (caves, mining, nighttime work outdoors, etc). It uses a single inexpensive CREE LED to power it and is made in fantastically high volume for sale on Ebay, Amazon, and wholesale/bulk via Alibaba and elsewhere. We're talking tens of millions of headlights per year.

The design and materials are just fine. Ditto for the battery. The only issues that people seem to have with these lights are:

1) Their beam isn't optimized for a bicycle headlight lighting pattern and is more likely to blind drivers, pedestrians, and other road users (you can buy a corrective lens on Ebay for these single-LED lamps that fixes this issue)
2) the barrel jack connector cable(s) that lead from the battery to the headlamp will disconnect after a lot of use/wire bending/disconnect-reconnect cycles. The solution is to buy a new battery or lamp or simply to make sure that the cables/connector never get bent or stretched.

But overall, the headlight is not "too good to be true". Interestingly enough, one of the top-selling cycling lights sold on Amazon is a ~$45 version of this headlamp, with one of the only differences being that it's more expensive and offers a warranty (that no one will ever bother to use!), therefore customers trust it more, even though it's a product that is largely equivalent to the ~$10 version. Seems strange to me, but if there are people who would rather pay $45 for a $10 headlight, who am I to stop them? ;-)

~$45 verison:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GJZ015Y/

$10 version:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008KUXRAW/
Click to expand...
+1
The Cree lights outperform much more expensive bike lights.
 
http://www.ebay.co.uk

purchased one of these SolarStorms, twin Cree Led`s, amazing light output for the size and price, about $15-$20 your end.

f5a0b7cd-5827-8ace-c594-d5e617c5769b.jpg
 
Last edited by a moderator:
It's cheap enough to try it for yourselves and test it out. You can always choose to purchase a more expensive light after trying out a cheap CREE light like the one I've tried. What can I say... it seems to work well. I don't do a lot of nighttime riding so it's not like it will get a ton of usage (hence my reason for just going with a cheapie CREE light in the first place). If you decide you hate it, then return it to Amazon.com.

In any event the most you'll be out is like $10. I did opt to purchase the lens that widens the beam so it is more useful to a cyclist. Maybe $5 to $6 extra.

Life is full of risks. This is not a huge one in the scheme of things. Live a little dangerously and try the light out for yourself.
 
Cameron Newland said:
It's inexpensive because it's a standard LED light design for bicycles and head-mounted uses (caves, mining, nighttime work outdoors, etc). It uses a single inexpensive CREE LED to power it and is made in fantastically high volume for sale on Ebay, Amazon, and wholesale/bulk via Alibaba and elsewhere. We're talking tens of millions of headlights per year.

The design and materials are just fine. Ditto for the battery. The only issues that people seem to have with these lights are:

1) Their beam isn't optimized for a bicycle headlight lighting pattern and is more likely to blind drivers, pedestrians, and other road users (you can buy a corrective lens on Ebay for these single-LED lamps that fixes this issue)
2) the barrel jack connector cable(s) that lead from the battery to the headlamp will disconnect after a lot of use/wire bending/disconnect-reconnect cycles. The solution is to buy a new battery or lamp or simply to make sure that the cables/connector never get bent or stretched.

But overall, the headlight is not "too good to be true". Interestingly enough, one of the top-selling cycling lights sold on Amazon is a ~$45 version of this headlamp, with one of the only differences being that it's more expensive and offers a warranty (that no one will ever bother to use!), therefore customers trust it more, even though it's a product that is largely equivalent to the ~$10 version. Seems strange to me, but if there are people who would rather pay $45 for a $10 headlight, who am I to stop them? ;-)

~$45 verison:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GJZ015Y/

$10 version:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008KUXRAW/
Click to expand...


ROFL!

and I see said the blind man!

Thanks Cameron!!!!!! That really helps out a ton!!
 
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