Lights -- Not Cool, but Necessary

I get the feeling that some serious cyclists think that headlights and tail lights are Not Cool. However, having the bumper of an SUV up your back tire because the driver cannot see you riding towards home in the dark is Infinitely Not Cooler. The hospital gown and time spent recuperating from a resulting bike accident are Beyond The Pale.

If you are trying to get in short rides in the early morning before work, or early evening after you get home from work (or maybe you commute) at this point in the season, chances are part of that ride is going to be in semi-darkness. We've gotten caught a few times in the dark, particularly on our own street where there are no streetlights and a nasty railroad track to navigate. I've been nagging Mr. Suitcase to investigate bike lighting, even if he only wants to put it on my girl bike. Girls are much more sensible that way, right?!

Trouble is, I can't find any good information on bike lights. Cycling Plus (a UK magazine) had a feature on different headlights last year, including photos demonstrating the strength of beam of each, but some of the lights aren't available here in the US. Bicycling magazine also featured some lights in an article last October, but neither one really explained the basics: what are the main things to look for? What are the different categories of lighting, and what are good selections for each price range?

We stopped in a local bike shop last weekened, and here is what I've been able to discern so far: Under $100 LED lights are generally powered by AA batteries. The price tends to determine their strength of beam and battery power. Some only allow you to be seen by cars, others will help you to see the road ahead. These lights tend to be easy to install (and have easy removal for those who feel they are uncool and don't want to be caught with them on the bike during daytime). The over $100 lights can be Halogen, are more complicated to install, and have a battery thing that sits in the water bottle cage. I *think* these are more useful to MTBers who spend hours in a race or ride in the dark, as opposed to those of us just caught unprepared by how fast the sun is going down lately (sob).

From what I saw in my LBS, I think we're going to go with the CatEye HL-EL530. It seems to be the brightest that Cateye makes. We'll get a corresponding tail light too. But please let me know what you're using, if you like it, and also if you can recommend any magazine articles or online reviews that would help!

Comments

[hobgoblin]

I'm with you--I would rather be alive and uncool than the alternative. That Cateye looks like a good light. I have one of the lesser Cateyes and the mounting strap system is almost completely worthless. Aside from that, it works great, is plenty bright, and has a long battery life, thanks to the LEDs. The mount on the model you linked looks like a better one, though.

[Devorah]

Mike frequently rides in the pre-dawn and just-dusk hours. Right now he is sporting a Cateye HL-EL510 but has been through a number of them over the years, including the type that has the water bottle-cage battery -- that one lost its charge after a disturbingly low number of recharges and the recharging/connecting pin was easily bent.

As for tail lights -- we have something that clips on to our seat wedge bags and blinks. The blinkies are a bit more obvious to drivers. All of us have tail lights, only Mike has a head light. (The kids and I are less likely to be caught out on a dark path after dark but have been caught on the streets at dusk.)

[Larry]

I just got a Dinotte 200L 5 watt LED. $169 from Dinotte.com. Incredibly brite, 4 AA nicad rehargeables included. Haven't ridden with it yet, but just checking it out in the yard it's fantastic.
I got the 'basic' one, short cord for either helmet or bar mount.

[Fritz]

It's difficult to review lights right now because the technology is changing so quickly and new products are continuously introduced. My advice: Just visit the bike shop and pick the one you like.

Make sure the front light you get has a mount that will fit on your road bars.

Finally, the word of the day is "rechargable batteries." If you ride at night much at all you'll quickly chew through your batteries. Yes, the LED lights all claim to provide a million hours of light on a single camera batttery, but the reality is that the light output dims considerably after only a few hours of use. I recharge after every two to four uses. There's some upfront cost, but saves me a ton of money in new batteries.

[Fritz]

Also...

That HL530 is for lighting up the road. If you just want a light to be seen by in case you're caught out after dark, a set of blinkies (white front, red rear) is generally fine.

If you plan to train in the dark, though, you need something more powerful -- you're limited to about 15 mph for sub-$100 lights. For full speed riding, you'll need the big, bright, expensive rechargeable light systems. I've tried several, and in my experience it's worth it to spend the $$$$ on a good lighting sytstem.

[Rant]

Back in my bike bum days, when I worked in an Ann Arbor, Michigan shop, we used to sell Nightsun lights. Very bright, and the rechargeable batteries go for a good long while, too. Worth checking out at http://www.night-sun.com/