It's that time of year...Lights

[Dirty.Harry.]

Something bright and well-mounted to the bars with a battery that lasts for the entire ride. After that, the brand seems irrelevant.

I run a CatEye of some sort and then stick a Petzl RXP on my head. The combo works well and I can recharge/top off the batteries using a USB plug in my truck before and after the ride.

The People's Lights coming out of China are cheap and bright, but you'd better be prepared with a backup battery and light source because the battery life is jaaaanky.

[Shredhead]

Super night, out there tonight.
Just get your ass out the door.

[Groomer Gambler]

I got a couple Lezyne Macro Drive 1100XL from Wiggle several months ago for like $68 each, shipped. Way better than any other deal I could find on a brand name light.http://www.wiggle.com/lezyne-macro-drive-1100/
They've upped the price a bit, but still a sweet deal. Arrived in like 5 days.

Thinking about buying one of these too: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0727N3L9B...ing=UTF8&psc=1

Worth the $70 price tag? I have a regular hiking headlamp, and a 300 lumen front light currently. I was borrowing a friend's fancier 1000+ lumen light that worked really well on the bars (coupled with the 300 lumen on the side) but it was something like $150+. Not looking to spend that much as I ride about 1-2x at night a week for ~1-2hrs. Light singletrack with some decent climbing oftentimes in the rain during winter.

[SchralphMacchio]

My take is if you are riding 1-2x per week then it's a no-brainer that it's worth spending money on good shit that can handle the rain, and also has a solid warranty backing behind it. It's probably only worth squabbling over dollars if you literally going to do like 5 night rides a year, so missing that 6th ride because your gear is down won't really make all that much difference.

Most electronics short of space-grade or life-safety products can easily conk out, even if made by solid brands - because I can tell you that LeZyne or Black Diamond or whomever don't exactly have their lead engineer standing in the factory making sure that every solder joint is perfect, that all the solder flux is cleaned or that there are no residual PCB bromides on every single PCB coming off the line before it gets into the lamp assembly. A solid brand warranty gives you that peace of mind once your product goes.

After 1 year you have what, like 40-50 night rides? If you spend $150 on a lighting setup that's a buck-fifty per ride after 2 years.

What's the cost of not being able to type in grad school, because you ate shit not being able to see that the 4" root was actually a 14" dropoff, and now your right wrist is broken?

Redundancy is also a good thing - separate helmet light, bar light, and backup hiking headlamp in pack. If the helmet or bar light conk out you can finish your ride but going more slowly. The hiking lamp gets you home when everything out of batteries, or at least it gives you great mood lighting while sipping your flask at the trailhead after your ride is done.

FWIW, my MagicShines are still running after 5+ years, and I have no regrets having spent about $180 for that setup.

[snowday]

Definitely need a helmet and bar light...trust me, it sucks with just one.

Between myself and 3 other guys we all have magic shines and have had no issues after a couple of years. I have one mounted on my helmet and a Lumina 750 on my bars. I like the Lumina because it is easy to use as a flashlight too. The other guys have 2 magic shines each.

[jm2e]

Thinking about buying one of these too: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0727N3L9B...ing=UTF8&psc=1

Worth the $70 price tag?

Yea, if you can still get that deal, it's definitely worth it. As mentioned, most 1000 =/- lumen lights are north of $100 bucks. The Lezyne is a solid light and the strap works good on the bars. I bought the $10 helmet mount which is less streamlined than a GoPro type mount but works well. No MTBing at night as often these days, but mrs jm2e has been commuting and using this light every day in sub freezing temps, rain and snow. No problems. Since we have 2, one is on bike and one is charging. Expensive commuter light, but hey she's worth it!

[jm2e]

I made an okay set with a couple of these:
https://www.amazon.com/UltraFire-WF-...cree+led+18650
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
And I used double stick tape & zip ties to attach these:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Already had gopro mounts on helmets. This is what I toss in the bottom of my pack when I'm worried about being nighted on afternoon rides. And they pair well with the Lezyne lights for proper night rides. As with a lot of knockoff lights, I've found that the beam is too narrow work well as an only light. Good for the helmet though, to complement a more flood like beam from the bars.

[Groomer Gambler]

Definitely need a helmet and bar light...trust me, it sucks with just one.

Between myself and 3 other guys we all have magic shines and have had no issues after a couple of years. I have one mounted on my helmet and a Lumina 750 on my bars. I like the Lumina because it is easy to use as a flashlight too. The other guys have 2 magic shines each.

Thanks everyone for the input! By Magic shines, meaning something like this? https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...L3JRXLHD&psc=1

[SchralphMacchio]

Yes, but that particular model may be better as a helmet light than bar light due to the 20 degree (narrow-ish) beam spread. It could possibly pair well with a wide-throw, diffuse (large lens) light on the bar. I can’t remember their models but they have a I wish I lived close enough to Mac Dunn to come up to ride at night, but it’s a good hour from these parts ...

[snowday]

Thanks everyone for the input! By Magic shines, meaning something like this? https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...L3JRXLHD&psc=1

I'm pretty sure they have that one x2, it is definitely finned to dissipate heat.
Mine is the older 872 model: https://www.amazon.com/MagicShine-Bi...AX5YDVTND8VQFM

[jackstraw]

I'm just here to say fuck Amazon. Buy from somebody else.