Good lights for bike riding in Oz dark.

[Claes]

I am just getting everything together and back out on the road.
One thing that I need here that I have little or no experience with is lights for bikes. I want a good headlight, so I can SEE the road ahead of me, not just so cars can see me. Would also want a decent battery life, but I will not compromise on light output. So, ASFAIK the choiche is very expensive HID, good light and good battery life, or Halogen, ok light, ok/bad battery life.
How much do I need to spend to get something that has a good light for say 2 hours at least? Any ideas and experiences welcome.

Cheers.

[descends411]

I am just getting everything together and back out on the road.
One thing that I need here that I have little or no experience with is lights for bikes. I want a good headlight, so I can SEE the road ahead of me, not just so cars can see me. Would also want a decent battery life, but I will not compromise on light output. So, ASFAIK the choiche is very expensive HID, good light and good battery life, or Halogen, ok light, ok/bad battery life.
How much do I need to spend to get something that has a good light for say 2 hours at least? Any ideas and experiences welcome.

Cheers.


In all honesty, I see no need for a HID or otherwise massive light. I use the Cateye compact opticube for riding at night twice weekly (I ride home from work). Most of the ride is not lit with streetlights, and I bomb downhill at 45mph without any problems. I have also taken it on several night rides, and it has worked wonderfully.

I usually keep it in flashing mode to preserve battery life (I have had it for 2+ months using it probably 1hr each week and have not had to replace the 3 AAA batteries yet). If I'm going fast downhill or the road is somewhat hairy, I put it on constant beam mode.

Not too sure if this is what you're looking for, but it works for me. Otherwise, Cateye makes great lights, and I would not consider any other brand

[temoore]

I am just getting everything together and back out on the road.
One thing that I need here that I have little or no experience with is lights for bikes. I want a good headlight, so I can SEE the road ahead of me, not just so cars can see me. Would also want a decent battery life, but I will not compromise on light output. So, ASFAIK the choiche is very expensive HID, good light and good battery life, or Halogen, ok light, ok/bad battery life.
How much do I need to spend to get something that has a good light for say 2 hours at least? Any ideas and experiences welcome.

Cheers.
Good, bright lighting is not cheap. If you really want to ride at night, and really see what is coming, and do so in a relaxed manner, I think you need HID. Lesser lights provide adequate light to see, but you have to be paying more attention and be more cautious. I have Light and Motion L-Ion HID, and it is a great light, 3 hours running, relatively small and light battery, and it provides excellent vision. I find I can ride as agressively as during the day. With lesser lights, I felt like I needed to be more cautious. I am hoping my investment will last a long time and provide me with the opportunity to ride more during the winter months.

[John Picton]

I also use a Cateye Opticube LED light, it has five lenses at the front in one fairly compact unit, good brightness and fantastic battery length.

[armchair_spacem]

I am just getting everything together and back out on the road.
One thing that I need here that I have little or no experience with is lights for bikes. I want a good headlight, so I can SEE the road ahead of me, not just so cars can see me. Would also want a decent battery life, but I will not compromise on light output. So, ASFAIK the choiche is very expensive HID, good light and good battery life, or Halogen, ok light, ok/bad battery life.
How much do I need to spend to get something that has a good light for say 2 hours at least? Any ideas and experiences welcome.

Cheers.

I personally use a set of Cygolite night explorers (10+10 halogen) that I've had for years - I can SEE very well with these. I've only outrun them once on a 65kph downhill - the SLA battery weighs a ton but provides up to about 3hrs burn on a full charge and its on my commuter anyway. A lot of my mates are happy with the old vistalite nightsick setup (they pop up on ebay reasonably frequently). Flick the cygo on on poorly lit areas and have a flashing LED unit for 'being seen" when I don't need the cygo to see - saves charge in the cygo battery and still complies with the law.