Just get 2 of these:
http://www.amazon.com/Bicycle-HeadLight-headLamp-improved-battery/dp/B005WPXNQ6

NiteRider Lumina 700. Picked up two of these from Amazon.

You're right about the technology progressing. This one is crazy bright. The strobe setting is excellent for daytime (not recommended for night). No external battery, so it's a cinch to take off your bike when you need to lock it somewhere and don't want to leave the light behind for someone to steal. Charges with a USB cable. Power button turns blue when it's fully charged, red when the battery starts to die. However, you'll still have some life left even when the button goes red. I was 20 minutes into an hour long ride at night when the button went red. I thought of cutting my ride short, but, since I still had light, I took a chance and finished my ride. By the time I was done, the button was still red and I still had light.

I second the above posters amazon link. I've bought mine from Deal Extreme though.

http://www.dx.com/...-187987#.VCxVr53n9pg

They are brighter and less-expensive than any of the well-known and over-priced bike lights on the market.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GJZ015Y/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Equally as important as the front light is the tail light. If you want to be serious about it, I would get this.

http://store.dinottelighting.com/...in-battery-p111.aspx

Seriously, suck it up on cost if you can, pay the $189 and buy it. I have the previous generation (the 300R) and it is awesome. I use it for daylight as well as night. Cars see you always and they make room.

I use the Cree T6 one's listed above from amazon.com. I mount one on the bars and one on the helmet. For commuting, the one on the helmet usually stays off, but for MTBing I'll usually use them both with the bar light on low and the helmet light on high. The lights are very bright, the low setting is usually fine for commuting. It is nice to have a backup, so even if you decide to go for one of the more spendy lights (which unless you are spending over $200 won't be as bright/won't have as long a battery life), get one of these first to try out. Worst case scenario is you are out $20.

I have used the MTBR.com light test in the past: http://reviews.mtbr.com/...bike-lights-shootout

I currently have both the Gloworm X1 and X2 and love them.

-Pete

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"Most of my heroes don't appear on no stamps"
Blog = http://extrememomentum.com|Photos = http://wheelgoodphotos.com

Thanks to all of you for your responses, they have been very helpful for me and probably for others trying to deal with Daylight Wasting Time.
Cheers,
Jim

pulling this thread back up - does anyone have updated recommendations for front & rear lights?

Thanks

I'd have to disagree with some of the previous suggestions for road use.
A front light for the road needs to light the way and be visible WITHOUT blinding everyone else on the road. That means it needs to have a cutoff so that just a small amount of light gets spilled above the horizon and the rest goes on the road. Just like a dipped car beam. Rear lights shouldn't blind people either. Brute power without attention to the beam shape is a very poor solution that misses the point entirely. The point is safety not illumination intensity. They are not the same thing.

Both of the lights originally posted are would be great.
Both Cygolite and Niterider make fantastic lights and have very good customer service.

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http://www.instagram.com/cyclewise

might be off topic - but i'm curious to hear the wisdom of a crowd regrading a light that is also a camera and what features are relevant and most helpful.
my understanding is that there are rear lights on the market that also double as a camera that keep about 2 hours of footage available to download if needed.
if you dont need/want it - my understanding is the camera just writes over the old footage with the next 2 hours.

this seems like a good idea to me in case of crappy drivers/legal issues/et cetera - has anyone else given this more thought and have a reason to choose a certain bike light/camera over another? sincerely, rick

+1

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Steve Johnson
DARK HORSE TRIATHLON |

What's the best easy on/off rear light for areo seat posts? There are TONS of options it seems for regular round seat-posts, but very few readily available that fit, and go on and off easily for aero seat posts ( Cervelo S3 to be specific)

Thanks.

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

I don't use a camera but I can see the logic.
However, I imagine you'd want to use this in summer too? I take my front light off in summer and leave my rear light on, as it's still worthwhile on overcast days or in poor visibility.
So if you can get a more compact separate front camera that does the same job it would allow you dispense with your light in summer if you wished.

As an update:

I recently purchased this:

http://www.amazon.com/...ef=s9_hps_bw_g468_i3

It is the same light as the dealextreme cree lights referenced above, but addresses some of the issues I've had with them. Specifically, the battery is encased in a much more secure enclosure and the wiring seems much more durable. It also comes with a tail-light and a diffuser lens. I've been using this light on the bars with the diffuser lens, and one of the previous ~$20 T6s on the helmet. The year old T6 gives me about 2.5 hrs on high, I've used the new light for 3 hrs on high and have yet to have it run out of juice. This setup is great for singletrack.

Also, the new light has 5 light levels (high/medium/low/flash/SOS) as opposed to 3 (high/low/flash). IME, for riding on the road with the previous light, low was a bit dim and high was blinding to oncoming traffic. With the new light, the medium setting is perfect for riding on the road, or you can put the diffuser lens in and road ride on high. With the diffuser lens, it changes the beam pattern from a spot to a rectangle that is maybe 10' wide when directed 30' in front of you, and seems to limit the scatter significantly.

FWIW, the vendor from the link above was great. My unit arrived without the diffuser lens and he contacted me saying they had sent some out with the lenses and to contact him if we received one of those shipments. Had the diffuser lens in my hand 2 days later. Sent several emails after the purchase offering to answer any questions.

The taillight that comes with it is very compact and has a silicone strap that will fit any seatpost (both aero or round). I always like to ride with two taillights so this is a nice bonus. For Fleck, here is a picture of the light that will work on your Cervelo. The one that comes with the above light I referenced is not the USB rechargable version.

The Cygolite looks impressive but if you look at the beamshot in the link it clearly has no beam cutoff. A very bright light without a cutoff is unsafe for road use IMO. It also uses way more power than necessary for a given intensity of road illumination meaning you get either a heavier light or less duration. A well shaped beam will give good uniform road illumination, with no hotspots and a cutoff. Unfortunately there are very few good ones that I've seen. The vast majority are very bright LEDs with extremely basic symmetrical lenses and reflectors.

Bumping this question. Any suggestions out there? I just picked up a Venge with the Sworks Venge seat post and some of these (including the Dinotte) don't look like they would work on that seat post.

I can highly recommend the Exposure brand. Plenty of lumens, outstanding build quality, rechargeable, lightweight with no wires, 2 year warranty. Only downside is the cost, but if it's something that's going to be in daily use then it's worth spending some money on something that's going to last. Which ones to get depend on whether you just need them to be seen, or whether you need them to see by (i.e. whether the roads you're on are lit or not). If you just need visibility then a front and rear pair of Trace lights are more than enough. If you need to actually light the road you'd be looking at something like the Diablo or the Strada.

I commute daily on a mix of lit and unlit roads and have the following set-up:

- a cheap helmet light from Topeak with a flashing front and rear light for visibility (not bright enough to blind anybody)
- cheap blue LED spoke lights on both wheels. Great for side-on visibility and pretty inexpensive off Amazon (can't remember the brand, there are various available)
- Exposure Diablo on the front. This is set to flashing when I'm on lit roads, and then to steady beam when I get to unlit roads. It's very bright, but with hindsight I'd have paid a bit more for the Strada. The Diablo is really designed as a MTB helmet light, so although it does come with a bar mount it needs to be angled down a bit so as not to blind drivers, since the beam is just a regular circle. The Strada is designed for road use so has a wide and low beam more suited to lighting up the road, and also comes with a dip switch
- Exposure Blaze on the rear. This is extremely bright and has great battery life. However it might be overkill on the brightness front - I've had a few comments from other riders that it's a bit blinding.

Thanks for this, just purchased one.

http://www.specialized.com/...tb/lights/lights-ftb

I'm getting the Stix Comp http://www.specialized.com/...stix-comp-tail-light

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Make Inside Out Sports your next online tri shop! http://www.insideoutsports.com/

Cateye Rapid X 3. Perfect for aero posts. I tried 3 and this one is the best. Aero, great fit and installs close to the post.

The Garmin Varia mount is well designed and fits snugly on both my AR1 and B2. To make it work on an IA post you'd need a longer rubber band

I also recommend it for alerting drivers of your presence, and alerting you of theirs, since that is the point of it.