very interesting lights from Lezyne, just reviewed, and a second article on these lights is upcoming within a very few days, and a current review of Light & Motion is on deck.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

Looks like a reasonable offroad light but I'd question its suitability to road riding given the blinding beam pattern, and it doesn't answer the question about mounting to a P5.

So, honest question... what bike lights would you describe as not having a "blinding beam pattern"?
I'm only aware of one light system on the market that has a sharp cutoff beam pattern like we see on modern automotive lights. Other than that single model from a single manufacturer, they're all roughly comparable and need to be aimed down to avoid blinding oncoming traffic.

Mounting options for the Lezyne lights is coming in part 2 (or maybe part 3, I'm running a bit long on the app portion of the review) as Slowman mentioned. Short version, though, is for tri bike applications, most people will want to use the GoPro style mount adapter, and mount using something like this.

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Tech writer/support on this here site. FIST school instructor and certified bike fitter. Formerly at Diamondback Bikes, LeMond Fitness, FSA, TiCycles, etc.
Coaching and bike fit - http://source-e.net/ Cyclocross blog - https://crosssports.net/ BJJ instruction - https://ballardbjj.com/

Hmm, off the top of my head:

Ravemen lights. (wife has the CR900, there is a GoPro mount available, and the lens can be removed and turned 180* so it could be mounted upside down if you want)
Garmin Varia headlights.
Specialized Flux series lights.
Anything StVZO compliant. (Busch & Mueller, some Lezynes, Supernova, etc etc)
Lupine SL A7.
Philips Saferide (no longer made but excellent, tooling now owned by...)
Spanninga Axendo

Here's a starter list:
https://www.bike24.com/...=2244&saleOnly=0

Lupine demo:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOCvVHNaZkw

As for what mounts to a P5, that's a bigger challenge.

Caught in a pinch when my cheapo bike light broke, I zip tied a 300lm Costco AAA flashlight to my bike helmet and it lit up everything like a charm, and pointed exactly where I looked. Sure, I just about needed neck surgery afterwards but that is a different issue.

All 3 of those lights from the 3-pack eventually failed, so I started looking around. At a camping store they had Ledlenser flashlights, and at first I was looking at the M10, but that was even heavier than the Costco POS.

Now, Ledlenser has the P7R, the P5R and the P5. The P7R runs on an 18650 battery, which has a lot of power, but makes it more bulky, and the P5 flashlight runs on a AA battery, making it a smaller option. The P5 on a helmet is barely noticeable, but would be better under your aerobars. The P5R is IMO the Goldilocks light, but is out of stock now. The F1R pocket light and F1 aren't bad either.

https://www.ledlenserusa.com

As mentioned above, getting them mounted to your bike is a separate issue.

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The more people I encounter the more I love my cats.

The website for Raveman has been down in every browser I've tried for a while now, so my assumption was that they have shuttered operations. Hopefully that's not true!

Varia, old HL500, yes. Replaced by UT800 which does not.

Specialized - Yup.

StVZO compliant - in the US, basically only includes lights that require an external power supply. Lezyne offerings are in this category.

Lupine SL A7 is almost $500, but yes. I shouldn't neglect to include them based purely on cost.

US importer of Spanninga is only importing E-bike lights, when last I checked.

So, obviously, caveats. First is that I'm only inclined to include products that are readily available in the US in consideration. This *is* a site with an international audience so that's definitely problematic, but also reasonable, I think. Second, if it needs an external power supply, it's out. Not many people on here are putting dyno hubs on their bikes or lighting up their e-bikes (yet!)

Third thing is that, well, you need to be able to actually buy the darn thing. Yes, in this day and age you can figure out a way to source just about anything from just about anywhere, but most folks aren't going to spend hours on the internet seeking out light systems from other lands. I'd love to see more light offerings with StVZO type lens designs like this available in the US, but they are simply very hard to come by. With the exception of the Specialized, you won't likely find *anything* in this category in a local bike shop, or on any of the domestic e-commerce sites.

Frankly, I'm with you, in that I think bike lights operated on roads and bike trails would be well served to have beam patterns that are more suited for that application than the off-road applications that seem to dominate this segment in the US. I actually wrote a whole section that eventually got cut from the Lezyne review talking about just this, and I definitely think that light would be a *better* light for riding on the road with a different lens on it.

I don't think this should exclude it from consideration, though. It works just fine as road light when it's pointed down enough that the beam doesn't blind oncoming traffic. Same pretty much goes for the vast majority of lights on the market in the US; folks just need to learn to aim their damn lights. Frankly, every automobile I ever owned up until about a year ago had SAE standard halogen lamps with all the same beam-shape and aiming issues, and poor color temperature to boot. They weren't as good as what I've got now, but they did work just fine. Frankly, better in some rare circumstances.

One last thing I'll say... there's a guy in my neighborhood with an E-bike and a freaking canon of an StVZO style light on the front of it. Rather than aiming the light so that the cutoff is below eye-level, he has it aimed right at head-level, and it's unbelievably obnoxious, way worse than it would be with the more diffuse beam of a "standard" light topping out at the same level. Flat-top beams aren't a panacea, and riding past this guy on a semi-regular basis actually gave me pause to consider just how strongly I felt about their utility in a world where people just can't seem to aim their lights correctly.

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Tech writer/support on this here site. FIST school instructor and certified bike fitter. Formerly at Diamondback Bikes, LeMond Fitness, FSA, TiCycles, etc.
Coaching and bike fit - http://source-e.net/ Cyclocross blog - https://crosssports.net/ BJJ instruction - https://ballardbjj.com/

 



I'm a big fan of solutions like this. My bike bag has a 4Sevens Mini Mk III in it at all times. The newest version of these lights has a magnet embedded in the tail cap, and I can magnet it on to the facebolt on the stem of my training bike if my main front light dies or I neglect to bring it along. At just over two inches long, it'll do 350Lm for an hour.

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Tech writer/support on this here site. FIST school instructor and certified bike fitter. Formerly at Diamondback Bikes, LeMond Fitness, FSA, TiCycles, etc.
Coaching and bike fit - http://source-e.net/ Cyclocross blog - https://crosssports.net/ BJJ instruction - https://ballardbjj.com/

Man, you just backhanded me on every bike related purchase I've made in the last decade... :(

Disagree, as discussed here:
https://www.renehersecycles.com/...make-a-better-light/
Sure, you get rid of the dazzle issue, but a poor beam aimed low is worse for the rider.

Light makers need to adapt and realise that the lumen wars are done. People need effective (light where you need it), considerate (less light where you don't need it) lights.

I like that one. That clip would fit snugly inside my aerobar grip, and an hour is just about long enough for me since I time my evening rides a bit before sunset.

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The more people I encounter the more I love my cats.

Hah! As someone who also jumps through all the hoops to get the stuff he thinks will be best for the job, to heck with the time it takes, I can relate. As a reviewer, I just try really hard to put myself in the shoes of the people who *don't* do that! I've also got a pretty ridiculous flashlight collection as my wife (you paid *WHAT!?! for that thing?!?!) will attest.

I don't think we disagree about anything, other than that this one consideration is singularly disqualifying. Suboptimal? Sure. No argument there at all.

FWIW, the article you posted is describing layered light systems, which are another step of complexity beyond where we were before, and even more rarified. Worth noting that the article you posted also mentions the issues I raised with these better lighting systems, including scarcity, cost, importance of aiming precision, and adds (in the comments) issues with road sign illumination, which I didn't mention, but are true.

I absolutely agree that manufacturers should do a better job with this, but until they do people will be able to find acceptable solutions with traditional lighting optics, just as automobile operators have done since the 1930's.

To be absolutely clear, I am typically on the other side of this conversation, advocating that more products *should* be produced with the characteristics you commend. I am right there with you on that. Frankly, I've got an outline for a tech article on the topic already drawn up, and when it gets written, you're basically going to wonder "what the hell was this guy arguing with me about?"

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Tech writer/support on this here site. FIST school instructor and certified bike fitter. Formerly at Diamondback Bikes, LeMond Fitness, FSA, TiCycles, etc.
Coaching and bike fit - http://source-e.net/ Cyclocross blog - https://crosssports.net/ BJJ instruction - https://ballardbjj.com/

Oh, and I forgot this is slowtwitch, we should be arguing about which light setup is the most aero, and the validity of the wind tunnel protocol used to establish that claim.

(If you can do the undermount, inverted optics Ravemen setup I mentioned, you'd have a pretty good baseline for that. Also they have remote controls which make it extra cool. Maybe you could customise the remote with dual buttons for base bar and aero bar headlight access...)

Speaking of aero, I cam across a row of those gumball machines that sells toys in those clear plastic eggs, and believe it or not, found that 1 of those eggs that fit perfectly on the Costco flashlight.

If you only knew hot tempted I was to hot glue one of those clear plastic eggs on the flashlight to make it more aerodynamic.
Some would have called me an idiot and some would have called me a genius.

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The more people I encounter the more I love my cats.

Love it! Do it! :D

Reflecting back on the conversation above, I think the real issue lies with either consumer education or the suppliers just getting those existing good beam pattern lights in stock. This should be like disc brakes or tubeless, it should become normalised once people realise the benefits.

I ride a P5.

I use Light and Motion... you don't put them on your bike, you put them on your helmet. Highest lumen you can afford and a blinky for daytime.

Then, once that's done you get another even higher super high lumen for your bike. I attach mine to the extensions, slung low and underneath. My rear light wraps around the big triangle seat tube cluster and mounts with the flat mount to the flat part of the back of that airfoil section. I don't need the aero adapter for the rear light.

It's all about the front high lumen blinkies though. Will save your life from a daytime left hook.

E

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Eric Reid AeroFit | Instagram Portfolio
Aerodynamic Retul Bike Fitting

“You are experiencing the criminal coverup of a foreign backed fascist hostile takeover of a mafia shakedown of an authoritarian religious slow motion coup. Persuade people to vote for Democracy.”

Hi,

On my P5 I have a Bontrager Ion 800 front light. The mount swivels so it can be under-mounted on the extension. The high flash is great in daytime and the it is very powerful in the dark. This is the one I have but I think they updated their models: https://www.trekbicyclesuperstore.com/...n-800-r-273011-1.htm

BTW, on the rear I a Bontrager R-flare on the seat post and two Serfas thunderbolts 2.0 on the seat stays.

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David
* Ironman for Life! (Blog) * IM Everyday Hero Video * Daggett Shuler Law *
Disclaimer: I have personal and professional relationships with many athletes, vendors, and organizations in the triathlon world.

Don't tempt me ;)

I don't think the manufacturing tolerance on the plastic eggs is very high. Kinda like the Hubble telescope in the beginning. Everyone would be commenting that my light beam is fuzzy.

I think I'll just have to search for a glass or pyrex one.

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The more people I encounter the more I love my cats.

+1 on Bontrager Lights.

I have Ion 800 and it’s replacement the Ion Pro RT and love them. The Pro RT is 1300LM Can mount as mentioned.

I like them because when paired with my Garmin 830 I can run them in Auto where they switch from blinking to solid depending on available light. I ride early mornings and nice to have it switch when the sun comes up. The rear Flair RT will do the same. I use a Varia rear instead though.

Another vote for Bontrager lights from me: as well as tri I'm an all year/all weather bike commuter so spent a fair bit of time investigating. For the rear, I have two Flare RT's, one on high-flash and one steady. At the front the Ion Pro RT is really excellent - high-flash in daytime and in town at night, then once you get away from street lights it gives out a good amount of lumens to see up the road. I have an Ion 200 RT as a back-up front light.

When using regularly, having two lights at each end gives great peace of mind as you mostly remove the chance of being out of battery and hence no light.