I bought my current bike light a few years ago before the newer halogen products entered the mainstream. My light (10W Night Rider) works fine, but the battery is a heavy clunker which takes a long time to charge. Are the newer lights any better in terms of weight, battery use, ease of charging, etc.? If so, any recommendations?
Thanks.
I believe there is a number of threads on this already, but if you are looking for something small, relatively inexpensive ($200), and super bright, check out the Dinottes.
http://www.dinottelighting.com/Products.htm
They are getting great reviews. I’ve got one and the output from this unit is insane. Not sure if you want to use them for technical nighttime MTB but for road bikes you can not get a better product.
Light and Motion Stella (LED) - it weighs NOTHING.
Retail is $300, but I got it from Performance for 20% off, then the 10% Team discount (points I can spend on something else) and had some points from some prior purchase, so all-in it was ~$200, plus shipping.
Nearly as bright as a HID lamp, a better more clear color to the light, and it runs 4hrs on HIGH.
Oh, and the total system weight is like 10oz for battery & lamp.
(the lamp is the size of a film canister)
Charge time is 1.5 hrs.
(the battery pack is like 3 rolls of dimes taped together, just silly small and light)
Compared to a Halogen lamp it is quite literally like night and day. You will not believe the difference.
The reason I chose this over the $400, but MUCH brighter NiteRider TriNewt was, this comes w/ a helmet and bar mount, whereas the NR is bar-only, which for me is a dealbreaker.
I’m a big fan of seeing where I am looking, not where the bike happens to have the bars pointed.
Ditto on the Light and Motion.
Yet another vote for the Light & Motion Stella 180-L. Got mine for a 12-hour mountain bike race coming up at the end of October as well as the 24 Hours of Old Pueblo in Tucson (February 2008). Works great so far and can’t beat the light/money ratio!
On the same note…we are looking for a female mountain biker that would like to round out our coed team at the Old Pueblo race in Tucson…any takers please email/PM me.
Michael
PS I will provide you with the best flat Coke you have ever had if you are on the team. 
Get a Betty, do it right.
http://www.uberreview.com/2007/10/an-ultra-bright-light-that-you-probably-cant-afford.htm
Dave
Here is an interesting rear light
Dave
.
Dave,
Why am I not in the least surprised that you managed to find a $1200 solution to a $200 problem??
Dinotte’s are very light weight and really bright… the 200 lumen Li Ion battery model- extremly bright and light and goes for 4 hours with light battery… whole system is around 200 grams and fits on bars/stem (or helmet) great customer service and these lights are used by many of the RAAM riders
How fast/easy is it to snap the Dinotte onto the helmet and then take it back off?
This helps a lot. I did do a search, but came up with so many possible threads that I gave up and posted a new one. Thanks for taking the time.
New technology that has surpassed yours: LED lights that actually throw out some serious lumens and nice, tidy compact lithium-ion batteries. Longer run times, more lumens, lighter, smaller stuff. Nothing terribly wrong with your setup. Prices have gone up. Saw a system the other day for $1350!
I will give a vote AGAINST Light in Motion from a carastrophic rental program at a 24 hour race I went to. Everyone’s lights were failing.
my favorite system is the Hope system because of its cleanliness. I have an old HID model, but they have come out with some LED’s
?how long does it take to put on dinotte lights?’
seconds… as in 20 seconds on a slow day- on and off bike (i don’t run them on the helmet- but i would think under a minute- they give you an extra long wire you can just put the battery in a back cycling pocket or camel back for mtb riding)-- if you have the 200 lumen model…
i put two of the 200 lumen light engines on my wife’s bike tonight- with one battery (they supply a ‘Y’ adaptor)… 400 lumens of light and under 280 grams total- and 2 full hours of burn - she only needed 90 minutes in the dark-(or i could have done 4 hours with the larger battery and 2 lights… or 8 hours with one 200 lumen light engine)… extremely lightweight and extremely bright and extremely versatile setups. The double setup was a first for my wife (normally just uses one light - which is plenty bright). She said cars were slowing to a stop when she was riding- as they weren’t sure what was coming- a car, a motorcyle… just something with a really bright light.
http://store.dinottelighting.com/…;Target=products.asp
http://store.dinottelighting.com/…;Target=products.asp
Got to keep my reputation alive.
Dave
Assuming I can find, and buy the Betty with 1400 lumens, I wonder what cars do when they see that coming?
And, having a few hundred lumens in the rear with a triple dinotte. I told folks I want to be lit up like a christmas tree,
or maybe a UFO.
Dave
Funny you should ask as lighting is on the top of my list for my next purchase.
While at Interbike I made the rounds looking for the next latest & greatest in lighting. I think I found it in Nite Flux. The heads were cool, but I thought the smart charging was the key USP
It’s an Aussie company but is distributed widely in the US by J & B Importers.
Saw this range of lights from USE/Exposure in person this weekend at a bike show in the UK. They are launching in a week or two, I am not sure how available they will be in the States, but they are very lightweight and bright. The joystick (1 led) option comes with a helmet and bar mount and the option of a piggy back battery. It seems perfect for everything except full on 24hr racing (in which case the two bigger models are available) and it is also lightweight and portable enough for running on trails at night. It has got top marks in all the UK mags this month. Definitely my next purchase.
Exposure Joystick Maxx
The NR TriNewt does come with both helmet and bar mount options.
“I wonder what cars do when they see that coming?”
“I told folks I want to be lit up like a christmas tree”
Yep, I really did think Paulo put that baby rattle snake in the shower with me.
Dave