[Weav]

Anyone have any suggestions on a bike headlight for road biking? I see models anywhere from $35 all the way up to $500 (absurd) and wondered where the bang for the buck is? Thanks

[ReCYCLE]

I have a Niterider Minewt 150 lumens. It's great! 3 light levels, it's priced like $100 but you can go to wheelvillage.com for like 75 :] Free Shipping! =D

[SprocketGirl]

lumens is the key... i would never pay much over 100 bucks for one.

[Weav]

how many lumens is needed minimum?

[Industry_Hack]

What's your budget?

[SprocketGirl]

kinda depends on conditions like weather other lighting
i would get the biggest bang for the buck.
i have a cat eye uno led light... can't recall the lumens but it works great for my commute and is super small and light weight. runs on 2 AA batteries for about 15 hours.
treefort bikes has them for $27

they also have some larger brighter ones.

[Weav]

Originally Posted by Industry_Hack

What's your budget?

Under $100 for sure. Closer to $50 would be nice.

This is what I'm using for now... Bell LED Bicycle Lights - Black/Red : Target

[Industry_Hack]

I had the Light & Motion Stella 180N, the limited edition Rusch model. The battery pack was even signed by Rebecca before she gave it to me. Turns out 180 lumens was really more than I needed, and a friend of mine is a huge Rebecca Rusch fan, so I gave her the light. Of course, the moral here is that 180 lumens is plenty for off road, and probably annoying for street use. Let me dig around and what's currently available in your price range.

At that pricepoint, you're looking at AA powered lights, as opposed to rechargeable battery packs.

[Xela]

My light was expensive, but I'm very happy with it. On the "how much is necessary" topic, my light is marketed as their on-road light. Mine puts out 480 lumens on high and 240 on low. This year's model has upped that to 600 lumens. The low setting is dipped down too, so the idea is you switch to low and don't have to worry about blinding oncoming traffic. The beam pattern is also wider than their off-road offerings which I've found is nice for spotting suicidal rabbits in the wee hours. Basically, the amount of lumens you need/want will be somewhat dictated by your riding as well. Or to put it another way, the amount of light you have will dictate your riding on the road. When I was running a $40 CatEye, I was scared to do much over 20 mph because I was outrunning the beam. With the 480 lumens, I can bomb down hills at 40 plus and have plenty of illumination to feel comfortable. I've gotten to where I do about half of my training in the mornings before light. To me, it's more relaxing and the lack of traffic is a big plus.

[Weav]

Interesting Xela, what light do you have? I am mainly looking for something to get me thru the morning hours until the sun comes up, and for rides that go a little after the sun goes down in the winter.