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.