I’m looking for a cheap (Max 25:money_mouth_face: bicycle light with as much flood as possible.
Must be equipped with 18650 or 21700 cell(s).
Preferably one cell to keep it as compact as possible.
And with at least 2 hours running time (with 3000mAh).
I have my own battery’s (Sony VTC5A and VTC6).
Any suggestions? Preferably available on Ali Express.
The Lumintop C01 would be in your price range but it has a propietary battery. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32881768186.html
The Lumintop B01 is a dedicated 21700 bike light but costs a bit more. Using the right coupons you could maybe lower it to 30$.
Lumintop B01. Brightest and probably widest flood under $30 with a cutoff beam. Blows everyone else’s cheap spot lights out of the water.
Buy one of these 360 degree flashlight holders designed specifically for 18650 flashlights and you can use whatever flashlight you already have if it is focusable. I use the same flashlight I use for camping on my recumbent trike with this holder.
360 Degree Bike LED Flashlight Mount Holder Lamp Stand Bicycle Torch Clip Clamp | eBay $1.85 with free shipping from China based eBay seller
https://www.ebay.com/itm/373088606837 $4.95 from US seller but if you have more than one bike you can get 3 of them for 3 of them for $7.89 from this US seller https://www.ebay.com/itm/193634932334
@Vegas LED Fan
Thanks for the advise, will keep this one in mind for when I decide which one I will go for.
That really looks like a great flood. This one goes to the top of my wish list right now.
850 lumens doesn’t sound like much, but of course 99% of all claims on Chinese resellers are false.
Yesterday I orded a very cheap light just to see what it is.
https://nl.aliexpress.com/item/1005001380301098.html
(same light by other reseller do claims of 2000lm)
If it is not good enough for me, I will probably mount this on my sons bike, or on my electric skateboard.
By reading on this forum I got a bit infected and now looking for a small size EDC and a new work light as well.
Now I am wondering if an Nitecore Tip 2 or Tip SE (740/700lm) with a reasonable amount of flood could be used as e bicycle light as well.
Yes, that is the fictitious Chinese lumen count. If you go to the CREE website and look up their version of the XML-T6 bin you will find it can put out ~1000 lumens driven to the maximum safe current. So, I guess if you want to equate Chinese lumens to US lumens it must be a ratio of 15 to 1! BTW, the flashlight shown in my picture above is an XML-T6 flashlight but maybe not a genuine CREE LED because it sold for $8 a few years ago. Nowadays the genuine CREE T6 bin is pretty inexpensive bought in bulk. It’s plenty bright for the suburban area where I ride which has decent street lighting. Mostly I use it to be seen by motorists.
Another vote for the B01. Don’t let the numbers fool you, even on Medium power it has output to match a motorcycle’s headlight easily thanks to the beam pattern. I only saw one person with legitimate reservations about it and that’s because he MTBs and needs a vertical beam spread to see branches and stuff.
Also friendly reminder that it charges via USB, it doesn’t get more bike-convenient than that 
That said, while it comes with a mount, you’re better off getting a separate one. The B01’s is kinda dodgy, the plastic belt that you tighten is too smooth and tends to slide on the bars.
Great recommendation. I wish this and 18650 flashlights were an option when I paid $150 for a NiteRider MiNewt.X2 back in 2007. Any of my Convoys/JAXMANs would blow it away!
No kidding! That was a pretty cutting edge headlight when I was commuting all the time. I remember when I got my first “bright” headlamp… a Cateye TripleShot. Swapped to SSC P4 U2 bin and man that was some hot stuff back then. These days I think I have 14500 lights that put out more light. Used to mountain bike with a fenix L1Tv2 on my helmet and thought it was bright, too!
So the big question is will we feel the same way again 10 years from now? Doesn’t seem possible, but I thought the same thing back when.
As far as output goes I’m not sure there is much benefit to high outputs than we are seeing now, practically speaking. Probably just miniaturization and runtime as the technology progresses.
At one point enough is enough.
Minor efficiency upgrades can be done, but I think it would be overkill if you have more light at a certain point.
Bought a Lumintop B01, what a disappointment the output is, apart from the drab dull looking light temperature, the output is only good enough to ride slowly on road. Next time I’ll go down the dedicated cycle lights.
Not expensive but overrated, the mount is poor as well.
I use the Wowtac A5 in addition to the B01. The B01 works well in urban lit street, and the A5 has much more light when the road is dark. Keep in mind the A5 will blind people walking toward you, and I simply use my hand to shield the light when I see people coming toward.