I am looking for a good bright small flashlight for the handlebars of my road bike as well as my mountain bike for night riding. I have a helmet light but it is not super bright. I want the light on my bars to really light stuff up. I am awaiting some Twofish block mounts to arrive in the mail for mounting one to my handlebars. I know what an LED is but I have no knowledge at all about the different types that everyone keeps mentioning like CREE for example. I am stupid on this stuff. I was made aware on another forum that the 18650 battery lights were way better than just a standard AA battery light. I am currently using a Mini Mag light LED with 180 lumens and it is ok but not near bright enough for me. There is too many dark areas in the beam with this light to satisfy my need for lighting. I am also aware that a lot of the cheap flashlights have poor contacts and switches. I do not want to be on a bumpy trail and have my light flicker and go out. Can someone recommend a good, really bright, rechargeable 18650, solid, and dependable small flashlight that will hold up to rugged use and last for a long time that is under 50 bucks? Does anyone make such a thing? I am worried about those cheap 5 and 10 dollar flashlights that Gearbest sells but if I knew they were awesome I would love to only have to spend 10 bucks to get something I need. But you get what you pay for right? Even my mini mag has occasionally stuttered coming on when I twist the head. Thanks guys and any info appreciated.
You my friend need a Convoy c8
https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/16966
with a little research you can get one built to your spec.
That is a nice looking light but it appears to be too big to strap to a handlebar. Looking for something smaller? I am basing this off of how it fits in the guys hands in that picture.
Look for the convoy S2+
XinTD C8 V5. $30 bucks. Get the $2 universal U shaped rubber holder for handlebars. It holds any light that has a 1” (2.5cm) diameter. Actually the BLF A6 is VERY bright and is a 4” cylinder.
If you are mountain biking, though, you will probably want a brighter light. People over in the Lights and Night Riding forum on http://www.mtbr.com really like the Nightfighter BT21 and Yinding YD. These lights have battery packs and longer run times. For your 700 lumen light, you will only get 1.5 hours of run time on high.
The twofish mount is velcro and on bumpy roads it can rotate. I had one of those and didn’t care for it. After going through three or four different cheap mounts, I’ve had the U for four years.
http://www.gearbest.com/bicycling-gear/pp_23151.html
http://www.mtnelectronics.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=80&product_id=109
And don’t purchase the cheapest 18650s and charger. These batteries have very small, but non-zero, risks. Remember the Apple laptops catching fire? Yep, 18650 batteries are in your laptop.
The C8 isn’t too big or too heavy, but it has a low mode which you won’t need. My current light is 37x170mm at 260 g (4xAA).
Bright lights mess with your night vision, so you really want a large reflector; you won’t be able to see anything outside of the beam.
Round reflectors on bike lights are awful, they create a light cone that is guaranteed to blend anyone in front of you. Flat top reflectors are better in that regard. Idk of any good, cheap flat top lights; but you can attach something to the lens, a strip of paper or photography negative film.
500 lumens should be plenty unless you ride in foggy environments.
Tried and tested 
I think gearbest has the yin ding 900 or something like that on sale
Seems to get good reviews, maybe someone has one could comment on it
Convoy S2+
-Chuck
Thanks for all the info guys. I will use this info and figure out what works best for me. Happy holidays!
Hey let me ask. Upon researching I decided to compare the s2 and the s2+. Does one of these lights get hotter than the other? I take it that I would not want to do a several hour ride on high or medium due to how hot the light would get? Thats what I am curious about ALL of these high powered lights is how hot do they get? If you are firing them up to see an intruder in your house for a few minutes that’s one thing but what about having them run for a few hours? Thanks.
Bike dude I am too much of a rookie to understand what you are telling me. I don’t understand how a brighter light could interfere with your vision and when you said reflector I thought you meant reflector on my bike at first lol. Guys I know a flashlight turns on and off and some have strobe and some are brighter than others. That’s literally the extent of my knowledge. Man I feel like a kindergartner in high school geometry right now lol.
I think I am sure I want to stick with a convoy s2,s2,s3,s4,s5, or s6 flashlight. I will buy extra cells and carry them in my backpack in a ziploc bag or something. I am doing this simply because I want to stick with SIMPLE. Can’t get much simpler than a small light strapped to your handlebars lol. Plus in a pinch or emergency I could unstrap it for a handheld light. I was getting ready to start a new topic but decided to just continue here. As stated above there is several models of compact convoys available and they all seem similar except cosmetic differences and other small changes. Is one better than the rest for my situation? After more research I think I want PROTECTED batteries and the s2 doesn’t accept the extra length so that may be a deal breaker on the + model. I am concerned about overcharging. I am not someone who is going to sit there and monitor my batteries while they are charging and I don’t want to come home and find my house burnt down. I assume I am understanding that unprotected batteries cannot be left on the charger indefinitely like my smart phone or laptop is at night. Correct me if I am wrong.
The s2+ will handle the medium mode (400-450 lumens) mode PERFECTLY FINE with airflow…Heck, I’ve used it for mood lighting in my room for 20 minutes or so and it held.
I only used protected batteries and 3200 Mah Keepower protected batteries from Gearbest fit perfectly in a S2+ No clue where you are thinking it does not fit.
Because every review I have read says the s2+ is slightly shorter than the s2, they say the protected batteries will not fit. On gearbest sight they had a question about it and they answered and said to use unprotected batteries
I have been using one daily for about 3 months on ONLY protected 3200Mah Keepower batteries. Not only do they fit, it is not even tight….
You can choose to either believe the inept GB CS or a forum member that has nothing to gain with you purchasing or not the flashlight.
Hey I gotcha. Thanks. It wasn’t only on gearbest site. I read some reviews comparing s2 to the s2+ and they said similar things that the + was a tiny amount shorter and they “might” have issues fitting protected batteries. That’s the only info I have had up until now. Thanks.
So could you mount an s2+ on your helmet and use mid range mode (500 lumens) or would it get too hot? I am thinking of one on the handlebars and one on the helmet
As long as you stay on medium mode it should be fine. It may get uncomfortably warm but they are not hot enough to kill your light slowly.
You can consider the slightly pricier Convoy S4 if you are worried about heat. With the extra holes for catching air in S4 you may risk waterproofing but it should handle rain no problem.