Help choose a budget light for daily commute on a bicycle

Thanks a lot to everyone for the detailed informative answers and for the suggestions. I have a better understanding of the terminology now.

I decided to go with the Convoy S2 and the NiteCore i2 charger. I am still not sure about the battery. I found the sanyo ur18650fm on fasttech’s site but it’s charging extra $18.95 for shipping the batteries. That makes the 2-pack almost $30, which I am finding hard to justify. Any alternative suggestions?

I read in the battery section that banggood still ships free to the US.
Is this a good one to get?

Thanks.

thats a recent development, its bothering me too
i have no alternatives yet

Would the Panasonic NCR18650B Protected batteries, discussed here

be a good choice for this flashlight?

Is this much different from the one suggested by Bort?

From what I read in the battery section of the forum, I think I should go for protected cells.

I don’t see any way to differentiate between all the batteries. How do you tell which ones are good and which ones are fakes?

Thanks for the help.

As far as lighting up my path, I really enjoyed an XML zoom light in combination with a Wide Angle Lens. You have an adjustable rectangle of light in front of you without having to blind everyone else. It cuts maybe 10% off of the light output, but it was probably as good as a purpose built cycling light but at a fraction of the price. Specifically, I had this lens cut to fit over the front of this light. That is until I dropped it and broke the light. I just taped it on with some thin strips of clear tape. With the 5 mode light, I could still use strobe during the day for visibility too.
For a handlebar mount, I just bought a cheap light from Amazon that included a mount. Then, attach the mount to my bars and hang the light beneath so gravity works in your favor to keep the light level.
Good luck.
John

Edit: I had been meaning to post this somewhere so others could benefit. Here are some beamshots of what I described above. The pics are actually from a ZB006 since my other zoomie broke.
Full Zoom
Full Zoom with Wide Angle Lens
~75% Zoom.
~75% Zoom with Wide Angle Lens. (about what I use while riding after dark)
0% Zoom for reference.

I have used a cheap velcro mount from ebay and it worked well for me.

This one isn’t cheap, but the quality is high. http://www.ebay.com/itm/FREE-SHIPPING-NEW-FENIX-BT20-professional-bike-light-neutral-white-LED-/231100546526?

On many occasions I may end up using whatever light that I happen to have in my pocket, possibly because I am out later than I expected. Whatever it is, it’s a lot better than no light.

If I have my S2 on me, that’s great, but I have a few others I can use as well. This works surprisingly well with any and all of them, and is good to keep one in with the tire patches.

It’s good to have a few of these handy as well; for emergencies and/or to give some strobe action.

If you are shopping at BangGood, they have similar items:

Strap

Strobe

And you might put one of these in your cart too… even as a backup it will be better than what you are used to using.

Also, Sanyo batteries are excellent, and you don’t need a protected battery. I haven’t actually bought a battery since I tore apart my first dead laptop pack…they keep going…and going…but I’m tempted to try a couple of these.

I’d order them separately so as not to have the entire order rejected.

This is exactly what I am using for the light currently on my bike. It’s holding it very well. The light http://dx.com/p/sacredfire-3w-2-mode-30-lumen-led-bike-light-with-mount-4-aaa-22095 originally came with a bike mount which broke at some point and sent the light flying on to the asphalt. I switched to the simple mount you linked to, and it’s holding very well.

I have a couple of other lights, but recently realised that none of them are good. I will use these as emergency backups.

I am just waiting now to get some advice on a decently priced quality 18650 cell before I go ahead and order the S2.

As far as the batteries RMM has his new website mtnelectronis.com
That’s were I’d buy from

Thanks for the suggestion. I will place my orders now. Convoy S2, NiteCore i2, Panasonic Protected NCR18650

The only thing you need to know about the S2 is that it heats up fast and hot, on a bicycle you will have no problem because all the moving air will keep it very well ventilated but when using it handheld it will get too hot to hold on high in about 10 minutes, the risk is not to the light (you could put it in boiling water without harming it) but to your hand, so if your using it off the bike and feel it too hot to hold then turn it down or off for a few minutes to cool down. Fortunately i rarely ever need it for more then a few minutes at a time on high (i have left it on all night every night on low for several weeks, recharging it every day of course without any problems)

(boiling water is very bad for the battery so don’t test that idea unless you remove the battery first)

I have biked with the S2, M1 and M2 on the handlebars, as well as a variety of other models. Most of the terrain is non-urban with no street lighting, so one XM-L2 T4 for near, and one XM-L2 T5 for far is what I prefer. Both driven at 3A on a copper Nocticgon PCPCB and heat is never a problem for this use profile. I find that I like to have two lights on the handlbars, one pointing at the closer foreground and one at the furthese distance it will throw. When I get back to the outskirts of town and encounter traffic, I either shut off the T5 light or angle it sharply to the ground right in front of me, and turn the T4 to low mode. I’ve eventually settled on the M1 as being the best host for my purposes, like it better than the M2 both for the reflector and for heat dissipation, and as mentioned above, the Panasonic NCR18650B is about the best battery choice so it’s my ‘go-to’ cell for most of my activities.

what do you use for holding the light on the bike?

I’ve tried every bracket Fasttech sells, including the ‘bandages’. They all more or less work. None are perfect, but they are cheap. What determines how well or not well I find depends on your handlebar geometry. I recall that on my full suspension bike one type worked better than on my hard tail bike. I also always have a headlamp on for when I look off to the side, and for many rides I also have a Spark SD6 on flood clipped below the top tube so it is facing down, allowing me to see at a glance what is going on with the front derailleur, chain ring, and bottom bracket.

Most mountain bikers seem to prefer the TwoFish style of bracket, I think on the hardtail I tended to prefer the one that swivels and replace them more often as they are not really well built (it’s easier to rotate the light out of the way when yo encounter oncoming traffic or other bikes). I’d go look and try to see what brackets are on them, but since the last snow storm the bikes are buried under other junk in the bowels of the garage.

Just in case you haven’t placed your order yet…the Convoy S3 is MUCH better for biking! It is floodier and has a wider spill, which is more useful on a bike.

floodier then an S2?

I feel bad about having to question that, cause simply put you’re a nice guy with good opinions. However, I’d say if the light was helmet mounted in a picatinny rail, then the S3 would be the way to go. But on the handlebars, I’m going to stick with the M1 recommendation. And this is based on trying every Convoy last spring and summer. When I first got started, I thought the M2 was the Bees Knees, but I did notice Johnny Mac’s comments that the M1 was a better light. Turns out with the 20mm emitter base as opposed to the smaller base in the others, the M1 cannot be matched in my opinion.

And before the question gets asked, why the T4 emitter on close range? Higher CRI means better GS obsticle recognition and avoidance, and T5 means more long-range OTF lumens than the T4. Now I realize that the OP’s original requirement may not include the ability to get the maximum forewarning of a reflected tapetum lucidum signal from the woods ahead, but why not just go for maximizing your potential when the cost is the same anyway?

Thanks for the suggestion tallboybass. I already placed my order 4 hours ago for S2 and a charger. I’ll order the batteries tomorrow.

I did see some comparison of S2 and S3 on the forums, with some people concluding that S2 was a better choice, but that was for general purposes, and not cycling specific.

I would also like to thank everyone for all the suggestions and comments.

I am discovering a whole new world. I had never realized there could be so much interesting about flashlights.

I am curious. I had looked at all these lights on DX.com, and was told here none of those are worht much. Comparing the specifications, they still seem comparable to the S2, for example. How can you tell that those are worse? Is it just from prevous experiences of buying things and seeing the quality first hand, or are there differences in the specifications that I am not noticing?

I am just thinking, how can I tell in the future what’s a good light to get and what’s not, other than by coming here and asking (not that I mind getting the help of those with experience and knowledge).