Flashlight for my bike

Hello everyone,

I'm looking for a flashlight that I will use mostly when riding my bike.

There are special bike LED lights available. But these lights are quite expensive and no all-purpose lights as real flashlights are.

The flashlight should have a very good beam and a rechargeable battery since I will use it daily.

What are your recommandations for my limited budget of about USD 30 only including battery and charger?


Can you also advise a good holder and a led backlight?

Looking forward to receiving the pro's replies!

Many thanks and best regards

Tom

this MF special is both versatile and a dedicated bike light

My suggestion (which I have been using recently) is this:

A p60 host with xml dropin, this ultrafire 504B is good value:

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/ultrafire-wf504b-xm-lt6-5-mode-510-lumen-white-led-flashlight-with-strap-silver-1-x-18650-57096

with this mount:

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/universal-bicycle-mount-8274

or this mount:

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/universal-bicycle-mount-22mm-32-8mm-15342

this battery charger:

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/ultrafire-3-6-3-7v-battery-charger-1251

and these batteries:

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/trustfire-protected-18650-3-7v-true-2400mah-rechargeable-lithium-batteries-2-pack-20392

There is also a special running here on xtar batteries, which I am about to order. They are meant to be a lot better than the trustfires above, and only $3.5 more per pair. check that thread out here:

https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/72497

the only problem with the xtar batteries is they might not fit the charger I have suggested, so you may need to get a different charger.

All up this setup will cost you just over $40, and is a pretty solid bike light. I chose this dropin because it has a strobe, which is normally annoying, but I find it good to have for riding in low light conditions etc.

I usually run the light on medium when its not on strobe.

AND welcome to BLF!

Just got back from a beautiful full moon 15 miler .

I used a Solarforce L2 , with an UltraFire 3 mode T6 ( on medium most of the time ) , and a Solarforce V2 2400ma protected battery , fixed to my handle bar with a Twofish Lockblock .

Sweet .

Thanks for your replies and your regards.

@ Be-Seen Triker: Cool constructions. But my flashlight shall be easily mounted/removed on the handlebar. And a single waterproof tail light will be sufficient.

Regarding the questions:

I don't want a special bike light.

Brightness of the flashlight should be best bang for my budget!:)

It should be more a seeing light than a be-seen light as I ride modstly off-road.

The flashlight doesn't need different modes. Only high/low mode would be fine for saving battery in twilight.

Runtime should be about 1-2 hours in high mode.

Rechargeable battery would be fine - or at least Eneloops.

I can wait for shipments from China and even would prefer to buy there becuase of the cheaper prices.

UltraFire WF-502B and Hugsby P31 have been recommended in a "non-budget light forum".
Is one of these a possibility?

Best regards

I think I'm spending too much time of facebook...I just tried to "like" your post...

IMO an XML light running on a 18650 battery will provide the most bang for buck performance.

The ultrafire WF-502B is similar to the WF-504B i recommended, but the 504 seems to get better reviews here (I have never owned a 502B).

The hugsby p31 is a great light, I own one and love it, but it will not give enough light for off roading at night.

https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/2523 I like a flood to throw on a bike ..I agree with bean seen trickster the xpg is a good pick for a bike light too I hate the buy a bad host thought 502 is lame throw down for a decent host . >> buy a solarforce host

Okay, I tend to the 502B.
What exactly is the difference between WF-502B and WF-504B?
I don't like the metallic host, black looks better.

Which dropin is more practical for my purpose - XML or XP-G R5?

And regarding the batteries:
What runtime can I expect at high mode with 18650 TrustFires?
Are the Xtar 18700 2600mAh so much better?
What would be the right charger with Euro plug?

Ist there an alternative flashlight to the 502B that can be used with normal batteries and Eneloops?

So I could save the money for Li-Ion batteries and the required charger.

This is good deal http://www.budgetlightforum.com/node/2402 .

I have http://www.dealextreme.com/p/ultrafire-wf504b-xm-lt6-510-lumen-white-led-flashlight-with-strap-black-1-x-18650-57097 ordered 19/3/2011. I just received the same light ordered 25/6/2011. It came with different reflector, different dropin, few scratches and some batteries (3 of 4 blue trustfires) will not fit (battery tube has much smaller diameter).

You need a flashlight without the stupid flashing modes. With these modes you have to get past the strobe and SOS every time before getting to the high/mid/low.

Yesterday this 3-mode Ultrafire C2 XML arrived from DX http://www.dealextreme.com/p/ultrafire-c2-t60-cree-xm-lt6-3-mode-1200-lumen-white-led-flashlight-w-strap-1-x-18650-1-x-17670-90777 , and it is very bright. On mid it is brighter than the SSC-P7 led of the Magicshine MJ-816 (the three led "Mickey Mouse light"). On high it is too bright if there is oncoming traffic, mid is more then enough, and with 1,16A from the battery it will last about two hours on a good 18650 battery. High can be used for a shorter time if you need some more "power", and low is useable as "being seen light". High = 2,47A, Mid = 1,23A Low = 0,25A at 4,19V on a 2500mAh Trustfire http://www.dealextreme.com/p/trustfire-protected-18650-lithium-battery-2500mah-2-pack-blue-5790 .

You need a charger for the battery, and a bike mount like this http://www.dealextreme.com/p/universal-bicycle-mount-8274

Hello Biker,

Welcome to BLF Biker. For a cheap Bike Mount look here and you can use it with hugsby p31 my favourite aa bike light also take a L2 clone with 18650 for more information look here. For 18650 and charger look at BLF.

I don't mean to hijack the thread, but can someone suggest also a good red tail light?

So many suggestions, I’m losing the overview…
The C88 would be just fine. Is the light so worse compared to 18650?
Any alternatives with normal batteries?
I don’t mind discussing a good red tail light.
I’m looking for a basic one. So I can almost buy this every where. Or are there any detials I have to check? Any recommandations?

Is there a beam shot of the Q5 in the forum?
A tight hot spot isn’t really suited as a bike light.
Is there a good alternative to the C88 with a bigger spill?
I really like your self-made superbright tail light.
But for my purposes (mostly of-road with no traffic around) a cheap or engineered model will be sufficient.
Can you show me examples for both?

I am looking for this one.Innocent

I am looking for this one.Innocent

No alternative to C88 with bigger spill?
Thus a model with 18650?

I think, that very useful are 2 front lights - one on handlebars, and one on helmet. I have on helmet http://www.dealextreme.com/p/trustfire-tr-801-cree-q5-wc-230-lumen-led-flashlight-1-18650-13095 + http://www.dealextreme.com/p/universal-nylon-mount-for-flashlights-and-lasers-12000 , its cheap and not too heavy :)

Good on handlebars should be http://www.dealextreme.com/p/ultrafire-c2-t60-cree-xm-lt6-3-mode-1200-lumen-white-led-flashlight-w-strap-1-x-18650-1-x-17670-90777 , like Hobbyfotograaf wrote, it is very bright (much brighter than 504B "510" lm) and has nice spill too. BTW, reflector size comparison (tr-801, 504B, C2, F15) is here http://h5.abload.de/img/110713_143641-1920kmyp.jpg

Thanks for your replies.
@ Be-Seen Triker:
Is it difficult and/ or expensive to mod the C88 to an XP-G R5?
What will be the batteries’ run-time with this mod?
I would be happy to get you help. But the additional shipping costs from the US to Germany are probably to pricey.