I’m looking for a decent and decently priced bike head and tail light, and I can’t seem to find anything that fits my requirements. I’m pretty picky, so I’m sure that’s not helping.
I think front lights for bikes can be broken into two main categories - those that help you see, and those that help you be seen. I ride during the day, so I need to be seen, not to see.
I don’t want to spend a ton of money
I would strongly prefer a light with a replaceable battery like an 18650 or an AA over anything proprietary or sealed. Built in charging is not required.
The light needs to withstand wet weather
Related to the first point, the light needs to have a large light-emitting surface area, and emit light in 180° so that I can be seen from the side as well
I would really love a tube light mule with some sort of diffuser so that it had a beam pattern similar to the Knog Blinder Mob . I don’t mind a bit of DIY assembly, but I don’t want to have to be hiring a machine shop for any truly custom parts.
Is there anything on the market at $50 or, ideally, much much less, that meets these requirements? A Convoy S2+ costs $15 and has everything except the reflector-free design and diffuser, so I feel silly spending $80 on a decent bike light.
I’m not sure how to get 180° (other than a mule, or getting close with something like a Jaxman E2L, or Astrolux S41).
But, I will say, that I love the bike strobe on the S41 and BLF A6. It seems really visible, but annoys me less than a standard off/on strobe. Plus it works better for me when you want the see and be seen at the same time with one light.
ETA: I prefer a headband or helmet-mounted light for seeing to the side, so I’ve never tried to find a light with 180° beam.
Here’s my day commuter, Fenix E35UE and a cheap clamp. Good for a steady, long running ~450 floody Lumens. The small reflector is plenty floody to be seen and it has definitely seen its share of rain and water. I could further diffuse it with some scotch tape but I don’t really think I need to. I mean I am not trying to blind everyone at close range.
What I dont like about it though is the ~850 Lumen turbo is momentary-press only. So while I have never needed it, it would be nice to have.
I normally just use a BLF A6 (Astrolux S1). It’s plenty floody. You won’t get 180 degrees, but do you really need that much? Reflectors on your wheels would be better for side visibility.
Thanks for the suggestions, but I’m pretty dead-set on not just strapping a standard flashlight to my bars and calling it a day. I know reflectors are important as well, but the wide visibility is the main selling point for me.
True, but I don’t want to have to keep track of a different battery and on/off switch for my headlight, tail-light, left hand, and right hand every time I try to ride to work.
Wouldn’t a 18650 flashlight be overkill on the “be seen” department? bike lights with 2 5mm bulbs seem bright enough for drivers to see me from a distance, or at least some of these:
For output, yes, but at lower outputs the runtime would be convenient - I mainly suggested it because those are the most readily available rechargeable lithium cells. The lights you linked look very promising for the price. Any idea if they’ll survive a good downpour? Even if they won’t, for $10 I might try them out.
I can vouch for output, since my father has one and I’ve just ordered a pair myself, but I can’t say I’ve put it trough rain, nor have I observed battery life. Being rechargeable is great if you don’t own any rechargeable batteries, but since this is not the case for most users here, leaving for a long ride without noticing low battery would be a bother
If you do some research you could buy a single emitter light and swap the optic or reflector for a striped optic (for eliptical beam) or just simply put some diffuser film on it.
My preference pegs a stock S2+/BLF A6 as nearly ideal as a bike light for seeing. You can flavor them to taste with DC-Fix or a 45 degree+ TIR. The elliptical striped bike TIR is pretty ideal if you want more spill to the sides. I only ride on trails so I just have my bike decked out in reflector tape I’ve never needed a rear-light so I can’t suggest anything.
I would also recommend the BLF A6 available from Banggood .Check out the video on that page,around 6 mins 27 secs you can see the bike strobe.I dunked one of mine in the washing up bowl , on turbo,just now,no problem.
For 180+ degrees,I would suggest a cone diffuser .Only Banggood has the A6,but diffusers are readily available.Thanks to Toykeeper for the flashlight mode.
This isn’t exactly like the Blackburn I have, but it’s the only thing I own that comes close to 180° visibility. No 18650, though, it has an internal proprietary battery. It is VERY visible, and has good battery life. I’ve biked home twice (total of nearly 3 hours) without recharging it.
Mine has red and white LEDs so it can be a front or tail light. It was $18 at the LBS.
