Looking for advice on suitable flashlights that can be used for my daily bike commute.
The journey is typically 40 minutes each way, across town in all weathers (it rains a lot here). In winter it’s generally dark in both directions so a battery life of 90-120 minutes would be required. I don’t want one of those bike specific systems like the Magicshine, my requirement is for a flashlight that I can clip onto the handlebars and slip into my pocket at journeys end. Mechanically the torch needs to be very robust and waterproof, the roads in Dublin are very rough, badly maintained and my bike is a racer running narrow tyres at 80-100 psi. Vibration will be a killer. Beam needs to be wide and diffuse to avoid blinding other users but also having a longish throw. I need to be able to see what my front wheel is about to hit but at the same time burn a hole in the mirrors of the school-run moms that think its ok to suddenly stop & park in the cycle lane because their little darlings are too lazy to walk 50 yards. There’s a downhill section where I’m regularly clocking 30-50 kph and I need 100-150 yards visibility. Oh, and I dont want to pay more than $30 for it because one day I will forget to unclip it and it will get robbed or get bounced down the road. Not much of a challenge then looks like I want a Bentley for micra money. To mitigate this I would have the ability to upgrade or modify a cheaper unit if necessary, and also have access to micro-soldering and reflow equipment as well as a machine shop.
Welcome to BLF! Plenty of cycling light recommendations around here. Sit back, relax, and one of our cycling experts will be with you shortly.
I do think your budget is probably a little low for the runtime you want, unless medium mode works most of the time with minimal output, or you don't mind changing batteries for your return trip home.
Are batteries and charger to be included in the budget or seperate. (I'll tell you now that there's not enough budget to include cells and charger.)
I’ll second JackTheClipper. Rode in today an hour before sunrise with a XinTD on one side of the bars and a Solarforce L2M with the Manafont drop in Foy likes on the other. It’s nice to have the mix of flood and throw but you’d probably be ok with just the XinTD as it does have pretty good spill. I’m also using the Twofish mount as I like to mount the lights under the bars and the straps of the Twofish link together like a chain while the imitation versions rely on the soft rubber block to hold everything together.
I just want to second the comment of garrybunk, rechargeables are the best (and budget) option for long runtimes.
You should consider to buy a good (but Budget) charger and 2 quality 18650, that’s another $25-30 to spend, but these items will serve you well.
For that cost I would recommend a 17$ kd c8, a 2$ handlebar support, a cheap 3$ charger, and you have 8$ to find a good battery. I bought this for a friend, and he likes it (and I use c8 for cycling too)
The KD C8 is a decent choice (found here with OP reflector which I recommend). Only $16.98, well loved around here, and I have one. Beware though, you'll only get about 45 minutes on high on a good battery. Quality is ok.
Some have said the Shadow JM-07 Pro is the most ideal light for cycling (another review here), but it's $49.50 here (note: sold out, here's another option). Good balance of throw and flood coupled with using a 26650 cell for more runtime. I'm not sure how hard it's driven on high, but if it's 3.0A and you use a 4,000mAh 26650 cell, you'd get about 80 minutes (kick down to medium to preserve more runtime) - actually I just found a review showing 2.5A on hi, so thats just over 90 minutes. Shadow is a good brand and is steps ahead in quality over the cheap chinese budget lights. It includes low voltage protection too (so you don't over-discharge your cells).
A cheaper contender might just be the Keygos M10 reviewed here, and found here for $18.49. I haven't found anyone using it for cycling to get any feedback. I think the current levels on high vary between units (Chinese driver lottery), but I'd say expect 2.5A for about 90 minutes (again on high).
So now that you've had some recommendations and prices, what are you thinking?
I’d second that recommendation. You can even get it as a gift set if you like, with a charger and two batteries.
I find that flood is important for a handlebar light, with enough hotspot to reach ahead a decent distance, and my two Convoy S3s (“EDC 18650”) seem about right for biking. Usually 80lm is enough for my biking purposes, but it doesn’t hurt to have as much as 500lm on a bike. So, one of the 1.4A XP-G2 models might be about right, or maybe 1.4A / 2.1A in a XM-L model. I use mine on medium, which works out to 420mA or 840mA and about 135 or 270 lumens.
I normally bike with a handlebar light at 80 to 300 lumens and a head-mounted ZL H51w at 86 lumens. I find the head-mounted light more useful than the handlebar light since I can aim it easily and use it to signal to cars, but it’s nice to have both.
In a city, more than 150lm is probably rude to other bikers, and more than 500 is probably going to get you honked at by cars for being too bright. I’m tempted to use my Skyray King as a bike light though, just to see what happens. It outshines every car I’ve compared it against.
Had a good look at all the options offered and runtime could be the deciding factor here since the lamps you guys have mentioned seem all to be pretty good all round performers. If I keep the charger at home desired runtime would need to be 90 minutes and although it blows my defined budget the Shadow JM-07 Pro seems to fit the profile well (thanks Garry), especially since it comes with an extension tube. It also appears to posess a good balance of flood & throw, useful for cycling. Anything else to compete with this in the $50-55 bracket?
Been away from this for a while but about to order a Shadow JM07. Have a couple of final questions. Cool white or Neutral white? Most of my use will be riding urban streets. To save on rims & tyres I need to be able to spot pot holes on wet streets under sodium light. Which of the two would give the best contrast on asphalt. Also what is the difference between the standard JM07 and the JM07-pro. The standard version comes with an extender tube which gives useful range, can’t find the Pro in a package that includes an extender tube. Unless someone out there knows different.
looks like I want a Bentley for micra money. To mitigate this I would have the ability to upgrade or modify a cheaper unit if necessary, and also have access to micro-soldering and reflow equipment as well as a machine shop.