Bike Lights 2023

1speed

Incredibly profound yet fantastically flawed
I had a ride killed before it started this afternoon when my bar-mounted light wouldn't turn on. I have a MagicShine Monteer 5000 and this is a frequent issue I've had with it for quite a while now. Apparently, this is not an issue unique to my set. It's some kind of short in the cable, which doesn't surprise me because I have always hated the battery setup on this thing - the battery connects to a cable via a face mount and that cable connects to the head unit itself. It just seems unnecessarily complex - why not just build the cable into the battery like nearly every other model with a battery out there? I have had MS lights for years now (going all the way back to when you could only buy them through the now defunct Geomangear) and this is the first set I've ever had any problem with, but I'm done with it - it's been happening for almost a year, I got a cable replacement and it started up again a few months later. So all of that is to say I'm in the market for new lights and would love some feedback if anyone has it.

I'll need both a helmet and a bar-mounted light. Where I am right now is looking at Outbound Lighting (Trail EVO for the bars, Hangover for the helmet) or perhaps Outbound for the bars and Action LED's Gloworm for the helmet. Pros and Cons of Outbound Lighting as I see it are one and the same - their lights have no battery pack. That's obviously a plus in the "1Speed doesn't need to carry extra shit" category, but it's a possible minus in the "1Speed has been known to ride long into the night so frequently keeps extra batteries in case they run out before he's done" category - with a light that is directly charged with no battery, I'm kinda done when the light is done. The Gloworm has battery packs, but the whole system is more expensive for it. I've also looked into the L&M Seca Enduro, which has a long battery life but it's also what the kiddies call "fuckin' expensive" at around $400 for the system (and more if I buy extra batteries.) I'd really like to not spend a fortune if I can avoid it.

So before I choose through these all-less-than-perfect options, anyone have experience with any of these manufacturers, or have any others that I should consider? I need a light with "good" output (2500+ lumens for bike mount, at least 1000 for the helmet), decent life span between charges, and most of all it's got to be reliable (I lived a horror story the first time this issue happened when I started out in daylight at Wharton and was all the way at the turnaround when I realized I had no working lights - for the record, it's REALLY dark in Wharton at night and as twisty as that trail is it was NOT fun trying to navigate my way back to the lot without lights.) I might be willing to forego the extra battery thing (as T.S. Eliot once said, "I grow old ... I grow old ..." so unfortunately long nights out may not be as much of a thing for me in the coming years) but only if the quality of a battery-free light is the best option.
 

Kaleidopete

Well-Known Member
I got this one a few weeks ago and I'm happy with it, seems to last forever on a charge
VASTFIRE Best Bike Lights for Night Riding 8000 High Lumen 5 LEDs 5 Modes 5200
 

Juggernaut

Master of the Metaphor
I have the Trail EVO/Hangover combo, but have just one ride so far. The hangover is lighter than expected for an ‘all in one’, low profile and is Uber convenient. It’s good, but I’ve used better. The L&M Seca Race I have ( few years old at this point) destroys the hangover for light quality…. But ya got to accept the extra mount and battery/cable thing. The Trail EVO itself is excellent. A touch heavier in the hand than expected, but the light quality and pattern is great! The bar mount is really good and ability to adjust the pitch tools free makes it extremely functional IMO. The Light/ Mount interface is fantastic.…. Think ski boot to binding. Use case is personal… but in my case, ease of use / convenience trumps a lot of things. One interestingly note. The charging cable they come with makes a water tight connection so you can run an external battery backup even in the rain. hope this helps a little.
 

Steve Vai

Endurance Guy: Tolerates most of us.
K-Lite Dynamo Light/SP front hub and be done with it. 2,000 Lumens for as long as you can pedal a bike. And surprisingly, about the same price as a Light and Motion Seca.
 

thegock

Well-Known Member
The Cateye Volt 700 (actual rating 783 lumens!), my bar light of choice, rides under the bars, which prevents it from tumbling upside down on a jolt. The Cateye mount is also more stable than the Niterider system. It lasts for hours on medium, but I run it on high at times, depending on conditions and the length of the ride. My sense, based on hundreds of hours on trail, is that the Cateye has a longer run time. It also takes about twice as long to charge. That doesn’t matter much if you take it off the bike and plug it in right after the ride.

My bikes all have mounts for Niterider Lumina Micro 450/650 blinkies so drivers see me 24x7. My 2nd bar light is a Niterider Lumina 1100 Boost, which uses the same mount. My experience is that the Niterider product line is dead, solid reliable. I usually turn the 1100 on when I get to the trails after 25-30 minutes of road/MUT, but don’t usually run it on boost. The two bar lights are brilliant, especially if the trail is snow covered. I carry a NR Lumina 950 Boost and/or a Cateye 800 as backup in the Osprey, depending on the location and length of the ride.

I have helmets with either the Cateye and Niterider mounts, but currently opt for the Niterider Lumina 900 Boost on the lid. (I know what you’re thinking: “When will Niterider drop Superboost?”) The Niterider mount is easier to change lights on the trail in the dark. Dual bar lights with the lid light puts out up to 2800 lumens with quite a bit of redundancy.

I have a ton of the Magicshine crap in a box, but didn't use it so far this season. At the time I bought it all, I was burnishing my “man of the people” look. Now I am back to the usual, “just throw money at the problem” approach. The NR and Cateye stuff is more reliable and charges with USB=better.
 

KenS

JORBA: Director
JORBA.ORG
+1 for Niterider Lumina series. I like the simplicity, ease of finding mounts, low price, same mounts for all bikes that easily move between bikes, and light weight of the micros. My son's NICA team practices twice a week at night in the winter and we're going on our 4th season with the same lights, so I am also a fan of their durability.

We have a 550, 950, OLED 1200 boost, micro 750 and micro 850. The micros go on our helmets, usually whoever snags the 1200 runs that alone on the bar, and the other runs 950/550 combo. I run the 1200/950 combo on the bars with 850 micro on the helmet and it is perfect. Not a complete "daylight" bright type of situation, but more than enough for my needs.

For the prices of the lights you mentioned, you can buy 2x 1200 Oled boost's for the bars, and a micro 900 for the helmet and have cash leftover.

We also have peeps on the team running Bontrager flares and they swear by them. I am a huge fan of their daytime running lights for the road/commuting.
 

1speed

Incredibly profound yet fantastically flawed
I got this one a few weeks ago and I'm happy with it, seems to last forever on a charge
VASTFIRE Best Bike Lights for Night Riding 8000 High Lumen 5 LEDs 5 Modes 5200
8000 lumens!! Christ, you can probably leave that at your car and just point it at the woods and it's like riding in daylight! :D
I have the Trail EVO/Hangover combo, but have just one ride so far. The hangover is lighter than expected for an ‘all in one’, low profile and is Uber convenient. It’s good, but I’ve used better. The L&M Seca Race I have ( few years old at this point) destroys the hangover for light quality…. But ya got to accept the extra mount and battery/cable thing. The Trail EVO itself is excellent. A touch heavier in the hand than expected, but the light quality and pattern is great! The bar mount is really good and ability to adjust the pitch tools free makes it extremely functional IMO. The Light/ Mount interface is fantastic.…. Think ski boot to binding. Use case is personal… but in my case, ease of use / convenience trumps a lot of things. One interestingly note. The charging cable they come with makes a water tight connection so you can run an external battery backup even
in the rain. hope this helps a little.
This is great info - thanks! I did see that theh Hangover maxes out at 1000 lumens, which is not great by today's standards (but would have been the best around when I first started using lights!)

K-Lite Dynamo Light/SP front hub and be done with it. 2,000 Lumens for as long as you can pedal a bike. And surprisingly, about the same price as a Light and Motion Seca.
Thanks! I know very little about Dynamo lights - this is probably a stupid question, but I'd need a separate fron wheel for that beyond the one I currently have, right? It's not a unit that gets attached to the existing wheel to draw power, is it? I'm fine with that but I'm just really unfamiliar with the whole thing (although I've been Dynamo-curious for years - just too ADD to look into it when I think about it.)
 

1speed

Incredibly profound yet fantastically flawed
The Cateye Volt 700 (actual rating 783 lumens!), my bar light of choice, rides under the bars, which prevents it from tumbling upside down on a jolt. The Cateye mount is also more stable than the Niterider system. It lasts for hours on medium, but I run it on high at times, depending on conditions and the length of the ride. My sense, based on hundreds of hours on trail, is that the Cateye has a longer run time. It also takes about twice as long to charge. That doesn’t matter much if you take it off the bike and plug it in right after the ride.

My bikes all have mounts for Niterider Lumina Micro 450/650 blinkies so drivers see me 24x7. My 2nd bar light is a Niterider Lumina 1100 Boost, which uses the same mount. My experience is that the Niterider product line is dead, solid reliable. I usually turn the 1100 on when I get to the trails after 25-30 minutes of road/MUT, but don’t usually run it on boost. The two bar lights are brilliant, especially if the trail is snow covered. I carry a NR Lumina 950 Boost and/or a Cateye 800 as backup in the Osprey, depending on the location and length of the ride.

I have helmets with either the Cateye and Niterider mounts, but currently opt for the Niterider Lumina 900 Boost on the lid. (I know what you’re thinking: “When will Niterider drop Superboost?”) The Niterider mount is easier to change lights on the trail in the dark. Dual bar lights with the lid light puts out up to 2800 lumens with quite a bit of redundancy.

I have a ton of the Magicshine crap in a box, but didn't use it so far this season. At the time I bought it all, I was burnishing my “man of the people” look. Now I am back to the usual, “just throw money at the problem” approach. The NR and Cateye stuff is more reliable and charges with USB=better.
I always look for brighter when possible - I rarely use them on high, but I prefer a medium that falls above 1000 effective, so I usually would want 1800-2000 max claimed to guarantee that. NR makes a nice light and I used those in the past - the only gripe I had with them was the batteries didn't last. I don't mean during a single ride - I mean the actual lifetime of the battery seems to fail sooner than some others. I always loved my original MagicShines, but when they switched to this new battery design, it just seems like a fail. They are USB chargeable, but I really don't get why they'd design a battery system with multiple interfaces since it's usually at the interface that failure occurs.
+1 for Niterider Lumina series. I like the simplicity, ease of finding mounts, low price, same mounts for all bikes that easily move between bikes, and light weight of the micros. My son's NICA team practices twice a week at night in the winter and we're going on our 4th season with the same lights, so I am also a fan of their durability.

We have a 550, 950, OLED 1200 boost, micro 750 and micro 850. The micros go on our helmets, usually whoever snags the 1200 runs that alone on the bar, and the other runs 950/550 combo. I run the 1200/950 combo on the bars with 850 micro on the helmet and it is perfect. Not a complete "daylight" bright type of situation, but more than enough for my needs.

For the prices of the lights you mentioned, you can buy 2x 1200 Oled boost's for the bars, and a micro 900 for the helmet and have cash leftover.

We also have peeps on the team running Bontrager flares and they swear by them. I am a huge fan of their daytime running lights for the road/commuting.
This contradicts my experience with NR - I never had a battery last more than two seasons. But that's good to know - sounds like they're improved since my last purchase! Thanks!
 

thegock

Well-Known Member
This contradicts my experience with NR - I never had a battery last more than two seasons. But that's good to know - sounds like they're improved since my last purchase! Thanks!

I have at least 6 different NR Lumina's (including 3 Micro's) in the lineup and none of them has has battery failure for years. A friend of mine found one 700 that I had lost on the trails five years ago and he is still running it AFAIK.
 

shrpshtr325

Infinite Source of Sarcasm
Team MTBNJ Halter's
i have the og outbound trail (with the external battery) on my bars and the hangover for my helmet, light pattern is phenomenal as it seems you already know, on med settings i get 4 hours out of both and still have juice left.

honestly i would stop looking any further and just get it, but thats jmho.
 

one piece crank

Well-Known Member
My light needs are pretty basic. I currently have a Light in Motion Rando 500 on the bar and a VIS 500 on my helmet. It is very nice to have no cords. I use the bar light on-road to trailhead, and both lights off-road at the lowest setting to afford enough visibility. Two years on one light and batter it still 100%. I'd like a dynamo hub for the Rando (or even replace the Rando as @jimvreeland notes above).

I still have my Original GeomanGear MagicShine 800 with a 6-hour Amazon battery, along with a few Magicshine clones. I love that original light! On epic night rides I carry one of these as a spare in my frame bag (ala @JimN).
 

Cassinonorth

Well-Known Member
This is great info - thanks! I did see that theh Hangover maxes out at 1000 lumens, which is not great by today's standards (but would have been the best around when I first started using lights!)

Most rides I just go with the Trail Evo it's so ridiculously bright. I didn't feel like spending more money on lights so I use my Petzl Aktik Core as my headlamp with a couple clips in the back which is 600 lumens and it's so ridiculously bright I forget I'm riding at night after a while. + American made.

KX9pxUo.jpeg
 

TommyF

Well-Known Member
Santa just upgraded my light setup from NiteRider to Outbound Trail EVO. Love the way the light mounts, throws a better beam pattern and seems to last 2+ hours on the adaptive setting. I'm now using the NiteRider 1800 on my helmet along with the Trail EVO on the bars. I can provide enough light for the rider in front of me if theirs fails!!
 

Juggernaut

Master of the Metaphor
Most rides I just go with the Trail Evo it's so ridiculously bright. I didn't feel like spending more money on lights so I use my Petzl Aktik Core as my headlamp with a couple clips in the back which is 600 lumens and it's so ridiculously bright I forget I'm riding at night after a while. + American made.

KX9pxUo.jpeg
That’s a great shot! We’re you recording or did he stick around and pose for you?😉
 

JDurk

Well-Known Member
I'm currently running NR Lumina 650 and also have a MiNewt Race 750. Both are at least 10yrs old and never had battery issues. That being said, I don't ride at night as long as @1speed . You could always pickup up a NR Lumina and carry as backup.

I have been looking at the Outbound stuff.
 

Juggernaut

Master of the Metaphor
8000 lumens!! Christ, you can probably leave that at your car and just point it at the woods and it's like riding in daylight! :D


This is great info - thanks! I did see that theh Hangover maxes out at 1000 lumens, which is not great by today's standards (but would have been the best around when I first started using lights!)


Thanks! I know very little about Dynamo lights - this is probably a stupid question, but I'd need a separate fron wheel for that beyond the one I currently have, right? It's not a unit that gets attached to the existing wheel to draw power, is it? I'm fine with that but I'm just really unfamiliar with the whole thing (although I've been Dynamo-curious for years - just too ADD to look into it when I think about it.)
I mentioned the charge cable. What i didn’t say was it’s a usb c (unit side) to usb a (power source side). I’m including a photo of them plugged it with a 8mm key for scale.

436148B8-B1EF-4FF8-92DB-E1BFB57D7488.jpeg

hard to gauge anything w/out reference….
 

iman29

Well-Known Member
Im pretty sure theres another thread somewhere for Bike Lights (tho not 2023) but if it helps I am also a HUGE fan of all the NiteRider stuff.

I currently have 2 850 Micros, a 700 and a 650. Plus somewhere along the way I acquired a Bontrager 1200 Ion (not Ian LOL) in a trade deal.

I have had only one of the NR crap out on me where the soldering came apart inside the board. My son tried to fix it but only worked again for one ride - seems he had to really heat up the solder and it just didnt hold.

Granted I dont do too much trail riding but the times I took the NR with me for some extra light during a ride that ended around dusk and it was great. I do have to say the Bontrager 1200 on full beam was like having a car headlight.
 

Ian F

Well-Known Member
I also run NR Lumina lights. Mostly as DRLs for road riding, although I have done a couple of night rides with them. Arguably the "easy button" of lighting options. I run them for hours on end until they die. Then recharge.

I've only had one fail, and that wasn't the light's fault. I had neglected to fully seat it on the mount and it bounced off the bike when I crossed some railroad tracks. I didn't even notice it was missing until a few miles later. I retraced my path and found the light - still on - in the grass off the road. Unfortunately, it had been run over by a car and the casing was broken.
 

Kaleidopete

Well-Known Member
8000 lumens!! Christ, you can probably leave that at your car and just point it at the woods and it's like riding in daylight! :D
Ha, Ha, it's a trick! They named it the 8000 on purpose to make you think that is what it is. Not so. these are the REAL specs.
highest lumen 2000; brightest 1200 lumen; bright 800 lumens; dimmer 500 lumen and 1800 LM strobe
still a good light at $49
 
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