Very powerful LED bike light

I tested 20+ lights at performancebike.com and this one was by far the brightest with the largest lighted area. I was prepared to pay for a much more expensive brand but after testing all of them this one was far and away the best. It is also LED so it uses very little electricity and is very bright. I got it on sale for $15.

ViewPoint Flare 5 LED Headlight

http://www.performancebike.com/shop/Profile.cfm?SKU=20472&item=40-2286&slitrk=search&slisearch=true

Many reviews on that site say the beam is "weak" and one person says it's too weak for riding at 15 mph or faster. Most of us go at least twice that fast.

No normal bicycle light will be adequately powerful because they're all designed to consume little enough power that a small lightweight cheap battery can power them for at least an hour.

Remember, what matters most is how far down the road you can see, because the faster you go, the farther the light must reach to see things before you hit them.

CGameProgrammer said:

Many reviews on that site say the beam is "weak" and one person says it's too weak for riding at 15 mph or faster. Most of us go at least twice that fast.

No normal bicycle light will be adequately powerful because they're all designed to consume little enough power that a small lightweight cheap battery can power them for at least an hour.

Remember, what matters most is how far down the road you can see, because the faster you go, the farther the light must reach to see things before you hit them.

Click to expand...

I read those reviews to and almost didn't give a review based on the negative feedback on the site. But the fact is I was at the store and tested every light they had and this one was by far the brightest with the largest lighted area. Most people only give feedback on a site they bought something from if it's negative that is just the way it is. I used the light in a new housing construction site with no lights anywhere at night and was doing 20+ MPH and had plenty of light. If you are at a store with these then test em out that's all I am saying. The blinking light option is kinda slow at about 2 blinks a second but I don't use that feature.

If you are going to get a light make sure it's an LED. They use the least electricity, and last the longest of any light.

I've got the exact same light (design, not brand).

It's bright in the sense that it allows you to be seen quite well.

Forget about seeing anything with it, though.

I think you're better to make yourself a light with some cheap 3w leds and optics.

Great place to get supplies cheap is dealextreme.com out of china. It may take a month or 2 but dang you can build the brightest bike light for around $25.

Whoa @ Ben, isn't that like >$100 of led and optics? How long is your battery runtime?

Try this little conversion on a budget, I'm about to order some off ebay:
http://www.endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=3155

I got yer headlight... right here:


9" HID OFF-ROAD LIGHT WITH BRUSH GUARD
Super powerful high intensity discharge (HID) off-road lights provide better vision.
3,000 hours life, 15 times longer than halogen bulbs
60% less energy consumption
Three times brighter than halogen bulbs
Overall dimensions: 6-3/4" L x 9" diameter x 9-5/8" H
ITEM 95059

http://www.harborfreightusa.com/usa/itemdisplay/displayItem.do?itemid=95059



OK, not an LED... sue me.

needWheels said:

Whoa @ Ben, isn't that like >$100 of led and optics? How long is your battery runtime?

Click to expand...

Nah, it's not mine. The image was just a reference.

http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=354430&page=5

And even more powerful is this one (again, not mine):



Apparently this is car low beams:


Drawing 1.9 Amps (2/3 power):

WOW!! That light is incredible!!

Although you wouldn't want to use it for urban commuting since it's so blindingly bright.

CGameProgrammer said:

Many reviews on that site say the beam is "weak" and one person says it's too weak for riding at 15 mph or faster. Most of us go at least twice that fast.

No normal bicycle light will be adequately powerful because they're all designed to consume little enough power that a small lightweight cheap battery can power them for at least an hour.

Remember, what matters most is how far down the road you can see, because the faster you go, the farther the light must reach to see things before you hit them.

Click to expand...

Real bikes have real lights. Good bike lights are powered by generators and have Fresnel lenses just like any proper vehicle.. They're generally putting out 3 watts @ 6volts at ~10 KmH. At 5.5 KmH it must be making at least 90% of that to be legal. That 's divided between the front 2.4w and rear light 0.6w.
Good bike lights are dependent on good optics. You can project a tall penetrating beam and have a diffused bright light in the immediate foreground and periphery.

The big buck or DIY high power halogens and metal halide setups eat batteries too fast to be useful for anything but limited sport use. They won't last a commuter through routine winter riding without recharging twice a day. They're obnoxiously excessive for utility bikes. Many of them are not much better than a poorly aimed desk lamp. Next to the Xenon strobe freaks, the worst offenders are the riders with helmet mounted paint peelers.

LED lights are a perfect marriage with bicycle hub generators. They can even be too bright for riding on bike paths. Blinking is kind of rude too but an inexpensive battery powered LED blinky is more visible to other traffic for ~80 hours service between recharging.
Bright steady lights get lost in an urban environment.

Make your own go fast LED array.
http://myfwyc.org/Timberlake/CreeLEDLight?page=1