Really little front bike light

[Elizabeth Tracy]

Hi,

Anyone have a recommendation for a very small/lightweight front bike light that can put out a powerful beam? (I'm guessing 30-60 lumens.)

It should be…

– a handlebar light
– EASILY releasable, so that I can use it as a flashlight in camp
– lightweight, of course.

There are lots of bulky lights in this lumen range, but I am hoping technology is advancing and there are some smaller ones now?

If I could just find an easy way to attach my little Fenix LOD flashlight to the handlebars, I might consider that as an alternative. The attachment would have to be secure AND easily releasable though. (I live in a community where bike lights are stolen often, and I take my front light with me when I lock up my bike around town.)

– Elizabeth

[Arapiles .]

"Anyone have a recommendation for a very small/lightweight front bike light that can put out a powerful beam? (I'm guessing 30-60 lumens.)"

Do you perhaps mean 60 lux? Even 60 lumens is not very bright.

Perhaps check out the Twofish lockblock if you want to use your Fenix. I also had it in mind that Fenix actually sell a handlebar mount but perhaps not.

[twig .]

I can recommend the two fish lockblock for attaching any torch you already have. Detaches quick with velcro.
http://www.torchworld.com.au/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=67&products_id=471

[Leslie Thurston]

hi elizabeth~

i've been using the Princeton Tec EOS.
Super Bright 70 Lumen Bike Light (with accompanying strap for use as a headlamp).

•Drop proof and its use of high-grade materials ensures durability and strong resistance to water/weather/environmental conditions.
•Settings: Beam
•121 Hours of Burn Time
•Water Proof (1 Meter submersion for 30min)
•Includes helmet, handle bar and headlamp attachments.
•Batteries: 3 AAA (Alkaline or Lithium)
•Batteries included

best~
leslie

[Elizabeth Tracy]

Thank you all. I am going to do some experimenting and then report back.
Elizabeth

[Arapiles .]

Hi Leslie

Most off-road bike lights are between 1000 and 2500 lumens these days, so 70 lumens is actually not very bright (and unless they've upgraded the LED I doubt that the EOS is even that – people used to mod them just to get 60 lumens).

Even if the OP wanted a "be seen" light rather than a light for seeing where you're going at night, there are much better, very much brighter options – any Cateye light for a start, let alone the brighter Serfas or Moon lights.

The EOS was OK as a headlamp 10 years ago, but even with headlamps there are 500+ lumen headlamps around now, and I have a tiny little single-battery light that would be 3 or 4 times brighter than the EOS.

[drowning in spam]

Elizabeth, take a look at the Zebralight SC600 or H600. The H600 is also a headlight, so you get even more flexibility. Both lights have a spot+flood light pattern, and I think that will make it even more suitable for bike and camp.

[Mike In Socal]

Once you find a light you like, you can use Sugru to mount it.

Sugru Handlebar mount

[Troy Hawkins]

Exposure Lights from the UK makes a GREAT little light called the Diablo.

The battery life isn't great, an hour on high, three hours on medium, but I think it's suitable for most rides (it's also very lightweight, and they sell additional battery packs if you really need extra burn time).

It's cable free and rechargeable (without the "piggyback" battery packs), but it costs about $300 (though they're frequently on sale throuh Ibex Sports, who are one of the only US distributors I believe).

[j lan]

I keep on returning to the cateye opticube, like this one but in black: http://amzn.com/B005CKLAH0

I have 3 of them now for different bikes, additional be seen lights on my pack or the most common, lending them to a biking buddy so we can night right. It is just enough light to be able to see at night decently, comes off real quick and i have used them for camping many times.

Good luck!
Jay

[Erik Basil]

Costco has a three-pack of mini flashlights, all using CREE superbright LEDs, for 30 bucks. A lot of people are using mounts and riding off road with them… an application that requires a lot of light. I use one in camp and can confirm it's got a lot of punch.

[Joe Clement]

I saw a flashlight like that with a Cree LED and bike mount for $8 on EBay the other day.

[Elizabeth Tracy]

Update:

I got the Twofish flashlight adaptor. It's fantastic. Inexpensive. I leave the adaptor on the handlebars, and the flashlight can be secured in or taken out in a flash.

The Twofish adaptor looks like it could handle almost any size of flashlight, large or small. (My Fenix is very very small!)

I also jerry-rigged one of my headlamps to my bike helmet. Really really like that too, can't believe I never thought of that before. I like that the helmet light will shine directly at whatever I need to look at – light a dark street sign.

– Elizabeth

[John S.]

Elizabeth, so you have rigged up the Fenix (LD01?) to handlebar and a headlamp to your helmet?

I've attached a Princeton Tec Eos to a Petzl Meteor using velcro before, but have not tried it to my current bell helmet. Some friends are going on a night ride coming up so i need to find a handlebar light. Some bikers seems to like a larger Fenix that uses two AA's.

[Elizabeth Tracy]

Yes, I attached a Fenix LD01 to the handlebar; and my headlamp (via velcro) to the helmet.

I like this solution because it was simple. No buying any new lights. Just take my backpacking lights and find a way to attach them to the bike!

The only downside is that it's hard to get the headlamp on and off the helmet. (How easy it is for you will depend on your particular helmet/velcro/headlamp configuration.) So I just leave it on there all the time. Might take it off when the days get really long and it looks absurd for daytime riding.

– Elizabeth

[Don Morris]

I commute with two Princeton Eos lights, bike model variant, which provides a handy bike mount in addition to an elastic head strap. One is an older version;the more recent is indeed 70 lumens or thereabouts. I like two lights – one on my helmet and one on the bike. The other day I passed an unlit cyclist who commented " heck of a big a$$ light you got there." I like the versatility of my rig; it works fine along the reasonably lighted city street environment in which I ride. Trails would be much darker and then perhaps I could be persuaded to spend the big bucks for a really bright light.

[Joshua Mitchell]

Depending on how much you foresee using the light during during day-time riding vs just around camp at night, Cateye released some solar powered head lights… thought these would make fairly decent bike camping lights…

[Mark Verber]

Another vote for the Twofish lockblock. As others have pointed out, 30-60 lumens is not enough to illuminate your path… though more than enough for cars and people to see you. I found for street riding I wanted at least 150 lumens with a beam which is more spot than flood, otherwise I would wouldn't have enough time to react/avoid things I saw. I use the Fenix LD20. Early on I tried a bright light with a flood oriented beam (ZebraLight H501) found it useless.

The ZebraLight H51 is my goto light for backpacking. It has a spot/flood configuration but I have never tried it on the bike because the LD20 has always been ready. I am now curious if it will work. I will do a night ride as soon as the moon gets a bit less bright as see.

If I was looking for a light for mountain biking I would want a lot more light that 150 lumens.

–Mark

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