Inexpensive bar mount light

[frorider]

I find it useful to have extra lights to loan to friends when going out on rides during shortened days. The last 2 cheap Amazon lights I got stopped working after 6 mos or so. Any recommendations?

This is not the What Light for Serious Night Riding Around $300 thread.

[grinch]

I like my bontrager one. Mount it on my helmet or bar. Rechargeable. I think its 800 or 1kw. 100cad so probably 70usd. One for your bar and one for the lid and youre dialed

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[geomorph]

I got a Bright Eyes light (not the Conor Oberst band) a few years ago that is still going strong. Separate battery pack though which is a bit annoying.

[gravitylover]

At this point most of the stuff between $75>100 is pretty good and would suffice for an extra or loaner. The cheap stuff tends to throw the light all over the place and has no reach so why bother. More expensive is nice but over 1k lumens can really wash things out unless the reflector pattern is really good. I only ride trails so this may not apply to road.

[dfinn]

I’ve got an older version of this.


https://www.serfas.com/shop/products...mtb-headlight/

Usually mount it on my helmet. Sometimes go with more lights on the bars but usually that is good enough. Been going strong for a couple years.

[MegaStoke]

Lezyne is making solid lights with a competitive lumen:dollar ratio. $40 for 500 lumens, and $60 for 1000 IIRC

[evdog]

For cheapish handlebar mount I like Magicshine. It was the original cheap light before Amazon existed, but they have gone more upscale the last few years. $60 https://shopmagicshine.com/collectio...ke-front-light

I haven't used the Magicshine helmet mount lights. I've been using a Portland Design Works light for about 5-6 yrs now, around 700 lumens for $60-70. No complaints, though it doesn't seem as bright as it used to.


Maybe you just had bad luck with the cheap chinese lights from Amazon. I've had a 3 or 4 of them. The light heads are still going 8-10 yrs later. The batteries are the weak point but the Magic shine batteries work with them. I have plenty of those.

[jacob_dbu]

Niterider Lumina Micro series is excellent imo.

[Bushwacka]

Nite Rider Lumina Nite rider

https://www.azbicycledepot.com/produ...0-351685-1.htm this works nicely for bars.

I have a NR 4500 lumen with external battery and actually prefer the lighter self contained Micro stuff. I use a 1800 Lumina Dual on bar, Micro Swift pointed down on the bars, and a 900 on my helmet.

[Peruvian]

I’ve been impressed with my Shenkey lights from amazon for sub-$25.

[Self Jupiter]

^x2 no issues

[NuMexJoe]

I’ve been impressed with my Shenkey lights from amazon for sub-$25.

This! If you're just getting a spare to loan to a friend, the Shenkey or the Ceco 1000 for $40 on Amazon are well regarded.

[frorider]

Thanks y’all

[Falcon3]

Niterider Lumina Micro series is excellent imo.

+1 The Niterider bar mount is pretty good by itself, but you can also get the GoPro adapter for it and it's amazing. I have a Micro and a Lumina 1100 Boost and theyve got great throw and beam for riding/night skiing. Inexpensive too, especially if you catch a sale.

[mtnjam]

Magic Shine = don't let the Chinaman burn down your house

[SchralphMacchio]

Magic Shine = don't let the Chinaman burn down your house

Are you talking about that recall from 8 YEARS ago? At least they actually went through the CPSC process, and Geo Man Gear handled that really well. Since then - MagicShine’s stuff over the last 5 years has been pretty nicely made, better than the cheap Amazon stuff.

Or are you talking about more CPSC action since then?

[justo8484]

I’ll throw in my vote for niterider stuff. I have a lumina 1200 for my bars and 1100 for my helmet. “Upgraded” to the 1200 from a 1000 because a low tree branch took it off my helmet and I couldn’t find it. I paid about $150 total for both. The 1200 came with an even better bar mount than the 1100. Pretty sure there’s an 850 that’s actually a little smaller in size and you could probably score for like $50-60 or so. Perfect as a backup/loaner.


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[mtnjam]

Are you talking about that recall from 8 YEARS ago? At least they actually went through the CPSC process, and Geo Man Gear handled that really well. Since then - MagicShine’s stuff over the last 5 years has been pretty nicely made, better than the cheap Amazon stuff.

Or are you talking about more CPSC action since then?

Nope, the prior paragraph is what I was referring to. I actually didn't know they went through a whole CPSC process...interesting.

[SchralphMacchio]

Nope, the prior paragraph is what I was referring to. I actually didn't know they went through a whole CPSC process...interesting.

Actually 9 years ago.

https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2011/li...ar-due-to-fire

I’m pretty sure that mandatory product recalls are required to go through CPSC. It makes sense that you’d get more legal protection following the recall as well by going through the CPSC. I’d sooner trust 50 magicshine batteries in my garage than a single knockoff hoverboard that didn’t go through CE or UL testing.

If you don’t want to take risks make sure any lithium battery product you buy has been certified to UL and/or CE standards. I’m not home so I can’t see if that’s the case for my MagicShine stuff that I still own, but considering that they’ve been through the CPSC process I can’t imagine they’d allow a design defect like that to ever happen again. It actually makes a case FOR buying MagicShine, because they’ve literally been burned and now are more likely to work related failure modes into their design process.

I’ve done CPSC recall stuff and electronics product management myself, in a former life. So you can stop talking shit about Chinese factories just straight offhand now. There are good ones and there are shit ones there - just like in the US. One of the worst electronics factories I ever worked with was a domestic one, and one of the best I’ve ever worked with was domestic as well.

[Benneke10]

This! If you're just getting a spare to loan to a friend, the Shenkey or the Ceco 1000 for $40 on Amazon are well regarded.

Do you have a preference for the Shenkey or the Ceco? Both lights look solid but I have reservations with both of their mounting systems, which do you like better?

[evdog]

L-R: Original MS battery, recall replacement MS battery from GeoMan, current MS battery and light, cheap Amazon knockoff battery



I had the original Magicshine light back around 2009 or so. Worked great, when GeoManGear announced the recall I sent my 2 batteries in. It took forever getting replacements so I ordered 2 new ones elsewhere. Turns out they sent the same model batteries I'd just sent in under recall. Those were flawless just like the recall replacements. All of them still work fine 10 yrs later. GeoManGear went out of business because they did the right thing and replaced faulty batteries on their dime. I got a current model MS at an even a couple years ago. Their new stuff is really nice. I've had a few chinese Amazon knockoffs as well. The light heads have been great, they're an exact copy of the original Magicshine light heads. Only problem I've had with these was one battery spontaneously combusting in my pack during a ride. Didn't do any real damage but I definitely keep a closer eye on them now.

[jm2e]

Same story every year. We probe hard for light options as the days get shorter. We debate cheap vs pricey, bar vs helmet the limits of lumens. We get our pals together for 1 or 2 cold but moderately fun night rides.
Then we realize it's not super fun to get home at 10:00pm on a work night and we go back to just riding during the day on the weekends. I have a really nice box where all my lights live. One small light makes it to my pack because getting stuck without sucks. Another one is used for dog poop patrol.
YMMV

[Peruvian]

Same story every year. We probe hard for light options as the days get shorter. We debate cheap vs pricey, bar vs helmet the limits of lumens. We get our pals together for 1 or 2 cold but moderately fun night rides.
Then we realize it's not super fun to get home at 10:00pm on a work night and we go back to just riding during the day on the weekends. I have a really nice box where all my lights live. One small light makes it to my pack because getting stuck without sucks. Another one is used for dog poop patrol.
YMMV

It’s certainly a novelty for me as well, so I never wanted to spend several hundred $$$ as a result.

I have the original MS with warrantied battery pack but the heavy remote battery is a pain in the ass since I don’t use a backpack for sub-2 hour rides (like at night). The Shenkey was a cheap option so I bought 2 (helmet and bar mounts included) and really like it. Works great for road riding or on the townie bikes now, too.

[NuMexJoe]

Do you have a preference for the Shenkey or the Ceco? Both lights look solid but I have reservations with both of their mounting systems, which do you like better?

I don't own either, so really can't say. I was about to pull the trigger on the Ceco just to have a reasonably-sized self-contained battery to carry as a "just in case" light, but decided to go a different direction since I'd have needed to spend another $10 for a proper helmet mount for it. The Shenkey may not be as well built as the Ceco, but comes with both mounts and is cheaper. If you don't love it, you're only out $25 so it's hard to go wrong.

[SchralphMacchio]

Same story every year ... 1 or 2 cold but moderately fun night rides.
Then we realize it's not super fun to get home at 10:00pm on a work night and we go back to just riding during the day on the weekends.

It’s a different story in mild climates (California, southwest, and the south) and no kids. Before moving to Oregon and having a kid I used to get some pretty regular night riding in ... also it can be very nice because after dark, multi use or hiker only trails become only MTB and deer (and mountain lion - I ride with bells) trails after dark!