Recommendation for Urban Commuting

GlazedHam said:

Several years ago, I was look for a light setup for offroad riding and got lost in all the options. I was amazed at the level of expertise on the forum and thus just bought what was recommended at the time for my budget ...Night Fighter. They have been awesome and still in use today.

My wife is looking for some inexpensive lights for inner-urban commuting in the rush hour time frame. I no longer bike commute because I'm working from home, but I have to believe things have evolved a bit from a couple of blinkies like I used to use. Lights to see and be seen, I suppose.

Can anyone point me a "great" setup? Not afraid of Chinese-made and only want to drop $200 max.

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I have used the light and motion commuter lights for ages without issue, bright enough to ride in dark rainy conditions I see in Seattle, long enough charge to last a morning and evening commute of 50+ minutes each leg, usb rechargable and weather proof, also reasonable price and various lumen amounts: https://lightandmotion.com/collections/urban-cycling/products/rando-500

All sorts of different brands offer lights that'll work for urban commuting. Ravemen, Magicshine, Cygolite, Lezyne, Niterider are only a few. You just get to choose how much output you want and how much you want to spend. One nice feature I like for road lights is lenses with "dipped" or "anti-glare" beams to avoid blinding oncoming traffic. I know several Ravemen and Magicshine (and even cheap Chinese lights like Astrolux) offer this. Beyond that you can get as fancy as you want - day time running lights, light sensors for automatic turn on and dimming, etc., but basically you just want enough light over a decent runtime in a beam shape that works for you. Many different lights can provide that.

wayold said:

... One nice features I like for road lights is lenses with "dipped" or "anti-glare" beams to avoid blinding oncoming traffic. I know several Ravemen and Magicshine (and even cheap Chinese lights like Astrolux) offer this ...

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Ha ...I remember around 20 years ago when the super powerful halogens(?) were popular, i used to stop traffic with my helmet-mounted light. People weren't used to that pure-white, super-bright light back then --I think they assumed I was the police or an urban hunter. Had to point the lights down quite a bit just to keep from annoying folks ...and my own safety.

GlazedHam said:

My wife is looking for some inexpensive lights for inner-urban commuting in the rush hour time frame. I no longer bike commute because I'm working from home, but I have to believe things have evolved a bit from a couple of blinkies like I used to use. Lights to see and be seen, I suppose.

Can anyone point me a "great" setup? Not afraid of Chinese-made and only want to drop $200 max.

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Magicshine® RAY 2600 Front Bike Headlight

The Magicshine Ray2600 is not exactly an inexpensive light (in your budget though) but looks like a good commuter option with a lot of nice features and more than enough power to be noticed in rush hour urban traffic. I've not tried this one but I think it's worth a look. Magicshine's new offerings are highly improved in quality and I consider them a premium option.

https://www.outboundlighting.com/products/road-edition

If you don't mind a separate lighthead and battery setup the Outbound Road is the best road light I've ever tried. It's a pretty simple light with not a lot of features just the best beam/output setup for road use IMO!

Ravemen CR1000 Front Light [RV-CR1000] at WesternBikeworks

Ravemen's CR1000 is also a great option if 1000 lumens is enough. Great quality and very nice beam that provides excellent visibility even at low lumen settings. For MUP use I'm fine in the 350 lumen mode and can get almost 6 hrs. of runtime.
Mole

MRMOLE said:

The Magicshine Ray2600 is not exactly an inexpensive light (in your budget though) but looks like a good commuter option with a lot of nice features and more than enough power to be noticed in rush hour urban traffic. I've not tried this one but I think it's worth a look. Magicshine's new offerings are highly improved in quality and I consider them a premium option.

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Note that the Ray 2600 sold on the Magicshine.us site for $145 does not include the wired remote, while the one sold on the Magichine.com site for $150 does. While I'm not a huge fan of remotes for bar lights this one actually does add some functionality and may be worth the extra $5. Specifically the Ray 2600 has several modes (left, right, both, flash) that you have to cycle through with a series of double clicks. A double click of the remote always takes you to an oncoming-traffic-friendly medium power in the single "dipped" beam, while a single click returns you to whatever mode you were in - most usefully to both beams in the high power setting. Being able to have a simple HI-LO switch without having to wander through all the other modes is quite convenient and, I think, worth getting the remote for.

Thanks for all the suggestions ...going with the Outbound Trail Evo based on reviews and price, albeit more expensive than my original budget.

GlazedHam said:

Thanks for all the suggestions ...going with the Outbound Trail Evo based on reviews and price, albeit more expensive than my original budget.

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which is, considering the beam characteristics, not a commuter light at all. A proper commuter light needs a cutoff, which most of the here mentioned lights do not have. Only the Outbound Focal Road and the announced Outbound Detour (Like a Hangover but with Cutoff) do have a cutoff. (or any light with a "StVZO" label).

biking_tg said:

which is, considering the beam characteristics, not a commuter light at all. A proper commuter light needs a cutoff, which most of the here mentioned lights do not have. Only the Outbound Focal Road and the announced Outbound Detour (Like a Hangover but with Cutoff) do have a cutoff. (or any light with a "StVZO" label).

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True ...it may be like when Homer Simpson gave Marge a bowling ball for Christmas.

The Outbound EVO may not be a true commuter light but the top of its beam is broad and fairly flat so aimed down a little it's a better reduced top spill light than most. Run in its lower output modes it's fairly low dazzle while still providing the user with a good view of what's in front of them.
Mole