Any recommendations for bike lights? They all seem to come with non-replaceable internal rechargable batteries these days 😢
Buy an 18650 based pocket flashlight and a flashlight handlebar mount.
This is what i use for downhill riding at night.
https://www.amazon.com/sofirn-SC29-Flashlight-Rechargeable-Emergencies/dp/B0CP7BK3FF
Please watch out to orient your light in a way that it wont point into your fellow cyclists eyes. That can be very unsettling.
Bike lights often have optics that try to prevent this from happening off course only when properly oriented.
I ride downhill mountain biking at night down super steep trails in the jungle. There is zero risk of another person being on the trail. But for sure do that if you’re riding around other people.
Riding that during the day not enough of a thrill anymore? Geebus, I’ve got the heebie jeebies just imagining it.
Hub dynamo plus high quality LED lights from Busch&Müller, Shutter Precision or something similar. Will work forever and you never run out of battery power again.
I second the dynamo, never felt it pulling me back and I always have working lights. I tease my bike enthusiast friend whenever he asks to charge his lights but it really is just convenient. So far I’ve never broken them so I think that’s a plus.
The best, longest lasting, but expensive route is a generator hub. Bonus, you can charge your phone, especially in the day.
Any number of torches can be used with a simple adapter. I’d recommend 18650 types, huge power, flashing modes etc., however there may be drawbacks
Just try to point it a bit more down at where you’re biking rather than straight ahead, tired of having to wear a cap when I run at night to block incredibly bright bike lights
I think the most “BIFL” solution is a non-LED reflector. I’ve never heard of a battery device that lasts the lifetime of a bike.
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Nah there are plenty with replaceable rechargeables. You might be better off asking on !flashlight@lemmy.world.
I believe it’s been recently discontinued, but the nitecore BR25 is one of the best I’ve seen. Removable battery, universal mount, shines light downwards so your actual bike is visible to others, has an excellent beam cutoff, and used to be relatively inexpensive (around or under $100).
The lack of replaceable batteries in most other lights is something I really despise.
Something dynamo based if you want to keep it for life IMO
My current bike light is a bit of the opposite - a Towild DLite with a non-replaceable 21700 battery inside. It has a remote for the handlebar, so I can switch between the two beam angles to avoid blinding other pedestrians/drivers, and also functions as a USB-C powerbank.
Really hoping I can replace the battery when it eventually gives up the ghost - might need to 3d print a replaceable back for it or something
Busch Müllers are great such as IXXON Core. Also, I’ve noticed more and more people having very bright bike headlights that don’t point downwards enough. They blind the hell out of me during my commute. Please do me the favor of orienting your light downwards and not pointing it into my eyes.
Check out Fenix. I was super happy with my Fenix headlamp, so when the time came for a new bike light I was pleased to find they make solid options. Removable battery, good brightness, good adjustability to not blind others, used it road and mountain biking at night. Easily unclips from bar when you’re leaving your bike locked up somewhere.
I haven’t seen this but it looks ok if you don’t mind the stupid UI. It uses a 21700 according to the PDF manual.
https://www.sofirnlight.com/products/sofirn-bs01-led-bike-light-teck
I would stay away from dynamo lights because they add rolling resistance.
Dynamo lights do add resistance, but unless you’re racing, it doesn’t really make too much difference. The bigger hurdle is the high cost of the hub
I used to live about 3 miles from school, mostly very flat. It was nice to be able to coast through the flat part. The school was on a small hill. So to get home at night, I could roll down the hill picking up some speed, then coast the rest of the way. A dynamo would have used up that energy.
I’d sooner invest in a set of lights that stand out more than a set of lights with replaceable batteries.
For daylight usage the Exposure Lights Trace and TraceR set are amazing. But yeah, non-replaceable…
Great at night too. I only have to change them every month or so on their lowest brightness, which is very very visible at night.
The good old “bottle dynamo” lights have stood the test of time.
No they haven’t. Those were always shit and are absolutely not suitable for modern traffic.
Maybe I’ve been lucky then. The ones I have had are from the 1970s and still work. They’re also easy to repair, which in my opinion is part of making a product “buy it for life”.
I’m sure modern hub dynamos are better in lots of ways, but I don’t know if they’re repairable in fifty years.
