Bike Lights

Rear: flashing red light from Fry's
Front: LED strobing light... ok to be seen but it's not good enough to see in dark areas, so I'm trying a new light (performance viewpoint Gen3)

The cheapo halogens I've used in the past were too wimpy.
I've seen people with HID lights. They're incredibly bright.. but also incredibly expensive..

though I guess that depends on your available budget...

I use the NiteRider Classic Plus ($250).  I've had no problems with this light system.  At its peak it appears as brite as a car headlight.  Its very bright.  It gives you three options of briteness in order to save battery life, which by the way is about 4 hours of solid use.  I've owned the other types of lights and this one by far is the best.  Don't waste your money on the small battery powered ones.  They are a waste of money.

I also use four flashing Red LED's on the rear.  Two on the bike, two clipped to my jersey.

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This is what I am using: http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?category=&subcategory=&brand=510...

It is the Light and Motion Solo. Plenty bright for pitch dark riding. I wouldn't want to take it off road or descend a mountain pass at 45 mph, but for bike commuting at 18-24 mph it is fine. I cut a water bottle in half and put the battery in there. Works great. I use a cateye blinking LED. Very bright. If you are talking about a normal bike commute, this setup would be fine. I am sure that the HID lights are much brighter, but the Light and Motion solo is plenty of light for only 100 bucks.

Mike
P.S. Riding at night is fun.

You don't have to buy expensive bike lights. I use a flashing one on the back and in the front use two headlights, yes, two — I aim one light a little lower and one out further out. I can cruise along at a good clip and see everything I need to for a safe ride. One of the lights I have is a Cateye and the other I picked up at Target, I think, for eight bucks.

I also use a Niterider dual head light. It's an older one that I used for night mountain biking in places where the light was otherwise zero. It has been very reliable over the years and survived a number of trail crashes. When it's fully charged it seems as bright as a car headlight.

The new HID lights are very nice too. A single lamp seems to do what my dual lamps can, but the burn times have improved as well as the battery charging time (which takes forever with mine).

If you plan to do a lot of riding in the dark, I suggest that you invest in a nice light (and it is an investiment, mine cost about $300.00 a half dozen years ago). The price hasn't come down too much, but the technology continues to improve.

A good bright is necessary not only to help you see where you are going, but at least as important so that you can be seen. I use a small, inexpensive, variable speed red flasher on the back.

I'm pretty retro in my light setup, but for years I've had very good luck by using two niterider digital lights; one on my handlebar with a flood bulb, and one on my helmet with a spot bulb. I use a little battery powered blinky light on my seat post for safety.

There are many new, more fancy lights out there (HID) that eliminate the need to run two lights, but I've always preffered to have the two seperate lights.

Good Luck!

Do you want to see, or be seen? To be seen, the flashing LEDs are great. Trek has a set for about $49 that does disco strobing on both the red rear, and white front, and includes batteries. Platform shoes not included. LED lights use very little power so you're likely to have a light that works when you need it.

To see down the road, look at what mtb riders buy to ride at night. If you can see a trail at speed, at night, the road will be a cinch. I like adding a headlamp cause it goes where I want to see, like down side streets, in the ditch, or wherever I need to see.

Excellent question! See, I didn't even know enough about this to know what information to provide.

I want to be seen. This will be for commuting on roads that will have sufficient lighting (street lights and other traffic) that I will be able to see where I'm going, I just want to make sure all of the maniac drivers out there see me!