The bike light I really want:

* Costs no more than $60, preferably less. Cheap enough to carry a spare at all times is ideal.
* Is bright.
* Doesn't care about rain and freezing.
* Runs on off-the-shelf batteries in a common size (AAA would be best, but I'll take AA).
  * No fancy charger, no USB port.
* Gets dimmer as it wears down, but _does not shut off without substantial warning_.
* Has two modes: On and off.
  * No dimmer, no blinky mode. Fuck blinky mode.
  * I want a product with as little onboard logic as possible.
* Has a simple switch not easily triggered by random jostling.
* Does not rattle.
* Does not fall off.

Does this exist? So far, I've tried products from NiteRider, Planet Bike, Cateye, and a couple of others. None of them are still working. (Well, with the exception of the ones that fell off. For all I know maybe those are fine.)

I'm seriously starting to consider getting into the market for myself. It seems like a crowded field from the outside, but either it's a lot harder to produce a glorified flashlight with a little clip on it than you'd think, or there is a killing to be made here.

-- bpb nov. 14 2011