[darkpuppet]

HID bike lights will run between $500-$1000+ MSRP. I found a dealer through amazon that sold the Topeak Moonshine HID for $300. So that's what I got.

The piece o' crap BLT i recently returned cost $180 for 90 lumens of light
the Sigma Kelmit cost $75 for 70 lumens (which is rather bright for an LED light - and waaaaay brigher than the BLT I returned).

for basic commuting and trail riding, the kelmit would suffice.

Then you get into Halogens that cost about $200 and up for 20-30watts of total power. But the runtime on Halogens is abysmal compared to HIDs.

Also, there are companies like lupine, DiNotte and nightlightning that make LED lights that'll blow away HIDs, but they typically cost $600 and up.

So while I would have loved to stay LED, HID was the better $/performance ratio..

Another option for HIDs is trailtech. They make a motocross HID system (handlebar and helmet mount) that would work fine on mountainbikes, and their kits fall well under the pricepoint of most bicycle-specific HIDs (they sell for about $290 for single light solutions, $350 for dual). I was just too chicken to give it a whirl when Topeak offered a decent solution.