How long do good LED lights last?

[Wowbagger]

Yebbut how long - give me numbers ferchrissakes  

I haven't actually counted.

The Cateye must be 4 years old and the Solidlights are approaching that age. My Solidlights have been moved between bikes. I tend to leave them on even in daylight so I reckon they've probably been burning for at least 60% of my miles over 4 years. In that time I've cycled around 28000 miles so I'd guess at about 17000 miles' burn time out of about 28000 cycled at around 9.5 mph.

I bought the Hope second hand about 2 years ago (apparently it had been back to Hope for repairs).

The Smart and the Fantom are not that old and have seen relatively little use.

[frankly frankie]

I remember the 3 diode Vistas being around in 1993-1994

If you want to be a historian, the 3-led Vistas were on sale at the start of the 1991 PBP.
Basta made a 3-led rear light that pre-dated the Vista by 2 or maybe 3 years, but the genius of the Vista design was that it was the first to look like a traditional red rear light.

Back on topic - the Hope Vision 1 that I bought (for Sheila) failed after a single wet 600.
Her Topeak 3W torches have given no trouble over 4 years, but have now been pensioned off.
We've never had a Cateye 600/610 rear light fail - but I do always wrap the seams of any rear lights with PVC tape - seems an obvious and elementary precaution to me.

[Bledlow]

Lithium batteries have a limited useful lifespan, generally around two years.

Really? I've never known one die that quickly in a phone. Mrs B & I have two which must be 5 years old.

But I buy lights which use standard rechargeables, because I dislike & distrust custom batteries. They're always insanely expensive to replace, if you can replace them at all, & with AAs or whatever you can carry as many spare sets as you like without having bankrupted yourself to buy them, & use the same batteries in multiple devices.

[Bledlow]

Mrs B has a 1990s vintage Vistalite rear light on her road bike. Still works perfectly.

[LittleWheelsandBig]

The NiMH AA batteries soldered into HK's 2006 Light & Motion Vega had died more than a year ago.

Congratulations to all the YACFers with the exceptions to the battery life rules of thumb.

[vorsprung]

Inoled generator front light....2 years but that included PBP then the electrics went
B&M IQ Fly generator front... 18 months of commuting in all weathers and still fine
B&M Cyo generator front...over a year, including lending it to MSeries for LEL and using meself on Mille Cymru
B&M Seculite rear generator light....got #1 for PBP in 2007, that lasted until I smashed it in a crash in 2008.  #2 later in 2008 and still going strong
Dinotte 5W...4 1/2 years, had a problem with the wiring and battery pack but fixed it myself
Cateye EL320..12 months of commuting and it is now a non-working blob of rust
About 1/2 dozen Cateye TL1100 bought between 2007 and 2009.  One is broken because it has rotting rechargables in it, another is crash damaged, rest are in good order

My conclusions: anything B&M and generator powered is fab, Cateye fronts are crap, Dinotte looked fabulous and strong, cost quite a bit at the time but is still a good and usable light