LEDs finally caught up with HIDs? What MTB review.......

rootsrocker

Been waiting for the WhatMTB Lights review & it seems that they are really rating the new crop of LEDs this Autumn.

I had more or less settled on the HOPE HID (I've heard bad things about Lupine & reliability) but the HOPE LEDs' have such a great review that I'm tempted to get them instead.
But are they REALLY going to be comparable or will I be dissapointed......
I've been reading Steve W's reviews for over 10 years & I really trust his opinion but the hubbie says he can't believe LEDs' are going to be as good as WMTB say....

Help! I'm dying to splash out on a really good set of lights as I've managed for years on ancient BLT's & Smarts' but I have a dilemma going on and need to spend wisely !

Any views much appreciated.

dirtbiker100

What will MBUK say in a week or so in their group test? They might give more of an insight.

russ0228

don't believe everything you read as it all depends on what you want out of a light. i have tried pretty much all the new crop of leds and althought there are good in value and battery times however the good old hid still has its edge on the ability to shine further then the leds we tried(yes we have tried them all), although bright i don't like the blueness that the led shines. different strokes for different folks n all that

rootsrocker

Russ - thanks for the comments.

I want something good enough to ride fast singletrack & slower technical terrain (I want my cake & eat it!) I also commute on dark country lanes but my main concern is enough depth & reach for serious offroad fun.

Reading in between the lines the test seemed to be saying that HIDs' give more distance vision but were not so good on peripheral stuff as LEDs.

I like the warm halogen colour but don't really mind too much as long as I can see where I'm going

russ0228

i was impressed when zyro showed their new range of lupine led lights but that was in a controlled area. once back to the shop we pulled out all the lights in stock and tried our own little test in our uncontrolled area and found that no way in hell are leds as good as hid. BUT as far as value, they are great for the money. leds use less battery power than hid hence the longer burn times on the lower settings. led are very robust as you can whack them off a counter and they will lit (trust me we tried it). hid are by far more usefull for fast trail action but the cost for replacing a broken bulb is beyond a joke, i however will be keeping a hold of my light n lotion solo li-on for the time being. if i had to buy another light i would probably go for the same again as the beam is the same from edge to edge and has a good coverage for distance aswell. lie i said to each his own (or hers of course)

rootsrocker

Thanks again - useful info & much appreciated.

Looks like a choice between the HOPE HID 10wLi-on or the Light & Motion Li-on then.

I'll leave LEDs' until the technology has caught up some more.........

Cheers

neilmac

hee hee....i've been thinking EXACTLY the same way as you over the last few months!

In fact, this months WMB gives the award of 'Superbright Trail Light' to the Hope Vision HID! So I was all ready to splash the cash and plump for HID and wait another year or two before accepting that LED technology could surpass HID in terms of punch and reach.

But then, this morning, i managed finally to look at an online review of the eagerly anticipated Trinewt & Dinotte 600L.

http://acidinmylegs.blogspot.com/2007/0 ... shots.html

These lights pump out up to 600 lumens compared to the Hope's HID o/p of 450L!! And for about the same price!

I'm now back to square one....HID or LED!! Doh!

supersonic

For a given input (power), HID is brighter than LED. So it is also more efficient.