The ultimate cheap bike light £43.95 takes AA batteries!!

24

Comments

  • milese
    milese Posts: 1,233
    The torch was waiting for me when I got home tonight!

    I've not used it outside but it certainly seems bright, with a very white light compared to my big maglite.

    I got the fishblock thats designed to mount on handlebars, and it seems to work fine on my helmet. I've just strapped it to one of the bracings with the straps provided. It seems quite secure, and from jumping around the house with the helmet on and lights off all the play is going to come from the helmet chin strap, so I think my set up will be fine. Let me know if you want to see pics.

    Shame its pouring down else I might be tempted to go and explore some country lanes!
  • capoz77
    capoz77 Posts: 503
    Good stuff! :)

    Post pics! 8)
  • milese
    milese Posts: 1,233
    DSCN2789.jpg

    DSCN2790.jpg

    I took this myself!

    DSCN2806.jpg
  • alfablue
    alfablue Posts: 8,497
    Well I have ordered a Fenix L2D Q5 so by Tuesday I should be able to try it out and compare it with my Dinotte 5W Ultra - on paper the Fenix may beat it, and at a fraction of the price (I was lucky enough to get a 25% emergency services discount from Glowgadgets).
  • Broonster
    Broonster Posts: 440
    I haven't yet tried night riding, but I'm keen to give it bash. I don't want to go and spend a fortune on some of these 150 quid+ sets at this stage though, so I think these Fenix lights fit the bill in the meantime.

    I have a question though - is it best to have one of these on your bar + one on your helmet? Will that be sufficient for off-road riding?
    Winter: Moda Nocturne
    Road: Cervelo R3
    'Cross: Ridley X-Night
    Commuter: Genesis Day One
  • alfablue
    alfablue Posts: 8,497
    I have a question though - is it best to have one of these on your bar + one on your helmet? Will that be sufficient for off-road riding?
    Judging by the pics and reviews (not having got mine yet) I would think that would be a pretty good solution. They certainly should be brighter than my Dinotte, and people do off road with 2 Dinottes successfully. Run time might be a bit less, but taking out 4 extra AA's should cover that issue.
  • andyturner28
    andyturner28 Posts: 1,225
    You definately need a light on the bars and helmet i think. I find that if you only have a helmet light, it is very hard to see dips and potholes etc as the light is shining right into them, wheras if you have a light on the bars as well it will cast a shadow which makes obsticals much more visible. I only have a helmet mounted light at the moment and even giant roots are not visible untill i am right on top of them, so i will be asking Santa for an L2D Q3 :)

    Andy.
    SketchyMTB MTB rides in the South EastIMB_SIGNATURE%28GIF%29_468PX-2.gif
  • Steve_F
    Steve_F Posts: 682
    From reading these posts it seems that most people using them are either new to night riding or using these as a helmet light.

    Is anyone using possibly more than one of these as main lights and are they really up to the hype of £150+ lighting kit beaters. Would you really want to swap say a Hope LED system for two of these torches???

    If this is a YES, guess what I'll be buying next!
    Current steed is a '07 Carrera Banshee X
    + cheap road/commuting bike
  • simbil1
    simbil1 Posts: 620
    They are not as good as the expensive lights in my experience. I run 2 cree p4 torches on the bars and it compares roughly to 80-90% as bright as a friends £200 light on full. I think with a third on my helmet they will be about the same. The light pattern on the £200 light is better - less spot light, more illumination around the front wheel.
    Total cost doing that (3 lights) through a branded light like Fenix bought in the UK would probably be quite a lot when you consider the costs of batteries and chargers.
    To make it cheap, you really want to be buying unbranded from Hong Kong via sites like http://www.dealextreme.com/
    It will have cost me less than £100 for my 3 light setup with batteries and chargers, so half the price of an off the shelf setup. Quite a lot of hassle though!
    http://picasaweb.google.com/thefirstsimbil/Bikes
  • milese
    milese Posts: 1,233
    Simbil, do you know which non branded lights are comparable to the L2D Q5?

    Things look cheap on dealtime, cheap enough to get 2 for my bars, and use the Fenix as a helmet light.

    Did you have any issues with customs?
  • alfablue
    alfablue Posts: 8,497
    3x L2D Q5 would cost £111, 6x 2800 NiMH about £6, Charger about £15, lockblock mounts x 3 £15 (but you get one free from Glowgadgets if spending over £50), total £147, total output 540 lumens.

    If you are in the emergency services / NHS you get 25% off at Glowgadgets, so my spend would be about £90 (I have batteries and charger already). At that price I think it would be hard to beat.

    I have actually gone for 1x L2D Q5 to supplement my Dinotte - depending on how it works out I may go for a second one.

    The cheapest Hope LED I can find is this one at £154. 300 Lumens and 1.75hr run time.
  • capoz77
    capoz77 Posts: 503
    Ive tried a nightride with my Fenix simply mounted on the bars and its fine, not felt a need for a helmet light. Although from the positive feedback from running a helmet light on here I may purchase one,l for £37 it would be rude not too!
  • milese
    milese Posts: 1,233
    I just did my first night ride with the L2D on my helmet, and nothing on my bars. I got on fine really, but could do with another one, or hong kong equivelent, on the bars.
  • simbil1
    simbil1 Posts: 620
    Milese wrote:
    Simbil, do you know which non branded lights are comparable to the L2D Q5?

    Things look cheap on dealtime, cheap enough to get 2 for my bars, and use the Fenix as a helmet light.

    Did you have any issues with customs?

    Here's a Q5 based light:

    http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.9631

    You can't goo wrong for £13! You'll also need some batteries (it takes lithium) and a charger:

    http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.3273
    £2.50
    http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.1236
    £5.75
    http://www.dealextreme.com/search.dx/search.2709
    £1.15

    So you'll be looking at a little over £20 delivered. Then you'll need to get LockBlocks too if you need mounts.

    With DX, check that it is in stock before ordering or you may end up waiting. If in stock they dispatch quickly and take a couple of weeks to swim in from Honk Kong.

    Type Q5 in at the top, they have a few torches. I always stick to stuff that has good ratings (at least 4 star).

    I've never had an issue with customs when ordering from DX :wink:
    http://picasaweb.google.com/thefirstsimbil/Bikes
  • milese
    milese Posts: 1,233
    Thanks for all your help mate, I want to stick to AA's though for simplicity!

    I'll have a good rummage through later to see if I can find any Q5 2 x AA's.

    Whats next best after the CREE Q5?
  • capoz77
    capoz77 Posts: 503
    http://www.glowgadgets.co.uk/fenix-l2d- ... l-products

    See my original post and there are some further pics on previous pages.


    180 lumens of the Q5 vs 175 lumens of the Rebel 100 your really not going to even notice the difference (but you will get *slightly* longer run times)

    BUT just noticed they do sell a 2x AA version of the Q5 :)

    http://www.glowgadgets.co.uk/fenix-l2d- ... l-products
  • alfablue
    alfablue Posts: 8,497
    capoz77 wrote:

    BUT just noticed they do sell a 2x AA version of the Q5 :)

    http://www.glowgadgets.co.uk/fenix-l2d- ... l-products

    Yes, this is the one I got this week, just tested it and on High (not Turbo) it gave me plenty of light for an unlit railway path ride, and I got about 4 hours 10 minutes run time on 2900mah batteries. It is superb! It knocks spots off my Dinotte 5w (2 hour run time, less bright than Fenix, 4 AAs).
  • simbil1
    simbil1 Posts: 620
    Milese wrote:
    Thanks for all your help mate, I want to stick to AA's though for simplicity!

    I'll have a good rummage through later to see if I can find any Q5 2 x AA's.

    Whats next best after the CREE Q5?

    The CREE P4 is the next best and is nearly as good as a Q5. There are loads of P4 torches on DX including AA ones, for example http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.4610

    There don't see to be any Q5 running off AA's yet at DX.
    http://picasaweb.google.com/thefirstsimbil/Bikes
  • rrsodl
    rrsodl Posts: 486
    I have been doing a bit off-road cycling with my new P3D Premium and the light is excellent, much much better than I first thought after watching a video in Youtube - that video is totally misleading :twisted:

    I'm happy that I chose the P3D Premium :) the power is impressive. I normally run two lights on my bar, an Electron Nano 1 and also an Electron Nano 9, which are fine for the kind of night riding I do......however, with the Fenix P3D on my helmet in high power one cannot tell the two lights on the bar are on :shock: and the Turbo mode, 215 lumens, is even better. The light is so small that I can put it in my shirt pocket.

    I don't know how long the batteries last in full power, as I have been testing different modes.... I will have a go in full power with two fully charged batteries and post the results here.

    Did I hear Rick want a T1 for Xmas? :lol:


    Rick
  • capoz77
    capoz77 Posts: 503
    Glad you guys are as impressed as I was :)
  • rrsodl
    rrsodl Posts: 486
    capoz77 wrote:
    Glad you guys are as impressed as I was :)

    I'm very impressed!!!

    Thanks capoz77 for starting this thread.

    Rick
  • milese
    milese Posts: 1,233
    I just took delivery of my second L2D with OP reflector to put on my bars.

    Not riden with it yet but the light pattern is slightly more evenly spread then the smooth one I've got on my helmet.

    I've recently started riding with a group, and I've been asked about the light as they seem impressed, and more so at the price!
  • Underscore
    Underscore Posts: 730
    simbil1 wrote:
    Milese wrote:
    Thanks for all your help mate, I want to stick to AA's though for simplicity!

    I'll have a good rummage through later to see if I can find any Q5 2 x AA's.

    Whats next best after the CREE Q5?

    The CREE P4 is the next best and is nearly as good as a Q5. There are loads of P4 torches on DX including AA ones, for example http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.4610

    There don't see to be any Q5 running off AA's yet at DX.

    To say that a P4 is almost as good as a Q5 is slightly misleading. Look here and you will see that the Q5 produces very nearly a third more light at the same drive current and, due to a similar increase in efficiency, it will have very similar run times.

    Having said that, the DX light is very cheap for something that outputs 75% of the light produced by the L2D-Q5! - though I would question at that price whether it constant current driven...

    _
  • milese
    milese Posts: 1,233
    Gwaredd wrote:
    My Cateye EL530 kicks the crap out of that too. £31 delivered off eBay. Wide beam & spot at the same time.

    Best of the battery lights IMO

    I've just had an EL530 delivered, bit of a rushed purchase as I've now got 2 L2Ds.

    Paid £21 for it delivered from US ebay.

    I have to say the EL530 is woeful compared to the L2D. Put the EL530 on in a dark room and yeah you can see, then put the L2D on and you can barely see the light beam of the EL530.

    I think I'll put it back on ebay, or stick it on the road bike I'm about to buy.
  • capoz77
    capoz77 Posts: 503
    Milese wrote:
    Gwaredd wrote:
    My Cateye EL530 kicks the crap out of that too. £31 delivered off eBay. Wide beam & spot at the same time.

    Best of the battery lights IMO

    I've just had an EL530 delivered, bit of a rushed purchase as I've now got 2 L2Ds.

    Paid £21 for it delivered from US ebay.

    I have to say the EL530 is woeful compared to the L2D. Put the EL530 on in a dark room and yeah you can see, then put the L2D on and you can barely see the light beam of the EL530.

    I think I'll put it back on ebay, or stick it on the road bike I'm about to buy.

    :lol: :oops:

    I didn't think a Cateye would come anywhere close to a Fenix
  • alfablue
    alfablue Posts: 8,497
    RRSODL wrote:
    I saw the video comparison BUT.... I wanted to see a comparison against cateye or electron similar products.

    I also watched this video and it does look as good as my electron Nano 1 wat which you can now get for £20, including a 7 LED rear light.


    Rick
    L2D CE Q5 kicks the cr*p out of the Electron Nano 1 watt (which I also have) by a maginitude of about ten times! The Nano is great for a city light, especially on flashing, but on unlit paths it is a struggle to see anything, whereas the Fenix gives all the light you could want for, without even using the highest mode. It is crazy to think I have spent probably £350 over the last few years on light sets, and this little bugger outdoes them all at £37!
  • rrsodl
    rrsodl Posts: 486
    alfablue wrote:
    RRSODL wrote:
    I saw the video comparison BUT.... I wanted to see a comparison against cateye or electron similar products.

    I also watched this video and it does look as good as my electron Nano 1 wat which you can now get for £20, including a 7 LED rear light.


    Rick
    L2D CE Q5 kicks the cr*p out of the Electron Nano 1 watt (which I also have) by a maginitude of about ten times! The Nano is great for a city light, especially on flashing, but on unlit paths it is a struggle to see anything, whereas the Fenix gives all the light you could want for, without even using the highest mode. It is crazy to think I have spent probably £350 over the last few years on light sets, and this little bugger outdoes them all at £37!

    I know I know :oops: read my previous post :) I bought the P3D premium that is more powerful than the L2D Q5 - the video I saw was misleading, I could not really appreciate how good the fenix torch is.

    I will probably buy another P3D Premium to mount on the bar.

    Rick
  • alfablue
    alfablue Posts: 8,497
    You're well and truly hooked, Rick.

    I think it is very difficult to get a true impression with video (because of auto-exposure?), but some carefully taken stills do a better job of showing the differences - maybe I should do some with my collection.
  • capoz77
    capoz77 Posts: 503
    you lot are all now true converts!
  • alfablue
    alfablue Posts: 8,497
    we are your disciples, Capoz, we have seen the way, the truth and the light!

Categories