night riding MTB ?
rossml21
Posts: 5
Have been mountain biking for last few years haven't really done any night riding but am determined to get out on the trails this winter. Looking at getting a set of lights to get me out on the trails for probably for upto 3 hours at a time. I am hoping to spend around £150 less if i can get away with it( i know this is limited but its aboutt all i can afford and really wanna get out). Lights i'm considering are Exposure Joystick Maxx at £124.99, Nite Rider Minewt x2 dual £180, Niteflux Photon Max LED £169... Any advice welcome before I go ahead and choose one. Cheers
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Comments
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Do us a favour and do a search !!
This bout the zillionth What light thread this month.0 -
Exactly. Use the 'search' function thats just to the left of the Members List icon and enter Fenix - I think they get mentioned on most threads.
Happy reading !0 -
Unfortunately I'm in the same boat as yourself, quite fancy trying out a bit of night riding but never sure what lights to go for.
If you fancy a few pointers get this months Mountainbiking Uk magazine because they have a few lights on review this month.
Shame about the two replys above all you wanted was some feedback not a bit of abuse from people who are obviously experts on making people feel bad about themselves, and not mountain bike lights.
Stevens Cyclocross
One One Pompino
Giant Talon 00 -
Scott - I've posted shedloads about lights lately - as have lots of other posters. Some of the other threads run to about 9 pages - surely it makes sense to send Ross there rather than start yet another one...
MBUK review has already been mentioned, and its not fantastic either.
My advice for £150 - 3 x L2D Fenix lights. 2 on the bars, one on the helmet. Charger + batteries + 2 bar mounts. Prob about £152. Sorted.
Happy now ?0 -
I had a funny felling someone would reply, my problem is people being quick to jump down peoples throats about the least little thing and, that is mostly to make themselves feel better. Just a bit of common decency from people would go a long way.
I totally see your point as well but wee all do it now and again but looks like you have redeemed yourself by giving him some info. Thats all that was asked so wee are all good.
I'm normally the last to say anything so I shall now remove myself from my dictators seat and go and make my tea.
Stevens Cyclocross
One One Pompino
Giant Talon 00 -
The Joystick on its own isnt powerful enough. it has a good Central beam but not much in the way of floodlighting the trail. Very good on the helmet when used with its more powerful brothers.
Ayups are meant to be very good. Also lumicycle do a Good starter light set for around your budget I think.
I had my first night ride on friday after I borrowed a set of lights from a mate. I used the exposure Joysitck and the big 3 led one which gave out a great level of lighting used together. Its much funner in the dark than in daylight and everything seems much faster0 -
Cheers for everyone's response,
was expecting someone to have a go.. but hey ho whats new..
Just for the record I have spent a few hours trailing through old posts, mags and most things I could get my hands on, being not very technical it doesnt take long to become confused with it all, ( maybe tyhats just me) but my post was based on what i had limited my choice down to. I was looking to get some helpful advice relating to the specific lights mentioned and in particular people who may have these lights or used them for this kinda of riding, which luckily a couple of decent people managed to respond to... If u are fed up with posts about lights then why spend ur time reading them...there are thousands of posts on here, with all sorts of topics why choose the ones that annoy you?
Any way Back to why I'm here. Does anyone use the Nite Rider Minewt x2 Dual lights? any comments on them? was thinking about getting these for the bars and possibly LD2 for my helmet or 3w cree lights from Tesco which I have been told are not bad.0 -
Hi rossml21,
got myself some Electron 16 led rechargeables from cyclexpress for under 55 quid today.
Spent the afternoon charging the battery and fiiting lights to bike, then went out after tea
for my first night trail ride 8)
For the money spent these are great, not exactly daylight and will have to get a helmet
torch or something for the twisty bits, but overall happy with them
Rode for two hours and lites still bright, no sign of battery draining
Only gripe is lead connector from battery to light connectors work loose over some of the
heavier sections on my trail so going to tape them up tomorrow and try again :idea:
Take a look at:
http://www.cyclexpress.co.uk/doSearch.a ... ron+16+led
Like i say, for the price aint all bad!'Collapse the Light into Earth'0 -
scottjessuk wrote:I had a funny felling someone would reply, my problem is people being quick to jump down peoples throats about the least little thing and, that is mostly to make themselves feel better. Just a bit of common decency from people would go a long way.
I totally see your point as well but wee all do it now and again but looks like you have redeemed yourself by giving him some info. Thats all that was asked so wee are all good.
I'm normally the last to say anything so I shall now remove myself from my dictators seat and go and make my tea.
There was no abse in my post as far as I could see and sorry if anbody found it abusive.
All I was saying was rather than start another thread doing a search (as I did when I wanted info on lights about a month ago) is the way to go. It's only good form etiquette to search before posting a new thread.
I would nomally have done the search my self and posted the links but I was sort on time.
Sorry again if you found my post abusive it was not intended that way at all.0 -
Okay update on my experience with the electrons.
Plenty of light to see by, taped up the leads and no chance of them coming undone,
(said it now haven't i) :!:
Got a ten quid Tesco cree torch and fastened it securely to bike helmet. its perfect
for the twisty tracks and makes the wildlife come alive.
I'm happy anyway and I've now got some extra time to go riding.
Cheers all 'Collapse the Light into Earth'0 -
is it not time we had a what light sticky?Carbon is a mans best freind0
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some good advice from above about the joystick not quite cutting it on its own as most recent mtb reviews would think you can.
i use one along with hope vision 4 & its ok but not suited for serious night rides on its own.
it makes a great helmet light & a very good commute light.
i am a big fan of the exposure range & would also take a look on ebay as loads of people seem to be selling there race maxx enduro maxx off for the new maxx-d.
so youi may get lucky if you bde your time .0 -
I would like the Joystick Maxx try beat my Fenix TK11 with 18650 batteries.
I paid 50.00 for the light, 14.95 for the charger and 10.00 for the battery.
Will look around to get cheaper batteries but needed them now and the fenix shop ships next day for free.
I had the whole street awake when it was put on high.
The joystick maxx , 120-150.00
You can buy 2-3 of the above lights and you will be able to signal UFO's trust me.
Oh and can you put the other lights under water in the bath? also are they made with aircraft grade metal?0 -
the fenix has a useless burn time don,t see the point.
yes you can run it on low but then my clipper lighter would be more affective.
post a picture of the beam pattern.
don,t get me wrong its good value but useless as an off road light.0 -
canada16 wrote:I would like the Joystick Maxx try beat my Fenix TK11 with 18650 batteries.
I paid 50.00 for the light, 14.95 for the charger and 10.00 for the battery.
Will look around to get cheaper batteries but needed them now and the fenix shop ships next day for free.
I had the whole street awake when it was put on high.
The joystick maxx , 120-150.00
You can buy 2-3 of the above lights and you will be able to signal UFO's trust me.
Oh and can you put the other lights under water in the bath? also are they made with aircraft grade metal?
The fenix (and the dealextreme 18650 p7 lights even moreso) are great value for money but in my experience suffer on useable run-times. My Fenix L2D lasts under an hour on good rechargeables on Turbo before dropping down in power. Better with good non-rechargeables granted, but an hour isn't enough.
This is not really a problem if you don't mind spending 5mins changing the batteries in 2or 3 lights. Also, the controls on the dealextreme lights can be a bit temperamental.
My current set up is :
Helment: Fenix L2D (lasts about 50-60mins on full Turbo before tailing off to about it's medium setting power. It's only after about 5 mins of the light dimming a bit that you realise- each time I always thing it's my eyes tuning into the dark before realising the light has dimmed!)
Considering the cost I'd rate it: Brightness 8/10, runtime 6/10 (8/10 with good disposables), controls 6/10 (or 9/10 if you just leave it on turbo)
Bar:
1/ MTE SSC P7 900-Lumen 5-Mode Super LED Flashlight (18650
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.12060
No way is it 900 Lumens! But, VERY GOOD FLOOD- almost no spot on it. With a good 18650 it lasts longer than the Fenix on Turbo, can't say how long as I change the battery at the same time as the Fenix. Control's are rubbish, and some issues with the rechargeable 18650's (basically, I think there's some variation in total length between the rechargeable's i'm using and others avaialable- Torch works fine as long as you don't screw the cap completely shut- this could raise issues with 'waterproofnes')
Considering the cost I'd rate it: Brightness (for flood only) 9/10, runtime 8/10, controls 5/10
2/ A Q5 Dealextreme Cree torch using 18650. http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.10637
Got this before the p7's came out.
For under £25 posted, with charger and 2 bateries it's amazing value.
This is a compromise between Flood and spot, not as good flood as the P7, not quite as good spot as the fenix. Better run-times than the Fenix though.
Considering the (amazing) cost I'd Rate this: Brightness (8/10), Runtime 8/10, controls (2 modes only, ice and easy) 8/10.
My ratings are based on a rough performance to cost basis, with run-time based on an hour being too short, 1.5-2 hours being about right. Using rechargeable batteries. The Fenix with good disposable batteries is probably the best 'single light option', but it costs the same as the other 2 together.
If you've already got a Fenix on helmet, seriously consider a P7 for the bars. If the controls were faultless I'd say it was the best single purchase for the cost i've made for my MTB! Maybe some of the other P7 torches have better controls.
Overall, for about £120 I've got 3 lights and enough batteries for 3 hours riding on full power. Great Value, but the trade off is in annoying controls, having to take and change spare batteries. Considering the alternatives at under £150 I feel it's a great option. If the difference between £150 and £300 isnt much to you, go for one of the MTB specific light sets as it'll be a lot less hastle.
Torch mounts:
posted this before but:
BEST: http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.8274
Use with a bit of electrical tape to fully secure torch. Only downside is the screw could score your bars- maybe not suitable for carbon bars. Once taped in you need to fully unscrew from bars- only take a minute so not a real downside
RUBBISH- AVOID
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.792
GOOD for helmet mountin
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.120000 -
It says on test forums that the TK11 will last 2.7 hours to 50% with 2200mah 3.7 18650 batteries. Mind you they are expensive for proper ones.
I opted for the aw Cell which are protected made in the US and auto cut off.
They were a tenner each, but on candlepower they say they are the best.
Remember the dell battery problem were they were catching fire, same battery, but they again were made in hong kong or asia.
I got kids so I would reommend paying a little extra and getting the best.
I am very happy with it, and is still going after a few days on general, which again is quite bright.0
