LED Front Light - Road Use

willbevan

Hi all,

Anyone got a link to something like this for road lights

http://reviews.mtbr.com/blog/bike-light ... omparison/

Okay there are some road HIDs etc on there, but the shots are in a back yard or a trail.

I'm looking for a LED set for road use, and with the exception of the new lumicycle system that has the option of a spot or flood (but its only 600 lumens standard, 850 on boost which lasts for 3 mins from what ive been reading) I was hoping to invest in something a little bit more powerful so I won't be wanting for more power.

I know some guys using lumicycle HIDs and the penetrtion is great for road riding, but the LED sets I see like the Hope 4 LED, Exposure MAXX D have a large throw for MTBing and after a LED set with high output for road riding.

I have seen the SSC P7 torches, but at 80 min run time im just not happy with that, and would like an upgrade route in the future (i hate stopping during evening rides, dont want to carry on riding)

I like the Hope LED 4s, as it has 3 spots and 1 flood looking at the lit, but only a 2hr 15 min run time on high.

Exposure maxx D, looks good but to much of a flood, and you can't just put an extra head unit on in the future, i.e. if i wanted a flood as well if i do night time MTBing, or want an extra spot...., run time is okay with the internal battery at 3 hrs, and can be extented with an external battery pack....

Lumicycle LED, okay at 600 lumens, but lower than everyone else (read my comment above about it not being 850lumens all the time, or i would be sold!, someoen correct me if im wrong)

Thanks

Will

maddog 2

don't know of a test but I run the two-LED Hope on the road and it's excellent. I run the battery directly attached to the stem plate (on a Thomson X4) and it's solid and tidy.

jvn01

willbevan wrote:

Hi all,

Anyone got a link to something like this for road lights

http://reviews.mtbr.com/blog/bike-light ... omparison/

Okay there are some road HIDs etc on there, but the shots are in a back yard or a trail.

I'm looking for a LED set for road use, and with the exception of the new lumicycle system that has the option of a spot or flood (but its only 600 lumens standard, 850 on boost which lasts for 3 mins from what ive been reading) I was hoping to invest in something a little bit more powerful so I won't be wanting for more power.

I know some guys using lumicycle HIDs and the penetrtion is great for road riding, but the LED sets I see like the Hope 4 LED, Exposure MAXX D have a large throw for MTBing and after a LED set with high output for road riding.

I have seen the SSC P7 torches, but at 80 min run time im just not happy with that, and would like an upgrade route in the future (i hate stopping during evening rides, dont want to carry on riding)

I like the Hope LED 4s, as it has 3 spots and 1 flood looking at the lit, but only a 2hr 15 min run time on high.

Exposure maxx D, looks good but to much of a flood, and you can't just put an extra head unit on in the future, i.e. if i wanted a flood as well if i do night time MTBing, or want an extra spot...., run time is okay with the internal battery at 3 hrs, and can be extented with an external battery pack....

Lumicycle LED, okay at 600 lumens, but lower than everyone else (read my comment above about it not being 850lumens all the time, or i would be sold!, someoen correct me if im wrong)

Thanks

Will

I wouldn't get too hung up on the lumen claims, the new Lumicycle in spot guise throws a great spot that to me at least is noticeably brighter (and further-reaching) than the Hope 4-LED, plus you get >4hrs runtime at this level. I ride with the new single Lumi LED3 spot on and off-road and find it a great all-round beam even for fast off-road stuff. Combine it with a second flood on the helmet or bars for off-road riding and you'd be sorted

crashdummy

The new lumicycle led can be run at the full power if you want to - you can over-ride the boost level to run continuously, then you have a REALLY bright light - but thats missing the point. The idea of having levels is to provide extra light when you need it, otherwise why bother with different levels! The lumi spot is amasing at the levels below boost. Knocks spots off any other comparable light for the money. I ride with others with all the other makes and they were all gobsmacked and somewhat peeved. Keep up the good work lumicycle i say, they are british and certainly best at looking after us customers.

cougie

Aaah didnt they do something clever on yacf ?

I love my P7btw - I just stop mid ride for a drink and swap batteries. For the money - you just cant come anywhere near that illumination.

mfin

I have an exposure Maxx D which I use for road and MTB. I like the system cos its all-in-one and I have a QR bracket on each bike so its clip on in a split second and out of the door. If you are trail riding you won't really want another light on the bars (I doubt), you will however want one on your head. So for that an Exposure Joystick is my choice, no wires to run to my head, a lanyard catspawed round the back of the helmet somewhere in case a branch knocks it off and off you go.

In the real world I've found this Maxx D great for swapping across bikes, before that I had a twin HID lumicycle setup but faffing around with bottle batteries or the strap to frame batteries was just a pain the ass. Especially on the road bike where you then have to have two bottle cages on the go etc... Anyway, brightness wise??? The twin HID was brighter, but with both on it was overkill really and on the road one would be fine at pretty much any speed so for convenience sake I'm completely sold on the Exposure Maxx D as that is way bright enough, light and user-friendly. Same for Joystick, brilliant bit of kit.

deal

P7 / MCE torch modified with external li-ion battery pack is a pretty good solution.

Wappygixer

I run a Hope twin LED on the road and offroad.
On full power it only lasts a bour 1 hour 45 mins but on medium last about 4 hours.Medium is ample of road riding in my experience, I even turn down to low for most stuff as its still btighter than most stand alone lights.
These things are so light but rock solid abd reasonably priced too.

jazzkailey

I have an hour and 15 min commute each way on dark unlit pitch black country roads and after much research bought the ayup roadie kit. It's a pair of LEDs with ~230 lumens whatever that means.
The best thing about them are that they are super light weight, will run for at least 6 hours on max intensity and take only 5-6 hours to fully recharge. It means I can use them for 3 days before recharging.
They are pretty bright, good enough for road usage, although probably not as bright as the lupine lights (but then they're less than half the price). You find oncoming car drivers give you a lot of respect as they're not sure what you are until you get close up.

blorg

I've done long (2am start in winter) night rides with my Fenix TK11. Changed the battery around 6am and the second one got me through to dawn and the first few hours of the next night. Plenty of light at 230 lumens rated.

What do you use at the moment? Why do you think you need more than 600 lumens?

cougie

Thats a very good point !

Will - you will pay a fortune for lights more powerful than the p7 - and there is no need to.

Buy two P7s and batteries and charger and you're prob looking at oooh £70 ?

Run one at a time and you have a good two and a half hours light. After which - stop for a energy bar - bung two batteries in and you're off for a another two hours or so.

Upgrade route is buy new lights when they're invented.

Seriously - try the P7 before you waste your money elsewhere. When I was a lad I'd do 50 mile night rides with only the crappy eveready lights we had back then (25 years ago). I doubt they'd even make it onto the lumen scale !

andrew_s

cougie wrote:

Aaah didnt they do something clever on yacf ?

here:
http://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic ... #msg206957

nferrar

Can't really argue against the cost/lumens of P7 torches, personally though I got fed up of worrying about batteries and clogging my bars up so bought an Ay-Up roadie kit. Not as bright as a P7 but with dual beams you can swivel independently I find they're good enough apart from when doing 30mph+ on country roads where I wouldn't mind a bit more penetration on the beam I have pointed up the road. I chose the mid beam option (the recommended one for road bars), with hindsight though I'd probably go for the narrow beam option if buying again. Still 6 hours battery life, minimal bar clutter, waterproof, well made, good customer service etc is worth more to me than having the brightest thing out there.

Tom Butcher

I run a P7 and a Use Joystick (a year old so they may be better now). The p7 on low is brighter than the Joystick on full power. Against that the Joystick is smaller, has a longer run time and comes with its own charger - but for me it just isn't bright enough to ride safely on unlit lanes at sort of speed - the p7 on full power is - and it only takes 30 seconds to change the battery over.