What light?

8673sharp

I am looking for a decent reasonably priced light. I cannot decide between the Maxx enduro and the maxx joystick. It would be predominately for commuting duties, and the occasional foray off road. Does anyone have any experience of both? Thanks in advance for the advice.

cougie

MTE P7 torch from Dealextreme.

doyler78

ayups get my vote. Great lights. Very light and very neat and very robust.

http://www.ayup-lights.com/

Have mine 2 years now and still going great.

alfablue

I'm with Cougie, P7 is the way to go, dedicated bike lights are much too expensive for the performance. See this thread http://www.bikeradar.com/forum/viewtopi ... sc&start=0

bobpzero

http://www.nightlightning.co.nz/adventure_lighting_products.htm

queenylove

www.troutie.com he makes his own and there are none better

strodey

go for the enduro if you cann afford the extra! if not for what you need the joystick would be fine, just fit to helmet for off road

cougie

Yeah Maxx Enduro is a snip at £230..... Its probably about as bright as a P7 - the only advantage is the longer run time.
For a quick stop and a change of a battery - I'll keep the extra £200 thankyouverymuch... ;-)

bompington

cougie wrote:

Yeah Maxx Enduro is a snip at £230..... Its probably about as bright as a P7 - the only advantage is the longer run time.
For a quick stop and a change of a battery - I'll keep the extra £200 thankyouverymuch... ;-)

+1 for that sentiment.
Is it too much to hope that the makers of "quality" bike lights will one day realise they're going to get run off the market by cheap far-eastern LEDs like the various cheap lights using the P7?
Or are there enough people (and something tells me this might be the case) in the cycling world who persistently believe that spending £100s more than they need to will somehow make a real difference?

cougie

http://www.mtbbritain.co.uk/mountain_bi ... w_led.html

Richard1972

Appreciate that this is adding zero value to the debate, but I managed to get a cut-price Lupine Betty a couple of weeks ago, and tested it in Richmond Park at the weekend.

If you accidentally mis-aim it, it pretty much sets the trees on fire and barbeques any stray rabbits. Absolutely phenomenal power, although worth about £200 more than the bike it was attached to.

bompington

From tredz.co.uk:

If youre into 24-hour solo racing, epic night rides or you simply must have the mother of all lighting systems, this Betty is for you.
The Features of the Lupine Betty 14 2009 - Rechargeable Light are:
•1500 lumen lamp unit

All this for just £825!

I know life isn't linear, but I would always hope to get more than a 67% performance increase from a 3300% price increase

doyler78

bompington wrote:

cougie wrote:

Yeah Maxx Enduro is a snip at £230..... Its probably about as bright as a P7 - the only advantage is the longer run time.
For a quick stop and a change of a battery - I'll keep the extra £200 thankyouverymuch... ;-)

+1 for that sentiment.
Is it too much to hope that the makers of "quality" bike lights will one day realise they're going to get run off the market by cheap far-eastern LEDs like the various cheap lights using the P7?
Or are there enough people (and something tells me this might be the case) in the cycling world who persistently believe that spending £100s more than they need to will somehow make a real difference?

We can't make our own minds up and anyone who doesn't follow your buying decisions are all just morons?

How easy is it to helmet mount your P7 without compromising the integrity of the helmet?

You see I paid for mine because they were bike specific. They were small, compact, had fantastic battery life, easily charged, came with everything I needed to get me up and running. Had a 10 year no quibble replacement warranty on the light unit itself. It came with fixings for 2 bikes and for my helmet. They were as birght as you could on the market at that time (they have now upgraded the spec of the lights themselves). I can tilt each light independtly which means I can dip if needed easily. Thats why I made my decision and I am very happy with that.

I wouldn't stick a couple of torches on my bike if you paid me so I also paid for something that wasn't ugly either. Now that is just my opinion and as you can see it based on a whole lot more than just whether I believe you can get better performance from the led or not (which I'm sure I couldn't). Perhaps next time you might actually credit some of us with a little more intelligence than you have here. You don't have to agree with it.

Richard1972

Fair point, although I have tiny, tiny genitals, and I needed those lumens......!!

My rear light was £7

robthehungrymonkey

cougie wrote:

MTE P7 torch from Dealextreme.

Tis awesome. 8)

bompington

doyler78 wrote:

bompington wrote:

cougie wrote:

Yeah Maxx Enduro is a snip at £230..... Its probably about as bright as a P7 - the only advantage is the longer run time.
For a quick stop and a change of a battery - I'll keep the extra £200 thankyouverymuch... ;-)

+1 for that sentiment.
Is it too much to hope that the makers of "quality" bike lights will one day realise they're going to get run off the market by cheap far-eastern LEDs like the various cheap lights using the P7?
Or are there enough people (and something tells me this might be the case) in the cycling world who persistently believe that spending £100s more than they need to will somehow make a real difference?

We can't make our own minds up and anyone who doesn't follow your buying decisions are all just morons?

How easy is it to helmet mount your P7 without compromising the integrity of the helmet?

You see I paid for mine because they were bike specific. They were small, compact, had fantastic battery life, easily charged, came with everything I needed to get me up and running. Had a 10 year no quibble replacement warranty on the light unit itself. It came with fixings for 2 bikes and for my helmet. They were as birght as you could on the market at that time (they have now upgraded the spec of the lights themselves). I can tilt each light independtly which means I can dip if needed easily. Thats why I made my decision and I am very happy with that.

I wouldn't stick a couple of torches on my bike if you paid me so I also paid for something that wasn't ugly either. Now that is just my opinion and as you can see it based on a whole lot more than just whether I believe you can get better performance from the led or not (which I'm sure I couldn't). Perhaps next time you might actually credit some of us with a little more intelligence than you have here. You don't have to agree with it.

you might like to look up
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-purchase_rationalization

doyler78

bompington wrote:

you might like to look up
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-purchase_rationalization

I don't think I'll bother as I done all my research on the manfacturer's website, this forum and cyclechat forum so my reasons for purchasing as laid out were informed pre-purchase

Now I have no idea what you call someone who thinks they are always right but I'm sure you know so why not google that

bompington

Doyler, I'm glad (no sarcasm) that you're happy with your light.
As for thinking I'm always right, I've just re-read through a few of my posts on this and other topics, and while I can't always resist having a gentle poke at people who get all het up about things, and I know I can sometimes come across as silly, immature, facetious and, worst of all, Not A Real Cyclist, I can't see how I can possibly come across as either taking myself and my opinions too seriously, or as someone who aggressively goes after other people to try and prove them wrong. I cannot for the life of me think how I managed to imply that anyone is a moron, sorry if I looked that way to you.

grahamcp

I can see both sides of the argument - cheap high performing imports vs expensive bike specific models.

If both cost the same, I would go for the bike specific ones - I like the QR attachment of the Exposure lights, battery life would be better, and I have heard good things about post-purchase support. One concern I had with the imports was one of safety when charging - indeed there was a post on this forum some months back when one of the cheap cells had begun to fizzle and smoke (it wasn't even on charge).

Of course there is a large premium to pay for these benefits and it can only be down to the individual as to whether they are worth it. Personally I think they are, others will disagree.

BTW Exposure have a new range coming out - so perhaps there will be good discounts on the old models

ademort

I have the P7 two-mode. I also have the Fenix T1 at 220 lumens And the TK20 150 lumens. In all honesty the P7 is by far the best and the cheapest of all. If i were to buy another light it would be the P7. The only drawback with the P7 is the runtime on full power of about 1 hour. However the batteries are so cheap carrying and replacing extra batteries is easy enough. Be realistic, for the price and the runtime, if it took 1 minute to stop and replace your battery would it be a problem. If you want to shell out the big bucks and by something expensive then go ahead but for me and many others the P7 is the way to go.
Ademort

cougie

Its easy to helmet mount the P7 - I've not bothered cos I prefer it on my bars, but i have a Fenix on my helmet as a spot.

Just get a bit of old inner tube to rest it on and then nick a hair band off the mrs, or use a livestrong band or an elastic band and loop it around the body of the torch, through a vent on the top of the helmet and out and around the torch again. Takes a minute.

doyler78

bompington wrote:

Doyler, I'm glad (no sarcasm) that you're happy with your light.
As for thinking I'm always right, I've just re-read through a few of my posts on this and other topics, and while I can't always resist having a gentle poke at people who get all het up about things, and I know I can sometimes come across as silly, immature, facetious and, worst of all, Not A Real Cyclist, I can't see how I can possibly come across as either taking myself and my opinions too seriously, or as someone who aggressively goes after other people to try and prove them wrong. I cannot for the life of me think how I managed to imply that anyone is a moron, sorry if I looked that way to you.

Apologies if I have misinterpreted you and I too am glad you are happy with your purchase. I'll give you a laugh anyway. Just back from a ride where I had to call and get someone to collect me because I forgot my pump :oops: Was nearly home anyway but embarrassing nonetheless.

APIII

Richard1972 wrote:

Appreciate that this is adding zero value to the debate, but I managed to get a cut-price Lupine Betty a couple of weeks ago, and tested it in Richmond Park at the weekend.

If you accidentally mis-aim it, it pretty much sets the trees on fire and barbeques any stray rabbits. Absolutely phenomenal power, although worth about £200 more than the bike it was attached to.

Lupine lights are awesome, and awesomely expensive. I bought a 'Wilma' last year after getting fed up with trying to get a cheaper set to work properly. If the cheap imports work ,then great, but I'm sold on the Lupines power, adjustability, buld quality, and importantly the long run times. I'm just too lazy to change batteries mid ride.

bompington

doyler78 wrote:

Apologies if I have misinterpreted you and I too am glad you are happy with your purchase. I'll give you a laugh anyway. Just back from a ride where I had to call and get someone to collect me because I forgot my pump :oops: Was nearly home anyway but embarrassing nonetheless.

Ah, you see, if you 'd have bought a cheaper light you could have afforded a taxi

Anonymous

Just ordered a mighty P7 from Deal Extreme.

My Cack Niteflux came out of it's holder on the frame today and broke, was gutted as I thought I would have to shell out a freakin' fortune for a new light. Read this thread and I'm a very happy man!

doyler78

bompington wrote:

doyler78 wrote:

Apologies if I have misinterpreted you and I too am glad you are happy with your purchase. I'll give you a laugh anyway. Just back from a ride where I had to call and get someone to collect me because I forgot my pump :oops: Was nearly home anyway but embarrassing nonetheless.

Ah, you see, if you 'd have bought a cheaper light you could have afforded a taxi

What you want me to spend my money now

http://www.bikeradar.com/fitness/articl ... less-23045

Seems I should patch my tube only problem I've only had 2 punctures in 5 years and not the 2 a week that I clearly should be having - must be doing something seriously wrong So that means in about 130 years I can get a new fork - happy days

queenylove

buying lights for hundreds of £'s is just plain silly making your own is a far better and cheaper way to go, you don't need an electronics degree and you can build them to your own spec. check out mtbr.com forums lights and bike lighting and www.cutter.com.au

cougie

I'd be mightily impressed if you can build a better light thats cheaper than the P7.

queenylove

the new xp-g leds from cutter cost me £23 with optics, led driver £4 from ebay, aluminium for housing £5, 1000 lumens for less than £40, i'm afraid in the world of led's the p7 is old news ( although i will concede it isn't bad, value for money wise) all i'm suggesting is that with a little bit of application you can out do all the light manufacturers with a simple d.i.y build. Again check out mtbr.com forums and see for yourselves

p.s my light is only 20mm across and the length of a aa battery (stole the design from dinottes aa200L)

doyler78

queenylove wrote:

the new xp-g leds from cutter cost me £23 with optics, led driver £4 from ebay, aluminium for housing £5, 1000 lumens for less than £40, i'm afraid in the world of led's the p7 is old news ( although i will concede it isn't bad, value for money wise) all i'm suggesting is that with a little bit of application you can out do all the light manufacturers with a simple d.i.y build. Again check out mtbr.com forums and see for yourselves

p.s my light is only 20mm across and the length of a aa battery (stole the design from dinottes aa200L)

Now I do look the sound of that. Something small and bright. Any pics? Tried the mtbr.com site but apparently it is required to know your favourite trail just to register - being a roadie only I haven't a notion so I just quit. Too many beers to try and search that one now

You see if I can put up with not aestetically pleasing if I can turn round to someone and say but I built these myself I watched Blue Peter as a child

Perhaps you could do us a tutorial for us non mtbr.com folk and give us the brightest, baddest lights there are right here on bikeradar - go on you know you want to :twisted: please

antfly

Why doesn`t queeny just build a whole shitload and sell us all one? Put me down for the first please.