Lupine Tesla vs Wilma

FOAD

I would rather this not become another "Why waste your money, I have a P7 blah blah blah for £50 from DX" thread, I respect the opinions of those who think cheap is the way forward, but I am going to buy a Lupine so there

I commute 12.5 miles each way 4 times a week through country lanes and plan to do so whatever the winter throws at me, so a bright robust light is a must.

Anyway, I am enjoying a damn good relationship with my LBS right now, and have had their demo Wilma 6CL (with a 6.8 battery and the PCS stork) which puts out 830 lumens, on test for about 3 weeks.

The light is absolutely superb.

The LBS have the Tesla 4 in and are offering me a good price on it which is at the top end of my budget. Comparing images on a number of websites, the Tesla at 700 lumens is putting out a beam that one could argue is actually better than the Wilma at 830, I am guessing due to the reflector. Of course they are just pictures and reality may look a tad different as my eyes don't work on 6 second static exposures!

So I was about to pull the trigger on getting a Tesla when the LBS offer me the Wilma I am using (worth £500+) for the same price as the Tesla as they want to run a Tesla as their demo as they are likely to sell more of them than the Wilma. The warranty will also run for the full two years on the demo from time of purchase, so my only concern would be the battery and how good/bad it has been treated.

The bottom line is I love the Tesla because it is very simple, but the Wilma is a bargain and totally programmable plus comes with a DC charger and helmet mount etc (I have no current need for either).

The bottom line is, is the beam of the Tesla as good as the Wilma, and is the mid setting on the Tesla (unchangeable at 35% so 245 lumens) good enough for road use in complete darkness when I need to save power (I have the Wilma set at 60% right now and it's almost indistinguishable for road use from the 100%)?

Hopefully someone on here will have experience of both and can help me out.

soveda

Not got exerience of those lights but FWIW I'm curently using a Blackburn X4 which "only" puts out 85 lumen and that's good enough for 25mph plus on country lanes in pitch dark. 245ish lumen should be fine.

ademort

If you think its worth shelling out that kind of money for a light then good luck to you, but i cannot see the point when something like a P7 or one of the Fenix lights could easily do the job. My commute is 16Kms over mainly unlit B- roads and a P7 or Fenix (i have both) is more than sufficient?
Ademort :?

nferrar

Think both were reviewed recently (as in current edition) in a road mag, probably Cycling Plus.

I don't have experience of either but IMO you need a spot + flood (some lights have both in a single unit). I don't know how the guy above manages with 85 lumens @ 25mph, I struggle even with a 250 lumens spot on twisty country roads when doing 20+ mph.

APIII

I've only got experience of the Wilma, not the Tesla. I only ever use it on full (for country roads) or low (10% for town), so haven't actually needed to program a mid level yet. The battery has a longer life than my legs, so I've never needed to 'power down' to get me home.
I'm not sure of the top of my head what the battery life is, but I think it's ~1500 hours. If you charge the battery, the charger will tell you how much life is left (i.e. if it flashes amber, it's still 75% of original capacity). The instruction book will explain it better than I can.

soveda

nferrar wrote:

Think both were reviewed recently (as in current edition) in a road mag, probably Cycling Plus.

I don't have experience of either but IMO you need a spot + flood (some lights have both in a single unit). I don't know how the guy above manages with 85 lumens @ 25mph, I struggle even with a 250 lumens spot on twisty country roads when doing 20+ mph.

I've got quite good night vision! I also have a cateye singleshot as a flood for c. 1-2 mtrs infront of the front wheel to pick out potholes/dead badgers etc
Good enough for most of the lanes and roads around here (Herefordshire).

FOAD

APIII wrote:

I've only got experience of the Wilma, not the Tesla. I only ever use it on full (for country roads) or low (10% for town), so haven't actually needed to program a mid level yet. The battery has a longer life than my legs, so I've never needed to 'power down' to get me home.
I'm not sure of the top of my head what the battery life is, but I think it's ~1500 hours. If you charge the battery, the charger will tell you how much life is left (i.e. if it flashes amber, it's still 75% of original capacity). The instruction book will explain it better than I can.

The manual states to charge the battery, then disconnect the Micro Charger and watch teh number of yellow then green flashes, ie. 5 flashes orange, 3 green would mean it's current capacity is 5.3 amp/hours.

I have tried this, as soon I i disconnect I get a green flash, then a pause then 7 orange flashes, a quick flash of the blue LED then the orange flashes constant (meaning it is ready to charge again).

So going from the manual it would suggest that the capacity is 7 amp/hours, which given it was only 6.8 when new seems unlikely, so I think I am missing the obvious.

Anyone got experience with the Lupine Micro Charger can interpret?

Mastineo

Ive just got a Tesla (free promotion when you spend £2k+ on a Specialized MTB), its very bright - 700 lumens according to the manual. Ive used it through the local woods in pitch dark, down twisty, rooty/rocky trails and it has lit the way admirably! Probably overkill on a road bike and not sure its worth £240 either. Ive used it on the road on its lowest setting and either had to have it pointing down or cover it with my hand to avoid dazzling oncoming traffic
John