hope vision 1 or joystick maxx?

neiljohn

I am thinking of buying a new light for my 13 mile each way commute. most of it is on city/street lighted roads with getting more rural as I get closer to home. The last 3 miles are completly dark so need something to see with.
I use a fenix light already to flash then put on turbo for the dark section but need a backup/extra lamp.
The hope vision one from ribble is just over £60 without batteries which seems good or is the joystick one better.
I would prefer not to spend vast amounts but my cateye single eye plus is playing up and need something reliable & something that will last.

Any ideas?

Mountainboy2465

Two very different lights really, very different price points too!

I use the Joystick, combined with a Redeye, for commutes of between 10 and 30 miles each way. Because it is powering the Redeye I get less than the 3 hours of max power that it is supposed to provide, but switching it between max & flashing gives me all the light I need.

The biggest selling point for me was the fact that charging the Joystick gives me a good front and a great rear light with the minimum of fuss.

Others might prefer the Hope with its use of standard AA batteries so you can just carry a few spares to get you out of jail if your ride gets extended for whatever reason.

spasypaddy

no contest, joystick

fossyant

Hopes for me, the AA's won if for me.

Fireblade96

Excuse the slight hijack here....I've been looking at that sale too, and considering getting a better front llight.

I'm torn between the Cateye Single Shot Plus and the Hope Vision 1. I'm veering towards the Hope at the moment, but does the fact that the whole QR bracket is attached to the light get annoying in a commuting-type situation ? Do you not have to re-position it each and every time you put the light back on the bike ?

Ta

arthur_scrimshaw

I just got a Hope 1 last week and over the moon about the light, I use ni-mh 2700 rechargeable AAs and run it on the second power setting most of the time, a lot of my ride is unlit country lanes and cycle tracks and it's an order of magnitude better than my old Cateye light.
Can't comment on the Exposure as it was out of my price range so didn't compare (how could you anyway?). Only slight criticism of the Hope is the mounting bracket for the bars could be better. The cam action doesn't result in a lot of movement, and I'm reluctant to overtighten it so it's prone to moving if I hit a big bump. Mind you maybe that's me be overly cautious. The beam is not wide (more of a spot) but it throws enough light for me to see easily. Build quality seems good and its looks appeal to me, I went for the red version!

arthur_scrimshaw

Fireblade - yes you have to mount it every time but it's a 10 second job and not too much of a faff. I also fitted the lanyard you get with it and loop this over the bars so if I have a 'mounting bracket incident' in mid ride the light won't fall far.

neiljohn

I'm torn between the Cateye Single Shot Plus and the Hope Vision 1. I'm veering towards the Hope at the moment, but does the fact that the whole QR bracket is attached to the light get annoying in a commuting-type situation ? Do you not have to re-position it each and every time you put the light back on the bike ?

I already have a cateye single shot plus, the mount was rubbish and the unit itself is quite big.

fossyant

The Cateye's are prone to both mount failures and the lamp cracking at the mount fittings.

The Hopes are great. Yes the whole mount comes off, but once used to it, no more than a couple of second job. PS the cams/bracket is solid so you can tighten up so the light doesn't move on impacts ! If you break them (you won't), or lose a part, Hope customer service is second to none.

pastey_boy

this looks ok for the money
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... :MESELX:IT

Mountainboy2465

pastey_boy wrote:

this looks ok for the money
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... :MESELX:IT

Personally I wouldn't touch it with someone else's barge pole, looks cheap & nasty!

Fireblade96

Thanks all, looks like it's going to be the Hope for me.
I'll pop into the LBS tomorrow and see if they'll price match.

Now, what colour ? Not the blue, it's got to be red or black. Or maybe grey

:?

neiljohn

Thanks all, looks like it's going to be the Hope for me.
I'll pop into the LBS tomorrow and see if they'll price match.


Fireblade - Did you buy a hope light & what do you think?

Fireblade96

neiljohn wrote:

Fireblade - Did you buy a hope light & what do you think?

I haven't had a chance to go shopping yet - been slaving away over a hot laptop all day :-(
Will go to the LBS tomorrow, if they won't play I'll order it over the 'net.

neiljohn

Ribble was cheapest a couple of days ago if that helps - £64

iPete

I'm a happy new owner of a Hope Vision 1, got it for £52 with some luck from Wiggle before Christmas. The AA sold it for me. So far so good, happy with the mount, seems very secure.

Have a look on here, its a bit old and doesn't have the other light but will give you an idea.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/Front_Lights_Br ... /index.htm

cee

how about the magicshine light....

I have one and can confirm that the light output is similar to that of the lumicycle hid...

but only costs £50 including battery and charger (from deal extreme)
or available from the UK with UK charger for £80 from http://www.lumilite.co.uk/

lots of light for notalottamoney

cougie

+1 for the magicshine - its bloody awesome. I have a fenix too and even on turbo - its pointless having it on at the same time as the magicshine - it wipes it out completely.

Fireblade96

cee wrote:

how about the magicshine light....

lots of light for notalottamoney

I want a light, not a fire in my bag!
http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=12671743&highlight=batteries

Also, I'm impatient - I want it *now*, not Springtime when it's already getting light (as it were)

cyberknight

How about this?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/CYCLE-TORCH-LIGHT ... 3ca988719a

I have one that runs at 200 lumens , i can see fine on unlit roads with it .

andrewc3142

Once it's lights to see rather than to be seen then big bucks.

I too was fed up with cycling almost blind and went for the Exposure Race. Powerful enough to see by, charge works for my commute (30 miles into Central London so can reduce the power or change to flashing half-wayish which saves a lot of juice). But no messing about with battery packs - all within the light itself.

Plus very well made, good, solid clip, etc. One of my better purchases.

will3

FWIW I cycle on unlit country roads.
I have a Hope V1.
I don't feel the need for anything brighter.
I like the AA battery thing.

singlespeedexplosif

I'd rather leave my kids with gary glitter than go back to a Hope Vision 1.

iPete

Arthur Scrimshaw wrote:

I just got a Hope 1 last week and over the moon about the light, I use ni-mh 2700 rechargeable AAs and run it on the second power setting most of the time, a lot of my ride is unlit country lanes and cycle tracks and it's an order of magnitude better than my old Cateye light.!

What ni-mh 2700 batteries are you using?

cee

Fireblade96 wrote:

cee wrote:

how about the magicshine light....

lots of light for notalottamoney

I want a light, not a fire in my bag!
http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=12671743&highlight=batteries

Also, I'm impatient - I want it *now*, not Springtime when it's already getting light (as it were)

it didn't go on fire....it got hot. it might have gone on fire...but he threw it out the window before giving it the chance!

Out of the literally hundreds of people who have bought these lights from the various forums, there have been literally 3 or 4 battery failures like that. The same would be true if you looked at sony or dell laptop batteries.

If that is a concern, simply order from the UK supplier, which comes with UK warranty and charger. and it won't take weeks to come either.

TommyEss

Fireblade96 wrote:

neiljohn wrote:

Fireblade - Did you buy a hope light & what do you think?

I haven't had a chance to go shopping yet - been slaving away over a hot laptop all day :-(
Will go to the LBS tomorrow, if they won't play I'll order it over the 'net.

That's not the LBS with the blue and yellow signage is it?

Good luck getting a price match there, is all I'm saying!

arthur_scrimshaw

iPete wrote:

Arthur Scrimshaw wrote:

I just got a Hope 1 last week and over the moon about the light, I use ni-mh 2700 rechargeable AAs and run it on the second power setting most of the time, a lot of my ride is unlit country lanes and cycle tracks and it's an order of magnitude better than my old Cateye light.!

What ni-mh 2700 batteries are you using?

Uniross - seem good so far!

Fireblade96

TommyEss wrote:

Fireblade96 wrote:

neiljohn wrote:

Fireblade - Did you buy a hope light & what do you think?

I haven't had a chance to go shopping yet - been slaving away over a hot laptop all day :-(
Will go to the LBS tomorrow, if they won't play I'll order it over the 'net.

That's not the LBS with the blue and yellow signage is it?

Good luck getting a price match there, is all I'm saying!

It would have been that very emporium, I believe they're having a sale of sorts and it does no harm to ask, especially as I intend to buy a new helmet from them too. Bulk buy and all that...

However, I'm working 14 hour days at the mo and have barely left the house in days, so last night I cracked at about midnight and ordered one online. In red. And some batteries :-)

arthur_scrimshaw

Fireblade96 wrote:

TommyEss wrote:

Fireblade96 wrote:

neiljohn wrote:

Fireblade - Did you buy a hope light & what do you think?

I haven't had a chance to go shopping yet - been slaving away over a hot laptop all day :-(
Will go to the LBS tomorrow, if they won't play I'll order it over the 'net.

That's not the LBS with the blue and yellow signage is it?

Good luck getting a price match there, is all I'm saying!

It would have been that very emporium, I believe they're having a sale of sorts and it does no harm to ask, especially as I intend to buy a new helmet from them too. Bulk buy and all that...

However, I'm working 14 hour days at the mo and have barely left the house in days, so last night I cracked at about midnight and ordered one online. In red. And some batteries :-)

Good choice of colour!

Fireblade96

And today it arrived :-)
Charged the batteries, put them in, fired it up.
OK, it's daylight, but I wasn't immediately blown away by the power of the beam. It was easily visible across the room but not blinding.
So I went and tried it in the dark hallway - again, OK but not vastly better than my old cateye.

Then I realised that it was on the low setting :oops:
It goes up 3 more levels after that

I think i's going to work just fine. If I ever get this piece of work I'm doing finished (late tonight maybe) I'll take it out for a proper test and report back. But for now, very happy. Top marks also to Winstanley's for rapid delivery (and Amazon for the 2700 mAH batteries)

supersonic

Some great 250 lumen torches around for less than 20 quid.