cheap and cheerfull liddle light

tsenior

i havent added this to the "what lights" thread as this is probbaly for a different market also as liddle special stock disappears within days considered a separate post ok.

Liddle are doing a cree torch for a tenner at the moment, I took a punt on one and it looks fairly well made, comes with a 3 year gurantee, very adustable beam, 2 modes and as bright as my old hope vision 1 on full, battery life probably limited (3 x AAA), I am taking it out tonight and will update this thread tommorow.

this is obviously not comparable with DIY and others recomendations in the main thread and although I personally dont go for the whole "night into day" thing when nightriding (i like the frisson of danger) I probably wont be relying soley on one of these for anything fast or technical

BUT for a "get me home" spare, pub bike, commuter, or if you need a torch which takes batteries you can buy from a corner shop/24 hr garage i reckon its ok.

.blitz

Sounds good - would be interested to know what it's like on the bike

tsenior

have cobbled together a mount during my lunch break, will post a review with pics tommorow

The Rookie

LIDL?

I too bought the LIDL CREE, mount on its way.....

Simon

redvee

My set-up pictureed alongside my Fenix L2D for size comparison. The bracket shownn is one of these from CRC, modded with a few holes and cableties. The Lidl torch body has ridges on it so there is no worry of it turning like I get with my Fenix when swapping from hi-lo power.

Thunder1

I use one of these for my cree light & it holds on fine (great for other things too)

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 0567324162

It took about 2 weeks to arrive though

tsenior

ok for test i used the disposable batteries which came with it.

weight and size (lighter for scale)


could only make a lid mount out of a mount for a D lock and a pump mount i had lying around



at the start

compared to the old hope vision 1


could definetly feel the weight at first but dident notice after 5 min; need to set it a bit further back and less of an angle.

the ride was 2 hrs, light rain to start heavy by the end. 1 hr up unlit country lanes with only the lidl, no issues at all, plenty of light up to decent speed on my pub bike. 2nd hr unsurfaced trails with some singletrack mix fast hardpack and mud/roots, after 1 hr at the start of the singletrack:


and agian the hope for comparison


used in conjunction with the hope on the bars it performed well, having a seperate narrow beam on the lid (the cree beam is very adjustable) was handy in the tight twisyt bits.....going at speed i was able to stop by hauling on the cantis in time to avoid hitting this


it has been windy!

torch continued to work throughout with no depreciable fade; still burning now 2.5 hrs later, continued......

tsenior

.............overall, for the money and the fact you can pick it up from a regular shop i am impressed.

build quality seems good and after 1 hr in fairly heavy rain, no issues. the adjustibility of the beam means you can run it narrow for a lid light or wide on the bars.

depending on your journey length (see below) for a rural commuter/road function i'd say 1 is more than sufficient.

although still going( now 2.5 hrs) there is prob not enough juice for 3+ hrs and i would not be happy doing daytime speeds with the set up i had tonight (combined with similar power but better spread light on the bars) i kept up a fair speed on the off road stuff; so in summary:

the >1k lumen boys may sneer at you but if you can make a mount for free( like wot i did) or cheap off ebay i'd say £30 for one up top and 1 or 2 on the bars will see you right for moderate speed and fairly tame off road stuff just fine, i'd not have an issue going round anything at landegla say with that set up. For more hardcore stuff, you probably do need to spend a bit more.

certainly as a cheap back up to stick in a sack for when the main light packs in/breaks in a crash it would get you down off the mountain in one piece.............recomended 8)

The Rookie

This is the mount I'm waiting on
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... K:MEWNX:IT
Noting it says that it takes upto 28mm diameter torches (the Lidl is 30mm) in this advert, but other adverts state upto 30mm for the very same item (this one was the cheapest UK supplier).

Simon

diy

TBH that looks like a pretty good price for a zoomable unit. You also have the benefit of standard batteries. Although I suspect if you remove the holder and pack some tape around an 18650 it would drive well (and brighter).

Any idea what the LED is - I am guessing a CREE p4 based on the run time?

B&Q sell 30mm standard pipe clips - in store only. They are good for oversized bars, you might need to pack the body if its exactly 30mm, as the pipe clip method only works if you slightly stretch the clip.

In terms of a lid mount, I'd go with the velcro/elastic approach - best not to have bolts pointing towards your skull, should you come a cropper.

tsenior

OMG, i'm normally mr safety and that dident even consider that :shock: cheers DIY

will try with the 18650 at some point, dident have any details on the LED with the information provided.

The Rookie

Dimensions (sort of) for a 18650 here http://www.dealextreme.com/p/ultrafire- ... -cell-1283

Simon

diy

'tis why its called an 18650 i.e. because its 18mm by 65mm

PS an AAA is also known as a 10440 and an AA is a 14500

jeez now I sound like a geek

The Rookie

Live and learn, thanks geek, sorry diy.....

Will measure up tonight and see if a wrapped 18650 will fit!

Simon