Budget self-contained powerful bike light

mtbjunkie08

Hi all,

I've started shopping around for a high-powered budget bike light for around £70 or less as I intend to do some night riding over the next few months (on & off-road).
I want a self-contained unit because I dont want to be messing around with an extra battery pack.

I am quite keen on the Hope Vision 1 and Philips Bike LED light, however the drawbacks of these are their battery run-times are not very good, which means I will be forever recharging batteries.

So I then started to look at LED torches and the one that i'm quite interested in is the LED Lenser p7 (http://www.ledco.co.uk/content/productV ... x?prodId=9).
After watching some video demos of it the beam looks incredibly powerful, easily bright enough for some night riding, including some off-road stuff.
It also takes standard AAA batteries, not expensive battery packs like with the bike lights.
But also the really good thing is its battery life, quoted to be 64 hours!!! (i'm hoping thats at 100% brightness)

The only problem with this option is it is not fully waterproof, only splashproof. This I feel maybe a problem with our wet british weather. I believe some of the Trustfire and Fenix LED torches are indeed fully waterproof but again unfortunately their battery life is quite poor compared to the P7.

After looking through this forum I still dont feel anything compares as well to the LED Lenser P7, so my question is does anyone use a P7 for night riding and if so, have you used it during wet weather and what are your experiences with it?

Also, if there is any other self-contained bike light or LED torch which is waterproof, powerful (atleast 200 lumens) and £70 or less I would be really interested to hear about it.

tia,

Andy

Coolnick

This was what I was recommended on a previous thread http://www.dealextreme.com/p/t6-waterpr ... -set-82510

supersonic

^^^ that one. The Hope Vision 1 is poor for the money. The Philips is OK, but still better to be had for cheaper.

The Lenser P7 does not have an SSC P7 LED mind, though the focusable beam is useful. I wouldn't say was powerful enough on its own, but could make a decent head mount.

mtbjunkie08

Coolnick wrote:

This was what I was recommended on a previous thread http://www.dealextreme.com/p/t6-waterpr ... -set-82510

I admit they do look good, but they require an external battery pack, I was really looking for a self-contained unit, but maybe I just need to change my mind about this :?

The Lenser P7 does not have an SSC P7 LED mind, though the focusable beam is useful. I wouldn't say was powerful enough on its own, but could make a decent head mount.

Well I was thinking of maybe running 2 of them on the bars, still would really like to know if anyones used one in wet weather.

bamba

have a read of the NEW What lights discussion thread a bit below , ever thing you need to know is in there.

supersonic

If you want long run times coupled with brightness then a battery pack is the way forward.

Could try some of the torches from the far East ie from Deal Extreme or BOB:

http://www.bestofferbuy.com/ultrafire-w ... 63155.html

Coupled with a 18650 cell you get an hour of runtime. Cells are cheap and ligth to carry, and you get a big spread from this unit. Would need a charger too. This is what I use, and water resistance has been good. I just pack a couple of extra 18650 cells, takes 10 seconds to change.

I think there could be some users of the Lenser on here, just have to wait for them to post (if they see it!)

mtbjunkie08

Thanks for the all the feedback so far guys, I have been trawling through the NEW lights thread as well. but most of lights mentioned, even with battery packs dont get anywhere near as much runtime as the LED Lenser P7.

I have also seen these Cree light sets on ebay, they LOOK really good, but again I dont know what runtime they get, maybe I should just send the seller a question or two.

What do you think?:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/300-LUMEN-Q5- ... 966wt_1069

bamba

the front light is probably about 7 quids worth from dx or some where similar . follow diy's advice in the thread below . Imo there's nothing else worth considering.
Ultrafire 501b or 502b in either p7 , xpg or xml for 12 quid

supersonic

The Lenser has a comparatively low power LED though, and on low power will last a long time. I'd recommend at least 500 lumens for off road riding.

There is no way that cree will last 25 hours on full! More like 3 or 4. Still good though! And as above, would eb good combined with a wider flood torch - flood plus spot gives a lot of tweaking options.

mtbjunkie08

bamba wrote:

the front light is probably about 7 quids worth from dx or some where similar . follow diy's advice in the thread below . Imo there's nothing else worth considering.
Ultrafire 501b or 502b in either p7 , xpg or xml for 12 quid

Are any of those zoomable, as I really like the idea of being able to adjust them from spot to flood with one hand.
So do u think something like that set on ebay would be quite good? I rather like the mounts theyve used too.

slowslowslow

I took advice on the what light thread and went with (I think-they are on loan!!) The P7 for bars and the little C1 for head. With batteries/chargers etc all in about £60. I have used them on road and around Cannock and found them to be absolutely fine. Granted they will not last forever, but they give both a good spread and a pinpoint beam between the two of them..... Looked at the hope LEd 2 as well and thought it was not value for money.

Personally I think there are lots of 'big names' charging an awaful lot for stuff that you can get cheaper if you are not brand oriantated.

mtbjunkie08

slowslowslow wrote:

I took advice on the what light thread and went with (I think-they are on loan!!) The P7 for bars and the little C1 for head. With batteries/chargers etc all in about £60. I have used them on road and around Cannock and found them to be absolutely fine. Granted they will not last forever, but they give both a good spread and a pinpoint beam between the two of them..... Looked at the hope LEd 2 as well and thought it was not value for money.

Personally I think there are lots of 'big names' charging an awaful lot for stuff that you can get cheaper if you are not brand oriantated.

when u say P7, which model exactly is it and how much run-time do you get?

slowslowslow

Now you are asking. They are not around at the moment as a mate has them for camping. Think its the Ultrafire with 5 different settings.

I tend to be limited on night rides due to work so its normally 1-2 hours and they are ok. will probably get some spare batteries as they are cheap and light.

This is where supersonic needs to come in and give the correct one....:)

slowslowslow

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/ultrafire- ... 8650-50318

Think its this, head is a bit different. May be a new model.

The what lights thread has the whole list if you are thinking about it.

weeksy59

thanks lads... just bought some new lights

gilesjuk

slowslowslow wrote:

Personally I think there are lots of 'big names' charging an awaful lot for stuff that you can get cheaper if you are not brand oriantated.

That's because they have better design and assembly. I've got some of the Deal Extreme type lights and they're okay, but the mounts are rubbish and the light is attached to the mount with one screw.

I also have Ayup lights and I'm much more confident that they will survive a crash than anything off Deal Extreme.

toasty

That 64 hour run time is clearly on low, given it's a UK company can't you mail and ask? I'd put money on it having sub 3 hours on max. The XML light quoted before are pretty much top end tech right now, even run on low you'll get more light out than the quoted one.

The Lenser sounds like similar specs to my old L2D:

http://www.fenixtorch.co.uk/led_torches/fenix_l2d_q5.html

If you browse those torches you'll probably find one using the same emitter and similar sounding stats. There's a finite list of emitters they use in these things.

With the proper bike lights you get the option of picking what battery setup you want, you can run an 8 hour, full power, water bottle battery if you want, or a little pack strapped to the top tube. On low you'll get an obscene amount of time out of them.

Also, only the light part sits on the bars, which makes them very easy to get stable, something I always struggle with using torches.

surreyxc

http://www.fenixtorch.co.uk/led_torches ... 11-r5.html

My fenix tk11 has been great, robust, good burn time. The beam has very good distance easily 200m as claimed, equals many bikes with a much higher lumen for distance. The downside is I find the beam narrow, you can get by with it off road but two would be much better.

mtbjunkie08

Toasty wrote:

That 64 hour run time is clearly on low, given it's a UK company can't you mail and ask? I'd put money on it having sub 3 hours on max. The XML light quoted before are pretty much top end tech right now, even run on low you'll get more light out than the quoted one.

The Lenser sounds like similar specs to my old L2D:

http://www.fenixtorch.co.uk/led_torches/fenix_l2d_q5.html

If you browse those torches you'll probably find one using the same emitter and similar sounding stats. There's a finite list of emitters they use in these things.

With the proper bike lights you get the option of picking what battery setup you want, you can run an 8 hour, full power, water bottle battery if you want, or a little pack strapped to the top tube. On low you'll get an obscene amount of time out of them.

Also, only the light part sits on the bars, which makes them very easy to get stable, something I always struggle with using torches.

I'm still undecided, but you have kind off convinced me that maybe the proper XML bike light is the best bang for buck, any ideas what battery life I would get on the mid setting from this?

supersonic

I'd guess at 3-4 hours on full, 6-8 hours on mid.

mtbjunkie08

supersonic wrote:

I'd guess at 3-4 hours on full, 6-8 hours on mid.

Thnx supersonic, thats quite good. But I've just remembered that only the torch options will have the zoomable feature which I think will be very useful, and also, running 2 torches instead of relying on one bike light leaves less chance of being left in the dark.


My brains beginning to melt trying to deicde now..... :?

bamba

the zoom torch you first mentioned will not be a patch on any other lights talked about. The cree zoom looks about the same as torch i use for work, i did use on my helmet along side a p7 on the bars when i first started riding at night , until i brought another proper light. I also doubt the sliding head is water tight.

bails87

mtbjunkie08 wrote:

. But I've just remembered that only the torch options will have the zoomable feature which I think will be very useful,

I really don't think this will be something you'll use very much. It's certainly not something I've ever wanted on night rides.

HandjobDan

As said previously you should run a torch on your head as well as the XML T6 light as it's best to have a spot and a flood beam to help with nocturnal navigation.

Flood let's you have a general field of vision and the spot allows you to look more specifically at trail obsticals.

toasty

mtbjunkie08 wrote:

I'm still undecided, but you have kind off convinced me that maybe the proper XML bike light is the best bang for buck, any ideas what battery life I would get on the mid setting from this?

Less than the 3-4 on high mentioned above, with the standard batteries that ship with it (4400mAh), they quoted 180mins on highest, but then it's fairly crazy. Unless you're shooting along at 30mph you won't need to see that far. I've personally never felt the need for it so far, but it's handy having the option.

Maybe 3-4 hours on medium, if you Google you'll get some links, the Candlepower forums are into testing these things heavily. The XM-L ones are the same as:

http://www.magicshinebikelights.co.uk/magicshine-mj-808e-1000-lumen-bike-light-set.php?it=235&ca=82&p=1&so=0

The standard batteries are also fairly small. You basically pick a battery for your needs, if you need to ride solo all night there's a battery setup for it. You could buy 2 smaller lighter batteries and swap them over between laps if needs be. For SITS the standard battery was enough for a couple of night laps without charging in between. Were I riding solo I'd buy another one, or get a bigger one.

You definitely aren't going to have 1 tiny torch, using AAA batteries, and giving full beam light for 1 week of straight nights. Beam shots or videos are very misleading, camera exposure settings aren't the same as your eyes will see.

toasty

Speaking of the Candlepower forums, there's a few mentions of the P7 on there, it sounds good but it's just another generic torch with a CREE LED.

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?215039-LED-Lenser-%28Coast%29-P7-REVIEW-With-Beamshots-Lux-Overall-Output-Readings

Im using 1000mah Nimh on my P7 and you get nearlly 2h to 50%.. its not regulated but works great!

alfablue

Toasty wrote:

Speaking of the Candlepower forums, there's a few mentions of the P7 on there, it sounds good but it's just another generic torch with a CREE LED.

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?215039-LED-Lenser-%28Coast%29-P7-REVIEW-With-Beamshots-Lux-Overall-Output-Readings

Im using 1000mah Nimh on my P7 and you get nearlly 2h to 50%.. its not regulated but works great!

The LED Lenser P7 does not have a P7 emitter, I think this is a convenient confusion for them (though many of their models are P something or other). It is a nicely made light, good for about 200 lumens, and the beam can be focussed, but no use for serious off-road riding, and you can get much better than this.

toasty

alfablue wrote:

The LED Lenser P7 does not have a P7 emitter, I think this is a convenient confusion for them (though many of their models are P something or other). It is a nicely made light, good for about 200 lumens, and the beam can be focussed, but no use for serious off-road riding, and you can get much better than this.

No, but the review above isn't refering to a P7 emitter, it's for that specific torch? It's a CREE LED from what I can see.

Quote from the link you didn't click:

Inside the head of the light is a Cree Q4 bin LED.

alfablue

Toasty wrote:

alfablue wrote:

The LED Lenser P7 does not have a P7 emitter, I think this is a convenient confusion for them (though many of their models are P something or other). It is a nicely made light, good for about 200 lumens, and the beam can be focussed, but no use for serious off-road riding, and you can get much better than this.

No, but the review above isn't refering to a P7 emitter, it's for that specific torch? It's a CREE LED from what I can see.

Quote from the link you didn't click:

Inside the head of the light is a Cree Q4 bin LED.

Yes, I know that, I was just pointing out to others thgat may see P7 and assume it was, because I have come accross many people who have been mis-LED

toasty

Ah, sorry