The big LIGHTS thread 2011-2014
Comments
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Ebay. Just look for "5.5mm jack". Most come with a 2.1mm center but some are the rarer 2.5mm, which can cause loose connections on some lights. You'll also find adapters on ebay that will take a 2.1mm core to 2.5mm or vice versa, depending on which you want.
Though my Trustfire seems to come with a 2.1mm inner core so couldn't even be inserted into a battery pack with a female 2.5mm inner spike. Sure not sure if thats your problem.
Thanks mate. I've stripped the jack back on the battery pack this morning and the connections are all good. I think the break is further down the cable so I've cut it back just past the point where I can wiggle it and cut the power.
I can find plenty of female jack connectors but the only ones with the large shroud which overlaps the male shroud seem to be moulded, so not sure what to get.0 -
Does this £180 (with 2 cell battery pack!) remind anyone of a certain £20 bike light - http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Gemini-DUO-LED-Rechargeable-Front-Light-1600-Lumens_85992.htm
Or this for £20 - http://www.lightmalls.com/2xcree-xm-l2-2500-lumen-with-2-group-modes-led-bicycle-light-with-charger-6-18650-battery-set0 -
Does this £180 (with 2 cell battery pack!) remind anyone of a certain £20 bike light - http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Gemini-DUO-LED-Rechargeable-Front-Light-1600-Lumens_85992.htm
Or this for £20 - http://www.lightmalls.com/2xcree-xm-l2-2500-lumen-with-2-group-modes-led-bicycle-light-with-charger-6-18650-battery-set
From what I saw on candlepower forums some time ago, the Gemini Duo was the original that has been copied many times, but has some advantages that none of the copies had. Particularly that it can be programmed - it has 10 intensities which can be infinately varied to exactly what suits you. It also seems to perform better than many of the clones - there is alot of quality variation across them. It seems that version 1 clones were actually pretty good but the quality has dropped on many of the other options. The optics on many of the clones is not so good I think, so people are buying them and replacing the lenses. Thats not to say that I would spend £180 on one though...! But they do deserve a premium to some degree.0 -
Look a few pages back. I have one of the clones from lightmalls. It's programmable and has the collomated optics so beam pattern is great. It's been rock solid all year and the only light i haven't taken off my bike or can find any annoying quibbles with. And i have quite a few Chinese XM-L based lights and torches for comparison.
While on the subject of my ever increasing light collection. I just bought a Fenix BC90 all in one unit to go on a bike i'm building. Highly recommended light (with a few caveats) and bloody bright as F**k.0 -
ah - my mistake, as I said my knowledge was from some time ago - I guess the clones have improved since then.0
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ah - my mistake, as I said my knowledge was from some time ago - I guess the clones have improved since then.
No, i know where your coming from. I've seen clones that look identical to the one i've got that quote much lower output, don't appear to be programmable (at least nothing is said about a "10 step mode") and appear to have straightforward clear lenses. That's why i'm always careful to link to the very one i got from Lightmalls and not ones that merely look similar on that site or others. Because a lot of companies tend to put all sorts of different drivers and components inside the same generic housing. Just look at the bazillion variations on the 501/502 torches, for example. There is nothing on the outside that lets you know if what's on the inside is better/worse than some of the others.
I guess this thread is, in it's essence, about trying to guide people to knowing how to separate one from the other.0 -
Look a few pages back. I have one of the clones from lightmalls. It's programmable and has the collomated optics so beam pattern is great. It's been rock solid all year and the only light i haven't taken off my bike or can find any annoying quibbles with. And i have quite a few Chinese XM-L based lights and torches for comparison.
While on the subject of my ever increasing light collection. I just bought a Fenix BC90 all in one unit to go on a bike i'm building. Highly recommended light (with a few caveats) and bloody bright as F**k.
Could you elaborate on the Fenix light caveats please? (and did you mean BC30 - I can't find a BC90) - I've been thinking about getting one as it looks ideal. Thanks0 -
Look a few pages back. I have one of the clones from lightmalls. It's programmable and has the collomated optics so beam pattern is great. It's been rock solid all year and the only light i haven't taken off my bike or can find any annoying quibbles with. And i have quite a few Chinese XM-L based lights and torches for comparison.
While on the subject of my ever increasing light collection. I just bought a Fenix BC90 all in one unit to go on a bike i'm building. Highly recommended light (with a few caveats) and bloody bright as F**k.
Could you elaborate on the Fenix light caveats please? (and did you mean BC30 - I can't find a BC90) - I've been thinking about getting one as it looks ideal. Thanks
My bad, i meant BC30. It was a toss up between the BC30, BC30R, Lezyne or a C & B seen City Slicker. The BC30 is by far the brighter of any of those lights and had a few features that made it stand out above the others. The fact that it takes two 18650 batteries in a quick release caddy for one. The Lezyne and City Slicker use special battery packs that make changing batteries a bit of a pain and the BC30R has no removable batteries at all but the BC30 allows for the use of regular cheap 18650's.
I also liked the remote switch and cut off beam of the BC30 and BC30R. And at £60 quid, was far the cheaper of the lights.
So what are the caveats?
Well, the remote switch is annoying. It lets you toggle between two modes, current mode and overdrive. But you have to keep your finger/thumb on the button for the overdrive mode, which you can't do for more than a few seconds before they start to tire and also prevents you from operating your brakes/shifters. However, you can easily swap out the fenix (non-latching) button for a strait forward latching one that you press and forget about. All you need to do is wire it up to a ordinary two pin 2.5mm mono jack plug and, hey presto, problem solved.
You can then ride around, lighting up those country lanes and trails with 1800 lumens of goodness and, if you see a car or whatever coming round the corner a quick tap on the remote button dips you down to whatever lower mode you had set it to before. Non of this is applicable to the BC30R, whose remote switch uses a mini usb connector instead and only allows you to run overdrive for 20 seconds.
It would of been better if Fenix had designed the remote switch to do the opposite of what it does now. In other words act as a momentary dip switch that automatically puts you in the lowest mode while pressing it and have the light spring back to full brightness (or your current mode) when you let go of it.
Also, swapping batteries can be a bit of a pain. The holder for the batteries has two holes in it that are designed to let you push the batteries out through the bottom of the holder. Which works fine if you use unprotected flat topped 18650 batteries. If you use button topped batteries then the button of the one that faces the "+" terminal towards the front of the holder jams into a depression and is a bitch to get out (you have to use a key or some other tool to push the button tip out of the depression it's stuck in). This could be quite tricky to do on the side of the road, in the pitch black, with frozen fingers.
Using longer, protected, button topped batteries makes it worse. And using even longer Senybor protected batteries makes it nigh on impossible. But then my Senybor's, which are often quoted as rebadged Panasonics, don't tend to fit in many things. Not any of my Powerbanks or 18650 rechargers either. So, if your planning on using them on the BC30 then it might be worth cutting a groove in the front of the plastic holder to let the button tip slide out easily.
Another annoying caveat of the BC30 is the bar holder. It's HUGE. Seriously, do Fenix have some inside information into a new bar diameter that's coming out or something, because even with a oversized 31.6mm bar you still need a big rubber spacer on the inside circle of the clamp for it to clamp down on the bar. It's certainly solid but when you slide the light off (i stick it in my backpack at work) and just leave the clamp on the bar it does kinda ruin the aesthetic of the bike a little. It certainly isn't discrete looking.
So, a few annoying niggles, but still the better of the four lights i was looking at, i think.0 -
Are there any standard go pro mounts for lights? The ones I've seen referred to seem to be more custom products, I've ordered a new helmet which has a gopro mount and that would be ideal for a light.
John0 -
Where's the best place to get a 4 cell pack, with the screw type connector from?0
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Bargainacious!!
But, not impressed by the quoted 39 - 60 days delivery ... and what if it never shows up? Ali Express seem to do some kind of Buyer Protection, but how robust is this? For a couple of quid extra, it might be worth going through Lightmalls, where you can at least pay using Paypal ...You can buy just the rear Zecto (not Lezyne) for only £4 including delivery
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/High-Power-Cycling-Bicycle-Bike-3-LED-Head-Front-Rear-Tail-light-USB-Rechargeable-4-modes/32426946878.html?spm=2114.01020208.3.169.ehdik8&ws_ab_test=201526_3,201527_1_71_72_73_74_75,201409_1
I quite liked the idea of this when tincaman posted it so I ordered one on 21Sep, and it's here already (05Oct), so lead time was quite a bit better than quoted. However, and it's quite a big but... ...they sent a white one and I ordered red. :roll: Oh well, can't get too upset for 4 quid!0 -
To answer my own question it seems the gopro mounts are custom machined parts made by one person.
John0 -
Can you do a mini review please?Bargainacious!!
But, not impressed by the quoted 39 - 60 days delivery ... and what if it never shows up? Ali Express seem to do some kind of Buyer Protection, but how robust is this? For a couple of quid extra, it might be worth going through Lightmalls, where you can at least pay using Paypal ...You can buy just the rear Zecto (not Lezyne) for only £4 including delivery
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/High-Power-Cycling-Bicycle-Bike-3-LED-Head-Front-Rear-Tail-light-USB-Rechargeable-4-modes/32426946878.html?spm=2114.01020208.3.169.ehdik8&ws_ab_test=201526_3,201527_1_71_72_73_74_75,201409_1
I quite liked the idea of this when tincaman posted it so I ordered one on 21Sep, and it's here already (05Oct), so lead time was quite a bit better than quoted. However, and it's quite a big but... ...they sent a white one and I ordered red. :roll: Oh well, can't get too upset for 4 quid!0 -
Can you do a mini review please?Bargainacious!!
But, not impressed by the quoted 39 - 60 days delivery ... and what if it never shows up? Ali Express seem to do some kind of Buyer Protection, but how robust is this? For a couple of quid extra, it might be worth going through Lightmalls, where you can at least pay using Paypal ...You can buy just the rear Zecto (not Lezyne) for only £4 including delivery
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/High-Power-Cycling-Bicycle-Bike-3-LED-Head-Front-Rear-Tail-light-USB-Rechargeable-4-modes/32426946878.html?spm=2114.01020208.3.169.ehdik8&ws_ab_test=201526_3,201527_1_71_72_73_74_75,201409_1
I quite liked the idea of this when tincaman posted it so I ordered one on 21Sep, and it's here already (05Oct), so lead time was quite a bit better than quoted. However, and it's quite a big but... ...they sent a white one and I ordered red. :roll: Oh well, can't get too upset for 4 quid!
Review (of the white (front) one) for tincaman:
Toggle sequence: 100% on, 50% on, flash mode 1, flash mode 2, off.
Also FWIW it has an SOS flash mode with a long press on the button.
Claimed 40 lumens/~3hr on full (10 lumen the red version). Not tested this.
Both flash modes seem to be at full brightness.
Flash mode 1 is fairly quick but not strobey quick
Flash mode 2 is a double-flash, heartbeat style thing (at a much higher than resting heartrate!) - probably the one I'll use the most.
It has a wide flood and little windows for side visibility, and even though it is obv. to make yourself visible rather than to see with it is just about OK at 100% as an emergency light to see with for unlit road use (I compared it to one of those Petzl LED headtorches with a retracting string that goes around the head, and it illuminates stronger and wider than that does, which made me think it would actually be an OK light for runners).
Inbuilt Li-ion and USB charging all seems pretty convenient.
Build quality is good. I've compared it side-by-side with a colleague's pukka Lezyne one, and it wouldn't surprise me at all to find that it was from the same production line.
I didn't find mounting it very convenient at the front due to lack of available handlebar real estate on my bikes (it's surprisingly wide) but for the rear on the seatpost it would have been no probs.
Best of all, I moaned about the colour mistake to the vendor and got a partial refund, so the thing ended up costing me less than 3 quid!0 -
The cable on my (original) Magicshine wore and was shorting. I also struggled to find the right connector so I bought an extension cable, cut it in half and soldered it onto the lamp and battery pack.Thanks mate. I've stripped the jack back on the battery pack this morning and the connections are all good. I think the break is further down the cable so I've cut it back just past the point where I can wiggle it and cut the power.
I can find plenty of female jack connectors but the only ones with the large shroud which overlaps the male shroud seem to be moulded, so not sure what to get.
The new cable was much thicker and feels more robust than the original. No signs of wear yet after a few years.
I can't remember where I got it from (possibly DX) but I remember that the cables seemed quite expensive for what they were.0 -
I've been looking for some cheap good quality 18650's and came across this on HUKD http://www.banggood.com/Original-XIAOMI-5_1V-2_1A-10000mAh-Power-Bank-For-Smartphone-p-977406.html?AID=12223142&PID=5835937&SID=07009g4qkq5&source=affiliate&utm_source=Banggood_CJ
Supposedly these are genuine and use either LG or Samsung cells. So do you think it would be possible to disassemble and use the cells in a battery pack to power lights or is the better option to buy panasonic cells.
Cheers0 -
For that price I would give it a go, should be easy to dissemble/destroy to get the cells outI've been looking for some cheap good quality 18650's and came across this on HUKD http://www.banggood.com/Original-XIAOMI-5_1V-2_1A-10000mAh-Power-Bank-For-Smartphone-p-977406.html?AID=12223142&PID=5835937&SID=07009g4qkq5&source=affiliate&utm_source=Banggood_CJ
Supposedly these are genuine and use either LG or Samsung cells. So do you think it would be possible to disassemble and use the cells in a battery pack to power lights or is the better option to buy panasonic cells.
Cheers0 -
hmmm I wouldn't to be honest. At 7 quid for 4 2.5Ah 18650s, they are likely to be poo inside.
If this
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Original-Lenova-thinkpad-battery-25-product-num-51j0500-/271986606385?hash=item3f53aa4131
is genuine thats 9 decent (2.7 - 2.8Ah) cells for £20. I've opened 25++ lenovo packs and they are 10.5W cells.0 -
I ordered myself the solar storm x2 from light malls. Just waiting for it to turn up now.0
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Yes, you can easily open Xiaomi (without any damage) and extract the cells: you'll find genuine Sanyo, LG Chem or Panasonic inside. In my case (ordered from GearBest) it was equipped with LG's INR18650-F1L with true measured capacity of 3320, 3306 and 3327 mAh.I've been looking for some cheap good quality 18650's and came across this on HUKD http://www.banggood.com/Original-XIAOMI-5_1V-2_1A-10000mAh-Power-Bank-For-Smartphone-p-977406.html?AID=12223142&PID=5835937&SID=07009g4qkq5&source=affiliate&utm_source=Banggood_CJ
Supposedly these are genuine and use either LG or Samsung cells. So do you think it would be possible to disassemble and use the cells in a battery pack to power lights or is the better option to buy panasonic cells.
Cheers
Currently this power bank is a popular source of good cells on MTBR:
http://forums.mtbr.com/lights-night-riding/review-4-2s2p-6-cell-2s3p-hardshell-waterproof-bicycle-battery-packs-gb-982688.html0 -
Thanks for the comments fellas, I've ordered anyway as the price is cheap. I'll decide when it arrives whether to use as a powerbank or strip the cells. I'll take a look at the mtbr thread, cheers.0
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I'd be interested to see how you get on as the if genuine - the price is good.
Is it a 3 cell or 4 cell? can't see from the picture.0 -
I'd be interested to see how you get on as the if genuine - the price is good.
Is it a 3 cell or 4 cell? can't see from the picture.
Having read (quickly) through the thread Archie linked to, it would appear that these are 3 cell with the consensus being that they are good for building a 6 cell (2S3P) pack. However I'm not sure I'm competent enough with electrics to do this, there isn't a full step by step guide as far as I can see.
I had one of these http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Waterproof-4x18650-Battery-Storage-Case-Box-Holder-For-Bike-LED-Light-Hoc-/201241054599?hash=item2edae6cd87 in mind when I purchased as I thought there were 4 cells in the powerbank, with this not being the case I'm back to the drawing board.
Here is a tear down of the powerbank http://en.miui.com/thread-113873-1-1.html0 -
Hi
A complex and busy thread!
I have £40 burning a hole in my pocket - looking for a light the would light up the road (and occasional off road).
Had some of the simple single Cree lights in the last year or 2, whilst the lights were bloody bright, the batter packs were somewhat unpredicatable.
So from the off I want a good light/battery combo, not really got the time or the will to cherry pick the light, then the battery pack.
Can someone recommend me something on Ebay? Links ideal as Ebay is flooded with options, never quite sure if two similar looking lights perform the same.0 -
The sealed packs are always the week link. Better IMO to go for a pack that can take removable cells and then source quality 18650 cells. There are lots of 8.4v holders on ebay. You can charge individual cells in 4 cell 18650 power banks and then you can plug whatever head you like on.
Almost all lights are XM-L U2, XM-L2 or XP-L LEDs now, so the rest is the quality of the driver and the power source.
Or you could just go with a couple of 501bs and some decent cells and a power bank for a charger. An XM-L2 will set you back about £5 each. The charger about 7 quid for a 4 bay power bank and then quality 18650s from either a reliable source or an OEM Laptop battery.
With decent cells - I typically use 2.8Ah panasonics will give you a pair of very flexible lights on the bars and no single point of failure, plus the ability to space wide apart to reduce shadowing.0 -
What's the best/latest led to go for at the moment ?0
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Hi
A complex and busy thread!
I have £40 burning a hole in my pocket - looking for a light the would light up the road (and occasional off road).
Had some of the simple single Cree lights in the last year or 2, whilst the lights were bloody bright, the batter packs were somewhat unpredicatable.
So from the off I want a good light/battery combo, not really got the time or the will to cherry pick the light, then the battery pack.
Can someone recommend me something on Ebay? Links ideal as Ebay is flooded with options, never quite sure if two similar looking lights perform the same.
This is by all accounts a very good light with a good battery. Im expecting mine any day (without battery, i run solarstorm cases + laptop cells), ill probably post some thoughts after a few rides:
http://www.gearbest.com/led-flashlights/pp_180344.html0 -
Hi
A complex and busy thread!
I have £40 burning a hole in my pocket - looking for a light the would light up the road (and occasional off road).
Had some of the simple single Cree lights in the last year or 2, whilst the lights were bloody bright, the batter packs were somewhat unpredicatable.
So from the off I want a good light/battery combo, not really got the time or the will to cherry pick the light, then the battery pack.
Can someone recommend me something on Ebay? Links ideal as Ebay is flooded with options, never quite sure if two similar looking lights perform the same.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/121783700591
UK based with a good reputation, his battery packs should be OK as well
I have two of these arriving on Monday so should be able to give you more details then after a quick test0 -
I finally got round to making a video showing how to mount the 18650 Flashlights on your bars to turn them in to bike lights using just old inner tube.
I have refined the process a bit since I first started and it works really well.
https://youtu.be/FtAdD7-bux0
I hope its useful.0 -
Ok this has probably been asked before but hopefully someone can point me in the right direction .
I've got a solarstorm x2 light which is a very bright light that does the job when mounted on my bars alongside my magicshine light on my helmet, but the battery on the solarstorm is awful, can anyone recommend a good replacement battery pack that has a decent runtime?0
