The big LIGHTS thread 2011-2014
Comments
-
supersonic wrote:My current preferred set up is the 30 quid magic shine clone and a 501b with a SSC P7. The clone is angled far down the trail, the P7 not far infront of the wheel - provides a nice pattern. Only prob is the torch runs out faster, but just take an extra cell.
I passed on the clone MS, but got a SSC P7 and 2 501b torches, should do the trick. Got extra cells so happy days. How long they usually take to come back from DX? Is it likely I'll have to pay import duty?!0 -
2 to 3 weeks usually, not had any tax due from them (but have with Lightmalls). For those who have been stung with the fedex clearance fee, see this:
http://www.craig-west.co.uk/2008/11/how ... _by_fedex/0 -
I note 7dayshop are now selling MS clones in a SSC P7.
On the subject of reliability I have never had any problems with any of my cheap chargers, recycled cells or cheap 501bs. On the other hand I am on my 3rd set of bearings in
years on my pro-2s. 0 -
Ouija wrote:Concorde wrote:
The best separate head/battery combination is the Sanguan SG-N1000
Why?
..
- It's got three brightness modes (Strong/Medium/Dim) instead of the usual two modes of the head you posted (Strong/Pathetic) which gives it better vesatility as you can run it in medium due to the better beam pattern
..
Any source for these? There's a couple on ebay that only seem to have 2 brightness modes and are 2 1/2 times the price (including shipping) of the cheap t6 lights.
Thanks0 -
Northwind wrote:cloudynights wrote:buy hope, no faffing with batteries changing every hour, works in all weather, switch on and forget
Eh... Ironic this, because the current Hopes are crap for reliability- they used the wrong cable so it embrittles over time and snaps. Hope, being Hope, will replace this quickly under warranty with no fuss, but with another one which will also embrittle over time and snap.
Oh and it's £220 for a light that performs absolutely identically to the £70 Magicshine MJ-872. But that's OK because it's made in england, apart from 90% of it.
so i take it you have one, and also have you ever been to the factory and talked to them, asked them where they are made, what problems they have, some how i think not, i on the other hand have, their just 10 mins drive from me i run them all winter 3hour rides couple of nights a week they just work plenty of light no battery change no faffing and made in the ukanthem x with many upgrades0 -
You don't need to talk to them to find this stuff out, the cabling problems are wide enough published, and as with all lights, the LEDs, batteries and electronic parts are not made in the UK.
My lights just work too, but cost less than £50! Again, is a major point of is thread, cheap lights that work.0 -
cloudynights wrote:Northwind wrote:cloudynights wrote:buy hope, no faffing with batteries changing every hour, works in all weather, switch on and forget
Eh... Ironic this, because the current Hopes are crap for reliability- they used the wrong cable so it embrittles over time and snaps. Hope, being Hope, will replace this quickly under warranty with no fuss, but with another one which will also embrittle over time and snap.
Oh and it's £220 for a light that performs absolutely identically to the £70 Magicshine MJ-872. But that's OK because it's made in england, apart from 90% of it.
so i take it you have one, and also have you ever been to the factory and talked to them, asked them where they are made, what problems they have, some how i think not, i on the other hand have, their just 10 mins drive from me i run them all winter 3hour rides couple of nights a week they just work plenty of light no battery change no faffing and made in the uk
There's always a know it all that actually knows... fuck all! Pipe down and listen!0 -
I am a big fan of night riding and have been for well over 15 years. I have owned and currently do own way to many lights. The Mrs thinks I'm nuts but anyhow back to the point.
I will start with these cheap lights from china. There is a miss conception that all batteries, leds, optics, drivers and heatsinks are the same. This is simply not true. Most of what comes out of china significantly under performers. For example I have batteries sold as 3000mah that struggled to hold 500mah and before any one asks yes I have proper electrical testing equipment. I have many of these cheap lights form China and I am yet to find one I would say worked well.
My latest acquisition is the single LED ones you see all over Ebay listed as 1800lm. You know the ones that look a bit like Lupine. Now to compare it to my Hope 4 LED. This Hope light I have is one of the really early ones. I had it on pre order once seeing a pre production demo. It has seen years of use and is used to commute as well as recreation. So its very well used. However even though the Hope is very old and very well used and was rated to only half the light output of this none brand light I have from China the Hope still clearly give off more light. The Hope light also has a longer run time even with its old batteries but most notable is the far better optics in the hope giving a much more usable beam. This China light just has a really bright hot spot and then a really uneven spread.
So as you can see even a old Hope that has seen better days is still a much better performing light then the one I got form China. But and its a big BUT you can readily pick up these lights from China for under £50. And even for all these short falls they are usable so suddenly don't look so bad. Though they do very much appear to be hit or miss ( more so miss ) when it comes to reliability/durability.
To sum up what I'm trying to say these cheap lights from China are a bit like Acera gears on a bike. They do the job but don't be expecting XT or XTR performance as you will never get it.0 -
I think you can get the performance - but as you say, is picking the right one from the many out there. Given that even the most expensive lights often have shortfalls too, it is easy to see why people take the cheap well researched option.
Combining a flood and spot is a popular option, and this is where the £30 lights 'shine'. The XML clones we see give off 8-900 lumens, still a good amount, if you like a spot (lumens and brightness are not the same thing).
Each to their own, but I i'll never spend more than a few quid on lights as to me the budget options often eclipse the high price branded stuff, in many areas. And for that reason I will keep recommending them.0 -
ok after literally getting a headache studying this thread, hopefully I've ordered the correct stuff. It's for Road riding through the winter.
2 x 'UltraFire 1000LM Lumens CREE XML XM-L T6 WF-501B LED Flashlight Torch Lamp Light'
/edit Don't buy the Torchy batteries with this combo. The PCB will trip on high modes. You need unprotected, or high discharge protected batteries like SenyBor - InkZ
1 x 'XTAR WP2 II USB Charger For 14500/18650/16340 Battery & Car Adapter & UK Charge'
2 x 'Bike Cycle Light Front Torch Mount Bracket Clamp Holder'
oh... I need a biscuit tin and a hazmat suit also :S
£51.70 for the whole setup sourced from UK stock (I need it asap).0 -
-
^ ditto, that's been my exact set up for a year for both off and on road but just ordered the 3*T6 plus spare waterproof battery pack from lightmalls and the torches will go on my lid...you always need more lumens
0 -
InkZ, I made the mistake you have just done, believing the torch seller is UK based, but he is actually in China. I ordered 2 of the same torch as you from him about 17 or 18 days ago, and they still haven't arrived. To be fair he has asked me to wait a couple more days then if they haven't arrived he'll refund me, so I won't lose out on cash but I have lost out on a couple of night's riding.
I've bought one of these in the meantime, which is more expensive, but this arrived in 2 days from the UK and came with the mounting bracket.0 -
cloudynights wrote:what problems they have
Yeah, I'd totally trust the manufacturer over the user when it comes to reliability reports Uncompromising extremist0 -
well half way there to getting a torch setup
Managed to harvest 4 good batteries out of an old laptop, still have another two laptops to strip down. Anyway these ones are Samsung ICR18650-22F, approx 2.2mAh, got a feeling that the old Dell might have some 2.8mAh in it! Just deciding on a charger and torches as ebay has a plethora of choices and scared I pick a dud! Don`t think I am going to bother ordering from HK, reading too much about delays and extra charges! 0 -
Never had any problem with dx and torches re extra charges. But as I say every year the best time to order your lights is end of August to mid september. If the eBay sellers are faking uk status then you may as well go dx or manafont incentive you can at least get bulk rates0
-
diy wrote:Never had any problem with dx and torches re extra charges. But as I say every year the best time to order your lights is end of August to mid september. If the eBay sellers are faking uk status then you may as well go dx or manafont incentive you can at least get bulk rates
Why end of August to mid Septermber?0 -
Northwind wrote:cloudynights wrote:what problems they have
Yeah, I'd totally trust the manufacturer over the user when it comes to reliability reports
why would they lie to me if you took the time to speak to the company you would find out that if their products work they sell them, they have a works team who test everything,a lot of their staff are road and moutain bikers they test them, if lights dont work they pull the plug as they did with the r8 light anthem x with many upgrades0 -
cloudynights wrote:why would they lie to me
errrmm let me have a think ... So they can sell more products and make more money?
I have a Hope Vision light I got it ages go when LED lights were a very new thing and the Chinese lights were unknown about. While I thought it was good value at the time there is no way I can justify the price any more. I have also had reliability problems with mine.
I'm not saying Hope lights are terrible but there are much cheaper options available with brighter output and the same if not better reliability.0 -
Neal_ wrote:Good to know as I'm ordering the same light v soon and am planning on using one of those mounts, post up if it works or not.
I didn`t have the other clamp when I looked but the hope universal clamp works really well so far.
The rubber ring it came with actually held up ok aswell.0 -
Nobby Nic wrote:Neal_ wrote:Good to know as I'm ordering the same light v soon and am planning on using one of those mounts, post up if it works or not.
I didn`t have the other clamp when I looked but the hope universal clamp works really well so far.
The rubber ring it came with actually held up ok aswell.
Cheers mate, I've just ordered that light from Lightmalls (although Kaidomain is cheaper) so good to k ow it works with bar mounts.0 -
Hi
I have spent ages reading through this and still not completely understanding it all. I would like a light I .can use for cycling off road and would also like to be able to use it on an offroad motorcycle at night.
I have been looking at these, what do you think?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/300790636565?redirect=mobile
Cheers
AL0 -
Expensive. And that bar mount is rubbish. Doesn't fit on some oversize bars (like 3T bars) and doesn't get as good a grip on the bars it does fit (smooth plastic with no rubber to grip the bar with if used on oversize bars). Could probably pick up a 3 XML T6 LED head for around £30 if you look around.0
-
Concorde wrote:Why end of August to mid Septermber?
Because they ship in just over a week at this time.0 -
diy wrote:Concorde wrote:Why end of August to mid September?
Because they ship in just over a week at this time.
The order I placed with Lightmalls on Thursday has been shipped this morning so fingers crossed it turns up in a week or two. The orders I placed with DX last year did take bloody ages though.
Also even though Lightmalls state free worldwide shipping that isn't an option at checkout so had to pay about £4 for Singapore Post Airmail
0 -
Ouija wrote:Expensive. And that bar mount is rubbish. Doesn't fit on some oversize bars (like 3T bars) and doesn't get as good a grip on the bars it does fit (smooth plastic with no rubber to grip the bar with if used on oversize bars). Could probably pick up a 3 XML T6 LED head for around £30 if you look around.
Was thinking of just buyi.ng a better mount anyway as it looks a bit Shiite, just after loads of light.
How would the beam pattern/output compare to he more expensive light?
What would you suggest as a starting point for a 3 xml t6 light ?
Cheers
AL0 -
alibabameister wrote:Ouija wrote:Expensive. And that bar mount is rubbish. Doesn't fit on some oversize bars (like 3T bars) and doesn't get as good a grip on the bars it does fit (smooth plastic with no rubber to grip the bar with if used on oversize bars). Could probably pick up a 3 XML T6 LED head for around £30 if you look around.
Was thinking of just buyi.ng a better mount anyway as it looks a bit Shiite, just after loads of light.
How would the beam pattern/output compare to he more expensive light?
What would you suggest as a starting point for a 3 xml t6 light ?
Cheers
AL
Could try on of these. There all over the place at the moment and would probably give the same amount of flood as the slightly dimmer Fluxient 3x XM-L T6 in the link you provided rather than the Fluxient 3x XM-L U2. Not much use for road use though (floody lights never are).0 -
I have an Xtar WP2 II charger that's had a few comments on the last couple of pages. As well as a handy mode to use it as a USB power source via a single 18650 cell which I've used to charge my phone up while camping (don't know why it won't let you have 2 in there for that purpose, but I guess it's a voltage thing), there are a couple of different charging modes, one at "0.5A" and the other at "1.0A".
Can anyone educate me as to when either of these nominal charging currents would be any better than the other?
I'm guessing 1A is normally preferred because it's quicker, but maybe 0.5A can somehow resuscitate a battery that can't be charged at 1A or something. Am I barking up the right tree? Even in the right forest?0 -
^ Charge lithium batteries at up to 1C (1 x capacity) so only batteries with less than 1,000mAh need charging at the lower rate so most 18650 should be done at the higher rate
http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/arti ... _batteries
Also
http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/arti ... _batteries0 -
Hi,
Which are the better latest leds xm-l t6, xm-l u2 or xpg coould someone enlighten me or ppoint me in the correct direction please?
AL0
