The big LIGHTS thread 2011-2014

diy

Cree MT-G2 runs at over 2k lumen (sort of a multi-core), but its a higher voltage LED, and very few lights available with it.
e.g.
http://www.kaidomain.com/product/details.S021641

The XM-L2 T6-U3 comes in at 1.1 to <1.3k Lumen at 3A and is single core.

XM-L2 gives best combination of output, efficiency at a usable voltage/ampage and available for sub £10 in a light.

Ouija

digger65 wrote:

hi all
i am looking specifically for AA battery options but it seems to be quite a flooded market (pun intended)
we have a plentiful supply at work
if anyone can recommend a unit at £30 tops?
JJ

Your not going to get anything decent that runs off AA batteries on a front light these days. If you want a light bright enough to see by then you need lithium batteries that put out over three times the voltage of AA's and have almost three times the storage capacity of an AA for a similar sized battery (they're lighter too). The last time i saw a AA battery powered front light it was a big boxy thing that couldn't even begin to match some of these modern XML style lights, even on their dimmest settings.

Only ever see old school metal AA and AAA powered lights these days on low powered flashers for front and rear, where brightness isn't nearly as important.

sprite1275

Went for this rear light after a little research http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/i/q/LISMRTR2/smart_lunar_r2_rear_light
Thought the pulsing flashing options are very attention grabbing and its also a good price. Might also get the mars 4 which is £12 odd at merlins, also a good price.

diy

Those Lunars are pretty good to be fair - I have the L1 on my Road bike and its as bright as any tail light needs to be. Always worth having more than one though. Its so easy to go over a bump and for them to switch off.

-Archie-

diy wrote:

Its so easy to go over a bump and for them to switch off.

BTW, it is very easy to fix that problem on most rear flashers. Just add small electrolytic capacitor in parallel to the power input terminals - typically, there's plenty of space around PCB to solder it there.

jairaj

sprite1275 wrote:

Went for this rear light after a little research http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/i/q/LISMRTR2/smart_lunar_r2_rear_light
Thought the pulsing flashing options are very attention grabbing and its also a good price. Might also get the mars 4 which is £12 odd at merlins, also a good price.

+1 to all the Smart commuting light range. I've got a few of their lights front and back and they are very good.

diy

What are the current best bar mounts on the market for the non-diyer couple of guys at work are looking at joining the 501b club?

Also any reasonable helmet mounts out there for lids with minimal venting?

cheers.

Anyone got any XM-L2s from light malls yet - I was wondering on the driver amps?

apreading

I got an XM-L2 delivered yesterday. Cant measure amps though because I dont have kit to do this. Subjective view is that its maybe slightly brighter than the XM-L I last got, but not much. The colour temp is definately different, seems whiter - and this makes it had to judge whether brighter or not by sight...

Sorry - not really that helpful a reply, other than to say they are arriving on uk shores now.

diy

Well subjectively IME if it at appears to be slightly brighter then it can be anything up to 200 Lumen different.

I have a XM-L T6 running at 1.8A and another running at 2.4A and the second "appears slightly brighter" of course when you get out on the trail its a little more noticeable. The reason for asking is that the DX ones seem to be all 1.5A which is a bit under powered for me.

stellamandude

diy wrote:

What are the current best bar mounts on the market for the non-diyer couple of guys at work are looking at joining the 501b club?

I had these on my bars with good results, little tight on over sized bars, but will just about fit.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Flashlight-Mo ... 3f0dfa2b30



I know this is from HK, but I got mine from the UK via ebay (this was just the first one I found)

mac_man

Hi all
Am a noob to lights and night riding and the thread is doing my head in... just too much tech talk for me TBH. Just need a simple 'But this, it's good'. Preferably for less than £40 all in. Would rather buy from a UK seller and hopefully get the stuff quicker. Don't mind paying a bit more for the priviledge. I've looked at Supersonic's buying guide but these seems a bit out of date now.

Could somebody point me in the right direction for a decent buy off Ebay... a set of 2 torches + fitting, battery etc. or even a dedicated bike light.

Is something like this any good... http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2x-Cree-XML-T ... 3f20c1272b

Or this: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CREE-XM-L-XML ... 3cd4518fcb

Thanks

Ouija

Avoid both, there zoomables. And all though they are listed as UK stock, they probably aren't, so your still getting them from China anyway. And if your going to do that you may as well get them from a respected Chinese/Hong Kong firm such as Manafont etc.

As for what to get... just look at the last few pages of this thread for whats currently good. There are some good recommendations and links there and pretty much covers most peoples need. If you want something versatile and powerful, get the Trustfire twin head XM-L2 i mentioned above (from Manfont, not some nameless Chinese company) and it'll be here in less than two weeks. Only thing you'll need is adaptor for the charger plug (two pin to British three pin). Everything else is included (batteries, good bar mount, remote switch etc).

If your looking for all in one torch styles then the 501/502 torches are the defacto "go to" light, but finding a package that includes the lights, batteries, charger and bar mount (that are any good) isn't easy.

Wormishere1

Hi,

Thanks for the film Quija - it arrived in the post yesterday.

Mac Man - I was after the same, and after many fowl ups I got a decent set up from UK sellers.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/121151199773? ... 1439.l2649
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/320817814535? ... 1439.l2649
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/300901508690? ... 1439.l2649

All in excluding mounts £36 for one torch, £45 for two torches.

I am still getting trying to find the perfect mount but that set up should see you good - so I am told! Don't be tempted to buy cheaper cells or charger too, it seems to be the most important part of the set up!

andyrr

Isn't the issue with the multi-cell pack lights, such as the Manafont Trustfire light that appears to be a bargain the charger/pack ?
I've had a few of the 4-call type of light and weakness seems to be :
a) The battery/charging - the chargers are totally dumb so will not help with cell longevity
b) The wiring : the cabling from pack to head is pretty weedy and I've had to repair this, and indeed the cable to the chargers too.
I have a 1hr+ commute which covers some rough and dark roads, some of which I can do 30Mph on, and a really bright light is required - last Winter I sourced a Lightmalls triple T6 light which is hte brightest light I've used but after a few months use I'm now seeing the charger not showing a green charging light even though I know it is not currently 100% charged. It's just not worth the hassle of trying to take the thing to bits as similar output lights are now so cheap but if I can achieve pretty much the same output but in a package that has greter reliability I might well switch to the torch lights.
With the torches at least the charging can be done using a high quality unit and the batteries too can be selected.

-Archie-

andyrr wrote:

With the torches at least the charging can be done using a high quality unit and the batteries too can be selected.

I'd say, there's no any obstacles preventing you from using decent charger & high-quality batteries with bike light, too...

sprite1275

mac man wrote:

Hi all
Am a noob to lights and night riding and the thread is doing my head in... just too much tech talk for me TBH. Just need a simple 'But this, it's good'. Preferably for less than £40 all in. Would rather buy from a UK seller and hopefully get the stuff quicker. Don't mind paying a bit more for the priviledge. I've looked at Supersonic's buying guide but these seems a bit out of date now.

Could somebody point me in the right direction for a decent buy off Ebay... a set of 2 torches + fitting, battery etc. or even a dedicated bike light.

Is something like this any good... http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2x-Cree-XML-T ... 3f20c1272b

Or this: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CREE-XM-L-XML ... 3cd4518fcb

Thanks

I reckon these look good with everything you need, Quality build but smashes your budget http://www.torchdirect.co.uk/xtar-professional-range/xtar-bk12-led-cycle-torch-kit.html

For around your budget though id say just get a 501/502b torch. You will not be disappointed as they are VERY bright and if your looking for a uk seller try http://www.candb-seen.co.uk/flashlightheadlamp/ This is where i got mine from and batteries.

I would very much recommend this charger http://www.torchdirect.co.uk/lithium-ion-battery-chargers/nitecore-intellicharge-i4-li-ion-ni-mh-battery-charger.html




As you can see its a quality product and and gives you the option of charging L-ion & NiMH batteries.

andyrr

-Archie- wrote:

andyrr wrote:

With the torches at least the charging can be done using a high quality unit and the batteries too can be selected.

I'd say, there's no any obstacles preventing you from using decent charger & high-quality batteries with bike light, too...

How can a multi-pack of cells be charged (without hacking into separate cells) be charged other than by the supplied charger ?

-Archie-

I'm not sure I understand your question. Battery pack can be charged by charger designed for that (or compatible) pack...

bamba

these are the mounts i use, never had a any trouble with them,a tad too wide for 502b's though, easily sorted with a small plastic insert.

http://dx.com/p/universal-bicycle-mount ... able-15642

Still looking around at 18650 power banks where you can use your own cells,this looks good,

http://www.fasttech.com/products/1420/1 ... -mobile-po

Ouija

andyrr wrote:

-Archie- wrote:

andyrr wrote:

With the torches at least the charging can be done using a high quality unit and the batteries too can be selected.

I'd say, there's no any obstacles preventing you from using decent charger & high-quality batteries with bike light, too...

How can a multi-pack of cells be charged (without hacking into separate cells) be charged other than by the supplied charger ?

You can use a different charger to the ones that come with it if your not happy with that one, i do. Magicshine and various other people make better chargers that will work on those four cell packs (i've got at least three that came on more expensive light setups).

Alternatively, if you want a four cell pack that you can charge/change the individual batteries within it then simply buy one of the many battery case holders that are available on the market.








and make up your own

bamba

do you have the link for the round bottle one pictured above ?

stellamandude

bamba wrote:

do you have the link for the round bottle one pictured above ?

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=spark ... e&ie=UTF-8

apreading

Or you could try this:

http://www.lightmalls.com/black-color-8 ... ycle-light

diy

bamba wrote:

Still looking around at 18650 power banks where you can use your own cells,this looks good,

http://www.fasttech.com/products/1420/1 ... -mobile-po

Doesn't look like its designed to have the installed and removed easily.

bamba

Yeh, not quiet ideal. One of those pictured above look a better option.

Ouija

stellamandude wrote:

bamba wrote:

do you have the link for the round bottle one pictured above ?

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=spark ... e&ie=UTF-8

Looks like it's 4.2v if you use four 18650 or 8.4v if you use eight CR123A's. Always check before purchase.

Like Archie, you could make up your own bottle battery using something like the Pro tool bottle (the smaller of the two versions).



I just have 4 cells in a holder inside the bottle which still leaves space for a few extras like a multitool.



The MagicShine bottles come with batteries in it but there is no reason you couldn't build your own battery pack inside it once the originals have gone kaput...



Even Manafont have a round bottle style cage that can me modified (modified mine for 4.2v to use with my 502 torches).



The options are endless if you don't mind a bit of DIY.

Maro

Hey gang, planning to do my first night rides this year and searching tinternet for lights.

As far as I'm aware I want a wide beam on my bars and more of a spot lamp on my noggin. I have just bought a coast HP7 http://www.coastportland.com/gb/hp7-led-flashlight.htm and was planning to mount that on bars and now looking for a headlamp, do most of you guys use the normal ebay search result cree one than fits to bars and to a headstrap?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CREE-XM-L-XML ... 0000wt_997

Do these mount to a helmet ok?

Ouija

The 251 max lumens and AAA batteries of the hp7 are not going to make for a good flood light on the bars or give particularly long run times either. The more floody you make a light the brighter it needs to run to counter the fact that less light is now touching everything. 251 lumens isn't even a particularly bright spot light, never mind flood.

As for those ebay lights. Their ok on bars with a proper mount but need a OP reflector and kind of look stupid on your head. If you want one of those sorts of light then this version is slightly better, with the OP reflector and click lock connectors (don't come apart as your bouncing round the trail). The rest of the package looks a little cheap (battery, bag, charger etc) but that's what you get at that price point.

If you want something better and don't mind the extra few quid then go for something like this which is a much better light, better battery, better bag etc (though i wouldn't get it from there as the P&P is way too high). And if you really want to go for one of those cheap unbranded Cree single head units then this one might be more useful as the switch is remote.. (though everything else is identical to your original link)

As with everything you get what you pay for. I have four of those cheap unbranded Cree seperate head unit lights and, while they aren't terrible, they aren't near as good as some of my other light systems (in reliability, brightness, run times etc).

Maro

Thanks for that, I appreciate your advice.

What are people fitting to their helmets?

bamba

3 of these,
http://www.lightmalls.com/ultrafire-501 ... flashlight
2 on the bars,1 on me helmet, soon to be replaced with,
http://www.lightmalls.com/ultrafire-wf- ... ch-1-18650