The big LIGHTS thread 2011-2014

Big dave 3

2 UltraFire WF-501B CREE XM-L2 5 Modes LED Flashlight Torch(1*18650)
Item Number M08051 $23.98 USD
1 UltraFire LC 18650 3800mAh 3.7V Li-ion Battery(2-pack)
Item Number M08532 $9.80 USD
1 UltraFire 18650 3.7V 3000mAh Protected Li-ion Rechargeable Battery
Item Number SP688R662 $2.55 USD
Amount $36.33 USD

All this plus postage came to about £25

Big dave 3

Ouija wrote:

If it's got batteries in it it will take longer. Just had a 8 cell battery turn up from Kaidomain after two and a half months. But that's always the case at this time of year. Whereas i ordered a second one of the light pictured above without battery from Lightmalls on the 2nd of this month and it turned up yesterday, so just two weeks.

OMG 2.5 months is a long time. It will be light again in the evenings if it takes any longer

Ouija

Yeah. They're not allowed to ship Lithium Ion batteries by air so they have to come overland or by ocean, which takes a lot longer. They never used to be that strict about it but over the last year or so they've really put a clamp down on it (i suspect Boeing and Airbus having monumental problems with the large Lithium Ion batteries they had intended to power their new super aircraft plays some part in the airlines refusing to carry them).

The 8 cell from Kaidomain actually got returned to them by the Postal company who refused to carry them, forcing Kaidomain to mail them via a different courier.

diy

OK a couple of points..

1. Do not order Ultrafire 18650s they are usually pretty rubbish.
2. Do not order 18650s from far east if you want rapid delivery.

Get your cells off ebay (or better out of an old laptop) and make sure they are Japanese if possible.

Big dave 3

diy wrote:

OK a couple of points..

1. Do not order Ultrafire 18650s they are usually pretty rubbish.
2. Do not order 18650s from far east if you want rapid delivery.

Get your cells off ebay (or better out of an old laptop) and make sure they are Japanese if possible.

OK Ill bear that in mind.

I have just seen a uk ebay seller doing 8 x 18650 4000mAh for £9.50. How truthfult the output is I am not sure, but at least I might get them within a month! Oh I have just noticed that they are Ultrafire which you do not recommend. Have you got any links to good ones?

That is a really really useful guide to bike lights. I wish I had found that a few weeks ago when ordering mine. I read through all the comments on this thread about different ones (& got a sore head!) , when all I wanted was a nice simple guide telling me which one I want & a link to it. The video on faulting/repairing the torches is really good too.

tincaman

Big dave 3 wrote:

diy wrote:

OK a couple of points..

1. Do not order Ultrafire 18650s they are usually pretty rubbish.
2. Do not order 18650s from far east if you want rapid delivery.

Get your cells off ebay (or better out of an old laptop) and make sure they are Japanese if possible.

OK Ill bear that in mind.

I have just seen a uk ebay seller doing 8 x 18650 4000mAh for £9.50. How truthfult the output is I am not sure, but at least I might get them within a month! Oh I have just noticed that they are Ultrafire which you do not recommend. Have you got any links to good ones?

That is a really really useful guide to bike lights. I wish I had found that a few weeks ago when ordering mine. I read through all the comments on this thread about different ones (& got a sore head!) , when all I wanted was a nice simple guide telling me which one I want & a link to it. The video on faulting/repairing the torches is really good too.

Panasonic do a 3400mah, anything higher than that is fake, or over marketing (ie could be anything)

diy

Typically we are looking at max output at 1-2A being around 2.7Ah-3.1Ah. There is nothing able to do 4Ah at 1A in an 18650.

Look for anything that looks like these:


or this
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Genuine-9-Cel ... 0551880170

Which works out at less than £2 for each 2600mAh cells, providing you can find a sharp chisel and some pliers.

johnmcl7

I've just received my Lightmalls order from before Christmas but it's the wrong light, I ordered a five mode WF-502B with an XML2 LED but received a single mode WF-502B with an XML-U3 LED. I've had a quick look on ebay and Amazon but I'm not seeing any XML2's for sale there (bar a couple of Chinese sellers who don't post to the Scottish Highlands apparently?!), I'm a bit wary of putting another order in with Lightmalls to wait a month again for potentially the wrong lights. I've mailed them to inform them of their error so will see what they say.

John

diy

Hi John,

Stupid question, but I guess you know how to change modes (i.e. half press the tailcap)? Also do you know the physical difference between an XM-L and an XM-L2?

XML (left) XM-L2 (Right)

my lightmalls XM-L2s had XM-L2 on the barrel also.

johnmcl7

Yes, I have a few WF-502B's already (including one XML2 from Lightmalls) - I do find some of them are a bit fiddly changing modes with a slightly longer 18650 battery although it still changes mode each half press. This one I just can't get it to change at all, any registered press switches the torch back off again.

The hotlinked images aren't working but am I right in thinking an XML2 emitter has a white base and an XML1 has a green base? It has a white base which makes me think it's an XML2 rather than XML1 even though it's badged a U3 rather than an L2. I wouldn't mind if it was a U3 but the lack of mode changing is a problem, I did try changing over the switch from another WF-502B but it behaved the same way as the original, just on/off. Lightmalls have replied asking for pictures of the torch which I've supplied so will see what they say now.

John

diy

I have changed the images - but the XM-L has 3 wires and 6 "bars". The XM-L2 has 2 wires and a sort of honeycomb surface. Pop the tailcap off and use either a piece of wire against the body cell tail or a stretched out paperclip and just rapidly tap it to see if it will mode change.

It could be an XM-L2 U3

I assumed all the XM-L2s coming out of lightmalls were T6.

the U3 is just the binning. If its a genuine XM-L2 U3 then that is a blimin powerful light you have.

1193-1268 Lumen @ 3A.

johnmcl7

I think you're right in your assumption that the current XML2's are T6's, this one is certainly not noticeably brighter than an XML-U2. I'll double check the emitter but if it's an XML2 type I would expect it to be a T6.

John

Ouija

Kind of depends on the driver. Just because it's a XM-L2 U3 doesn't mean it's going to be brighter than a XM-L T6 (or U2). None of mine are. All of the XM-L2 lights i've got seem to be driven at a lower ampage to achieve longer runtimes while still giving out similar light levels as an old XM-L T6. The only exception to that seems to be the light i posted half way up the previous page, which is advertised as a XM-L U2 by Lightmalls but on inspection is actually a XM-L2 U2 and seems to be driven at around 2.8/3.0 amps judging by the brightness.

Big dave 3

Can someone pls explain briefly & simply what xm-l2 u3, xm-l u2, t6, xml2 etc etc mean? Which is the best? I have just about understood what a 501b / 502b & C7 are but these other driver accronyms seem confusing, especially when they are very similar.

Big dave 3

I got bored waiting for my order from Lightmalls so I decided to order something else:

A KD C8 Cree XM-L2 U2 5-Mode SMO LED Flashlight.

http://www.kaidomain.com/product/details.S021238

I don't know whether xm-l2 is good or what it means. Or SMO , but I read somewhere that Kai Domain C8 torch had a good review. ANd I don't want to order anything else from Light malls.

john2002

XM-L2 is the latest LED so good
SMO is (smooth reflector)

Ouija

Big dave 3 wrote:

Can someone pls explain briefly & simply what xm-l2 u3, xm-l u2, t6, xml2 etc etc mean? Which is the best? I have just about understood what a 501b / 502b & C7 are but these other driver accronyms seem confusing, especially when they are very similar.

XM-L is the name of the LED. Possibly the brightest kind for the last few years until they released the XM-L2 late last year.

Each LED is tested after manufacture to see how well it performs and is thrown into different bins depending on the scores achieved. The bin names go from T1 (uttter crap... but worked) to T6 (Expected brightness/heat output the design was meant to achieve) as well as U2 and U3 (actually performed much better than was expected by the design).

An original XM-L in the super dooper U2 or U3 variant pretty much puts out the same heat/light as the vanilla version (T6) of the new XM-L2. Needless to say, the super dooper U2 and U3 variant of the newer XM-L2 are pretty much the brightest things around, if the torch/light they're fitted in decides to run them close to their maximum ampage (3 amps).

Big dave 3

Ah OK , brilliant that makes sense now!

Manc33

I got a £4.99 front light as a backup to my Cree x3 but the stupid band on it is miles too thin. It appears to be to fit a 1960's handlebar lol. No way in hell is it going to fit on my "oversized" (thanks Decathlon) handlebar.

Does anyone know of a really cheap front LED with a large band on it or what it should have had - two bands for thin and fat handlebars? Backup use only, may never even get used.

At the moment I have a 18650 x 6 pack on and I have had to strap the old 18650 x 4 pack on as backup, but don't want to leave that on because its not waterproof at all.

diy

Ouija wrote:

An original XM-L in the super dooper U2 or U3 variant pretty much puts out the same heat/light as the vanilla version (T6) of the new XM-L2.

Only at max current is that true. The XM-L2 is designed to perform better at slightly lower current. So in the ranges we typically use. i.e. 1.5-2.5A the XM-L2 T6 is still going to outperform the XM-L U3. Its also capable of running much hotter.

Big dave 3

Well nothing has arrived yet-Im still waiting. SO I ordered another torch lol: (Its a 502b xm-l2 u2 for £6.71 delivered.

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Free-shi ... 26364.html

If I keep ordering these torches from different suppliers, eventually one will turn up. THat one above has 177 votes with 99% liking the torch.

Big dave 3

By the way, why is the 501b the torch that everyone is going for?

Convoy M1, M2, S2, S3, S4 & S6 seem to be well reviewed on BudgetLightForum.

Here are pics:

https://illuminationsupply.com/convoy-c-28_92/

Here is one for sale with good reviews:

http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product ... 41552.html

Would these not be worth a try on a bike? Or is there a reason why I haven't heard of them before? Maybe others have discussed them, I havent read all of this thread

Ouija

Never heard of them. Probably not doing a good job of advertising themselves. Personally, all my torches bar one are 502b's as i prefer them over the 501. Noticed the one you ordered comes with the 7135 driver. Depending on which one of those four stars on the board are connected to the outside edge allows you to determine what modes the torch has, which is a feature you don't see a lot of on most drivers.

Big dave 3

Why do you prefer the 502b?

Ouija

Big dave 3 wrote:

Why do you prefer the 502b?

No particular reason. One's no different to the other perfomance wise. Just prefer the styling of the 502 and it helps if all your torches match each other when mounted on the bars.

tincaman

My new discovery is Polymorph plastic, it allows to to form and create any shape or form you want using heat mouldable plastic.
You buy it in granule form, dump in hot water over 62C, then make what you want from it, I have been using it for seating things like batteries and lights on the frame to keep them stable or pointing in the right direction.

If you make a mistake or want to use the bit you made for something else then just dump it back in the hot water. You can fine tune it also with a hot air gun.

It sets hard but slightly springy, you can cut it whilst still in the plastic stage and drill and file it when its hard.
Its got to be good for a custom helmet mount?

I have just mounted a battery pack behind the down tube



If you add powder paint at the mouldable stage you can make any colour you want
Here are a few Amazon reviewshttp://www.amazon.co.uk/product-reviews/B0027IZC3S/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1, cheapest place to buy is Ebay, about £5 for 200g which is quite a lot of material

diy

@tincaman - Very interesting - worth a 5er I think.

on the 501b vs 502b debate. Functionally identical. 502 is nicer looking but historically its been a couple of quid more and a tiny bit heavier.



I also use the lanyard loop on the bars as a backup safety loop.

fossyant

Ouija wrote:

PorlyWorly wrote:

Read through the last few pages and there are some knowledgeable chaps on here! My cree headlamp I bought a couple of years ago has finally given up the ghost, I'm not sure what the problem is but I am guessing it's the battery pack as the light on the back of the cree headlamp has no power and also when I plug the battery pack into the charger to recharge, the colour of the LED on the charger no longer changes to indicate it's on charge.

So, I can either ask you guys to point me in the direction of a new battery pack (which may or may not fix the problem) or just buy new lights. My commute takes me down a couple of unlit country roads (downhill at high speed!) so need something that lights the road, I already have a flashy-usb-light-to-be-seen.

Please advise bikeradar light guru hivemind.

Personally, at the prices these lights come at it might be just worth upgrading the whole unit to something like this and this as you get a battery with it for less than £20 (quality may vary). You could then use the pack with your old light or the new one (which also has a flashing ring so can be used as a 'be seen' light as well).

Just a little update on these. They let water in. It get's in the vents, and works it's way through to the Halo LED's, causing them to short out. I took the front off and there was enough water in there to cause issues. Popped on a hot radiator and they are OK now. I would advise you either tape up the vents or silicone seal them. Other than that, they are great for commuting.

johnmcl7

Lightmalls have offered a generous $3 refund which I'm not too impressed by, the U3 light isn't much use as it's a less efficient LED than the XML2 and with no power control it hammers the battery so it looks like I'm going to have to write that off as a loss as they're on holiday for a couple of weeks now.

I still want a couple more 502b's with XML2's, any reliable sources for these? I don't mind ordering from abroad and waiting a while if I'm definitely going to get the right lights, I wouldn't mind paying a few pounds more to get them in the UK.

John

apreading

fossyant wrote:

Just a little update on these. They let water in. It get's in the vents, and works it's way through to the Halo LED's, causing them to short out. I took the front off and there was enough water in there to cause issues. Popped on a hot radiator and they are OK now. I would advise you either tape up the vents or silicone seal them. Other than that, they are great for commuting.

Thanks for that - just saved me from ordering a twin pair from ebay (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/271333396797? ... 1438.l2649)

I have one of the individual ones from lightmalls but not used it yet - as far as I can tell my Jexree Owl doesnt leak, so will stick with that. The idea of a twin head with one beam diffused and the other for reach did appeal though...

Trouble is that presumably those vents are needed for cooling - if you seal them it will overheat...?