The big LIGHTS thread 2011-2014
Comments
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Johnmcl7 wrote:Th3P wrote:Also Ive just seen and may order 18650 Water proof case (support 4 x 18650) but allows you choose your own batteries, seems a good idea as I keep a decent stock of 18650s.
My only concern is there would appear to be no form of circuit protection
These don't seem to be available from that seller, anyone know of another source? Alternatively I see the Torchy guy sells these battery packs and charger which I assume are reasonable quality so I may give one of those a go.
John
Nope, still on the search they cancelled my order the following day despite marking them as shipped!
I then found some on Amazon UK and got those cancelled as unable to supply too0 -
Just done some more Googling only place I can find with anything is Lightmalls, Just ordered two of these
Also snook on a UniqueFire HD-106 not seen many reviews, Some mention optics being loose at front, Button and LED design seems to match the SolarStorm will see what its like.
Had to pay $8 shipping as they dont sell the light as a head unit only with batteries
I`ll let you know John what the Battery Packs are like
(They do show as in stock on Airyear.com but you get a cancellation a few days later)0 -
So, I'm just trying to work out this light business, I've got the helmet mount sorted, I just need to make sure I have the rest of the kit.
I was thinking of these bits:
http://www.lightmalls.com/ultrafire-wf- ... ch-1-18650
http://www.lightmalls.com/ultrafire-brc ... ery-2-pack
http://www.lightmalls.com/ultrafire-wf- ... 00-charger
Not sure if the handlebar mounts are any good (Or even fit on the bars as all the mounts I've had recently seem to be for smaller, old style diameter bars) but I thought either this: http://www.lightmalls.com/2-75-practica ... cycl-black
Or this http://www.lightmalls.com/flashlight-mount-5pcs
For mounting on the hack bike where I won't have my handlebar light as well
Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated as I'm new to this torch business. Ideally I want one that can be upgraded when new bulbs come out
Many thanks
Paul0 -
I'd avoid Ultrafire batteries (or any Chinese batteries) and get some decent Japanese ones (Panasonic, Senybor, Sony etc).
The second mount only works on narrow handlebars (not oversize 31.6mm bars) and the first mount looks like it aligns the torch with the bar, not 90 degrees to it.0 -
Ah so it does. I'll look for some decent batteries, that's a good point thanksOuija wrote:I'd avoid Ultrafire batteries (or any Chinese batteries) and get some decent Japanese ones (Panasonic, Senybor, Sony etc).
The second mount only works on narrow handlebars (not oversize 31.6mm bars) and the first mount looks like it aligns the torch with the bar, not 90 degrees to it.
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Th3P wrote:
Nope, still on the search they cancelled my order the following day despite marking them as shipped!
I then found some on Amazon UK and got those cancelled as unable to supply too
Thanks, sounds like you've saved me a lot of hassle.
I noticed the Torchy seller sells these battery packs and charger plus he had a deal with a five XML light for 16 quid extra so I've taken a punt on that.
John0 -
Paul 8v wrote:
As others have said - avoid the dodgy brand cells.
Look on Ebay for original Dell, lenovo etc and get cracking with a chisel:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from= ... lo=5&_udhi
works out about 50p-£1 per cell for genuine 2,4Ah-2.9Ah cells.
If you are mounting your lights to a bike with TT clip-ons you only need a couple of loops of mountain bike inner tube on each torch.0 -
I've got an old non working Dell laptop who's battery is not too bad. Would it be worth trying break the battery pack apart? Or is it only worth while getting brand new pack to split up?0
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Old battery packs are well worth breaking up. Even if the battery has 'failed' it's often only one or two cells that are duff and the rest can be recycled for lights.Vitus Sentier VR+ (2018) GT Grade AL 105 (2016)
Giant Anthem X4 (2010) GT Avalanche 1.0 (2010)
Kingley Vale and QECP Trail Collective - QECP Trail Building0 -
Paul 8v wrote:So, I'm just trying to work out this light business, I've got the helmet mount sorted, I just need to make sure I have the rest of the kit.
I was thinking of these bits:
http://www.lightmalls.com/ultrafire-wf- ... ch-1-18650
http://www.lightmalls.com/ultrafire-brc ... ery-2-pack
http://www.lightmalls.com/ultrafire-wf- ... 00-charger
Not sure if the handlebar mounts are any good (Or even fit on the bars as all the mounts I've had recently seem to be for smaller, old style diameter bars) but I thought either this: http://www.lightmalls.com/2-75-practica ... cycl-black
Or this http://www.lightmalls.com/flashlight-mount-5pcs
For mounting on the hack bike where I won't have my handlebar light as well
Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated as I'm new to this torch business. Ideally I want one that can be upgraded when new bulbs come out
Many thanks
Paul
People are right avoid the cells, And Ideally buy from within UK (Or your own country) Buy cheap from these sites but be aware that you have to pay extra for shipping batteries and also they tend to be clone/copies.
I bought a NiteCore D4 charger which I cant recommend enough it allow flexibility to choose the cells you want and a diverse range of battery types.
Myself and other recommend Torchy you can see his shop here0 -
Johnmcl7 wrote:Th3P wrote:
Nope, still on the search they cancelled my order the following day despite marking them as shipped!
I then found some on Amazon UK and got those cancelled as unable to supply too
Thanks, sounds like you've saved me a lot of hassle.
I noticed the Torchy seller sells these battery packs and charger plus he had a deal with a five XML light for 16 quid extra so I've taken a punt on that.
John
Hi John
Yeah its been a real pain getting hold of stock, Do you have a link for the Torchy offer? (Cant see it in the web shop)
Sounds interesting 0 -
jairaj wrote:I've got an old non working Dell laptop who's battery is not too bad. Would it be worth trying break the battery pack apart? Or is it only worth while getting brand new pack to split up?
you can work out the power usually based on the published volts, amps and watts on the pack. Dell's are often 11.1v and the packs are normally 3 serial, 2 parallel. So divide the published amp hour by 2 to get the amp hour per cell.
You'd be unlucky for the cells to be less than a genuine 2600mAh at 1-2A
Whereas 90% of those on Ebay claiming 4000mAh will be do barely 2200 at 2A
when buying laptop cells on ebay be careful to buy OEM. i.e. "genuine Dell" not "for Dell" etc, which could easily have crap cells in. Better to buy old and original than new and unknown.0 -
Thanks guys, interesting about the laptop batteries, that's a great idea!0
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Th3P wrote:Johnmcl7 wrote:Th3P wrote:
Nope, still on the search they cancelled my order the following day despite marking them as shipped!
I then found some on Amazon UK and got those cancelled as unable to supply too
Thanks, sounds like you've saved me a lot of hassle.
I noticed the Torchy seller sells these battery packs and charger plus he had a deal with a five XML light for 16 quid extra so I've taken a punt on that.
John
Hi John
Yeah its been a real pain getting hold of stock, Do you have a link for the Torchy offer? (Cant see it in the web shop)
Sounds interesting
This is the light:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Torchy-Oriole ... 1c4602cbc2
I'm assuming it's the same battery pack as this one:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fluxient-6600 ... TQ:GB:1123
I asked the seller how much the charger would be and he said £9 so I reckoned it was worth trying out the five light device. It could well be unusable as it looks far too bulky but curiosity got the better of me.
John0 -
Those Torchy Oriole lights (both 2x and 5x) are just rebadged Trustfire TR D002 and TR D005 so i assume they come with a Trustfire rubberized battery (though the fabric pouch in the picture isn't the one that Trustfire provide, so it may be another brand of battery he's teamed it up with). The two Trustfire batteries that came with my Trustfire TR-D002's are some of the best packs i've owned.0
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Ouija wrote:Those Torchy Oriole lights (both 2x and 5x) are just rebadged Trustfire TR D002 and TR D005 so i assume they come with a Trustfire rubberized battery (though the fabric pouch in the picture isn't the one that Trustfire provide, so it may be another brand of battery he's teamed it up with). The two Trustfire batteries that came with my Trustfire TR-D002's are some of the best packs i've owned.
Thanks for the information, I'm hoping it's a reasonable battery pack as the Torchy seller seems to have a good reputation plus if there's any issues with the reliability of the light at least there's some chance of getting it sorted out. I think you're probably right about the batterypack come to think of it as unlike the separate listings he doesn't show the batterypack nor its water proofing but at least it comes with a charger so £35 isn't too bad to add another battery pack.
John0 -
Yesterday I started a thread regarding front lights, having read a lot of this thread I thought it might be worth posting in this one too for some help and feedback. I will just copy my last details over:
Re: Front light
Postby bj639 » Wed Sep 17, 2014 12:50 pm
ok I have spent far more time than I should looking at lights and getting my head around the big lights thread. In the end I cam down to getting either the Solarstorm or torches. I think for me torches would be the best option. At present I head out at 6.30am (roughly sunrise until the clocks change) so its not dark and gets lighter by the time I get back around 2 hours laters so the Solarstorm would be overkill on this. If I go for torches I can buy a couple but usually only need one on so if one packs up I still have one as backup. Come January I will be night riding in total darkness so I would probably grab another torch then so I can run two and have one as backup. Also IF i use torches I can angle them seperately and away from oncoming traffic.
If I have got things right I would need 2 x torches, 2 holders some batteries and a charger. Am I correct in thinking that the batteries fit direct into the torch like a standard AA torch setup? How does this work with the battery packs you can get (which might be better to use when doing night riding?) Can you use the packs instead or are they different torches for battery packs rather than in housing batteries?
Would running a torch with in housing batteries have enough juice for 2-2 1/2 hours of night riding or is a pack essential for that? I cant find anywhere that states how long they will run on the single batteries rather than the packs
Assuming I am ok with in housing batteries would this lot be correct to buy?
Holders: (style 1??)
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/291116371266?var=590267634601
Torches:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/141252543236
batteries:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2x-Trustfire- ... 46274c305f
Charger:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Trustfire-TR- ... 43cf5e577a
(the bottom two items are both from Torchy as he seems to have a good rep and I want to not burn the house down!!
I could then go for a battery pack in january for the night riding?
Am I thinking this right and would those items be ok?0 -
Can anyone please advise or which is the better out of the two.
http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.vi ... 1484751623
http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.vi ... 08176139690 -
19dm82 wrote:Can anyone please advise or which is the better out of the two.
http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.vi ... 1484751623
http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.vi ... 0817613969
Better in what way?0 -
Ouija wrote:19dm82 wrote:Can anyone please advise or which is the better out of the two.
http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.vi ... 1484751623
http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.vi ... 0817613969
Better in what way?
Don't know anything about lights. Which one would be the better buy?0 -
I would go for the second one:
http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.vi ... 0817613969
Its more of a known quantity. Many people are very happy with their Solorstorm and Solarstrom light copies.
The other one may be better but there probably aren't as many users out there. Historically people have not been too happy with lights with 3+ LEDs. They either don't use all LEDs when on high so bit of a waste to have 4 if they are not all on. Or if it does use them all it'll be a very high load for the battery draining it very quickly. Thermal management could also be an issue with so many LEDS the light could melt it self.
All that is guessing though, I haven't actually used it. If you don't mind taking a risk then give it a go.0 -
19dm82 wrote:Ouija wrote:19dm82 wrote:Can anyone please advise or which is the better out of the two.
http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.vi ... 1484751623
http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.vi ... 0817613969
Better in what way?
Don't know anything about lights. Which one would be the better buy?
Depends on what you are planning to use it for. Road riding? Mountain biking?
If road use, then in towns and cities with lots of other traffic or out on country lanes with no lighting at all?
How long do you need it to run for? How long are your rides?
Are things like remote switches important (allow hand free use of the torch) or the ability to easily dip the lights?
If for off road riding are we talking fire roads or deep forests and mud? Do you need something floody, spotty or both?
This is why i have so many lights. Not one is good for all things, it depends on what your using it for.
Of the two you linked too, for example, neither is good for offroad use as the handle bar mounts don't hold them to the bar firmly enough to stop the light from jiggling forwards (so factor in buying a better mount). And i'd imagine the battery packs aren't up to much. Though if i had to choose one of those for offroad it would be the second one.
Neither is particularly good for road use either as they don't have a remote switch to allow you to quickly dip the light for oncoming traffic without taking your hands off your grips (which you'll find hard to do bombing down a hill, humping up one or bouncing around over pot holes on the flats). The exception to that is road bike drop handle bars where you can rest your hands either side of the stem and simply lift your thumb up to tap the mode switch on the back of the light.0 -
bj639 - you're right about the torches in that you slide the 18650 battery into them and that's them powered and ready to go. The lights that use battery packs are a different design, usually a short head unit with no space for its own battery and instead connects to the battery pack.
In terms of batterylife from the 18650 batteries and XML torches I find they're normally fine for my use, I do three hour rides over winter although a chunk of that is cycling out and back so the lights are on full power for less than that. Usually two lights does me fine, one on the bar which I keep on low power when on the roads and not needing it to light up anything and one on the helmet which I keep off until needed - once I get off road I switch both to full power then back to low/off when finished the odd road section. I rode with four torches in total, two on the handlebars (to have one available immediately if the other bar one fails), one on my helmet and one in my pocket. That's a little overkill perhaps but with the torches being cheap it's better safe than sorry and it never hurts to have spare batteries. Despite cycling all winter this way though none of the lights failed me.
For mounts I use this design:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bike-Cycle-Bi ... 43bc34899f
I had a couple of the ones you've linked to but I could never get them to grip the handlebars properly, they kept sliding round although there's perhaps a fix for that. The one I've linked to seems to hold on the handlebars fine although it only works on narrower sections, it won't go on the middle of my MTB bars or my road bike bars.
John0 -
My five led monstrosity arrived today and I'm not sure about keeping it, I powered it up outside in the back garden and expected the pool of light to be very wide but it doesn't seem that much better than a single XML. Then again it's difficult to tell without actually going on a ride and if I do that, I can't return it. Plus the batterypack and remote switch feel a bit clumsy compared to just popping a torch on the holder, I can't seem to get the batterypack below the stem so I assume the next best place is the top bar?
John0 -
Ouija wrote:19dm82 wrote:Ouija wrote:19dm82 wrote:Can anyone please advise or which is the better out of the two.
http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.vi ... 1484751623
http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.vi ... 0817613969
Better in what way?
Don't know anything about lights. Which one would be the better buy?
Depends on what you are planning to use it for. Road riding? Mountain biking?
If road use, then in towns and cities with lots of other traffic or out on country lanes with no lighting at all?
How long do you need it to run for? How long are your rides?
Are things like remote switches important (allow hand free use of the torch) or the ability to easily dip the lights?
If for off road riding are we talking fire roads or deep forests and mud? Do you need something floody, spotty or both?
This is why i have so many lights. Not one is good for all things, it depends on what your using it for.
Of the two you linked too, for example, neither is good for offroad use as the handle bar mounts don't hold them to the bar firmly enough to stop the light from jiggling forwards (so factor in buying a better mount). And i'd imagine the battery packs aren't up to much. Though if i had to choose one of those for offroad it would be the second one.
Neither is particularly good for road use either as they don't have a remote switch to allow you to quickly dip the light for oncoming traffic without taking your hands off your grips (which you'll find hard to do bombing down a hill, humping up one or bouncing around over pot holes on the flats). The exception to that is road bike drop handle bars where you can rest your hands either side of the stem and simply lift your thumb up to tap the mode switch on the back of the light.
Thanks for the reply. Will be mainly using off-road for night rides. Nothing to serious though mainly bridal paths and old train lines. Just want to keep riding during the dark nights. Is there any you could recommend. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.0 -
These:
http://www.lightmalls.com/ultrafire-wf- ... ch-1-18650
But at 6 quid a pop you may as well get 3. I'm finding they come in at around 1A on medium and 2-2.4A on high so a pair on medium is going to give you about 800 Lumen. When I first started off-road MTB my 4 lights (also 501bs, but with XR-E LEDs) produced about 4-500 Lumen. I like the 501, because its small, but not so small it can't cope with the heat, the reflector handles the LED output well and they are cheap.
I run two on the lid two on the bars normally but I rarely take them above low/medium, so its a way of extending run time.
There are a few different suggestions for chargers and Cells. Personally I get best results with old laptops, but if you can get senybor or panasonic cells from a reliable source then they are good. But you can scroll back and find the options.0 -
19dm82 wrote:
Thanks for the reply. Will be mainly using off-road for night rides. Nothing to serious though mainly bridal paths and old train lines. Just want to keep riding during the dark nights. Is there any you could recommend. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Torches are good, but if you want an all in one style light a couple spring to mind....
Got two of these. Main selling points are a good bar mount, remote switch (which you don't really need offroad) and a really decent battery pack that achieves the 3hr runtimes claimed (as well as being encased in rubber to keep it dry and coming with a rubber mounting bag, which are easier to clean than the fabric ones). Also has waterproof click lock connectors that aren't easy to pull apart (which can happen mid ride with cheaper connectors).
It's been my main 'go to' light for the last two years. However, there are some newer alternatives....
These seem pretty good in that they have one flood and one spot beam for a more all round light. Poor bar mount (replace with a hope one) and i have no idea what the batteries are like but it has waterproof screw cap connectors, which are a plus point.
Alternately....
I've always had good experiences with Trustfire lights and these are tempting me at the moment. Remote switch and probably a decent battery the only down side being the dissapointing rubber o ring style mount (which really shouldn't be used on a light that going offroad... so again, replace with a £7 hope mount). The main selling point of this light is the ability to point the three lights at different location down the trail, so you could have one big pool of light, three pools in front of each other and overlapping slightly or two close to the bike and one pointing off down the trail......
And if that idea grabs you then Ultrafire do something similar with the YL-03.....
which has the three lights angled slightly outwards from each other to form a triangle of spots for more flood. Though i'm not currently aware of who's selling this at the moment (DX.com don't seem to be doing it anymore)....0 -
i have nailed down my choice of light to the Ultrafire Cree XM-L2 in 501B body. I have a question on bar mounts though. I have some raceface bars that measure 30mm where the lights would sit so some mounts are no good. I am struggling to find any mounts that will take the 501b (22mm body) and fit 30mm bars.
Anyone have any solutions or am I probably better looking at the c8 torches, is there much difference between them apart from the body shape?
Just realised the lights were Xml u2 not xm l2!
so I can find some ultrafire xm l2's in a c8 or k8 body.
there are some 501b Ultrafire xm l2's but they are zoomable, am I right in thinking I should avoid the zoomable ones?
Now reading the small print the ebay listing for an xm l2 I am looking at is very ambiguous about what you get (claim in the listing the led is labelled wrong when you recieve it) sounds a bit iffy. Starting to do my tree in now trying to find what I want. maybe I should for-go the xm l2's and just get xml's but sounds like its worth getting the former. I am trying to source on beay as I dont do chinese ordering!0 -
The body is basically the same its the head that is different.0
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Ouija wrote:19dm82 wrote:
Thanks for the reply. Will be mainly using off-road for night rides. Nothing to serious though mainly bridal paths and old train lines. Just want to keep riding during the dark nights. Is there any you could recommend. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Torches are good, but if you want an all in one style light a couple spring to mind....
Got two of these. Main selling points are a good bar mount, remote switch (which you don't really need offroad) and a really decent battery pack that achieves the 3hr runtimes claimed (as well as being encased in rubber to keep it dry and coming with a rubber mounting bag, which are easier to clean than the fabric ones). Also has waterproof click lock connectors that aren't easy to pull apart (which can happen mid ride with cheaper connectors).
It's been my main 'go to' light for the last two years. However, there are some newer alternatives....
These seem pretty good in that they have one flood and one spot beam for a more all round light. Poor bar mount (replace with a hope one) and i have no idea what the batteries are like but it has waterproof screw cap connectors, which are a plus point.
Alternately....
I've always had good experiences with Trustfire lights and these are tempting me at the moment. Remote switch and probably a decent battery the only down side being the dissapointing rubber o ring style mount (which really shouldn't be used on a light that going offroad... so again, replace with a £7 hope mount). The main selling point of this light is the ability to point the three lights at different location down the trail, so you could have one big pool of light, three pools in front of each other and overlapping slightly or two close to the bike and one pointing off down the trail......
And if that idea grabs you then Ultrafire do something similar with the YL-03.....
which has the three lights angled slightly outwards from each other to form a triangle of spots for more flood. Though i'm not currently aware of who's selling this at the moment (DX.com don't seem to be doing it anymore)....
Do you possibly have a link for the first one please.0
