The big LIGHTS thread 2011-2014
Comments
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diy wrote:Water bottle is a good place to keep a non waterproof pack or simply a poly bag and an elastic band.Northern_Monkey13 wrote:Has anyone used a niterider pro 1400 light?
And is it worth 99 pounds
http://www.winstanleysbikes.co.uk/produ ... _1400_Head
That price is just for head only - which unless they have updated it is two CREE MC-E LEDs. Great LED 3 years ago. But you are left finding a power pack. TBH the heads are the easy bit to source and there are better options at £30, getting a reliable cell/pack is the challenge.
What ones would you recommend at that price as I've looked and there's so many that look a like and I'm just worried case they blow up or burn the house down if I get the wrong one
Thanks chris0 -
If you are happy to spend around £120 on a light take a look at Gloworm lights:
http://www.crgmoto.co.uk/mountain-bike-lights-26-c.asp
Or you could by just Solar Storm light head (or full light and battery and dispose of the battery) and use MTB batteries to make up a battery pack and charger for you.
http://www.mtbbatteries.co.uk/
Or buy one of the lights from mtb batteries.0 -
Northern_Monkey13 wrote:diy wrote:Water bottle is a good place to keep a non waterproof pack or simply a poly bag and an elastic band.Northern_Monkey13 wrote:Has anyone used a niterider pro 1400 light?
And is it worth 99 pounds
http://www.winstanleysbikes.co.uk/produ ... _1400_Head
That price is just for head only - which unless they have updated it is two CREE MC-E LEDs. Great LED 3 years ago. But you are left finding a power pack. TBH the heads are the easy bit to source and there are better options at £30, getting a reliable cell/pack is the challenge.
What ones would you recommend at that price as I've looked and there's so many that look a like and I'm just worried case they blow up or burn the house down if I get the wrong one
Thanks chris
Moon X-Power 850, £86
http://www.parkersofbolton.co.uk/p-5453-moon-x-power-850-high-power-rechargeable-front-bike-light.aspx?CAWELAID=620001070000091839&CAGPSPN=pla&catargetid=620001070000098378&cadevice=c&gclid=CjwKEAjwns6hBRDTpb_jkbTv1UYSJACBhberBKly83k98J06jz2aM1EQc4Z8J9WtRR_wZneNGgC45RoCz9nw_wcB
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If I had to start from scratch, I would get a Solarstorm X2 lighthead only from Ebay
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5000lm-SolarStorm-X2-CREE-XML-L2-LED-Bicycle-Bike-light-headlamp-headlight-torch-/171380469297?pt=UK_SportGoods_CyclAcces_RL&hash=item27e7126e31,
and source the rest. 8.4v charger, 18650 batteries of choice and a battery box like the Solarstorm BC01
Torchboy on Ebay always has good quality 18650 cells
http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/big_f_d_d/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_ipg=&_from=0 -
jairaj wrote:If you are happy to spend around £120 on a light take a look at Gloworm lights:
http://www.crgmoto.co.uk/mountain-bike-lights-26-c.asp
Or you could by just Solar Storm light head (or full light and battery and dispose of the battery) and use MTB batteries to make up a battery pack and charger for you.
http://www.mtbbatteries.co.uk/
Or buy one of the lights from mtb batteries.
Both of those links are terrible.0 -
What makes you say that?
The Gloworm lights have got good reviews and the retailer CRG Moto offer very good after sales support.
MTB batteries use quality cells in their battery packs, the guy seems to know his stuff and is very helpful if you need help. They can also make up custom battery packs and can add what ever connector you want.
Neither are the cheapest options but in my opinion they are good quality, offer reasonable value for money, UK based sellers and offer a good service both before and after the sale.0 -
tincaman wrote:
Ohh that looks quite nice on paper. Anyone seen any reviews on that light?0 -
nfrang wrote:jairaj wrote:If you are happy to spend around £120 on a light take a look at Gloworm lights:
http://www.crgmoto.co.uk/mountain-bike-lights-26-c.asp
Or you could by just Solar Storm light head (or full light and battery and dispose of the battery) and use MTB batteries to make up a battery pack and charger for you.
http://www.mtbbatteries.co.uk/
Or buy one of the lights from mtb batteries.
Both of those links are terrible.
I agree. £130 for only 950 lumens or £165 for 1500. A £7 Ultrafire torch would match the former and a Solarstorm or Trustfire twin head would outshine the latter for less than £30.
And as for Mtb batteries.co.uk, £51 for a four cell shrink wrapped battery with no water proofing, no click lock connectors etc isn't my idea of a bargain..0 -
jairaj wrote:tincaman wrote:
Ohh that looks quite nice on paper. Anyone seen any reviews on that light?
Again. It looks terrible on paper. Eighty six quid for only 850 lumens? A miniscule battery pack with little capacity? And a 'T5' binned old XM-L, not a T6, U2 or U3. Or even a newer XM-L2. You couldn't get a more inefficient combo, consuming more current, while putting out less light and generating more heat.0 -
Agree - that gets my vote for this weeks "ay-up award" being overpriced, under performing and out of date. Plus the Lumen claims are bang on the max for the LED at the specified input power, so they may be optimistic.0
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Anyone had problems with 502B XM-L2 torches dimming during use? I just bought another one and it's fine when you turn it on, but then it dims to well below 50% power. Turn it off and on again and it will come back to full power evebtually. It's happening with different batteries, both of which are fully charged and taped so they don't move inside the barrel. It's definitely not cycling to the lower power settings, the power in each mode is reduced. The spring in the tail cap seems fine and both the tail cap and head unit are tight. Any ideas before I return it?0
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Do these have thermal protection? Maybe some thermal paste wasn't applied correctly so the heat isn't being dissipated into the body?0
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I agree. £130 for only 950 lumens or £165 for 1500. A £7 Ultrafire torch would match the former and a Solarstorm or Trustfire twin head would outshine the latter for less than £30.
Regarding the Ultrafire torches you also need to factor in the price of batteries and charger. The beam patterns are also a bit crap. I'm not a fan of the tight bright hot spot and dim side spill. Maybe I'm weird and everyone else is OK with them? But other lights I have tried give much better beam patterns and at more pleasant colour bins giving the impression of more light with fewer lumens. You also have to figure out a way to mount these to your helmet or bars. The homemade solutions I've seen may well be adequate but are far from elegant.
The Solarstorm lights at the £30 mark have many reports of overheating and exploding batteries the thing the OP said he was trying to ovoid so that doesn't help him in any way. You've have to factor in the price the of a new battery pack.
Sure the additional items still don't add up to the cost of the Gloworm lights but for a one stop, reliable, elegant solution with good support, I still think they are reasonable value for money. The Ultrafire or Solarstorm options are great if you are on a budget but if you are happy to spend more you do get more quality without paying Exposure or Lupine type prices. There are some options that sit in-between the super cheap and the super expensive options. Its not an option I would recommend to everyone but the OP was prepared to pay £120 for light.And as for Mtb batteries.co.uk, £51 for a four cell shrink wrapped battery with no water proofing, no click lock connectors etc isn't my idea of a bargain..
I got mine a few years back, prices were a little lower. Also not sure which battery you are looking at but the Magicshine compatible battery which comes with rubber jacket and connectors is £42 and the larger capacity one is £51. If you know of a better place to get ready made battery packs, with quality cells and good pre and post sales support can you let me know please? Might come in handy for the future, thanks.0 -
jairaj wrote:I agree. £130 for only 950 lumens or £165 for 1500. A £7 Ultrafire torch would match the former and a Solarstorm or Trustfire twin head would outshine the latter for less than £30.
Regarding the Ultrafire torches you also need to factor in the price of batteries and charger. The beam patterns are also a bit crap. I'm not a fan of the tight bright hot spot and dim side spill. Maybe I'm weird and everyone else is OK with them? But other lights I have tried give much better beam patterns and at more pleasant colour bins giving the impression of more light with fewer lumens. You also have to figure out a way to mount these to your helmet or bars. The homemade solutions I've seen may well be adequate but are far from elegant.
The Solarstorm lights at the £30 mark have many reports of overheating and exploding batteries the thing the OP said he was trying to ovoid so that doesn't help him in any way. You've have to factor in the price the of a new battery pack.
Sure the additional items still don't add up to the cost of the Gloworm lights but for a one stop, reliable, elegant solution with good support, I still think they are reasonable value for money. The Ultrafire or Solarstorm options are great if you are on a budget but if you are happy to spend more you do get more quality without paying Exposure or Lupine type prices. There are some options that sit in-between the super cheap and the super expensive options. Its not an option I would recommend to everyone but the OP was prepared to pay £120 for light.And as for Mtb batteries.co.uk, £51 for a four cell shrink wrapped battery with no water proofing, no click lock connectors etc isn't my idea of a bargain..
I got mine a few years back, prices were a little lower. Also not sure which battery you are looking at but the Magicshine compatible battery which comes with rubber jacket and connectors is £42 and the larger capacity one is £51. If you know of a better place to get ready made battery packs, with quality cells and good pre and post sales support can you let me know please? Might come in handy for the future, thanks.
The Ultrafire and Solarstorm were just examples, and not the best (read the thread if you want to know which lights are better at similar prices). The Trustfire twin head (my usual recomendation) comes with a rock solid four cell waterproof battery with click lock connectors that throws out 2000 lumen for three hours. You'd be hard pressed to beat that with a four cell pack made up of Panasonic cells. And that's light head and battery for less than £40.
If you want something even smaller and in the 600/900 lumen range then a TrustFire TR-D001
for less than £20. Or something like this..
for £18 would do just as well. Spend £30 on a top end battery pack and you still come in at way under the price of the Glow worm or Moon.0 -
hmmm, I think its more likely a loose wire, which is arcing under heat expansion. Give everything a good tighten up. Failing that strip it down to drop in and cell and test again as per my fix it vid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJpQAvum0bM
if you still get the problem then it may be the wires on the driver board. have a look to make sure none are contaminating the circuit with stray solder etc. I assume you are not using protected cells?0 -
I use Torchy IMR 2000mah 3.7v cells. Not sure if these are protected or not?
It's happening too quickly to be overheating I think, and I haven't seen a circuit board since school! So I'm just going to ask for an exchange. Although the seller wants me to send him a video of it first!0 -
This sounds similar to a problem mentioned on this very thread about a year ago which turned out to be the Torchy branded batteries. Any chance of trying a different battery?0
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I don't have any other batteries. I'll try the same ones in another XML torch I have.0
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thoughts on this - battery holder for 18650 batteries so you can use your own known good cells?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/251658384978
I have the battery pack that came with my solarstorm which has been fine so far but would rather use something that has decent cells inside...only thing is I'd need a cable to go from this to the connector on my head unit.0 -
matt_cartlidge wrote:thoughts on this - battery holder for 18650 batteries so you can use your own known good cells?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/251658384978
I have the battery pack that came with my solarstorm which has been fine so far but would rather use something that has decent cells inside...only thing is I'd need a cable to go from this to the connector on my head unit.
1 amp output? That's not going to power your Solarstorm which typically requires 5 or 6 amps (assuming it's giving each emitter 2.5/3.0 amps).
Ok for use as a battery bank to charge cellphones etc.0 -
ok thanks for saving me some money!0
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Holy moses just read loads on here im still confused. I want decent lights for a mountain bike on the road, wont be going off road in the dark to be honest, just want to be seen and safe front and rear on the road, maybe a few roads wont be lit, any ideas please?0
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I've heard 'The big LIGHTS thread 2014-15' sticky is in the pipeline!0
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Apart from needing to work on frame protection from the battery pack, I'm pleased with the lights compared to the torches I was using and now thinking of using something like the Solarstorm on my helmet as I now use a backpack which could carry the battery pack. The problem I'm having with the helmet is that the ridges aren't parallel as they were on the old one so I can't get the torch to sit straight, instead they form a v-shape. Are there any good mountings for something like a Solarstorm to put on a helmet?
John0 -
Johnmcl7 wrote:Apart from needing to work on frame protection from the battery pack, I'm pleased with the lights compared to the torches I was using and now thinking of using something like the Solarstorm on my helmet as I now use a backpack which could carry the battery pack. The problem I'm having with the helmet is that the ridges aren't parallel as they were on the old one so I can't get the torch to sit straight, instead they form a v-shape. Are there any good mountings for something like a Solarstorm to put on a helmet?
John
Get some polymorph plastic, its heat treatable pellets that you can mould into any shape. You can push it into awkward shaped areas to create a stable base to mount whatever you like. I use thick helitape for frame protection, buy it in 50mm wide strips and you can cover larger areas.0 -
www.sugru.comJohnmcl7 wrote:...The problem I'm having with the helmet is that the ridges aren't parallel as they were on the old one so I can't get the torch to sit straight, instead they form a v-shape. Are there any good mountings for something like a Solarstorm to put on a helmet?0 -
To be honest I wont be doing canals or trails in the dark so as long as im seen on the road at night ok im fine, any suggestions, all these battery powered lights are too much for what I want.0
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Any suggestions thanks.0
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Thanks any model?0
