Cree XM-L T6 LED light £30 delivered from Hong Kong

pastey_boy

a bit of clear silicon may do the trick.

lugsey2k5

Don't suppose any one can provide a picture of with and without the wide angle lens?

DodgeT

Might sound daft but have you got the lense in the right way.... Reason I say this is because I got mine, put it in and thought, hmm, it isnt thick enough - it rattles.
Then I looked at the instructions and realised it was the wrong way round :oops:
Turned it around and it was snug as a bug

As said earlier, it makes like an oblong of a beam, but it is absolutely fine, real good spread. I personally wouldn't want anymore from a torch/light now than what this gives me.

Northwind

Hey Dodge, which way is the right way round? I just realised I've taken mine out and can't remember :oops:

DodgeT

Can't remember off top of me head (bike isn't with me at the minute).
I think its with the angled edges facing out. If not its the other way

Edit to say - see I was wrong again :oops:

Northwind

Thank you!

DodgeT

No probs

Anonymous

So, after a bit of use now, do you guys reckon these do the job fine enough?

Northwind

Well. After coming down some downhill trails at innerleithen yesterday I'd say the XML isn't really all that suitable as a sole light- it's just too focused, you can see what you're looking at but not much else which makes sustained technical riding a total sod, very hard to both choose future lines and ride the bit you're on. P7 works much better. The wide angle lens doesn't really fix this IMO. On easier trails it does work better but still not ideal

(incidentally, for me the wide angle lens works best turned through 90 degrees to give a vertical cast not a horizontal one)

But, as a spotlight- helmet light to supplement a strong floodlight on the bars- it's very good.

DodgeT

Can imagine for downhill / very fast riding you may need more, but for my use on local trails, mucking around with mates it is absolutely fine. Agree also that a helmet mounted spot would be a benefit, but again only for really fast stuff.
For what I need, the single light on the bars with new lense is spot on.

Northwind

Aye, it'll do the job but thing is, the P7s cost about the same and are more suited to that use. So even though it's older tech and not as bright I think for people buying new I'd recommend the P7 (doesn't mean I'll be replacing my XML though)

J273

Im thinking of going for 2 of these to put on the bars and use my p7 torch on the lid as it seems to work well.

Would 2 of these be better than a magicshine MJ872 @ £90?

Northwind

J273 wrote:

Would 2 of these be better than a magicshine MJ872 @ £90?

No. IMO anyway. Will probably start a seperate thread, but I was just out doing some testing and just to see what it's like, stuck the MJ872 on my hat. And it is incredibly awesome- much better than having it on the bars, and also better than having it on the bars and an XML on the head. Quite surprised actually, I nearly didn't try it. The light output is high enough that throwing more lumens into the mix is fairly irrelevant, the range is less than an XML but still more than enough, and the beam pattern is just lovely- no high contrasts, no drastic dropoffs. Losing the XML's hotspot helps a lot, I'm not chasing a dot any more.

So now, my own setup is 872 on the head, P7 on the bars- the P7's really just an infill/backup, and seems to help a wee bit with depth perception but the 872 is doing all the heavy lifting. I ended up riding home with my other lights all switched off tonight.

Now ymmv of course- I'm not that keen on narrow spotlights, I think some people don't mind that approach.

diy

This hasn't got much to do with the LEDs though. Multi-core LEDs are larger, so they will always flood more. Single core leds need short/small reflectors to flood. The XM-L is plenty floody in a small head.

My take on the feedback is that the head/reflector in the MS clone is not right for the XM-L to give a good balance of flood.

Looking at the reflector, I'd say the cheapest mod would be to drill out the LED hole to increase the amount the LED protrudes through the the reflector. I'd go 1mm at a time. I reckon 2-3mm increase will make a big difference without any loss of light. I did this to my 501 XPG lights as the reflector didn't work well with those either.

Northwind

True that, though some LEDs seem to be adopted mostly for a single purpose... Like C-bin P7s generally being floods, frinstance, and I'm yet to see an XML light that isn't pretty focused (well, there's a zoomable one which can be turned into a pretty horrible flood with a big donut hole). Whether that's down to suitability for the purpose or just that light/torch manufacturers follow each other's lead I don't know.

I think unless you really know what you're getting into, buying a light specifically to mod it probably isn't a great plan for many people- may not get the results you want, and blows out the warranty of course. Diferent lenses and reflectors are available for the bastid housing but soon adds to the price too.

pastey_boy

ive just modded my t6 xml £30 light with the wide filter lense from a nukeproof/luu light. i just shaved off the 2 tiny plastic tabs with a stanley knife and then fitted the lense between the glass and the reflector. the bezel closes enough to ensure the o rings do their job. massive improvement ,still a bit of a spot but it has soft edges and more even spread of light and no more rings. if i get a chance i will take some beam shot pics. http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=41035 or http://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/LILUFILTER/ ... fuser_lens

pastey_boy

i have managed to find a tiny o ring to fill the gap left between the bezel and body. it fits perfectly ,the gap was only tiny but as the o ring was stretched a lot to get it over the bezel it fills the gap nicely. i will take some pics of the lighthead along with beamshots when i get a chance.

diy

Northwind - check out the beam shots in my sig of the XM-L t6 vs the MC-E The MC-E is an M bin which is slightly brighter than a P7 - C bin, but almost identical in size, flood and throw.

You can see how an XM-L can throw and flood in a small head.

honestly I really think this is about the reflector/head.

Northwind

diy wrote:

honestly I really think this is about the reflector/head.

Do agree with that, but at the end of the day just now XML generally means spotlight, unless you're a modder. Bit of a shame but it seems like that's the way the manufacturers have gone with it.

mintedox

Anyone had problems with theirs?

My mates arrived last week and we took it out with us monday night, it lasted 20 mins then packed up. We tried charging it when we got back and it wasnt having it, no charging lights coming on.

It was good while it lasted at least

diy

Pack voltage?

wordnumb

Mine just arrived yesterday, very impressed, but then I've never tried high end lights so have little to compare it to.

A charging question: I expected the battery to arrive without charge, but there is power. When I plug it into the charger the charger led goes red - does this mean fully charged or does green mean fully charged?

Ta.



Note. When unpacking one of these don't be looking at the chip as you connect the battery pack as the light flashes once as the cable is joined.

DodgeT

On mine, red means charging. Should turn to green when fully charged, but doesnt always..
Couple of hours charging usually gets it done.

wordnumb

That's what I thought, thanks.

Hmmm, charger gets rather warm doesn't it?

Simon430

Has anyone found a sturdier mount or a way of making it more sturdy? As I've found on rocky descents it drops down.

DodgeT

Does get a bit warm, no warmer than the laptop charger though..

@simon, I guess you mean spinning on the bars? If so, wrap some tape round the bars first to give it something to grip too.
First time out with mine on my spare bike, thought it kept spinning, so kept tweaking it back up. Then when suddenly my brake levers weren't where I thought they were - realised it was the bars turning in the stem

Northwind

You can bolt it to several other mounts, Hope seems to be the popular one now that the old Electron one is unavailable. Though, it does cost a decent chunk of the price of the light! Personally, I'd say get some grippy-feeling tape- masking tape will work, cloth tape will be nicer- and wrap it round the bars, the extra roughness should fix it.

pastey_boy

or tighter o-rings

wordnumb

blablablacksheep

mine works fine

so far i have used it a good 4 hours or so.

end of the day expect quality to be pretty shite on anything that isnt machine made in one whole go, ie the case will be good but the wiring probably be horrible if you unlucky