Road lights very bright + long burntime ?

JamesB

Can anyone recommend a set of lights , less than £150, that:

Are very bright, appropriate for unlit country lanes--can pick out poor surfaces, potholes etc

Have a good burn time , at least 4 hours on maxm

Have a range of power settings, pref including a flash for day visibility

Can have a separate or integral battery pack ?

To date my investigations have just found Gemini Xera 4 cell 850L. This seems to fit most of my above, but anyone used it ? Any alternatives?
Thanks

BigLights

i''ve got an Exposure Maxx-D, but that's quite a way off your budget I'm afriad. It's about 2-3 hrs on full burn, but use a single or double cell backup battery pack and you're in good shape.

JamesB

Yes, sadly about twice my budget; I notice that Lumicycle does nice road lights too but also way over budget

itsnotarace

http://tinyurl.com/ck9gyhx

I bought the slightly cheaper 1100 lumen model but it won't quite get to 4 hours on high. Also, the supplied bar mount is rubbish on 31.8mm bars, I upgraded mine to one of these http://tinyurl.com/cmxdctj

JamesB

Thanks looks interesting and much within my budget . May give it a whirl

wishitwasallflat

viewtopic.php?f=20005&t=12660193

Personally I use two 501bs - one with an OP reflector and one without to give different throws - about £40 in total and outperforms expensize bike brands easily, I run them on full cause that comfortably covers my commute (1.5 hours) and its like daylight - many people run the same set up on medium or carry a couple of extra batteries to extend run time.

viewtopic.php?f=20005&t=12807034

Very long thread but worth checking for best deals also check DIYs signature link for info on the torch option. Delivery from far east not reuqired as for about 3-4 £ the 501s can be bought from UK. The torch option will save you at least £100 of your £150 to spend on other things

PS - If you go for torchs don't buy the mount in the first link as its not good on road bars (there are loads of options in the second thread though for about one or two pounds.

JamesB

Thanks for those links...now have SERIOUS info overload !! :? :?

Looking at dxextreme just so much to go for, and If I bought from US how would charger work in UK on 3 pin plugs ?

I`m slightly veering towards a SingFire @ $30 ish as it seems to have good run times; do you know if separtae 4 pack batteries can be bought or is it just a case of get separate batteries and swop them into battery holder (are soem sealed units too?)

thanks

wishitwasallflat

JamesB wrote:

Thanks for those links...now have SERIOUS info overload !! :? :?

Looking at dxextreme just so much to go for, and If I bought from US how would charger work in UK on 3 pin plugs ?

I`m slightly veering towards a SingFire @ $30 ish as it seems to have good run times; do you know if separtae 4 pack batteries can be bought or is it just a case of get separate batteries and swop them into battery holder (are soem sealed units too?)

thanks

Best thing is to post on that MTB Big Lights 2012 thread as it gets checked regularily by the likes of Archie, DIY, Supersonic etc and those guys are the real experts. When I first checked it I was seriously overhwlemed and out of my depth but it boils down to loads of variations on Cree LEDS and the torch/Magishine clone options are way way way cheaper than bike brands and way way better. I bought my stuff from dealxtreme and later a 501b with OP relfector form a UK dealer on ebay. My charger was the basic on from the first link and it comes with a UK adaptor included and works great on my batteries. Anyway post questions on that thread and recieve the wisdom and pocket the savings!

lostboysaint

That.

Although there is an almost inverse snobbery on that thread about how to do everything cheaper.

Personally I run my Four4ths MTB light on half power (more than enough for the road) and it goes on forever.

JamesB

Many thanks for your help with this, and I`ll have a beer or two on teh savings (and if i ever meet up I`ll get you one too wishitwasflat ---and I bet you don`t live around here too where flat it ain`t

warrerj

I've got an Exposure Diablo mk4 with bar mount for the road bike (use it as a head light on MTB). You won't get 4hrs on max power but you won't need much more than 1/4 power on unlit roads which will get you about 8hrs.

You'll need a bar mount on top of this but only just over your budget and an awesome bit of kit. A pair of these on full power are about the same power as a set of car headlights on dipped beam maybe even more.

http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Exposure-DIABLO-MK-4-_57887.htm?utm_source=Google&utm_medium=Product_Search&utm_campaign=Froogle02