Garmin or Lights....

wormishere

Hi,

I am looking to treat myself to a new gadget - the choice is between a Garmin 800 or a set of lights (Ay Up Ultra Lite or MagicShine MJ-880).

The problem is I am torn between heart (Garmin) and head (lights). I get lost quite often on trails up here (Yorkshire Dales where there seems to be a new gamekeepers path up every week) and there is a serious amount of trails to ride and enjoy - this a Garmin will help me get out on more trails (yes I can read a map but it breaks the ride up hugely!). BUT the nights are starting to draw in now so I am thinking a light might be a better option, i.e. it will keep me riding in the evening.

I know what I should do really (given the £100 difference) but does anyone else differ in opinion? To be honest I could do with a service on my Lefty too!! I think the order should be lights, service, Garmin! The order I want is Garmin, service, lights!

chrisw333

Just get the cheaper ultrafire xml torch type lights from china - see the what lights sticky (or this mahoosive thread).
viewtopic.php?f=20005&t=12807034&p=18481885&hilit=lights#p18481885

http://www.lightmalls.com/ultrafire-wf- ... ch-1-18650

You'll get a 3 torch set up for 40-50 quid (two on bars one on lid) and spend the rest on the Garmin.

stubs

You can get 1600 lumens headlights off ebay for about £18 I have one and while its a little bit spotty its good enough for me and the battery pack lasts for about 3 hours http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Cree-T6-Bike-Light-1600-Lumens-Waterproof-Rechargable-UK-Stock-UK-Charger-/200855317025?pt=UK_SportGoods_CyclAcces_RL&hash=item2ec3e8ea21

wormishere

EXCELLENT! Cheers for that. I will have a meander through the 100+ forums about the lights and take the plunge with the Garmin!

rockmonkeysc

An OS map is much cheaper and more reliable than a Garmin. Get some lights.

YeehaaMcgee

wormishere wrote:

Hi,

I am looking to treat myself to a new gadget - the choice is between a Garmin 800 or a set of lights

Garmin is a nicety, lights are essential.

bamba

You can learn your routes with out the garmin,When its dark you wont be going anywhere on your bike with out lights.

chrisw333

both true, but still no reason to spend £100's on lights when there are fantastic alternatives available as in the threads referenced?

johnmcl7

chrisw333 wrote:

Just get the cheaper ultrafire xml torch type lights from china - see the what lights sticky (or this mahoosive thread).
viewtopic.php?f=20005&t=12807034&p=18481885&hilit=lights#p18481885

http://www.lightmalls.com/ultrafire-wf- ... ch-1-18650

You'll get a 3 torch set up for 40-50 quid (two on bars one on lid) and spend the rest on the Garmin.

Very much agreed - I was very dubious when people were recommending the cheap Cree based lights as couldn't see how they could be any good for the very low price but as the Cateye light I'd been trying to use was really no use I thought them worth a try. I went for an Ultrafire 502b with an XML-U2 LED (much the same as a T6 it seems in practice) then bought another so I could have one on the helmet and one on the bike then a third to have as a spare. The only slight hassle is getting the 18650 batteries as they don't seem very common in the UK and there's quite a lot of fakes (or at least claiming to have a far higher capacity than they did). Not that much of an issue to sort out these days and I'm very pleased with the whole package, I was doing mountain biking at night and the Cree based lights made such a difference making it much easier to see everything and having the standard battery makes it easy to carry spares in case a battery runs out of power. So far though the batterylife has been great and none of my lights have failed although they're that cheap I can have spares ready to go if they do fail prematurely.

John

cooldad

Plenty of 18650 batteries around. Just avoid anything with 'fire' in the name. Try Torchy on Ebay.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/big_f_d_d/m.h ... 7675.l2562

prawny

No extra advice, just get both. Cheap torches are as good as lights that cost loads more, and I wouldn't be without my garmin, although more for the road than off. But's it's got me out of trouble on the chase in the dark and snow before

wormishere

Cheers.

I have been trying to get my head through all of the 'what lights' posts and I think I would rather opt for a 'light' rather than a torch set up. With that in mind I am looking at this:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CREE-T6-LED-B ... 460ffb7e7e

Anyone used this before? It does not say it is waterproof but then nor do a lot of the others...I think I would need a diffuser or different type of lens cap on one to spread the light.

Although the torch setups are cheaper I don't mind paying a little more for an all-in-one unit so to speak for convenience. It runs 4x18650 batteries so I guess the burn time would be quite good as long as they were both not on full tilt!

prawny

That should be pretty good, I had the first magicshine a couple of years ago when this cheap light war all kicked off, I used it for commuting all through the winter and the head unit is still fine, battery died, but I pulled it apart and I've used the good cells that were left in torches.

I quite like the look of that one actually for £40, might treat myself.

chrisw333

The torches really are no bother and give great flexibility. You'll need one for your lid anyway if you're doing off road trails.

junglist_matty

Depends:

1. You'd rather track your ride and have a computer you can see in the dark (nice backlight on the edge)

OR

2. You'd rather see where you're going when it's dark


If you never ride in the dark it's pretty obvious choice, and if you do ride in the dark, you must be brainless in not being able to make a decision which is the best option!

Dan_xz

If you want a decent, cheap bike light as opposed to torch you can get better value than the one you linked. This is supposed to be a good one - Ignoring the usual outlandish lumens claims.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SolarStorm-5000Lm-2-x-CREE-XM-L-U2-LED-Bicycle-bike-HeadLight-Lamp-Flashlight-UK-/221260421689?pt=UK_SportGoods_CyclAcces_RL&hash=item3384261a39


With any of these cheap lights i'd always be tempted to open them up and beef up the waterproofing on the joints, even if it's just a bit of kitchen silicone sealant its easy and worth it.