LIGHTS MEGATHREAD - all questions on riding lights asked and answered here!!!

Oracle

Likes Dirt
Hi All,

Been thinking about getting a new set of lights for commuting and to possibly get back into night riding on the trail now that the battery of my old Smart UK halogens has died... RIP! :p

Anyhow, after sifting through this and mtbr.com forums (Lights Shine-Off Review), I'm still undecided about which brand and style to go with? Think I'd definitely prefer to ditch the handlebar mount lights and go with a helmet mount, and will probably go with either halogen or LED considering HID is still a bit expensive at this stage.

So what lights are other XC riders using and do you like/dislike your light system and why? :cool:
 
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jaseh

Likes Bikes and Dirt
check out this review http://www.gearreview.com/2007_led_lights.php
It's got most of the new LED's for 2007.OF the light's in the review I used the Princeton Tec Switchback 1 and 2 at the 12hrs of darkness they are damn good lights for the money. There run times (4hr SB1,5hr SB2,6hr SB3) and charge times (2hr) are really good, the light and spread they produce is excellent. they outdo the cateye double and triple shot in price,run time, charge time and the light beam is heaps better. the only thing that the cateye wins on is weight.
The lights I used were demo models from the local PT rep, when I get mine I will get the SB2 for the helmet and the SB3 for the bars.
 
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Oracle

Likes Dirt
Read those threads a couple of days ago alchemist, but thanks for posting anyhow. :cool:

Thanks for the link jaseh - good read and has got me thinking, and searching eBay :eek: ;)
 

Oracle

Likes Dirt
www.viciouspower.com best damn lights i've ever used.
Yes, thanks for the spam... you really put in a good effort to answer the question why and compare with other products to back up your fair unbiased statement! :rolleyes:

Ok to get back on topic, whilst the Vicious Arc are very nice HID lights (speaking only from reviews that I've read) they are likely to be a little expensive for the average punter, and for me! And for the money I can get a Jet HID for around 65% of the price.

Jet HID = ~AU$500 delivered (US$325 + US$40 shipping)
Vicious HID = AU$790 delivered ($550 light + $125 battery + $100 charger + $15 shipping).

Anyhow, think I'll have to stick with either LED or halogens lights (price wise) for now :eek: :cool:
 
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jacko69

Likes Dirt
HID is the only way to go...$425 !

I've had quite a few sets of lights including obviously Halogen, but HID are by far the best...you'll never be able to go back.

HIDs I've used:
1) a 2nd-hand Cateye Stadium was very bright, but too heavy & only bar-mounted...not to mention too expensive.
2) Light & Motion ARC Li - a very nice light, with great colour & spread. The only issue was really that it didn't penetrate far enough for my liking, ie the centre spot wasn't big enough to pick up trail irregularities in the distance on single track.
3) Lume Strada (wide) - I upgraded to this about 2 weeks after getting the L&M Arc, and having compared it to a mate's Lume. The Lume was cheaper, and the beam went further. It's battery was NiMh & a tiny bit heavy, but the best made light I've ever seen !

4) HIDTechnologies Lumen8R - $425 (cheaper than LED systems!), Aussie made, Li-ion, and heaps brighter than the other 3 I've used. Apparently it's on par with the Vicious HIDs in terms of brightness & efficiency of both globe & ballast. I've had one for all of last season & you just can't beat it for the price! It was upgraded late last year & now has a super-fast charger, and re-designed helmet mount.

http://www.corc.asn.au/classifieds/detail.asp?iType=31&iAd=3016
http://www.hidtechnologies.com.au/
 

arpit

Banned
Consider making your own. The advantage in making your own is that you can use technologies which haven't filtered down into the bike lighting industry. For example, the hyper-bright Cree and Osram LEDs are better than HIDs. (More efficient and more durable!)
 

jaseh

Likes Bikes and Dirt
Apparently there are better LED's than the cree's available now I'm not sure who makes them but I think lupine are about to release the wilma with them, it is supposed to produce 750 lumens.
 
I made my own lights using Cree XR LEDs. If your going to go down this path you have to make sure there are on a heatsink of some sort. You could try using a piece of aluminium tubing. Cree has just released some new devices that are around the 140 lm a piece mark. You can get them from cutter electronics (I don't work for cutter). You will have to use a secondary lens with these to get the output angle down, the lenses aren't expensive. You can get them the same place. You will need a suitable driver for them as well, there are plenty of commercial ones around.

The lights I made were around 98 lm each, I had two mounted on the handle bars for the Scott 24hr last year. They worked quite well, except for not being able to see around corners.
 

arpit

Banned
Apparently there are better LED's than the cree's available now I'm not sure who makes them but I think lupine are about to release the wilma with them, it is supposed to produce 750 lumens.
Osram make the Ostars... insanely powerful. About 80 bucks each.
 

Oracle

Likes Dirt
ok, I was originally hoping/thinking of spending around $200 on lights, but after looking around, that doesn't seem to buy much better lights than what I originally had: Smart BL-201 HW Twin system

Whilst I do like the price of the HID Lumen8R10W compared with other HID setups, it really doesn't appear (from the small website photos at least) to be greatly weatherproof which again is a problem in Tasmania during winter. Obviously the more expensvie brands such as Lupine, Jet, Vicious, Niterider etc appear to look a little more sturdy and possibly able to handle the elements better; although at much higher cost than the Lumen8R10W, not that I'm certain if this really is the case or not?

Anyhow, for the price I'm seriously considering something like: Ay Up, 4 x 3W LED's; Niterider evolution smart; or Chervy Lights 3 x 3W LED's. These are all under $400, but is still a lot of money for something that I'm not certain I'll get a whole lot of use out of considering it gets damn cold at night in Hobart during winter.

Ahh, so many brands, models and decissions. Not sure if I'll ever be able to compromise on a setup in the near future. :eek:
 
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Oracle

Likes Dirt
...Light & Motion ARC Li - a very nice light, with great colour & spread. The only issue was really that it didn't penetrate far enough for my liking, ie the centre spot wasn't big enough to pick up trail irregularities in the distance on single track.
Appears to be quite a number of these on eBay in the US.

Also, could you please elobarate what you mean by "the light didn't penetrate far enough for your liking"? Do you mean the centre spot is too narrow/bright etc and there's not enough spilled light at the edges; or the opposite being that the light is spread evenly over the foot print so that there is no concentrated spot/beam; or something else? :cool:

The only thing I've got to go by are these images: HID Beam Pattern Comparison

Cheers Lee
 

jacko69

Likes Dirt
Appears to be quite a number of these on eBay in the US.

Also, could you please elobarate what you mean by "the light didn't penetrate far enough for your liking"? Do you mean the centre spot is too narrow/bright etc and there's not enough spilled light at the edges; or the opposite being that the light is spread evenly over the foot print so that there is no concentrated spot/beam; or something else? :cool:

The only thing I've got to go by are these images: HID Beam Pattern Comparison

Cheers Lee
What I mean by "penetration" is really how far the beam goes off into the distance. The L&M's centre right spot was quite small, whereas the Lume & Lumen8R's centre spots are much bigger & also go further.
This is important if you want to focus in a rock or hole in the single track say 10-15m in front of you - it's good to see the obstacle clearly before you get too close.
All of the lights have a good spread, but the Lumen8R is by far the best.

The MTBR shoot out is based on widely available US lights, and as such doesn't include the Aussie made lights (since I don't think they are even exported). Prices are supposed to be in US $ too, so when you get the same lights in shops here, the price is certainly different.
Does that answer your questions? If you are in Canberra, I'm quite happy to show you my HID.
 

AJ

Squid
Nightlightning

Lee,
You should checkout ww.nightlightning.co.nz, we have a LED Blaast & Digital Blasst these are a 12W LED set-up.
3.5hr on full power, using a 250gm Li-Ion battery

Used by the likes of John Claxton 24hr Solo Giant Team rider
Felt Racing 4 man 3rd outright SCOTT 24hr 2006.

Not sure if you know Danny King (CBCC Club )down there but his team used similar lights for the XPD last year.

AJ
 

Oracle

Likes Dirt
Lee,
You should checkout www.nightlightning.co.nz, we have a LED Blaast & Digital Blasst these are a 12W LED set-up. 3.5hr on full power, using a 250gm Li-Ion battery
AJ
Hi AJ

Cheapest I can work the above options (as a working package) is:

Blaast 12Watts = NZ$279, or Digital Blaast 12Watts = NZ$339
Li-ion 2.2Ah 14.8V battery & fast smart charger, 270gms, Canadian cells = NZ$258
Universal helmet adaptor for thinned ribbed helmets = NZ$8.95

So NZ$545.95 for the Blaast and NZ$605.95 for the Digital Blaast, plus shipping. Is this correct or have I missed any item?
 

Oracle

Likes Dirt
...Anyhow, for the price I'm seriously considering something like: Ay Up, 4 x 3W LED's; Niterider evolution smart; or Chervy Lights 3 x 3W LED's. These are all under $400, but is still a lot of money for something that I'm not certain I'll get a whole lot of use out of considering it gets damn cold at night in Hobart during winter.
Go to mtbdirt.com.au and look up Chervy lights

$290 for the set.
Haha, I mentioned those 5 posts back, but thanks anyhow! ;)
 
I'll vouch for the AY-UP lights, as I have been a test bunny for the last year or so, and have seen first hand the amount of R & D that has gone into this system.
They should be on sale mid March.
Visit www.ayup.com.au
 
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