Help needed with MTB lights

[mikeMT]

Hey Hubbers, yes yes before i am stripped naked and stoned by many long standing hubbers i understand this has probably been discussed millions of times, but i have no experience with light, and appreciate your opinions.

 

Most of my riding is usually trails, however most morning's i am on the road, with winter upon us i would like recommendations from users experienced with suitable lights for the early winter mornings but yet something that will still do the job well enough for me being on the trials.

 

Must stress though that i really don't want to spend more than about R1500.

 

Thank for the input and help.

[Nobody]

get the magic shine lights that look like mickey mouse.

I would also consider spedning a bit of money on rear lights.

 

I just went and purchased the LEDLenser H14 which comes with an awesome mount, but does not fit on my already cluttered bars

[CrazyChild]

Have a look at the Silva XTrail light, it will blind any squirrel that comes in your path.

You can put it on your head or on your bars, and the best thing is that the batteries are regular penlight batteries.

On the brightest setting you can see 200m at least, and it is unbelievably light in weight.

[GBguy]

I've just upgraded my light kit - bought a MagicShine MJ-872, which is (nominally) 1600 lumens for R1,400 with a six-cell battery pack which holds plenty of juice. Also paid a couple of hundred more for the MJ-818 tail light, which came with a Y-cable so it runs off the same battery pack.

 

The MJ-872 is designed for off-road use, since it is more flood than spot, but it works pretty well on the road - in fact I usually use it at 50% or 70% power. I also have a LED Lenser H7 headlamp on my helmet, which gives a narrow beam for "looking around" - a good complement to the MJ-872. On the road the MJ-818 taillight is brilliant - at least as bright as the brake-lights on a car - I may still be killed by a car, but they will definitely see me first!

 

There are lots of (mostly positive) reviews of the MagicShine range on the net, and there's a nice dismantling test here: http://www.light-test.info/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=103%3Amagicshine-mj870-mj872-cree-xp-g&catid=34%3Arowerowe&Itemid=55&lang=en. In your shoes I'd also look at Pyrolights (Hannes is a member here) which, AFAIK, are modified MagicShines - I think there's something to the argument that "warmer" light is better than the normally "cold" LEDs. See http://www.pyrolights.co.za/

[koukie]

Contact hannes Zietsman on the hub, you will see his ads under lights. his lights is the best value for money.

[Grebel]

You can't go wrong with a Magicshine. I have had mine for two winters and no problems to date. (Even beem flashed by a few gold Fortuners...) Have a look online but with the local prices you might save a few hundred rand buying online. I have the MJ808 and it works great. Paid R570 landed from DX. For R1500 you could buy two. One for the bars and one for your yead (Get the Y cable as well as the helmet mouint kit). I run a Blackburn Flea rear light and that is also very bright. Charges via USB.

[DMC007]

Also got myself the MJ808 (900Lumens)....what a nice toy!

Would like to get another for the helmet.....is it possible to run 2 lights off one battery? Anyone

[awesme]

Please send a link to the MJ808 you referring to...

 

G

 

You can't go wrong with a Magicshine. I have had mine for two winters and no problems to date. (Even beem flashed by a few gold Fortuners...) Have a look online but with the local prices you might save a few hundred rand buying online. I have the MJ808 and it works great. Paid R570 landed from DX. For R1500 you could buy two. One for the bars and one for your yead (Get the Y cable as well as the helmet mouint kit). I run a Blackburn Flea rear light and that is also very bright. Charges via USB.

[Grebel]

Please send a link to the MJ808 you referring to...

 

G

 

Have a look at these two links. You need a Paypal account but they are reliable. Takes about 4-5weeks for delivery

 

MJ808

 

Bike Lights

 

I have used them before on quite a few occasions and no problems to date.

 

@DMC007. Yes you can

 

Have a look at this y-link cable.

Edited May 7, 2012 by Grebel

[mikeMT]

Tnanks for all the input guys, much appreciated.

[Caerus]

So I had my first night ride last night and also enjoyed my first wipeout in a while with a trip over the bars. To say it was a jol is an understatement. I am only running a MagicShine MJ872 1600 lumens on my bar and need a headlight/ spot as well. This I feel was the reason I came off.

 

What recommendations would you make in terms of lumens? Also I would like to get it the next week or so(or at least before next Wed)

 

Is there a decent headlight that will come in for about R650 or less? I know I can order from Dealxtreme, but not keen on the 4-6week wait.

 

Many Thanks

[Caerus]

Is it better to have the light mounted on your forehead(will this get in the way) or better on your helmet? LED Lenser H7

 

Another question, are people generally using one battery for both a head light and your bar light or a battery for each?

[GBguy]

Hi Caerus

 

You definitely don't want to connect your helmet to your bike with a cable, in case you come unstuck (again!) - it could end up contributing to a neck injury. So using the same battery for helmet and handlebar isn't really a good idea. Also, having separate batteries means that, if one light dies on you, you still have the other. And it's good to be able to move around with a headlight independently of the bike, for example when you're fixing a puncture.

 

I've been working on a review of several lights which I plan to post here soon. What I've found is that, no matter how powerful the light on your handlebar is, it's always better to have a light on your helmet as well - both on and off road. I prefer a spot-light on my helmet, so I can direct it wherever I want, and a flood-light on my handlebars.

 

As I said earlier, I use a LED Lenser H7 on my helmet (held in place with duct tape), which can be adjusted to give a very narrow beam. I also experimented with a Pyrolight 1000 (a "warmer" version of the MagicShine 808E), which has a much more powerful beam, but is more expensive. With the Pyrolight/MagicShine you also need the optional helmet mount and extension cable, so you can keep the battery in your jersey pocket, unlike the lightweight battery pack for the H7 which can be taped to your helmet.

 

You can get the Pyrolight 1000/MagicShine 808E for about R1,000 (e.g. from Hannes Zietsman, who is a member here, or from many cycling stores) and the LED Lenser H7 for about R500 from Cape Union Mart, Due South and others. There's also the more powerful (and somewhat heavier) H14, that costs around R700.

 

Cheers

 

Mark

Edited May 31, 2012 by GBguy

[nickelass]

CAN USE THE h7 HEADLAMP on your head under your helmet,all I did was fit a strap to it over the top of my head to keep it in place.Found this to work very well.

[Caerus]

Hi Caerus

 

You definitely don't want to connect your helmet to your bike with a cable, in case you come unstuck (again!) - it could end up contributing to a neck injury. So using the same battery for helmet and handlebar isn't really a good idea. Also, having separate batteries means that, if one light dies on you, you still have the other. And it's good to be able to move around with a headlight independently of the bike, for example when you're fixing a puncture.

 

I've been working on a review of several lights which I plan to post here soon. What I've found is that, no matter how powerful the light on your handlebar is, it's always better to have a light on your helmet as well - both on and off road. I prefer a spot-light on my helmet, so I can direct it wherever I want, and a flood-light on my handlebars.

 

As I said earlier, I use a LED Lenser H7 on my helmet (held in place with duct tape), which can be adjusted to give a very narrow beam. I also experimented with a Pyrolight 1000 (a "warmer" version of the MagicShine 808E), which has a much more powerful beam, but is more expensive. With the Pyrolight/MagicShine you also need the optional helmet mount and extension cable, so you can keep the battery in your jersey pocket, unlike the lightweight battery pack for the H7 which can be taped to your helmet.

 

You can get the Pyrolight 1000/MagicShine 808E for about R1,000 (e.g. from Hannes Zietsman, who is a member here, or from many cycling stores) and the LED Lenser H7 for about R500 from Cape Union Mart, Due South and others. There's also the more powerful (and somewhat heavier) H14, that costs around R700.

 

Cheers

 

Mark

Thanks for the awesome reply, much appreciated, any thoughts on the MagicShine MJ838/ MJ838B lights for a helmet spotlight?

[GBguy]

Thanks for the awesome reply, much appreciated, any thoughts on the MagicShine MJ838/ MJ838B lights for a helmet spotlight?

I haven't seen the 838, but according to the MagicShine website (http://magicshine.com/product_view.asp?id=80) it's only 200 lumens, and the 838B is 400 lumens, compared to the 808E which is 1,000.

 

I suspect that, in use, the 838 units - which use conventional "orange peel" reflectors - will not be as bright as the 170 lumen LED Lenser H7 which uses a very efficient optical zoom lens to focus the beam, but I can't be sure without trying them out.

 

The good news about the 838 and 838B is that they use a two-cell rechargeable battery pack, which is probably light enough to tape to your helmet, whereas the 4-cell pack used by the 808E makes a helmet very heavy and unbalanced (I tried it!). Still, if you're being offered the 838B at a good price, I doubt that you will be disappointed.