What sets our cycle lights apart from the rest?

[extremelights]

What sets our cycle lights apart from the rest?

We often receive this question and for us the answer is so clear. So we have summarised what makes Extreme Lights Cycle Lights different.

You might be seeing similar light bodies and shapes sold by other retailers, but that is where the similarity ends. What is under the hood is by far more important than the outer aluminium shell. Let me explain:

There are 4 things that stand out. Expand each of the sections to read what make us different.

Read the original post here.

Battery pack

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The light head itself is not the most costly part. It is relatively easy to make and the components are standard in most cases. What does make a huge cost difference is the battery pack. This is a vital part that is over looked far too easily… We do not supply the cheapest battery available. Our standard battery packs are made of good quality Sanyo cells which are encased in a thick rubber shell for shock and water resistance. We have improved our standard battery pack pouch over the last year. It is made of thick durable padded material with heavy duty Velcro strap. Our K range are made of high quality neoprene material and is very strong and stretchy. The photo above is of our standard battery pack.

We did a Cycle Light Battery Pack Comparison which showed a huge difference in runtime between the different quality batteries. Read it here

http://extremelights.co.za/wp-content/uploads/sites/66/2013/05/Battery-pic.jpg

Battery Charger.

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Our changers are custom manufactured for us and adhere to strict SABS IEC 60950 safety standards. This is a requirement put in place by the South African government to protect its citizens. We support this and believe that you should be able to connect your charger to your high power battery pack without having to worry. We have searched high and low on the international sites for safe chargers and could not find any that meets the SABS IEC 60950 Safety standards. We therefore commissioned our factory to build all our chargers to meet this standard.

The fact that we could not find any other manufacturer that meets this standard is very alarming. The charger can easily set the battery pack on fire causing loss of life or property. If the charger is not safe there is very little the user can do to prevent damaged to the battery. Damage can be inflicted while charging, but the battery might became unstable at a much later stage. Even while not connected to the charger and in storage. Read more about the risk of buying unsafe charger here

Light Head Body

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In most cases, the body contains the power converters and light emitters but it also acts as a heat sink to get rid of the excess heat. We opted not to redesign the wheel and have been selecting bodies based on function and shape. But we do specify that the heat path be improved using high quality thermal past and copper elements. In our K Range all the LED’s are on a copper base plate. Copper has a thermal conductivity of double that of Aluminium. LED’s that can’t get rid of the excess heat have a reduced life span and much lower output.

Light emitters

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When a LED is manufactured, it is tested and then sorted in to bins based on performance. There are typically 7% efficiency differences between the bins on a LED model. It is impossible to see the different LED bins without testing the LED. For this reason most cheap lights opt for the cheaper bins but advertise the better type.

Cree is the LED manufacturer. The Cree XM-L LED model has several bins starting at T3, T4, T5, T6, U2 and U3. The Cree XM-L U2 is 7% more efficient than the T6 which is 7% more efficient than the T5 etc. The more efficient the more poplar a bin is and the higher the demand which drives up the cost when mass-producing. In most cases, if not all, when buying from international buyers what they claim and what you get has nothing to do with each other. If they aren’t building a brand they have no reason to honour their claims.

The same holds true for the new Cree XM-L2 LED model.

Driver

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The driver converts the power from the battery levels to the LED levels. It is a very important part and effects the operation of the light directly. We give special attention to this part because it plays a vital role. For example the standard driver on the Extreme 2000 paired the LED’s in to 1 and 2 sets. On high both sets all 3 LED had power but on low mode only one LED is on. We changed this and with the Extreme 2000 that we supply the low mode has all 3 LEDs powered but at a lower power level. The reason is that multiple LEDs is more power efficient at lower power levels. For example one Cree XM-L driven to 3W generates 415 lumen vs 3 LEDs driven to 1W each combined generates 477 Lumen. That is 15% more light for free.

We have also added a battery level indication on all our lights. This will give you ample warning before you run out. On some of the lights the unit will enter a lower power mode which will attempt to extend the runtime of the unit, assisting you to get home safely.

Our light output remains constant over the runtime of the light until it is battery is depleted. At that stage the unit will ether turn off or step down to a lower level.

Summary

As you can see, cycle lights that appear to be identical are most of the time not! We pride ourselves in the fact that we have superior lights, and provide excellent backup, if the need should arise. Ask any of our many, many happy customers.

[madbradd]

Very few people have access to the full suite of SANS standards so would just accept this as great. Hopefully you can assist then with some further explanation of your conformance.

 

What exactly does it mean that your charger is SANS60950 compliant in terms of safety. SANS60950 is the SANS standard for Information Technology Equipment - Safety. All is says about batteries is that the charger must be suitable to charge the battery, must not allow overcharging or reverse charging.

 

Surely 61204-7 low voltage power supplies, dc output or 60086-4 primary batteries. Part 4: safety of lithium batteries would be more appropriate?

 

Edit: I see you say that you are not certified, but conform to the standard

Edited February 4, 2014 by madbradd

[extremelights]

Very few people have access to the full suite of SANS standards so would just accept this as great. Hopefully you can assist then with some further explanation of your conformance.

 

What exactly does it mean that your charger is SANS60950 compliant in terms of safety. SANS60950 is the SANS standard for Information Technology Equipment - Safety. All is says about batteries is that the charger must be suitable to charge the battery, must not allow overcharging or reverse charging.

 

Surely 61204-7 low voltage power supplies, dc output or 60086-4 primary batteries. Part 4: safety of lithium batteries would be more appropriate?

 

Edit: I see you say that you are not certified, but conform to the standard

 

Sure it also states other safety requirements. For example the gaps between tracks, isolation and physical resistance of the casing etc. The NRCS is the gate keeper and the SANS60950 is compulsory to all that selles in South Africa. Where 61204-7 and 60086-4 is not compulsory to my knowledge.

 

In other words if we do not comply with SANS60950 then we are not allowed to sell in South Africa. The NRCS really don't care how well the battery it self charge but rather if it is safe for consumers. We do care and yes the charges should do there job well. The factory that we use comply to many other EU standards and it was not that hard to pass there product.

 

​To get approval from the NRCS we had to send our chargers to a International accredited test laboratory. They issued the test reports which we then submitted to the NRCS. The NRCS issued a Letter of Authorization based on this. Now we are allowed to import that chargers.

 

This is not the case for other manufactures and the NRCS is making many other distributors life hard.

[Mileage]

Ok I have an Extreme light which I'm quite happy with. Its the Extreme 1400K. But I find that the beam is quite narrow almost like a spotlight. I struggle on fast sharp twisty stuff when looking where the trail is going next as the beam is great straight ahead but does not have much peripheral light.

 

I am considering getting a 2nd light but want this one to be a much broader beam. It does not necessarily have to be super bright. So Id have one strong spot (1400k) and a broad beam as well

 

Any suggestions

[Wannabe]

Can a person purchase the battery pack alone? Cost if yes.

[extremelights]

Ok I have an Extreme light which I'm quite happy with. Its the Extreme 1400K. But I find that the beam is quite narrow almost like a spotlight. I struggle on fast sharp twisty stuff when looking where the trail is going next as the beam is great straight ahead but does not have much peripheral light.

 

I am considering getting a 2nd light but want this one to be a much broader beam. It does not necessarily have to be super bright. So Id have one strong spot (1400k) and a broad beam as well

 

Any suggestions

 

Yes by far my favorited light at this stage is the Extreme 2k which is exactly what you asking for.

http://extremelights.co.za/wp-content/uploads/sites/66/2013/11/New-Cycle-animation.gif

[extremelights]

Can a person purchase the battery pack alone? Cost if yes.

yes visit our battery section for all the options

http://extremelights...ries/batteries/

 

It start at R350 for the standard 4 cell with neoprene pouch and it goes up to R995 for the bets battery on the market.

 

Here is the a few test we did with the diff rent battery types. http://extremelights...teries-compare/

Edited February 5, 2014 by extremelights

[Mileage]

Great thanks for the reply.

 

2nd question - do you do an adaptor that could run both the lights off a single battery pack? Don't see anything under accessories on your webpage.

 

Would that work or drain the pack too quickly - the longest night ride I do is 2hrs. I currently have a 6 cell pack

[extremelights]

I would not recommend that. Connecting your self and your bike to one battery pack. The current drain is not going to be nice to your battery pack and it is a single point failure that will leave you stranded in the dark when it fails. I assume you have a normal 6 cell battery pack. Out 4 cell Panasonic pack our preform the standard 6 cell battery packs by far. You are not gong to notice it on your bike and when you get off you will not have hassles with cables that connect you to your bike.

 

If you want to save money you can go for last years model the Extreme 2000. it is a good battery and light. not on the same league as the K range but good value for money.

[extremelights]

Hi Mileage, did you go for the Extreme 2000?