Light recommendations

[DirtyFrank]

enlighten me about this?

 

I bought the magic shine type light, but after 1 summer I had to replace the battery, because it needs to be kept charged, and honestly, who remembers to keep a battery charged for 6 months.

 

Strange that these batteries only last for one season nowadays, I have a 5 year old Sigma PowerLED which still holds a charge for at least 6 x 45min evening rides without any problems, I have to remind myself to charge it sometimes. Not sure yet about the `Extreme lights` cheapy i bought for +/- R500 but so far it has lasted a year and works like a dream and is a much better light than the narrow beam Sigma.

I recommend the Extreme lights very highly but you have to put a grippy tape around your handlebar to mount this more securely.

[TK-Sp3cialiSt]

I have the extremelight 1200(combo that is sold with a taillight), very happy with it, had it for 18 months and i do a fair amount of evening riding. Nohad any issues with the battery, i can even get an additional battery if needed..... Always good to get from someone that keeps spares

[andregrobler]

+1 for extreme light, best imo

[Sportsworld.co.za]

We sell a range of lights starting from R490 for a 800 Real Lumens Light, up to R950 for a 3-LED 2400 Lumens Light.

 

Here.

 

1. price - Affordable

2. battery - Tested. We also have a range of 4, 6, or 8-cell battery packs available

3. functions (low/high/strobe) - All lights have at least low, high, and strobe

4. price - Won't break the bank

5. dealer reputation in the event of a comeback - If anything goes wrong, we will replace no questions asked

 

http://www.sportsworld.co.za/category.php?id_category=206

 

I will add:

 

6. chargers. We test the Chargers before sending out to customers

 

--

 

Personally, I like the 2LED option for the width of light it gives. It's great on the single track, and I ride with one every week no problem. At R680 for a 1600 Real Lumens Double LED light, it's one of the best value for money lights one can buy.

 

R175 buys you an extra battery pack which is small enough to add to the top tube of your bike. It also gives you the comfort of knowing there's a backup battery in the event of rider forgetting to charge his first battery.

 

Whatever you decide, just get one! Night Riding opens a complete new door to mountain biking / commuting / exploring / cycling.

 

Happy shopping!

[Matchstix]

I would advise to buy from extremelights.

Hannes started the company as a hobby and did a lot of research on the batteries LED's etc. He has them specd with the best quality. The budget batteries are the same you will find in Dealextreme or simular looking light as far as I know. Also his chargers are sabs approved.

[johanpre44]

I have a Niteye B10, tiny light but bright enough for me (the odd night ride or early morning to get to work or a trail somewhere).

 

What I can suggest is:

1. O-ring mounting is sufficient (my lights QR type mounting works well, but its a mission to put back on and remove again, especially since I prefer to ride without it when I know I won't need it for a couple of weeks, o-rings is just so easy!)

2. Switch on the light is more than enough (my light have a remote that I can strap with velcro to the grip, but then is sticks to my gloves and its in the way of the shifters so I'm not really using it, not to mention the extra cabling which is sometimes a mission)

[T-Bob]

Thanks for all the advice guys.... Looks like there are a lot of good options. Seems like I pretty much need a simple version. I'm not a big night rider off road but do actually love to train on the road at night.

 

Will maybe do more off road in the dark now I'm investing in a 'proper' light. Not sure if I mentioned it but one of the key factors is out shining my brother-in-law round the camp fire when we go away. He's got an addiction to torches. So with that fact in mind what is the local equivalent of this, and has anyone used it?

 

http://www.lightmalls.com/high-brightness-kinfire-df40-4-cree-xm-l-t6-4modes-2800lm-bike-light-headlight-6x18650-battery

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

Thought I might go down this route...

 

http://fcdn.mtbr.com/attachments/lights-diy-do-yourself/312042d1195393393-home-made-bike-light-database-light1.jpg

 

LInk!?

[backtrail]

Im using an XECCON 1000 lumen and quite happy with it, however only heard good things about extreme lights. The ryder series seem quite popular, i thought my xeccon is a re-branded ryder with the battery connection different.

[MoreTrails]

This has probably been pointed out.....focus on beam pattern and battery before looking at the brightness

 

Obviously all vs budget.....pesky thing that!

[scuzzy]

I would advise to buy from extremelights.

Hannes started the company as a hobby and did a lot of research on the batteries LED's etc. He has them specd with the best quality. The budget batteries are the same you will find in Dealextreme or simular looking light as far as I know. Also his chargers are sabs approved.

 

Funny how he was the one that pulled u his shoulders and said did you read the terms and conditions.

 

I do think that the battery technology is better now, and he has a good range of lights, but I am just a little scared for it now and do not want to take a chance again. Also, I hat the battery that dangles below, so my love for the Exposure lights is a personal one and not aimed to criticize anybody.

 

Just want to let people know of my experience.

[Steven Knoetze (sk27)]

Hi Guys,

 

Read through the thread and haven't found what I want so here goes.

I need a helmet mountable lamp, this is a must.

I have a handle bar mounted 1600lumen lamp so the headlamp is to help when riding on single track to view sharp turns, etc.

I would imagine it needs to be between 300-800lumen.

Anybody have links to suitable lights?

[cadenceblur]

try magic shine, think its the MJ 808

 

http://www.magic-shine.co.za/

 

[Brian Fantana]

LInk!?

 

That is just a MR16 LED downlight bulb with 3 LED's, mounted inside a suitable housing. It requires a 12V power supply and the driver is built into the bulb. I have used 2 lights like that for about 4 years. I mounted the bulbs inside a 50mm pvc pipe with an end cap and a toggle switch. The downlights I used were 18 degree beam spread with about 380 lumens. One on the bar and one on the helmet was good enough to go very fast on technical singletrack. It will cost you about R300 to build one light like that excluding the battery. I used lead acid batteries 12V 1.4Ah, which gave me a little bit less than 3 hour run time. The batteries cost R 58 each, and they lasted about 1 year with regular use. However, you can buy a very good light for about R500 these days, and it will be brighter with better battery life.

 

3 years ago I started to make my own DIY lights with proper CREE LED's and Luxdrive drivers. I still use them today in conjunction with 8.4V Li-ion batteries. I have 2 x 400 lumen lights that I use on the handlebar, and I use a very tiny 300 lumens flashlight with adjustable zoom on my helmet. My Strava times indicate that I don't need more light than that.

 

In my opinion lighting on a bike is about beam spread and colour temperature. If you cover those two areas well, and have in the region of 1000 lumens total, you are fine. I have found that too much light reflects up from the trail which makes certain obstacles more difficult to judge.

 

A warm white is in my opinion better than a very cool white. Cool white colour temperature above 6000K becomes very blue and reflects a lot from singletrack or gravel surface (everything becomes white-ish), which can influence a rider's sight and therefore judgement negatively. Manufacturers from the East tend to spec lights with high colour temperatures(higher than 6500K) as the lumen output is higher which means higher perceived value (they know most consumers only look at the lumens/price ratio).

 

My own lights are all 4500k in colour temperature.

[Tayyib]

I bought a light from K-man...-v had the light for about 8 months now and no problems!! I use it almost 6 days a week and charge it twice a week.on low setting it gets drivers attention at midday and during night races I only need it on medium for serious light as full light is overkill.(If that possible).

[Mokgaga'a mmakubela!]

+1 xtreme lights