Which bike light is best?

[CJVDM]

I have a magicshine (?) 900 lumens light which i imported myself from DX. The quality of the light is sufficient for my needs (these days i see its 1200-2000 lumens) but my real gripe is the battery. After 4 yrs now, the high settings lasts 30 min and low setting lasts 1hr max.

 

Im looking to buy a new light but not sure what to get. Too many options available currently i.e. Magicshine / Extreme lights / ect ect

 

Plus i dont want to break the bank, so roughly below R1,500 is what im willing to spend.

 

What would you guys (And gals) recommend i should get? In the winter im trying to cycle to work and back. A round trip will be approx 3 hrs (1 and 1/2 each way) and ideally would not want to charge the light inbetween.

 

The http://www.extremelights.co.za/shop/extreme-2000-bike-light/ looks like an option..

Edited June 8, 2014 by CJVDM

[Zariuss]

I bought the Extreme light 900 for R595 I think they retail for now.

i used it for 3 mornings per week for 1hour full on and then only it needs to be recharged again.

 

in the meanwhile I bought the Extreme 2k light which is noe retailing for R1799 if I am not mistaken. I recharge this light every two weeks using it three times a week for an hour and on weekends if we go out early it also runs for an hour at least sometimes more.

 

Extreme lights is great cause the price is much more affordable for what you get

[Zariuss]

you also should not experience any problems with the

Extreme 2000 MKII Bike Light

 

 

R 1,350.00 that you are looking at

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

I have a magicshine (?) 900 lumens light which i imported myself from DX. The quality of the light is sufficient for my needs (these days i see its 1200-2000 lumens) but my real gripe is the battery. After 4 yrs now, the high settings lasts 30 min and low setting lasts 1hr max.

 

Im looking to buy a new light but not sure what to get. Too many options available currently i.e. Magicshine / Extreme lights / ect ect

 

Plus i dont want to break the bank, so roughly below R1,500 is what im willing to spend.

 

What would you guys (And gals) recommend i should get? In the winter im trying to cycle to work and back. A round trip will be approx 3 hrs (1 and 1/2 each way) and ideally would not want to charge the light inbetween.

 

The http://www.extremeli...000-bike-light/ looks like an option..

 

If your real gripe is the battery, rather just import / source a QUALITY battery / charger combo. The quality of those batteries with the DX lights isn't that great, and that is the major cost of a light setup. A quality battery will last you far longer than a sub standard battery / light combo.

 

Having said that - a quality, protected and dipped battery will probably cost you about R 800 to R 1,000 from one of the hobby shops. But it IS worth it.

[CJVDM]

If your real gripe is the battery, rather just import / source a QUALITY battery / charger combo. The quality of those batteries with the DX lights isn't that great, and that is the major cost of a light setup. A quality battery will last you far longer than a sub standard battery / light combo.

 

Having said that - a quality, protected and dipped battery will probably cost you about R 800 to R 1,000 from one of the hobby shops. But it IS worth it.

 

Im not a tech guy by any means, so you need to give me something i can ask for eg shop / model no ect (where do i find a quality combo?)

 

I also saw this, http://www.magicligh...abatteryinstock where the battery is built into a waterbottle. Maybe a bit overkill but the runtime is great

Edited June 8, 2014 by CJVDM

[Falco]

If you're going to buy any of the extreme light / magicshine types (same thing, different trading name), rather get a Ryder light.

 

It's the same thing in a different package, and has a guarantee that WILL be honoured by the supplier (Omnico)

 

I bought an extreme light, it packed up after about a year, I couldn't find the invoice and the supplier wasn't interested in my problem. Their "service" sucks, all Hannes is interested in is sales, once he has your cash, you're on your own.

[GoLefty!!]

I have a magicshine (?) 900 lumens light which i imported myself from DX. The quality of the light is sufficient for my needs (these days i see its 1200-2000 lumens) but my real gripe is the battery. After 4 yrs now, the high settings lasts 30 min and low setting lasts 1hr max. Im looking to buy a new light but not sure what to get. Too many options available currently i.e. Magicshine / Extreme lights / ect ect Plus i dont want to break the bank, so roughly below R1,500 is what im willing to spend. What would you guys (And gals) recommend i should get? In the winter im trying to cycle to work and back. A round trip will be approx 3 hrs (1 and 1/2 each way) and ideally would not want to charge the light inbetween. The http://www.extremelights.co.za/shop/extreme-2000-bike-light/ looks like an option..

 

 

They're the same light. A monkey in silk is a monkey no less.

 

 

If you want quality then you need to consider spending more than double what those lights cost.

[GoLefty!!]

If your real gripe is the battery, rather just import / source a QUALITY battery / charger combo. The quality of those batteries with the DX lights isn't that great, and that is the major cost of a light setup. A quality battery will last you far longer than a sub standard battery / light combo. Having said that - a quality, protected and dipped battery will probably cost you about R 800 to R 1,000 from one of the hobby shops. But it IS worth it.

 

 

YIp my Lupine Edison 10 is a 2002 model, wit its original battery. Still delivers 80% of rated capacity. Time for replacement but even now it will outperform the monkey in silk light units

[Skylark]

If your light is fine and you happy with it then just buy a new high capacity/ quality battery pack.

Even though Dx stuff is generally not top class stuff they do have some very decent branded battery cells/packs that are more expensive their entry level stuff but great quality and probably much cheaper than buying it locally.

[Eddi]

They're the same light. A monkey in silk is a monkey no less.

 

 

If you want quality then you need to consider spending more than double what those lights cost.

 

Hence the reason I built my own proper light!

 

ALL of the DX, extremelights, even the Ryder light comes from the 'same' factory. It seems that only Ryder as a company is willing to man-up with a semi-decent warranty to compensate for sub-standard electronics/components. If you're buying a cheap light you might find yourself buying another one within the next 2-3 years.

 

But as a general rule of thumb, all Li-ion batteries loose 20~30% of their rated capacity (talking about good quality batteries here!) within a year or 300 charge cycles which ever comes first, after that it drops faster.

 

Another thing on batteries, I remember coming across a thread a while ago on another website were some bloke opened up 2 of such battery packs from cheap Chinese lights only to find recycled laptop cells. I'll paste a link later when I find it.

 

You get what you pay for!!

 

Insomniac = out!

Edited June 9, 2014 by Eddi

[Skylark]

^^ The 18650 li ion cells that most of these lights use are also widely used in laptop batteries, honestly can't see a Chinese company in china with access to ridiculously cheap new parts using 2hnd cells, just the extra labour to strip them out of the old housings and testing for dead cells would make it not be worth it?

[porqui]

Just get a new battery pack from China - cheap cheap and when its done replace it.

 

I get in a battery pack for less than R150 - so what if it only lasts 2 to 3 years.

Edited June 9, 2014 by porqui

[Stain]

Also shopping for a light at the moment. Been doing some price comparisons and this seems like the one I'll be going for:

http://www.sportsworld.co.za/product.php?id_product=575

 

Seems to be the best priced 3 Cree XM-L T6 monkey at the moment (and apparently has an upgraded battery).

[Vangar]

Just get a new battery pack from China - cheap cheap and when its done replace it.

 

I get in a battery pack for less than R150 - so what if it only lasts 2 to 3 years.

 

Exactly, I ordered some of AliExpress since I didn't know how much I'd use them, 4 decent lights with chargers and headstraps plus two rear lights for R1200. Don't care if they aren't awesome quality or don't last more than a year. Price more than makes up for it.

[droo]

If you're looking for a light for MTB use, the main thing to look for is a decent beam pattern. Most of these Chinese P.O.S lights take a million lumens and focus them onto one square millimetre of trail so they look super bright, but in actual riding conditions this is pretty useless.

 

The decent ones, Lupine being one, give a decent horizontal spread so that you can actually see what's going on around you, and without too much vertical spread which wastes power and annoys motorists on the way to the trail head.

 

Also, as mentioned, you'll only ever buy one. They are properly bombproof and ship with decent batteries. From an environmental point of view, lithium batteries are pretty nasty do dispose of, so the "I don't care if it only lasts 6 months" approach isn't going to help the next generation much either.

 

Check out the Lupine Tesla as a decent entry level light. A few extra bucks, but worth every cent.

[finallygotabike]

If you're going to buy any of the extreme light / magicshine types (same thing, different trading name), rather get a Ryder light.

 

It's the same thing in a different package, and has a guarantee that WILL be honoured by the supplier (Omnico)

 

I bought an extreme light, it packed up after about a year, I couldn't find the invoice and the supplier wasn't interested in my problem. Their "service" sucks, all Hannes is interested in is sales, once he has your cash, you're on your own.

 

Wow - am surprised at this. I had issues with my battery which I bought a year ago and they are currently in the process of replacing it. Had no issues in getting this done.