Which mtb front light

[slickandtyred]

Looking for a light for night trails.

1. What brands and price?

2. Recommended lumens?

3. Rechargeable through usb or other?

4. How long do the batteries last?

Thanks

[Jaws677]

I've been using magic shine lights for the last for years (most weekdays for about 2 hours at a time for 3 years). Front head light and rear red tail light.

 

I've had a few issues but I could fix them myself (mostly solder joint cracking on PCB and wires breaking at the connectors.

 

The LI ion battery packs are still going strong after lots of charge cycles .

 

Their battery pack are configured to 7.2 V (3.6 V Li Ion cells in series with 8.4 V charge voltage) made up with normal 18650 cells . They work very well.

[scotty]

http://www.extremelights.co.za/product-category/cycle-lights/

[capediver]

Nothing less than 1000 lumens for handle bars and up to 800 hat mount...if you going to ride trails at night, lotsa turning, no ambient street lights and you will find out how often you need to see "around" corners..your eyes and your bars are not always looking in the same direction,hence the hat mounted light to check out what's round there while the bar mount lights up the trail directly in front of you.....Magic Extreme lights FTW.....they're durable, hold a charge for a long time due to heavy duty battery.

 

Edit: Don't skimp, you'll be sorely disappointed by buying el cheapo torches....

Edit: Oh and the hat mount light comes in handy for trail-side repairs

[muagie]

I use a 2 x 2000 lumen headlamps I got from my local fishing store - bought it for fishing actually and got like a universal bike mount of ebay , has 2 x 4000mah batteries a nightmare to charge 8 hours per 2 battery set but so worth it 4.5 to 5hr on full charge. ran one between fishing and bike then found I need to see where the head goes when mounted to handle bars then just forked out for the 2nd. plus is uses the 18650 type batteries that can be bought online. btw paid R399 for lamp , charger n two batteries will post pics 2mrw

[Brickleberry]

The Ryder 1000 lumen light at cycle lab for 1070 buck works a treat. Is super bright and battery lasts well. Also has a lifetime guarantee.

[slickandtyred]

Thanks guys for light advice. The advice re a light on bars and helmet is very good.

[scubes]

Hmm. I had a light on my bars and one on helmet. After reading what happened to Schumacher that his injury was caused or worsened by the GoPro mount pressure point on his helmet..  I took off the helmet light and now have two on my bars. Makes the helmet lighter and two on the bars seems to work ok for now. I do miss the helmet light for corners but I can still see where I am going as the one bar light is on spot mode and the other on wide beam flood mode. Has anyone else thought of the safety issue of a helmet mount when crashing?

[slickandtyred]

Any views on this?

http://www.extremelights.co.za/product/core-cycle-light-two-eyes-tail-light-combo/

[raptor-22]

of the cheap chinese lights, it makes no difference which brand you buy. They are all the same.

 

L&M

Lupine

Niterider

NightLightning

Exposure

Hope

 

These are different but more expensive and will likely outlast your mtb fetish

[Skylark]

I've found the Chinese brand lights like Trustfire etc to be very well made and durable, the finish doesn't have quite the finesse of the big us/euro brands but considering they are often a fifth of the price and do the same job I can't complain.

[Brickleberry]

Hmm. I had a light on my bars and one on helmet. After reading what happened to Schumacher that his injury was caused or worsened by the GoPro mount pressure point on his helmet.. I took off the helmet light and now have two on my bars. Makes the helmet lighter and two on the bars seems to work ok for now. I do miss the helmet light for corners but I can still see where I am going as the one bar light is on spot mode and the other on wide beam flood mode. Has anyone else thought of the safety issue of a helmet mount when crashing?

From what I understood it was the indestructible nature of the go pro cover that caused the damage . These lights would break off quite easily compared to a solid mount go pro.

[slickandtyred]

of the cheap chinese lights, it makes no difference which brand you buy. They are all the same.

 

L&M

Lupine

Niterider

NightLightning

Exposure

Hope

 

These are different but more expensive and will likely outlast your mtb fetish

Nice lights. Exchange rate hurts tho

[GaryP]

Any views on this?

http://www.extremelights.co.za/product/core-cycle-light-two-eyes-tail-light-combo/

I would highly recommend extremelights. I have an XP1 which was a 2015 model. Build quality, battery and the effectiveness of the light are all excellent. The only thing to figure out is whether 1000 lumens is enough for your requirements. Ciao.

[droo]

of the cheap chinese lights, it makes no difference which brand you buy. They are all the same.

 

L&M

Lupine

Niterider

NightLightning

Exposure

Hope

 

These are different but more expensive and will likely outlast your mtb fetish

 

This oke understands.

 

The Chinese ones all tend to be very "spotty" - all the light is focussed in a very tight band in the centre of the beam.

 

The ones in the list above have properly designed optics, much like car headlights, that put the light where you need it. Useful for being able to see around corners and such. 

 

But you'll pay through your snout for them.

[scotty]

Bought this Fluid light from Cyclelab , It's used on my 26" for early morning rides and MTB night rides at BCC.

 

900 lumens, charges quickly and after 2 years battery life is still very good.