blouponie Posted July 27, 2018 Share I ended up buying the Marvel Knight Rider 1800 lumen light as well as a core+ from extreme lights. Having tested both the knightrider is much brighter with 3 led's and essentially the same price (both were 1k at the time of purchase). However the core+ definitely has the edge wrt quality. The Marvel battery isn't well enough matched to the light strength as I can get only 1hour of use max on brightest setting. You can stretch it by juggling the brightness but this is annoying for short 1.5-2hour training rides. Also the Marvel switches between bright, dim, flash and off when pressing the button which is annoying whereas extreme lights are programmed to only shuffle between the three brightness modes and you won't need to shift through flash and off modes while riding (long press for on/off and double press for flash). Also extreme lights has nice neoprene pouch, feels more solid, and switches to dim first (so you don't blind the entire group) when switching on and not to brightest first. Small things that I like.So the Marvel is worth the buy if you need a cheap light for general riding or short night races however I'd choose something else if I did TransBaviaans or something serious. (or maybe just buy a backup battery if you don't have money). But for the low price it is worth it for casual use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mongoose! Posted July 27, 2018 Share cant wait for my 2200 lumen But for the low price it is worth it for casual use. My review also to follow.just wait for order to arrive - hopefully early next week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Fastbastard Mayhem Posted July 27, 2018 Share cant wait for my 2200 lumen My review also to follow.just wait for order to arrive - hopefully early next week.Just picked mine up. It's a large light, make no mistake. Definitely a bar-mount. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mongoose! Posted July 27, 2018 Share The 4 LED bulbs look quit impressive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fruity Posted July 27, 2018 Share My 900 Lumen arrived yesterday, hoping it's run time will last at least 3 hours per ride According to the review, and what it says on the box, it should do that easily:https://www.bikehub.co.za/features/_/gear/reviews/review-marvel-pro-900-and-streak-lights-r6882 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scubes Posted July 27, 2018 Share I like torches and lights Just bought the Blackburn 1600 lumens new light which has a spot melting into a wide beam, will test on the handlebars soon enough. Has a useful meter in % terms re how many minutes you have left of light time. You can also programme the light to go into eco mode ie runs down high to low, or in constant current mode where it stays as bright as possible and then dies. It also remembers your last light setting when turned on. Battery and LEDs in one, a quality item. I have used many of the Chinese lights (Extreme Lights are made in China as are most of the lights including Lenser which I have also used) and you get good ones and crap ones. Extreme Lights are good Chinese lights they have sourced their lights well. These lights like the Marvel ones and Speedmaster etc all seem to have the same core setup: Cree XPG LEDs or the better Cree XLM LEDs. The Lenser XEO 19R that I had and the Blackburn I have now have 2 of the Cree XLM LEDs which are great. They push around a max of 1,000 Lumens each and it depends on the ambient temp and air flow cooling environment too. The Speedmaster with the 4 XPGs for example which I had were good but not as good as the better ones that cost more. It also heated up incredibly and dropped brightness quickly too due to the heat. I have also used Ryder lights which died on me and I threw them out. I have come to realise with lights and anything MTBing related, to buy the best you can afford at the time. I'd be happy with the products from Extreme Lights but currently prefer the setup of battery and light in one, like my Blackburn and like the Exposure lights. I use this on my Bar and then a smaller lighter spot torch on my helmet as backup and for shining light where I look. The one LED spot lights like the Extreme Lights Core light and the older Zartek spots are good, better quality beam and colour light than the R400 spots one can get out there. I have used these , but I didn't like them for MTBing though, better for road riding. Remember- in my experience, if you have more than 2 LEDs it heats up quick and is hot to the touch and eats battery power generally quite quickly. And if it says 10,000 lumens it probably isn't. Even reputable makers like Lezyne inflate Lumens. Go here- http://wetestlights.com/for very interesting runtime testing and beam angle figures if you like stats and stuff.......... There are significant differences in beam shape and colour that can help you in making out that pothole on the trail at night and avoiding it, or riding straight into it. One thing - always take a back up light or have 2 on bar and helmet, I have come short where I took one light and thought it has been charged but was not charged up.. I ended up buying the Marvel Knight Rider 1800 lumen light as well as a core+ from extreme lights. Having tested both the knightrider is much brighter with 3 led's and essentially the same price (both were 1k at the time of purchase). However the core+ definitely has the edge wrt quality. The Marvel battery isn't well enough matched to the light strength as I can get only 1hour of use max on brightest setting. You can stretch it by juggling the brightness but this is annoying for short 1.5-2hour training rides. Also the Marvel switches between bright, dim, flash and off when pressing the button which is annoying whereas extreme lights are programmed to only shuffle between the three brightness modes and you won't need to shift through flash and off modes while riding (long press for on/off and double press for flash). Also extreme lights has nice neoprene pouch, feels more solid, and switches to dim first (so you don't blind the entire group) when switching on and not to brightest first. Small things that I like.So the Marvel is worth the buy if you need a cheap light for general riding or short night races however I'd choose something else if I did TransBaviaans or something serious. (or maybe just buy a backup battery if you don't have money). But for the low price it is worth it for casual use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannygirl Posted July 27, 2018 Share I bought the 1800 lumen Marvel earlier this year for R600 from CWC - very happy with it thus far, and have even bought a secondary 900 lumen as backup / to possibly wear on helmet when needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannygirl Posted July 27, 2018 Share One thing - always take a back up light or have 2 on bar and helmet, I have come short where I took one light and thought it has been charged but was not charged up.. Agreed! Be warned: when the green light at the back of the Marvel turns orange, it's pretty close to dying...and being stuck out on a trail in complete darkness all of a sudden, and then limping home by cellphone light, is not much fun... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fruity Posted July 27, 2018 Share I bought the 1800 lumen Marvel earlier this year for R600 from CWC - very happy with it thus far, and have even bought a secondary 900 lumen as backup / to possibly wear on helmet when needed. Nice It's the first time I'll be riding with a light as I'm not normally into riding when it's dark and early, so going to see how the 900 Lumen fares. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shebeen Posted July 27, 2018 Share I like torches and lights Just bought the Blackburn 1600 lumens new light which has a spot melting into a wide beam, will test on the handlebars soon enough. Has a useful meter in % terms re how many minutes you have left of light time. You can also programme the light to go into eco mode ie runs down high to low, or in constant current mode where it stays as bright as possible and then dies. It also remembers your last light setting when turned on. Battery and LEDs in one, a quality item. I have used many of the Chinese lights (Extreme Lights are made in China as are most of the lights including Lenser which I have also used) and you get good ones and crap ones. Extreme Lights are good Chinese lights they have sourced their lights well. These lights like the Marvel ones and Speedmaster etc all seem to have the same core setup: Cree XPG LEDs or the better Cree XLM LEDs. The Lenser XEO 19R that I had and the Blackburn I have now have 2 of the Cree XLM LEDs which are great. They push around a max of 1,000 Lumens each and it depends on the ambient temp and air flow cooling environment too. The Speedmaster with the 4 XPGs for example which I had were good but not as good as the better ones that cost more. It also heated up incredibly and dropped brightness quickly too due to the heat. I have also used Ryder lights which died on me and I threw them out. I have come to realise with lights and anything MTBing related, to buy the best you can afford at the time. I'd be happy with the products from Extreme Lights but currently prefer the setup of battery and light in one, like my Blackburn and like the Exposure lights. I use this on my Bar and then a smaller lighter spot torch on my helmet as backup and for shining light where I look. The one LED spot lights like the Extreme Lights Core light and the older Zartek spots are good, better quality beam and colour light than the R400 spots one can get out there. I have used these , but I didn't like them for MTBing though, better for road riding. Remember- in my experience, if you have more than 2 LEDs it heats up quick and is hot to the touch and eats battery power generally quite quickly. And if it says 10,000 lumens it probably isn't. Even reputable makers like Lezyne inflate Lumens. Go here- http://wetestlights.com/for very interesting runtime testing and beam angle figures if you like stats and stuff.......... There are significant differences in beam shape and colour that can help you in making out that pothole on the trail at night and avoiding it, or riding straight into it. One thing - always take a back up light or have 2 on bar and helmet, I have come short where I took one light and thought it has been charged but was not charged up.. so bright you need to wear glasses that is cool having a readout display on it. i'd be bit concerned that it would get a bit hot in that package and then heat up battery too, but they would have done their homework. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Fastbastard Mayhem Posted July 27, 2018 Share The 4 LED bulbs look quit impressive. post-1632-0-52488900-1532588281.png I have this Gopro Hero 5 - maybe I should make a Youtube video and compare the Extreme light (at 4 times the price) against this China cheapie.Just worried to step on toes of some site sponsors It has 5 led's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scubes Posted July 27, 2018 Share not fun. i was cycling at Modders at night on the Green on my own feeling safe and fun and heading back on the long way out by the fence and my light died. dark is dark and moonlight does not help much. it sucks. i saw a faint light ahead and thought this is it i am being bike jacked. got my knife ready as it was either back into the big reserve and it was cold and dark- or out. i headed out and the light was the torch of a security guard on a bike. 2 lights only way to go. Agreed! Be warned: when the green light at the back of the Marvel turns orange, it's pretty close to dying...and being stuck out on a trail in complete darkness all of a sudden, and then limping home by cellphone light, is not much fun... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scubes Posted July 27, 2018 Share yeah. 2 LEDs doesn't heat up incredibly. the machining is superb not much plastic so heat dissipation is good. it is well engineered. you can run it in run down mode so it dims from the start to preserve battery time, that way it won't be as hot as constant current. that is cool having a readout display on it. i'd be bit concerned that it would get bit hot in that package and then heat up battery too, but they would have done their homework. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jase619 Posted July 27, 2018 Share How is the Streak Rear Light from Marvel? Looking for a basic rear light for use on early morning road rides for the wife and myself.Seeing as it's currently on special for R150 and it is USB rechargeable I am hoping this will be a good cost-effective solution Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mongoose! Posted July 27, 2018 Share It has 5 led's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mongoose! Posted July 27, 2018 Share so bright you need to wear glasses that is cool having a readout display on it. i'd be bit concerned that it would get a bit hot in that package and then heat up battery too, but they would have done their homework. Will not fit my flat aero road bar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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