Best light

[shobax]

40 minutes ago, Jensie said:

Using this for the last 3 weeks. Very impressive for the price. 

+ 1 for the rookie sports light.. amazing

[splat]

On 5/12/2022 at 3:28 PM, Schnavel said:

 

Either that one, or the Garmin light:

 

Garmin Varia™ UT800 Smart Headlight, 010-01673-00 (easybike.co.za)

https://bikehub.co.za/classifieds/item/lights-and-batteries/509754/garmin-varia-ut-800-smart-headlight

https://www.garmin.com/en-ZA/p/550821
 

This price must annoy the other retailers
https://www.takealot.com/garmin-varia-ut800-smart-headlight/PLID46866690

 

[NeverNotRolling]

On 5/13/2022 at 2:50 PM, shobax said:

+ 1 for the rookie sports light.. amazing

Cover of user manual looks like its possibly Chinglish, but im keen to check it out.

What's the runtime on them?

[RobertWhitehead]

Ok, can I give a factual "long term" opinion about this topic and yes, I hope all of you packed your reading glasses as depending on how lazy I am I may just break some records with this reply . 

So some context:

1) I bought a cheap Chinese (R1300) light back in 2013 for my first Baviaans. It is a 1800 lumen light with a name I cannot pronounce. Sounds like zenon but with an X in the front. Think it is xeccon. But anyway, the name is besides the point. I then bought an additional battery as the light only lasted 02:23 @ full blast (1800 lumen). During the race I came off the bike on the Nuwe kloof pass and withdrew at CP3 due to injury. So, I never used the light during the race. I used it before to test but basically not for the race. 

In 2015 I did the race again and we had lots of mechanicals and ended up doing it in over 18 hours. By that time both batteries ran out so I had to go back to the drawing board. 

2) In 2016 I bought another light from one of the brands mentioned above as being fantastic (I am not going to mention the name because I do not want to get another one from them so this is not a plea for them to react). Any way. I got said light in July of 2016 and paid double than the Chinese light which was still going strong without any problems. I just did not want to ride the 2016 Baviaans without a light during the last 20-30km like I did in 2015. So, I got a bigger battery and I tested it prior to the race. Come raceday and again we have quite a few mechanical issues and at the bottom of the first Fang +/-130km I decided to switch on this fancy new light with enough juice to make 10 hours on the middle setting. Immediately after switching it on it blew, I said to my partner that there was no way I would repeat the same scenario from 2015 and quickly pulled out. When I got to CP5 I gave this blown up light to the rep from said company and they fixed it and returned it to me a week later. 

3) Then in 2019 I used the same light for the race and I found that the beam was too flat and no where near the cheap Chinese sun I left at home. Just as we entered the last 5km of single track the light failed again. However this time round it was the battery which had a lose connection and no longer made contact properly. 

4) In 2021 I used the batteries from the sun but the expensive light. Again, even on full blast I found the 1000 lumen light to be crap. The beam is flat and narrow. 

Now here is where I answer the question: if I take the age of both lights and I use a thumb suck average usage per year for each light then the math looks like this: 

1) Chinese purchase price: R1299

2) Expensive purchase price: R2600

Avg use per annum rated per hour: 20 h/a

Age of the lights:

1) Chinese - going on 9 years

2) Expensive - almost 7

Mechanical failure of units over the duration: 

1) Chinese - no failure nor any issues 

2) Expensive - has failed twice and after the battery failed in 2019 I only used it for the 2021 Baviaans every other load shedding session where my solar batteries do not last I revert to the sun. I also found last night that the button of the expensive light no longer works either, so it is completely dead. The button does not work at all, therefore I now have a paper weight in both the battery and light. 

If I then take the avg number of hours I used both of them over the years I get the following results: 

1) Chinese 1299 / 9 = R 144.33 p/a and therefore this light has an operating cost of R 7.22 per hour. 

2) Expensive 2600 / 7 = R 372.43 p/a with an operating cost of R 18.60 per hour with three failures over the time of ownership. 

In closing, if you're going to get a light, more expensive is not necessarily the best option. Sometimes the cheaper version lasts longer and just keeps on working. 

 

Edited May 24, 2022 by RobertWhitehead
Gave more context

[Wic2]

Again saying what I said in previous topic:

"I have the Nitecore BR35.  I am of opinion the Nitecore is far more superior than most."

Cycle lab had them on special last week for R2,300.

Edited May 24, 2022 by Wic2
.

[DieselnDust]

I have many lights 

a 2002 vintage lupine Edison 10 that still works and delivers 900lumen for 6-7hrs or 500lumen at 12hrs

an exposure maxxD7 I bought in 2015.

theeee two have been my night riding companions for many years and have outlasted every cheap light I’ve owned 

even the nightlightning endurenz, quad blaast and iBlaast are still working , the quad still with original sionar battery.

the cheap lights I’ve bought have all gone to land fill or are wired around the house . 
 

the head units are ok but the batteries are terrible 

[cadenceblur]

10 hours ago, Wic2 said:

Again saying what I said in previous topic:

"I have the Nitecore BR35.  I am of opinion the Nitecore is far more superior than most."

Cycle lab had them on special last week for R2,300.

seriously looking at this light - very postive reviews and looks usable for the road and trails.

[Spinnekop]

https://www.exposurelights.co.za/products/toro-mk-12/

 

End of discussion.

[splat]

6 hours ago, Spinnekop said:

https://www.exposurelights.co.za/products/toro-mk-12/

 

End of discussion.

So, without going the whole 'request a quote' route, what sort of moolah are we looking at here ?

[DieselnDust]

18 minutes ago, splat said:

So, without going the whole 'request a quote' route, what sort of moolah are we looking at here ?

about R5600 to your door

[droo]

On 5/24/2022 at 11:38 PM, DieselnDust said:

I have many lights 

a 2002 vintage lupine Edison 10 that still works and delivers 900lumen for 6-7hrs or 500lumen at 12hrs

an exposure maxxD7 I bought in 2015.

theeee two have been my night riding companions for many years and have outlasted every cheap light I’ve owned 

even the nightlightning endurenz, quad blaast and iBlaast are still working , the quad still with original sionar battery.

the cheap lights I’ve bought have all gone to land fill or are wired around the house . 
 

the head units are ok but the batteries are terrible 

Lupine FTW. It'll bankrupt you, but only once. Just wish they were easier to get hold of here.

I've tested about 10 different cheaper lights, and the two things that set the expensive ones apart are beam pattern and colour temperature. The budget ones tend to be very focused, which is fine for the road but useless on singletrack unless you've got a head / bar combo. They also tend to be more towards the blue end of the colour spectrum, which isn't nearly as good for visibility but is very good for rated output numbers.

I eventually got a Sigma Buster, which I can't fault yet - unfortunately they're no longer available here. 2000lm, about 2 hours on full crank, and a wireless remote (one of those unnecessary things that you'll wonder how you ever did without).

If I had to replace it, most likely something from Exposure for local support, or Lupine just because I'd probably never need the support. For a "budget" option, the Ravemen range is really good, although the mounts are a bit ropey - this can be cured with a R 150 Gopro mount though, so it's not a major issue.

Edited May 26, 2022 by droo
Fat fingers

[Headshot]

OP asks for info and then disappears. Rest of us go mad discussing bike lights. Not complaining just wondering what I can start a thread about to see how many pages it will get to...

[M L]

On 5/12/2022 at 8:13 AM, Shebeen said:

That's like asking what the best bakkie is, and optimistically waiting for a non subjective answer. You need to be a bit more specific as to what your needs are.

Trick question. We all know that's a Hilux.

[cadenceblur]

48 minutes ago, Headshot said:

OP asks for info and then disappears. Rest of us go mad discussing bike lights. Not complaining just wondering what I can start a thread about to see how many pages it will get to...

some of us sommer start shopping for lights we perhaps don't even need!

[The Ouzo]

20 minutes ago, M L said:

Trick question. We all know that's a Hilux.

its not friday yet

[Headshot]

9 minutes ago, cadenceblur said:

some of us sommer start shopping for lights we perhaps don't even need!

Ya, this thread reminded me my Magicshine batteries need replacement. Must say those R500 buck Chinese units have never missed a beat, bar the rather poor batteries.