nite lights

[thysmeades]

hi guys, some advice please. I am looking for what riding lights to consider buying for my early morning road rides, as well as for some mtb night rides. obviously a good battery life with a reasonable price tag. any advice from my fellow hubbers?

[droo]

Question one - what's your budget? Reasonable means different things to different people...

 

 

 

If you're up for spending 3k, look here

 

 

 

[Bos]

The Sigma Kharma Is very good value for money. I know someone with one and I would buy One if i wasnt making my own. Retails for around R2300 last time I checked one

[Canaris]

okay, at the risk of letting the mountain lion out of his cage, build your own.  You can be the techy route and buy the LEd's heat sinks ext and solder them all together, or you can use a 12v downlight (www.sunfor.com.za sells 3 x2w led downlights just shy of R300 each) in the traditional pipe light set up.  (use the energizer torch for a more elegant finish).  Use a 12volt gate battery as the power source.  You can by them from 1.5 AH right up to 3.6AH.  As the light only draws 1/2 amps per hour even the smallest 12volt battery should last 3 hours.  (most batteries only cost R100 can can be charged with any battery recharger, or even the car battery with jumper cables can be used) KonaFan2009-04-03 07:22:56

[mountain_lion]

Oi, who says I have a cage! 

 

If you are interested in DIY...

https://www.bikehub.co.za/forum_posts.asp?TID=33357

 

 

 

[goofs]

Check this thread for lights

 

https://www.bikehub.co.za/forum_posts.asp?TID=46958&KW=&PID=736547#736547

[jagwil]

Cateye Tripleshot. They are a bit expensive but work very well.

[Goose1]

agree with jagwil on this one as i have one too. its awesone, lightweight, battery lasts forever and most of all it lights up a long way ahead and thats a big safety  plus going into the darker months.

they arent the cheapest but for me the best light i have ever owned...

[slowpoke]

sigma karma as a "cheaper" option - around R2500. brighter-lights for THE BEST, but a tad pricier

[Velouria]

For a cheap option:

 

http://www.mtbbritain.co.uk/mountain_bike_lights_review_led.html

[PPWTF]

 

I'm riding a Cygolite TridenX, and the thing is like a car head light..... 600Lumens of beautiful light.

 

http://cygolite.com/products/new/TridenX/TridenX_Lion.html

 

Bought the thing of ebay from the same people in the link below

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/Cygolite-LED-TRIDENX-Li-Ion-Battery-helmet-or-bar-mount_W0QQitemZ220391618978QQihZ012QQcategoryZ22689QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

The charger and battery have run faultlessly and I can't for the life of me figure why they are not more widely know

http://cygolite.com/products/new/TridenX/TridenX_Lion.html

 

Current exchange rate price on the ebay offer works out at ZAR 1941.62....

 

Show me a better all round package for the money and I'll eat my unwashed shorts....

 

PPWTF2009-04-13 00:57:03

[NISI]

What are the import duties on lights ?

[sampie]

I started building 3 different lights in October last year. After playing around with different combinations of lenses ect. the end result are very good value for your money. Will have website up soon. Here are the medium one (Lightstorm I). Runtime on high( 235 Lumens) , 4.5 hours before it starts to dim up to 6 hours, use 2 li-ion rechargehables, weighs 244g (light + batterypack), comes with digital 2 channel charger. Did a race this pass weekend and compared it to the Blackburn, this outperformed the Blackburn by far.   R1250.

 

 

[kori]

what about the red one at the back, which one  is brightests and lasts the longest?

[barrykm]

That's two votes for the Sigma Karma - anyone else have any comments on this unit?

I'm considering it for road use.

barrykm2009-04-20 06:09:29

[Oliver Williams]

I'm also very happy with my Sigma Karma - light, compact, strong, quality product - perfect for road use esp. if you train where there aren't street lights. It's also easy to unmount and recharge. Decent price as well - I'm not into the DIY thing.

 

That said, I'd get the Powerled Black next time for mtb use. I didn't think I'd need anything brighter than the Karma, but for faster descents you want something that throws a nice long beam.