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Lights


MadManMike

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Anyone here got lights that are suitable for night time trail riding?

A quick browse on eBay brings up a million different lights, from £££££ to Chinese-based £, all with claims of 15 lumens to 9,999,999,999 lumens.

I know I'll need one with an external battery pack if I want decent light output, but I'm not sure what to go for. I'm aware of the expensive brands, but I wondered if there's a good cheap-ish eBay one that'll do the job and have everything I need out of the box (Many don't come with battery packs).

Anyone got experience of powerful lights?

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This is what I use. Cheap and cheerful. Does the job just fine. Use it for trail riding, commuting and even on my 24hour MTB 100 mile trip. Obviously the battery didn't last 24 hours but for the time I needed it in the hours of darkness it was fine.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00SFCLIK6/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?qid=1447152287&sr=8-3&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=cree+lights&dpPl=1&dpID=51bd6ohrh1L&ref=plSrch

I'm going to buy another soon. So far I've used this on my helmet, which I attach with elastic bands, but want another for my handle bars, not because 1 isn't bright enough, trust me it is, but because it means I can point the handlebars light in the direction my bikes pointing and use the head lamp to see where I'm looking. Makes all the difference.

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I have owned a few Chinese lights over the years and they have all failed. It's usually the connection between the battery and the light that becomes unreliable or stops working. Recently I had another light fail so decided to treat myself to an Exposure Joystick. I know I could buy many more Chinese lights before having paid the price of the Joystick but I am happy to finally own a light I can trust and I have read a lot of reviews from people saying their Exposure lights are still going strong after several years.

I use the bar mount on my road bike and the helmet mount for when I'm on my MTB, I can quickly move the light between the mounts and I don't have to piss about attaching an external battery somewhere. On high (800 lumens) it runs for 1.5 hours but by switching between high and low power it obviously lasts much longer so I haven't had any issues with battery life so far. I only use the high setting when descending off road, anyone who needs to use a high powered light at full power when climbing or riding on the road should go and get their eyes tested :P 

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/exposure-joystick-mk-10-front-light/rp-prod137174

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I've used the chinese lights mentioned by ross and they are great, incredibly bright and last a decent amount of time. Seeing as they're so cheap I always carried a spare with me but I never had an issue with mine, (they can be bought as a pair for roughly £20). That's not to say I haven't heard of friends having issues with theirs but I don't use lights too often, and only really for pitch black trail riding.

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i have the big 4-5led one and its great, my batteries all came with pouches so you could hang them off your stem etc but i found keeping them in a jersey pocket was the way to go. when i get back to mtbing i'd like a single led jobby for my helmet and another large unit for my bars. it's quite easy to fit a gopro mount to the lights (just drill out a J mount and bolt the light onto it) then you can bar/helmet/whatever mount it.

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Is that were you keep spare tampons too? :P

As I say, I keep the battery pack in the top pocket in my camelbak. It's not a big bag, it's very flat and has waist and chest straps so doesn't flap about unless it's fully loaded with a jacket or something. I'd normally ride without a bag too but to hold a battery it isn't so much bother.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I ended up going for a Lezyne Hecto Drive 300xl as I found one mega cheap.

It's not as powerful as those Cree ones with the battery packs, but it packs more of a punch than my current set up. USB rechargeable is a nice touch too.

Certainly bright enough for what I do, not quite bright enough to go full whack across trails though.

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  • 10 months later...

I picked up one of the aldi lamps above, is really bright, small and mounts perfectly to my helmet just above the visor. It's more of a floodlight than a focused beam so not sure if it will project far enough for trail riding but as a second headlamp it should be pretty good :)

Edited by forteh
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On 03/10/2016 at 7:44 PM, MadManMike said:

Shame it's only front, I could do with a good rear light for a bargain price!

Its available in both front & rear, I just posted the link and photo of the front light so that viewers don't get confused with the cheaper and slightly less powerful Premium light set at ALDI. Can't go wrong with whatever light set you buy and way better value than the overpriced Moon lights.

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Cree T5s still running over here. I don't even discharge the batteries when it comes to summertime which I really should do. Still as bright and long lasting as ever!  Funnily enough I fitted mine up this weekend for the night rides that are coming up.

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  • 1 month later...

Hi, I use the Lumenator and Lumen800 from http://www.mtbbatteries.co.uk/ The Lumenator on the bars gives you a good spread but throws the light a long way too, and the Lumen800 on my helmet gives me a slightly more focused beam. More than enough light for night riding and really good battery life. I've a few friends who bought the cheap ebay lights, some set on fire whilst charging and a few just randomly cut out whilst riding with absolutely no warning, so I would avoid those. That pair cost me about £160 and the guy is amazing. He's a member of the singletrack mountain bike forum and is known for his amazing customer service and knowledge. Really can't rate him enough

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  • 8 months later...

Dunno if this link will work but purchased these from ALDI last week and wrapped them on my hubs

https://www.aldi.co.uk/bikemate-premium-bike-light-set/p/077353143709200

Similar to premium lights but more compact design. Better waterproofing, small enough to sit on wheel hubs using the rubber strap. Rechargeable. Winner

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