MTB night lighting - Recommendations
- MichaelB
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MTB night lighting - Recommendations
Postby MichaelB » Fri May 15, 2020 11:25 am
viewtopic.php?f=83&t=103248
Recommend something that doesn't break the bank or let me know if you have something to offload.
Ta
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Re: MTB night lighting - Recommendations
Postby mikgit » Mon May 18, 2020 8:36 pm
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Re: MTB night lighting - Recommendations
Postby eldavo » Mon May 18, 2020 8:40 pm
Outbound started with MTB and have responded to road and commuter demand. On instagram Outbound Lighting.
- MichaelB
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Re: MTB night lighting - Recommendations
Postby MichaelB » Tue May 19, 2020 8:16 am
The other issue for me is the mounting. My strong preference is to mount it under the bars, and the design of this is such that it's a helmet mount or above the bars. But then again, that's how the optics work.
Good option though. The Hangover version is pretty good for the helmet option, but again, still over US$200 + shipping
Cheers
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Re: MTB night lighting - Recommendations
Postby Cardy George » Tue May 19, 2020 8:43 am
I had a good look too, and super impressed with the amount of design work they've put in. Deal breaker for me is the off centre mounting. You can buy a Go-pro mount to put it under the bars and in the centre, but you lose the air scoop which is part of the cooling which helps with run time and longevity. I'm considering options for 24hr racing so I'm looking for as much run time as I can get.MichaelB wrote: ↑Tue May 19, 2020 8:16 amCheers, had a look. Probably a damn good light, but somewhat bulky, and due to the exchange rate, bloody expensive. The Trail version is US$185 (so about A$290) +US$23 for shipping (which actually isn't to bad for the US) makes it pretty pricey and out of my budget.
The other issue for me is the mounting. My strong preference is to mount it under the bars, and the design of this is such that it's a helmet mount or above the bars. But then again, that's how the optics work.
Good option though. The Hangover version is pretty good for the helmet option, but again, still over US$200 + shipping
Cheers
All of that is probably tempered by how little difference it would actually make, but completely countered by how much more product per dollar I can get from closer to home.
- MichaelB
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Re: MTB night lighting - Recommendations
Postby MichaelB » Tue May 19, 2020 8:58 am
I do like the all in one lights, but that seems to be a non-available option for the bigger/brighter lights.mikgit wrote: ↑Mon May 18, 2020 8:36 pmDon't know if this helps at all, I have a few Niterider Luminia lights, find them pretty good, use them on the road and the odd mtb night race, not too exxy, can mount bars or helmet, small, and contained in 1 unit (no cables etc), easy to charge, give a good light (good enough fo me I guess). I've had a few brands over the years, but find these the easiest.
Even the Ay-ups with their small battery is awkward to mount
This Pro 2200 Race looks nice, but $360
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Re: MTB night lighting - Recommendations
Postby RonK » Tue May 19, 2020 5:43 pm
For the price of some of these other lights you could by two setS - one for the bars and one for your helmet, and turn night into day.
https://www.mtbdirect.com.au/cleanskin- ... prene-case
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Re: MTB night lighting - Recommendations
Postby MichaelB » Wed May 20, 2020 1:09 pm
Yep, had a look at those too. Very much a twin lamp version of the good 'ol Magic Shine (which I had good luck with.RonK wrote: ↑Tue May 19, 2020 5:43 pmI bought a set of these, initially to ride the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail at night and the occasional night ride in the city. Excellent output and have worked reliably for the past year with intermittent use.
For the price of some of these other lights you could by two setS - one for the bars and one for your helmet, and turn night into day.
https://www.mtbdirect.com.au/cleanskin- ... prene-case
My concerns with that are whether the optics are OK for the mix of trails I'd ride at night, and the bulkiness of the batteries. The Ay-up ones are a bit smaller.
Still haven't made a decision yet, but the other Ay-up set I mentioned is still looking like the best allround solution for my scenario
.
Thanks for the input so far, been illuminating
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Re: MTB night lighting - Recommendations
Postby MichaelB » Thu May 21, 2020 1:54 pm
Decided to purchase the Ay-ups mentioned before, and ......
SOLD
Plan B and revisit the recommendations. The MTB Direct Cleanskins are the most likely option, as I'll be using a GoPro mount.
Lesson learned !!
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Re: MTB night lighting - Recommendations
Postby MichaelB » Thu May 21, 2020 3:40 pm
https://www.mtbdirect.com.au/azur-delux ... -led-light
May have a closer look at that one too
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Re: MTB night lighting - Recommendations
Postby RonK » Thu May 21, 2020 3:49 pm
That’s new. Looks pretty good.MichaelB wrote: ↑Thu May 21, 2020 3:40 pmThere is also this option from Azur via MTB Direct that is within $10 of the Cleanskin branded light
https://www.mtbdirect.com.au/azur-delux ... -led-light
May have a closer look at that one too
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Re: MTB night lighting - Recommendations
Postby MichaelB » Mon May 25, 2020 10:26 am
So, for the riding and trails I'm tackling at night, may rethink what I need and look at something like the cleanskin or Glowworm ones. Whilst the cleanskin are cheaper, the Glowworm ones have the different lenses, which I think is probably what I'm after.
Can use the Ay-up's as helmet lights, as I only have the Half epic battery, so pretty light.
So any other recommendations/user feedback on the Glow worms ?
Some nice lights here, but the prices of the Lupine lights
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Re: MTB night lighting - Recommendations
Postby Cardy George » Mon May 25, 2020 12:25 pm
Other than that I can highly recommend the Ay-Ups on your helmet, either with the battery on the back of the helmet for no cords, or with the extension cord for barely noticeable extra weight. I haven't tried the Gloworms on my helmet yet, but the Ay-Ups tuck in nice and low and you'll smack the top of your helmet before you'll smack the lights.
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Re: MTB night lighting - Recommendations
Postby MichaelB » Mon May 25, 2020 12:31 pm
That's been one of the key factors.Cardy George wrote: ↑Mon May 25, 2020 12:25 pmHave a good think about how much run time you need. ....
At MTB Direct, they have the Gloworm Alpha Plus set ($229) which comes with the bigger battery and hence 4hrs on Max settting. That's about as long as most, and way cheaper than those. More than I really want to spend, but it seems to be p[retty neat and compact, so may go down that route.
There sin't much else out there that has that run-time, features (lense options) and price range. The Cleanskin is the other option that I'm weighing up ...
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Re: MTB night lighting - Recommendations
Postby Cardy George » Mon May 25, 2020 1:10 pm
- MichaelB
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Re: MTB night lighting - Recommendations
Postby MichaelB » Mon May 25, 2020 2:14 pm
Have you used the other lenses at all that come with the light ?
Length of ownership of the Gloworm ? Any issues ?
Do you get the 4hrs runtime on Max as advertised ?
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Re: MTB night lighting - Recommendations
Postby Cardy George » Mon May 25, 2020 2:29 pm
Yes, but not for 18 months or so, from memory there wasn't an obvious difference. Lately I've been using an old Lezyne 1100xl on my head to get an idea of how much light I need for 24hr racing. The Alphas on my head and an XS on my bars would be the go, I think.
2 years of daily use. I ham-fistedly stripped the thread out of the side of the light unit, but being soft-ish alloy I just cut a new thread with a coarse screw.
I only have the 2 cell battery, and I don't usually run in a continuous block, but 2 hrs is pretty close to the mark.
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Re: MTB night lighting - Recommendations
Postby MichaelB » Mon May 25, 2020 3:04 pm
BUGGER !! Wouldn't ya know it, the Cleanskin is out of stock !!! Mind you, noted that Amazon has it available (From the Aus site via the US though ...)
2nd time I got done by procrastinating ....
https://www.amazon.com.au/Cleanskin-220 ... B07CPQPJLZ
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Re: MTB night lighting - Recommendations
Postby MichaelB » Thu May 28, 2020 11:11 am
Not doing 24hr ravces or 4 hours over single track, so should be OK.
We'll find out soon !!
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Re: MTB night lighting - Recommendations
Postby yehuwdiy » Fri Jun 12, 2020 8:50 pm
https://cygolite.com/product/tridenx-led-li-ion/
The thing that really got me was a) the beautiful even light spread - all the way to the sides, and b) the quality of the light. Road or trail signs light up hundreds of meters down the road like Rudolf plugged in a nuclear reactor. Have had friends riding with me with lights that technically have twice the output that just paled in comparison to the TridenX.
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Re: MTB night lighting - Recommendations
Postby ColinOldnCranky » Fri Jun 12, 2020 11:17 pm
In my experience of Ledlenser their stated lumins seem to be reasonably honest. The 2000lumin rating may, however, be a "burst" rate. But even a legitimate half of that should be able to bathe a wide area in intense light.
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Re: MTB night lighting - Recommendations
Postby MichaelB » Sat Jun 13, 2020 5:07 pm
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Re: MTB night lighting - Recommendations
Postby foo on patrol » Sun Jun 14, 2020 5:28 pm
Foo
Goal 6000km
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Re: MTB night lighting - Recommendations
Postby MichaelB » Mon Jun 15, 2020 11:02 am
Probably the same argument between $50 and $400 helmets.foo on patrol wrote: ↑Sun Jun 14, 2020 5:28 pmI have not paid more than $45 for some head lights and get up to 4hrs riding with them, with multiple beam settings. So what is the so called "advantage" of paying mega $$$$ for lights? The light spread that I have from these cheapies, is brilliant.
Foo
There is a difference, but to some there isn't anywhere near enough to justify the price ...
- find_bruce
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Re: MTB night lighting - Recommendations
Postby find_bruce » Mon Jun 15, 2020 2:11 pm
- the output of the led - how much light is put out for a given current varies - the more light the higher the bragging rights & the higher the price - for the most part your eyes will not detect the difference
- tint of the led - they get tested as they come off the line & ones that are "cool" (towards the blue end of the spectrum) or have a green or pink tint to them are less desirable & hence much cheaper. I much prefer a "warm light" & so pay more for the led.
- efficiency of the driver - a linear driver is cheap & functional as long as you can dissipate the heat. The lack of efficiency shows up in the run-time. I won't bore you with the complexity of the efficiency calculations as it depends on issues involving number of leds, current & voltage requirements and the power supply. Unless you are pushing the limits of battery life, it probably doesn't make much difference to the end purchaser. A high quality driver costs around US$35, while a linear driver is more like $3.
- reliability of battery & light. When magicshine lights first came out, more than 10 years ago, there were plenty of battery failures, a few of them involved flames, the US retailer went under & magicshine ceased to be a budget light. Since then lithium batteries have become more reliable, but on inspecting the internals of a light, el cheapos invariably take shortcuts - things like thermal connections, use thin wires & poor quality control on their soldering.
Optics are a whole nother matter - it is easy to build a light that floods everything, including into the eyes of anyone coming the other way - it is much harder & more expensive to put the light exactly where you want it - not just a spot light, because you want less intense light close to you
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