MTB Nightrides what's your lighting rig?

gab344

gab344

gab344

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Joined
21 Aug 2011
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55
Location
Yorkshire
Hi guys,

Ok, ok so I may be a *little* premature with this but the nights are starting to close in :)

ATM I'm using a P7 magicshine (quite floody, poor/average penetration) on the bars, and am looking to get a new XM-L (good throw but tight beam) for a helmet light.

With LED emitter tech moving so fast these days its hard to keep track of whats state of the art, (HID lights anyone? might as well have a gas lamp these days :P)

Anyways, what do you guys run/or planning to get ?
 
Trailtech 30w HiD
1850 lumens

spooky.jpg


It has excellent throw and spread. Unfortunately it's illegal to use on road as it's brighter than a cars main beam. So I use a small 4 led torch for road sections.
 
I have a Magicshine mj816, I think it was just under £100, it's extremely bright at it's brightest and attaches to my helmet easily, I still need to get an LED one for the rear, hoping to get some mileage out of it this winter.
 
Wow weescott , that's a seriously impresive beam shot you got there, not much doubt about that being a genuine 1850 lumens. :)
How big a battery pack do you need to feed that badboy? Lots of tight switchbacks on my local trails, a barlight on it's own (even one that bright) just wouldn't cut it. Could you use it as a helmet mount?
 
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It's a lithium Ion battery that can be mounted on the stem or on a bottle cage mount. I put it in my rucksack or jacket pocket. You can get helmet mounts for it too.

It's got a very wide spread. You don't need another light with it even for tight singletrack. I tried an Exposure MaxxD at a night race a couple of years ago and this thing completely blows it away. One of my riding pals has some Ay up lights. They are the only lights comparible with them.

http://www.ayup-lights.com/



tt.jpg
 
Troutlight Mini (which I won :D)
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You jammy bugger!
Looks eminently suitable for being helmet mounted, how much does it weigh?. It looks blumin' tiny, but still manages to be melt your face off bright too :). I know a picture tells a thousand words, but do you know what it puts out (in lumens?)
 
1200 Lumens, not sure how much it weighs, I'll weigh it on the kitchen scales if I remember tonight. Light enough not to bother you at all helmet mounted. It's a really nice light.

ETA: About 125g according to our cheap scales.
 
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Andelusion said:
I have a Magicshine mj816, I think it was just under £100, it's extremely bright at it's brightest and attaches to my helmet easily, I still need to get an LED one for the rear, hoping to get some mileage out of it this winter.
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I'm thinking of getting some of these too. The Chinese distributor which sold them originally and still do (not sure if I can name them here(?)) now ships these from a UK warehouse for the same price so you can now get this for around £73 delivered. You can also get the bright rear light from them for £35. They do get mixed reviews but apparently they are more durable now than when they were first sold.
 
Magicshine816.jpg


Magicshine MJ816.

I can't look at one of these without thinking of Micky Mouse, I can't think why. :)
 
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gab344 said:
Magicshine MJ816.

I can't look at one of these without thinking of Micky Mouse, I can't think why. :)
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Mickey Mouse lights are what they are commonly referred to as!! :) Aside from the aesthetics, they do seem very good for the price. Hopefully they will arrive through the post sometime around my birthday next month :)
 
gab344 said:
Magicshine816.jpg


Magicshine MJ816.

I can't look at one of these without thinking of Micky Mouse, I can't think why. :)
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I've been looking at http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SSC-P7-90...isure_Cycling_Bike_Lights&hash=item45fc7e9a83 that sort of thing as the guy is based near me so I could pick up and pay cash.

It appears to use the same SSC P7 LED as the mickey mouse one does so should be fairly good for £45?

Got caught out tonight with no lights and ended up getting the train :o one of them up front with a couple of cheapy rear lights should do the trick as I'm on mostly lit roads for the most part but do take to some back roads for a couple of miles.

Also he doesn't seem to like magicshine... http://www.torchythebatteryboy.com/p/magicshine.html
 
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I've been looking at http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SSC-P7-900...item45fc7e9a83 that sort of thing as the guy is based near me so I could pick up and pay cash.
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I have a p7 based light and while they're not in the same league as weescott's and andi's monster lights, they do bung out quite a respectable beam, not the 900 lumen claimed, nearer 600 lumen but that still amazingly good for the price.

I'll stick my neck out and say you probably won't need it on hi for back road use (5 mode right? hi, med, low, s.o.s, strobe, the last 2 usless btw) so you should get a bit longer than the 2 hour run time per charge they guy claims.

Always have a backup light though :)
 
As a bit of further explaination this is my Budget P7 light, a kind of ear-less version of the above:-

mylight.jpg


pro's :- cheap, lightweight, 4 cell Li-on pack so 3 1/2 hrs on full, did I mention it was cheap?

cons:- quality control varies, led emitters vary in light output and colour, battery packs lacking waterproofing (I put mine in a small balloon)

I actually own 2 of the above lights, and can tell them apart by one being brigher than the other and the colour temp of one being very blue vs one very natural. The cells of both have lasted two seasons so far. At around £50 a pop for the full kit, I'm not too bothered if they pack up this year, I've had my monies worth out of em.

I got mine from here btw:- http://www.dealextreme.com/p/ha-iii...set-4-18650-included-904430864#open full view
 
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andi said:
1200 Lumens, not sure how much it weighs, I'll weigh it on the kitchen scales if I remember tonight. Light enough not to bother you at all helmet mounted. It's a really nice light.

ETA: About 125g according to our cheap scales.
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I've got two of the original/older Troutlights.

Helmet:

IMG_0243 by *ChrisB*, on Flickr

IMG_0268 by *ChrisB*, on Flickr

Bars:

DSC01780 by *ChrisB*, on Flickr

DSC01777 by *ChrisB*, on Flickr
I've replaced the switch and put R2 LEDs in it since the photo. Battery goes under the stem in a small camera bag mounted with velcro wraps.

Connectors are AMP SuperSeal, so I can use any of my battery packs on either light.
 
I've replaced the switch and put R2 LEDs in it since the photo.
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Impressive, much of a job to upgrade to the newer emitters? It's very cool that you can do this with a quality head unit. Is that the latest generation of cree now? I find it difficult to keep up with whats whats at times......
 
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