Lights for Night-Riding

Mechanic365

Hi fellow cyclists,

Getting into winter i found I dont have time in the daylight to train so im changing over to night/early morning training from 5am to 8am or maybe 6.30pm to 9pm.

Some CRUD Mudguards and Continental Gator Hardshells are coming from wiggle but all the lights seemed overpriced and over complicated (anything over 1000 lumens that is).

So after that I went to ebay and got a shock, but i did my research and I said its well worth a chance.

Bought this http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/261330241591?var=560244088459&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

6600 Lumens is too much but it has dimmer modes so its going to last 2 hours anyway.
The three lenses seem like a good idea as the light isnt just going to be focused in one spot, of course you can also get wide angle lenses soo its all good.
From expierience i know that these lights give off an intense but non-powerful amount of heat, unlike normal halogens which basically heat up everything around it, so its design is also favourable for that reason.

So enough rambling whats your opinions on these Cree xml lights (produced by solar-storm afaik), And just like to know which you think is best.

Also I will edit this as soon as these arrive to give a review...

detones

6600 lumen wtf!!!

07Lapierre

Should be 600 i'd say

Lumen

07Lapierre wrote: »

Should be 600 i'd say

Dork yourself out.

http://thebrightsideforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=1212
http://budgetlightforum.com/node/2603

tldr: somewhere in the range 600-6000 lies the truth.

Mechanic365

Lumen wrote: »

Dork yourself out.

http://thebrightsideforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=1212
http://budgetlightforum.com/node/2603

tldr: somewhere in the range 600-6000 lies the truth.

So basically if they work then dont worry about da Lumens :pac:

theMAC

Just put a similar post up..

I can recommend this one. Great Value for the Money and if you Manage it correctly... switching from high to low as the ambient light rises, you should see 4 hours plus usage. Only a single LED, but its a wide reflector and lights up the road brilliantly.

Kev

http://www.ebay.ie/itm/CREE-XM-L-XML-T6-LED-Bicycle-bike-Head-Light-Headlamp-Rechargeable-Head-Light-/171101883061?pt=UK_SportsLeisure_Camping_LightsLanternsTorches&hash=item27d6778ab5

Vizzy

Just bought one of these(or very similar) on fleabay about 10 mins ago.
It is zoomable so I will use it on the helmet for the MTB and use a cateye on the handlebars.

theMAC

I think most of the zoomables use a X5 LED so not as bright, but still very good. You do get better battery life with the X5 as well.

Vizzy

According to the advert it is a T6 so we will see what arrives:)

The reason that I went with the zoomable is to get maximum spread for use on fire tracks etc and I must admit I am hoping for 2-3 hours of battery as well.

theMAC

nice... Haven't seem a zoomable T6 yet. Have a couple of X5's. I have a bit of thing for LED lights Throw up a link when you get a chance. I think I'll have to order one for a look

Vizzy

Don't know if this worked but here is the link.
http://www.ebay.ie/itm/190881410105?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649

In the start of the ad there is a zoomable light but further down there is a photo of a non zoomable version so as I say, I will see what arrives

Mechanic365

theMAC wrote: »

I have a bit of thing for LED lights )

As an engineer once said to me, LED is the only man-made light that will exist in ten years!

theMAC

Mechanic365 wrote: »

As an engineer once said to me, LED is the only man-made light that will exist in ten years!

That's a good quote

inc21

Have my alarm set for 6 for a last couple of weeks now. Cup of coffee and then out on bike. Start of in dark and was using aldi 6.99 light to light my way.
It did the job to be honest only for me to change batteries yesterday and not secure it proper back on the bars and it fell and broke today. No big loss though.
It is deff worth doing. Hardest part is getting out of the bed but very little traffic, doesn't eat in to family time and you feel so good for the rest of the day.

Aldi light had nr. 36 on it. Not sure exactly what it stands for but if it is 36 lumen then 6000 is a bit of an over kill.

Mechanic365

inc21 wrote: »

Have my alarm set for 6 for a last couple of weeks now. Cup of coffee and then out on bike. Start of in dark and was using aldi 6.99 light to light my way.
It did the job to be honest only for me to change batteries yesterday and not secure it proper back on the bars and it fell and broke today. No big loss though.
It is deff worth doing. Hardest part is getting out of the bed but very little traffic, doesn't eat in to family time and you feel so good for the rest of the day.

Aldi light had nr. 36 on it. Not sure exactly what it stands for but if it is 36 lumen then 6000 is a bit of an over kill.

Well you will know if these lights are worth it when i get them, Im thinking something between 1000-1800 wouldve been good enough

Lumen

FWIW there is a "£20 Ebay special (CREE XM-L)" in this comparison.

http://road.cc/content/news/69237-big-roadcc-lights-test-2012

gallag

Would 6000 lumen not be a danger to other road users? Even if angled correctly a bump in the road could blind oncoming motorists/cyclists.

Lumen

gallag wrote: »

Would 6000 lumen not be a danger to other road users? Even if angled correctly a bump in the road could blind oncoming motorists/cyclists.

HID car headlamps put out a couple of thousand lumens each. They're self-levelling, but AFAIK that doesn't help when (for instance) going over speedbumps or humpback bridges.

I call BS on the 6000 lumens. That might be the theoretical max output but it depends a lot on current and cooling. 100 lumens/watt is more reasonable, and I doubt that an ebay-special light assembly can draw and dissipate 60W from batteries.

JazzyJ

Usually those types of LEDs give out around 1000Lm at 3A, so I'd say in reality with 3 LEDs it has an upper limit of around 3000Lm, and in practice it'll be lower than that. I've a similar enough light and it has a measured output of ~1600Lm.

6000Lm on the road definitely would be overkill. Offroad the more the better :pac:

gallag

Lumen wrote: »

HID car headlamps put out a couple of thousand lumens each. They're self-levelling, but AFAIK that doesn't help when (for instance) going over speedbumps or humpback bridges.

I call BS on the 6000 lumens. That might be the theoretical max output but it depends a lot on current and cooling. 100 lumens/watt is more reasonable, and I doubt that an ebay-special light assembly can draw and dissipate 60W from batteries.

Hid lights on a car are not focused like that on a bike, also it is a legal requirement that they have the right lenses and self levelling motors and even wash jets, perhaps there needs to be regulations on bicycle lights, some seem to think they are peddling a mobile disco that if on TV would require a warning to suffers of epilepsy.

theMAC

Lumen wrote: »

FWIW there is a "£20 Ebay special (CREE XM-L)" in this comparison.

http://road.cc/content/news/69237-big-roadcc-lights-test-2012

Great Link, some serious research there.

CatFromHue

http://eddys.com/articles/how-bright-is-that-light-ig493/

The above is a good comparison site of a few different lights.

Invincible

Mechanic365 wrote: »

Hi fellow cyclists,

Getting into winter i found I dont have time in the daylight to train so im changing over to night/early morning training from 5am to 8am or maybe 6.30pm to 9pm.

Some CRUD Mudguards and Continental Gator Hardshells are coming from wiggle but all the lights seemed overpriced and over complicated (anything over 1000 lumens that is).

So after that I went to ebay and got a shock, but i did my research and I said its well worth a chance.

Bought this http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/261330241591?var=560244088459&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

6600 Lumens is too much but it has dimmer modes so its going to last 2 hours anyway.
The three lenses seem like a good idea as the light isnt just going to be focused in one spot, of course you can also get wide angle lenses soo its all good.
From expierience i know that these lights give off an intense but non-powerful amount of heat, unlike normal halogens which basically heat up everything around it, so its design is also favourable for that reason.

So enough rambling whats your opinions on these Cree xml lights (produced by solar-storm afaik), And just like to know which you think is best.

Also I will edit this as soon as these arrive to give a review...

Did your lights arrive yet?