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cheap lights
NB: Originally posted elsewhere on the Global Riders Network and appears via syndication.
hey guys I'm doing a bit of entry level night riding to build up my confidence and I've just bought a pair of Lezyne mini drives
do you think these will be sufficient for some night riding, they're 150lumens
i paid 60 each for them, any recommendations or experience with these lights is welcome
so is any advice
thanks, mitch
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Personally I like enough light to turn night into day, which is why I have around 3000 lumens on the bars and 2000 lumens on the helmet. I reckon 1000 lumens would be a bare minimum for single track.
righto then i guess i better start saving and upgrade a little
what do you recommend?
1500 on the bars & a set of ayups on the helmet i can see everything & now know those gems that glow at night aint rocks..
My view is Ay-Ups lack the beam spread required for bar lights for twisty / techy singletrack.
Mine are a few years old now and could do with upgrading to the latest spec, but the high intensity hotspot and rapid fall-off to the sides means you have to fill in trail details from memory.
I found that a bit too hard at 4 in the morning at the Mont, so found myself tippy-toeing through many of the faster descending sections like Kowalksi's Sideshow.
Currently waiting for the BRC 4-emitter unit to come back in stock at Cell bikes. One of my team mates had one and it looked pretty good. More so that it was under $200.
Current spec Ay-Ups would still be good for helmet lights.
I ordered these Sat 5 May and have just seen they have been shipped over night.
http://www.dealextreme.com/p/t6-xml-t6-3-mode-12...
http://www.dealextreme.com/p/cree-t6-dual-xpe-r2...
For around $120 total, I thought I'd give them a go, now just have to wait for them to arrive, taking longer than I thought they would to get here.
http://www.dealextreme.com/p/mj-868-cree-xm-lt6-...
These are a bit pricey but I thought I would give them a go!
Ordered 12/5 and were shipped 21/5.
I've had issues ordering from dealextreme before and will probably never order from them again, but some people had different lucks with them.
2 months and still nothing so I cancelled the order.
I ordered cheap lights from ebay which looks similar to the one from dealextreme
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/250923041030?ssPageNa...
Haven't used it on a trail yet but it's very bright and for $50 good value for money, I've only used it to walk the dog at nights.
The handlebar mounts are quite flimsy though and will probably need reinforcing if you're going offroad with it, nothing a cable-tie can't fix.
Velcro is your friend. One side on bar, other on the light's rubber foot should do the trick
Cheap lights, great customer service and REAL overnight delivery...
http://magicshineledlights.com.au/index.php?rout...
These ones are have been really popular over the last couple of years, although the mount isn't up to racing as it can move around a little. But for the price.
http://magicshineledlights.com.au/index.php?rout...
Aware of the Magicshines, a few friends have them, but thought I'd live on the edge and try these others for research purposes and cause I'm a cheapskate......
Hi there,
I am not very happy to report that my recently acquired cheap lights from ebay (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?View...) is a little bit brighter than my $250ish Ay ups.
Probably the downside will be the battery life but only time will tell. So far the cheap ones have a slightly better illumination.
Another bad thing is that it doesn't come with all the mount options as the Ay-ups but I decided to keep the cheap ones on the handlebar and use the ayups in helmet.
Cheers
Interesting, let us know how they hold up after a few goes out on the trails.
It is no secret that the Ay-ups are not the brightest lights out there. They never have been, and they dont market themselves as such.
I am now on my fourth set, from the originals back in 2007, another set in 2008, another set in 2010 right up to the latest and greatest brand new ones. The improvements have been dramatic.
The one thing that has remained constant all along the way is the absolute quality of the construction and the excellent battery life. The 2007 lights were still going strong right up until they were traded in this year, and the original batteries last as long as ever.
The new 40% brighter lights are very very good, and the upgrade for existing customers is a great initiative.
Ay-up are also a fantastic supporter of racing, and every year for the last couple of years we have given away Ay-up lights at the 12 hour.
The magicshine or equivalent are perfectly fine lights though. Everything is better than what we used to have (halogen bulbs and NiMH batteries).
I did a 12 hour race in the Ferguson Valley area with Lead/Acid gel cell batteries. The batteries came from an old computer inverter power supply and sadly some of them were stuffed, which left me riding though a pine forest single-track in pitch darkness. I think I did about 120km and that was in the days when we had the nude lap.
Through a crash... I've inherited a Cygolite Tridon X. (Scratched up a friends light - I owe him a new one)
Very good beam - & great spread. Not cheap though... but great!!!
I also have a Cygolite Tridon X. Great light, good quality, light weight, good spread of the beam, great handle bar and helmet mounts. chrischris you say they aren't cheap, compared to ebay specials, which don't have great mounts, battery life, and quality construction your right. But compared to Ayups, and other brand lights with quality construction and mounts. I think they are extremely good value for money for the light output and contruction. There lightout put is exactly what they claim, my 600 lumen light seems alot brighter with better spread that some of these 1000 lumen cheapy lights.
Ultrafire flashlights, they have a decent range.
you pay only about $20~30 for a 1000 lumen flashlight. Can also get a Twofish Lockblock (or similiar) mount for your bike.
Only down side is that they don't run on traditional AA/AAA batteries.
Ordered one through Dealextreme, you can get them on ebay too.
Agreed Floydo. My Triden is a 750 lumen. I have no experience with any other lights, so I can't compare... but around $300 is a lot of money for me.
High quality is important to me, so I hope I get a few years out of it! The spread was fantastic. Even coming into a tight corner with the light on my bars, I could still see around the corner enough. After seeing others using K-lites at the Paterson 24hr, I still would prefer those, but they do cost more.
Try these 36,000 lumen lights, you might have to buy some wider bars tho
http://www.aussietoughlights.com.au/Worker%20Ser...
Hi p2tx8
how are your cheap lights going??
are you happy with them and the battery life?
I am looking at buying some
thanks
magsy
lezyne mini drive though $57 and only 150lumens is excellent
if your looking in the same price range there is an extremely cheap 300lumen reputable brand light on cycling express
hey how are those lights going
42 for 1800 lumens, i want
Most LBS are creating there own light units for under $150 up to 1600 lumens. These LED kits are manufactured in Asia and decal with what ever label you want.
Carine Cycles has there own and they are awesome.