Night lights

Discussion in 'Lights' started by verdugist, Oct 3, 2015.


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  1. verdugist

    verdugist Guest

    Didn't know where to post this gear related question so here it is.

    Days are shortening as we all know. I am using a head lamp (Vitchelo on amazon) and a handle bar lamp (Brightest light on amazon, but it's a b.s. name actually) for pre-dawn riding nowadays. Seems sufficient for climbing but not strong enough for descents. Both are non-rechargeable. And obviously you always need a standby in case one battery dies (and it's pitch black while you descending - seems scary).

    What lights do you guys use for night riding?

    I'm considering these:

    Bright Eyes Rechargeable POWERFUL 1200 LUMENS Bike Headlight - 4 NEWLY UPGRADED FEATURES and ADDITIONS (See 2nd image) - FREE TAILLIGHT For Limited Time - WATERPROOF -...

    http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GJZ015Y/?tag=imtbtrails-20

    NiteRider Lumina 750 Headlight

    http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LEWKHCE/?tag=imtbtrails-20
     
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  2. doublewide

    doublewide iMTB Rockstah

    Name:
    Mark
    Current Bike:
    Santa Cruz Tallcan
    I like this night light. It's much bigger on the inside.

    eee6_tardis_night_light_inuse.jpg
     
    Mikie, shawndoh, Danmtchl and 10 others like this.
  3. GregMiester

    GregMiester Member

    Location:
    La Verne
    Name:
    Greg
    Current Bike:
    2014 Giant XTC Advanced 2
    I like my cygolite trident, small and powerful. One on the bar is all I use. The battery pack straps to the stem securely. I still tend to climb in the dark if there is a bright moon out, but that's just my preference. It last several hours(mine is an older model, I'm sure the newer ones are better even) and is rechargeable. I have nothing to compare it to but it works great as far as I'm concerned and has never let me down.
     
  4. Danimal

    Danimal iMTB Addict

    Location:
    Mission Viejo
    Name:
    Dan
    Current Bike:
    Epic Evo
    Lights, don't need no stinking lights!
    Where's the adventure in that....:cool:
     
    Mikie, DangerDirtyD, Danmtchl and 4 others like this.
  5. BonsaiNut

    BonsaiNut iMTB Rockstah

    Location:
    Troutman, NC
    Name:
    Greg P
    Current Bike:
    Santa Cruz Hightower CC XX1
    I use night vision goggles.

    maxresdefault.jpg

    BTW in case anyone is wondering, I am just kidding :)
     
    Mikie, Danmtchl, ridinrox and 4 others like this.
  6. Runs with Scissors

    Runs with Scissors iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    West Anaheim
    Name:
    Mark Whitaker
    Current Bike:
    Giant XTC with pedals
    Lumina 750. With that, there is no darkness.
     
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  7. pperrelle

    pperrelle iMTB Rockstah

    Location:
    Oracle, AZ
    Name:
    Paul
    Current Bike:
    Ripley V4 & Ripmo V2
    I run a Gloworm X1(900 lumens) on the helmet and the X2(1,500 lumens) on the bars. Plenty of light for any situation and decent battery life for the amount of light you get. Days are getting shorter now, so the lights are starting to come out.
    X1_5fb1c97d-f4cf-40d7-b80d-de125c2f0e16_large.jpg
    X2_large.jpg
     
  8. BonsaiNut

    BonsaiNut iMTB Rockstah

    Location:
    Troutman, NC
    Name:
    Greg P
    Current Bike:
    Santa Cruz Hightower CC XX1
    I am going to delete this post and do a better write-up. This current post has some math errors that I want to address while still keeping the post simple to understand.

    mah_large_1000mA.png
     
  9. Rob S.

    Rob S. Member

    Location:
    La Habra, CA
    Name:
    Rob Skinner
    That one looks fine. I gave away all my American/European brand lights, and prefer the inexpensive Chinese models. Their names are different, but they all look alike (the lights, not Chinese models). My main advice would be to get TWO lights, one for your bars, one for your helmet. The helmet mount will shine the light where you want to go, but it flattens out the terrain. The bar mount shows the features of the trail better. And with two lights, you have redundancy. Trust me here and get two.

    Of the lights like the one in your picture, I've found the biggest difference to be in the diffusers. A plain spot is not good, you need some diffusion. It's a matter of getting the right reflector and lens. Aftermarket lenses are available for a couple bucks. I've etched and polished my own lenses, but can't say whether it's better than just buying them off the shelf. A sand blaster or emery cloth are all you need to experiment on your own.

    I'm running Magicshine lights right now. They're probably at least five years old, and they work fine, although I replaced the batteries a year ago. At the time I replaced the batteries, I tried new Chinese clone lights, and found them to be no different than my old 'shines. 900 lumens? 1200? I can't tell a difference. I think the manufacturers just pull the number out of their butts, perhaps using theoretical brightness, but never testing the actual light output.

    Batteries are important. With these inexpensive imports, it's a crap shoot. The batteries are not as good as the expensive lights that you can buy. Many of the lights come with batteries that are just soldered and held together with shrink tubing, and that's held to the bike in a cheesy nylon and velcro case. The batteries I'm using now came from a guy named Chris Evan on Amazon. They're contained in a plastic case and have stretchy rubber straps. I like them a lot. I see that he's also selling complete lights for about the same price as the one you're looking at. I'd go with his stuff just because I've had good experience with him in the past.

    I've had friends who show up to ride with newfangled lights from local boutique manufacturers, and their performance is not as good as my lights.
     
  10. rojomas

    rojomas Member

    Location:
    Kookamongus
    Name:
    Oxx
    Current Bike:
    Carbon Intense Tracer 275
    This light works just fine. They're plenty bright and plenty of run time. A few years ago it was going under a different name (Magic Shine) and everyone was going crazy for them. If you look around, that same light is known by many different names and can be had for cheaper. I hear people talk about how they're crap and to buy Nightrider, Light & Motion or Lynzene. But for those prices you could buy 10 of MS lights that work just as good. Mine has lasted now for 4 years and replacement batteries are fairly cheap.
     
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  11. mtnbikej

    mtnbikej J-Zilla

    Location:
    Orange
    Name:
    J
    Current Bike:
    SC Chameleon SS, SC Hightower
    I'm trying to remember the last time I had to charge my Niterider battery in a metal box to prevent it from burning down my house when it overheated.

    Plus I still have a couple of Niterider HID's that are going on 8 years old, and they still work without issue, and I ride a lot at night, so they get a lot of use.

    Also there is company support if/when I need it. Kinda tired of the "the lights are cheap, they are disposable."

    They are not for me.

    But it if they get you out on the trails...enjoy.
     
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  12. rojomas

    rojomas Member

    Location:
    Kookamongus
    Name:
    Oxx
    Current Bike:
    Carbon Intense Tracer 275
    They are cheap, they are disposable and they work good.
    BTW, not mine nor anyone else's house that I know that uses them has burned down. The problem you are referring to was with the first generation MS and was an isolated incident.
     
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  13. mtnbikej

    mtnbikej J-Zilla

    Location:
    Orange
    Name:
    J
    Current Bike:
    SC Chameleon SS, SC Hightower

    But led to a massive recall, that eventually drove one of the importers out of business.
     
  14. rojomas

    rojomas Member

    Location:
    Kookamongus
    Name:
    Oxx
    Current Bike:
    Carbon Intense Tracer 275
    I believe Geoman got crushed because he had a hand in the development of the MS brand and took on the full responsibility of all the recalls regardless of where it was purchased. He did the right thing in honoring the recall, because he was partially responsible for the design flaw.
    But to not purchase a product just because of a "was", is like to never buy another product again. Almost all products have had problems in the past. It's called, "working the bugs out" .
     
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  15. Rob S.

    Rob S. Member

    Location:
    La Habra, CA
    Name:
    Rob Skinner
    J,
    I'm glad the company that sold you the overpriced lights will stand behind them when they fail. Luckily, my 5+ year old imports work flawlessly. So tired or not, you're going to have to try harder to convince some of us that spending four times as much on a Niterider is going to be a better riding experience than buying a clone off of Amazon.

    Verdugo, check this out:
    http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00N29MBFS/?tag=imtbtrails-20
    http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00RKP6GZG/?tag=imtbtrails-20

    Two lights, two diffuser lenses, one hundred bucks. Or you can get the equivalent number of lumens from a Niterider from Jenson and pay four hundred.
     
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  16. Varaxis

    Varaxis Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Perris
    Name:
    Dan Vu
    Current Bike:
    Yeti SB5c ('16 Yellow v1)
    MS weren't overpriced. Prices merely went down since then, and they are continuing to charge the same amount. They're relatively overpriced now. Had mine for 3 years or so. Used them a few days ago, so still paying off on what I paid for them. The cheaper you go, the more likely they are to be thrown away. They helped bring the prices down on a lot of lights out there... markup is huge on bike lights.

    Nitefighter BT40 and the Nitefighter BT21S and the YinDing seem to be the most popular ones with the enthusiasts currently, that work out of the box without modding needed. The Nitefighter battery packs are said to be top quality and worth the "premium". Can find them on Gearbest.
     
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  17. Danmtchl

    Danmtchl iMTB Rockstah

    Location:
    Bakersfield
    Name:
    Dan
    Current Bike:
    2020 Trek Fuel EX 9.7
    I use a Niterider Pro 1200 on the bar and a Lumina 750 on my helmet. They work great for my conditions. The only problem I have is that NR does not make a 35mm bar clamp.

    I have used Niteriders for years and they make a great product and stand behind them. I have tried other brands like Serfas and Marwi, good but always went back to NR.
     
  18. verdugist

    verdugist Guest

    Thanks for the replies, I'll need to check out some of these options. And yes, I'll definitely be going with two strong lights. If and when I go as I have a bag of frozen peas on my knee now. I just bought a pair of Fox Launch Pro knee pads.
     
    Mikie likes this.
  19. verdugist

    verdugist Guest

    I would hope so. They are very expensive in comparison but durability/longevity matter. Maybe they last longer than the cheaper chinese options.
     
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  20. verdugist

    verdugist Guest

    I see that the Niterider has a low battery indicator. This seems light a very nice feature:

    http://www.rei.com/product/880093/niterider-lumina-750-front-bike-light

    Do those cheaper ones have that feature?

    Also, how many of the models have a low/med/hi setting? Seems the Niterider 750 has hi/lo only.

    Also, one of the REI reviews in link above complain about damage after exposure to rain. Are these waterproof?
     
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  21. mtnbikej

    mtnbikej J-Zilla

    Location:
    Orange
    Name:
    J
    Current Bike:
    SC Chameleon SS, SC Hightower
    My Niterider Pro 1200 DIY has infinite settings.....plug it into the computer and I can create customized programs for light output and burn times. Well worth the $229 I paid for it.
     
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  22. verdugist

    verdugist Guest

    Ok sure that's interesting that it's configurable. But it costs half as much as my entire DB bike. But I guess if you use it a lot it's worth it (if it lasts long).

    https://www.niterider.com/

    The pic of the biker descending with exposure in the dark is satanic. Yeah that looks very scary. :eek:
     
  23. verdugist

    verdugist Guest

    So this one is the beastmaster:

    https://www.niterider.com/product/pro-3600-diy-led-remote/

    Very pricey at$700 but according to tech specs you can run it in low mode @ 1000 lumens for approx. 6hrs. So that means start at midnite and ride til (almost) dawn. Perfect for a Halloween adventure.

    Apparently, not advertised to be water-proof which would be a major issue at that price point.
     
  24. mtnbikej

    mtnbikej J-Zilla

    Location:
    Orange
    Name:
    J
    Current Bike:
    SC Chameleon SS, SC Hightower
    Don't get hung up on the number of lumens the light puts out.

    Anything over 1500 and all it does is just white wash out the contours of the trail.

    Same goes for the helmet mount....too bright, and if you are not the rider out front, you can't see anything...just like being in a whiteout or fog caused by the dust from the other rider.
     
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  25. verdugist

    verdugist Guest

    I'm actually considering getting both the lights now (Bright Eyes and Chris Evans you recommended) with diffusors. Do you know if either or both of these are helmet mountable or only for handle bars?
     
    Mikie likes this.
  26. Cisco Roots

    Cisco Roots Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Maple Valley WA
    Name:
    Cisco
    Current Bike:
    Yeti SB140 LR
    I run NR Lumina 750 on the handlebar and 250 on the helmet. Have ridden quite a bit at night and this combo works for me. I agree with @Rob S. , if you're gonna ride at night, have 2 lights, one for your handlebar and one for your helmet.

    I've ridden with folks that have the Chinese models and they also seem to work well although my only knock would be the battery that you have to mount and the routing of the cable as opposed to the internal battery of NR.

    http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00O8FP4GI/?tag=imtbtrails-20

    http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LEX1YUC/?tag=imtbtrails-20
     
    Mikie likes this.
  27. evdog

    evdog iMTB Rockstah

    Location:
    San diego
    Name:
    Evan S
    I bought a couple of these last year, they were $17ea at the time including free shipping. They are light weight, 3 brightness settings, batts last about 3 hours, and work with my 5-year old and still not burned up magicshine batteries. Reliable so far. As good as the unnecessarily expensive lights everyone else seems to insist on buying. And when I break them I'm out $23 not 100's. While you can you don't need to spend a lot of money for good lights. And unless you know you'll use them a lot, it seems foolish to spend a lot.

    http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00F9UZABA?refRID=JB2FK5G3AE2R811DKJ8B&ref_=pd_bia_yo_t_6

    Plenty of similar inexpensive listings on amazon.
     
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  28. verdugist

    verdugist Guest

    Thanks much for pointing this out. This seems to be the major difference. Not sure how the cheaper ones use these massive battery packs and the NR's have much smaller internal batteries and seem to run almost as long. The only cheaper one I might buy would be this one based on the reviews:

    http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00N29MBFS/?tag=imtbtrails-20

    But even this one has discrepancy in the battery rating and the company rep stated they would update the pic and it's not even updated but it's encouraging that he responds at least.

    Other issue is crashing and breaking is probably not covered under warranty (minus for the NR's then as they're expensive).

    Only main problem I have is that I'd need to run on high power with the 750 for at least 1.5 hrs as that's how long it takes me to run my regular climb/descend route in Verdugos (La Tuna).
     
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  29. mtnbikej

    mtnbikej J-Zilla

    Location:
    Orange
    Name:
    J
    Current Bike:
    SC Chameleon SS, SC Hightower
    That is a misconception ....

    You do not have to have your lights blowing full lumens when going uphill. You are just wasting battery power. You are not going fast enough to not be able to see what is in front of you.

    I have mine set to burn at 150 lumens for the majority of the climbing.
     
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  30. Danmtchl

    Danmtchl iMTB Rockstah

    Location:
    Bakersfield
    Name:
    Dan
    Current Bike:
    2020 Trek Fuel EX 9.7
    I run both my lights on medium and it is more than enough light, plus it lasts a lot longer.

    As mentioned above you do not need full lumens, for example, I have demoed the Pro 3600 and where I live running it at full power, the ground has a sheen and makes it harder to see in front of you and is almost blinding from the reflection off the ground. A good place for that light would be up in the hills of Santa Cruz.

    As far as I know all the Lumina and Pro models have 3 light settings (high, med, low).

    They are waterproof, I have ridden in the rain before with no problems.

    The new Lumina 800 has a digital indicator looks cool, but will see when we get a few in.
     
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As a former Amazon Associate I continue to get screwed trying to stay qualified as an Amazon Affiliate. So I quit!


Want to donate to imtbtrails?