Decent Lights

Hi all,

if anyone is interested in decent lights for their bike, I purchased a Light and motion Li-ion light at the weekend and boy is it bright Much better than the piddly light supplied with the bike but then it does cost a good proportion of a bike!

I spent a good while compairing different lights from the cheapo £20 right up to a Lupine which was ridiculously expensive. I'm even looking forward to the dark ride home, although it won't be dark anymore

thanks

Jed

Jed

Wow, those are expensive lights!!! Please keep us updated and let us know if you think they are worth the high price tag, pros / cons, strengths / weaknesses, e.t.c.

I might look into getting some of them if they are worth the money.

John

Hi Jed,

I have also got an Arc Li-Ion and it is a very good light. Not quite as bright as the Lupine Edison but very close and in fact, I prefer the beam pattern of the Arc.

As you say John they are hideously expensive for a light but I've found that car drivers do give you more respect out on the road. They are also very good in the wet and still light up the road well where a cheaper light would just scatter the light everywhere.

Have you got the Ultra model Jed?

Do these Li-ion batteries for these lights last ok from your experience, only they seem expensive to replace?

John

I bought my Arc about 18 months ago and used it every day last winter. I stopped using it in March this year and stored it in the shed with a full charge. When I started using the light again last month it lasted just as long as a normal charge so it has appeared it lost practically no charge in 6 months which is quite amazing.

I think the bulb will probably need replacing before this battery gives out!

How do these lights compare to the Lumotec lights which have the good reputation?

Could these lights possibly attached to the main battery (if the correct voltage and ampage regulators could be found) or is the battery that comes with it unobtrusive (just conscious that I dont want too many 'extras' clipped, strapped and taped all over my nice new bike)?

Thanks

John

Hello John,

I have not seen the Lumotec lights so I cannot compare. In the shop the salesman there demonstrated a few other lights but none were as bright (or costly!

The battery on the Light and Motion sits very snuggly against the top bar. I just wind the cable round the frame a few times to take up the slack.

I'll report back on strenghts / weaknesses once I have had them a bit longer. The only downside so far is they are not designed to be turned on and off a lot. The bulbs have a shortetr lifespan than the halogen bulbs so they are more suited to longer rides.

thanks

Jed

There won't be many lights that are as bright as the HID lights.

Some people swear by a Lumotec and Schmidt hub if you don't want the cost associated with HID or the hassle of charging.

An alternative is to use an overvoltaged halogen MR16 which can easily match a HID but your battery will suffer with a reduced burntime.

How do these lights compare to the Lumotec lights which have the good reputation?

 

Could these lights possibly attached to the main battery (if the correct voltage and ampage regulators could be found) or is the battery that comes with it unobtrusive (just conscious that I dont want too many 'extras' clipped, strapped and taped all over my nice new bike)?

 

Thanks

 

John

Yes Ive seen those MR16's on BatterySpace.com specializes in universal power supplies like rechargeable batteries and chargers, it says they run VERY hot and that you shouldnt stop if you have them switched on, and also, they wont warranty anything they ship from the US, so I didnt like the sound of them.

I am now interested in knowing if anyone owns or knows anything on the NiteRider MOAB HID lights. These seem to have the longest runtime of any HID I can find, and would in theory mean only 1 charge a week for my 2 hours a day commute.

http://www.niterider.com/images/User_Guides/9.Moab.pdf

Does anyone have an opinion on these lights?

John

All

A bit extra information on these MOAB's, it appears that they have a good taillight too (Niterider Tail Bike Light at Price Point) and in the US (Niterider Moab Li-Ion LED HID Bike Lights at Price Point) at $519 are CONSIDERABLY cheaper than the best UK price I can find of £475.00 considering exchange rates, shipping and potentially import tax.

Going to the point of buying online at the store for just the front light, it came to $621.21 inc shipping, which is £314.81 according to xe.com, so you could save around £100 on the best UK price even if you had to pay import duty and buy a travel adapter for the plug, interesting....

John

John,

some links which you might find useful to help you make your decision:

NiteRider Moab Reviews, Specs and Shopping

Mountain Biking Product Spotlight: MTBR Lights Shine-Off

If you want the brightest tail-light check out the Dinotte !

Thanks Russ,

I must admit, in that comparison, the best HID lights were the Lupines, but it seems that they have their problems too (Lupine Eddison 5 - BIKEmagic Forum Messages) where although the review was fantastic, the user reviews were not so (but mainly based on the customer service)

This is tricky, I want great lights and dont mind paying, but if they break on their own, I want them repaired, or replaced without quibble.

Does anyone think those MR16s from Batteryspace are good, any experiences anyone?

John

Hi John,

I also have the Edison 10. It's a long story but I bought the Arc last year as I didn't want to fork out £600 for the Edison. It turned out a week later that a chap was selling two Edison 10's on eBay for £295 each so I bought one! My reason at the time was that my other half could have the Arc but she never used it so now I have both. Totally overkill I know. The Edison is easily the brighter of the two, but based on retail price it's not worth the extra. Both lights have been faultless though.

Thanks for those links Russell. It appears to me (after searching all the forums on HID lighting I can find) that the top HID lights available seem to be:-

IMHO

Brightest - 30w MR16 from Batteryspace.com rated at a massive 1850/100w halogen equiv. lumens which reviews reckon is as bright as a car headlight on full beam. Unforunately, Batteryspace offer no warranty at all outside the US - bummer.

1st - Lupine edison 10 with the 16w bulb, very bright but very expensive.

2nd - L & M Arc Ultra with the 13.5w bulb, good reviews and good build quality.

3rd - Niterider MOAB with a 12w bulb and I chose this one as 3rd due to the massive battery life. Even on the highest setting, it will still give you 8 hours of light, which if you have the potential to 'forget to charge' your battery, is a huge bonus for commuters.

Im sure that there are many other contenders for the 3rd spot, but most of them on full power have only 1-4 hours max battery life.

As I said In My Humble Opinion.

John

For brightness there is also the:

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/ProductDetail.aspx?W=0&Manufacturer=&UberCatName=&Cat=cycle&CategoryName=Lights%20-%20Front&ProdID=5360019353&UberCat=0

But a burntime of only 2hrs on 28W

Even on the 10W setting, the Edison is on a par with other HID lights and that gives you a 10 hr burntime.

A downside with the Arc is that there is little warning before the battery runs out. The switch on the back flashes with about 5-10 minutes to go which could be a problem if you are out in the sticks!

The Edison is much better and gives 1/2 to over 1 hr warning on the high setting. If you ignore that eventually it will switch to low but still provides light for quite some time afterwards. I like the PCS switch of the Edison which is quite informative at a glance while riding. It also flashes when you connect the light to the battery to tell you the voltage remaining.

For brightness there is also the:

 

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/ProductDetail.aspx?W=0&Manufacturer=&UberCatName=&Cat=cycle&CategoryName=Lights%20-%20Front&ProdID=5360019353&UberCat=0

 

But a burntime of only 2hrs on 28W

Caramba!

" pay only £666.79 "

It's the lighting system of the beast!

I was thinking more along the lines of two cheap lightweight plastic cased fog lights on a bell push in series with my 24v pack for those "gotta see better" moments or to flash at traffic.

Look, you could melt tarmac within seconds with these for £27 delivered.

If you gotta carry big motor batteries, you might as well use 'em.

eBay.co.uk: SIRIUS WORLD SMALLEST FOG LIGHT LAMP (item 200053082674 end time 08-Dec-06 22:46:09 GMT) specs here: Untitled Document

In fact, they're so cheap I bought 'em. There's these other ones though:

eBay.co.uk: SIRIUS PROJECTOR DRIVING FOG LIGHTS HID FEELING (item 200053082531 end time 08-Dec-06 22:45:42 GMT)

Edited December 6, 200619 yr by tallbloke

£666.79! Wow and I though my Arc was expensive!

One thing I do like about my Arc is that the light can swivel. All in all it feels like a very solid light and will last me many years.

thanks

Jed

It's getting daft! Soon an electric bike will be thrown in with a new light as a promotional aid.

Either that or people will be asking if they can run their electric bike motors off the light batteries

I've got a story associated with lights that I find really funny. An obviously technically unaware local 13 year old was asking about my Torq and asked what the dynamo was. To explain, I engaged it with the tyre wall and lifted the front of the bike, opening the throttle to run the wheel up to speed, showing the headlight on.

Missing the point completely, he thought from the demonstration that the dynamo was the motor that drove the bike and remarked how powerful it was!

Hope he doesn't join the trade when he leaves school.

I've got a story associated with lights that I find really funny. An obviously technically unaware local 13 year old was asking about my Torq and asked what the dynamo was. To explain, I engaged it with the tyre wall and lifted the front of the bike, opening the throttle to run the wheel up to speed, showing the headlight on.

 

Missing the point completely, he thought from the demonstration that the dynamo was the motor that drove the bike and remarked how powerful it was!

 

Hope he doesn't join the trade when he leaves school.

Let's hope he is not related to the chap when I was at school many years ago who decided to decoke an exhaust while it was still attached to the bike in a shed. I guess you can figure out the rest of the story! It rhymes with 'room' !

I use my Torq on an unlit cycle track, (disused railway). The LED supplied was useless and I choice a Light & Motion 'Solo Logic' Halogen light. The lens can be focused to give a spotlight type beam or diffused to give a broader, wider but less 'headlamp' type beam. It cost about £150 and has NiMH battery pack with about a 2 hr beam time at full power. There are three power settings with proportionally greater beam time. The Cycle-Dealer showed me other systems but I believe more light is better than less, as this is the only light available on my commute.

Jaytee

Can anyone advise whether or not HIDs are too bright for road commuting use as in does it blind the on-coming drivers any more than car headlights do?

What do people think?

The HID lights are generally designed for off-road use. In fact in Germany, where the Lupine is produced, it is illegal to use the Edison on the road.

I find if you angle the light carefully it generally doesn't bother other road users. If someone does flash me, I just angle it forward a little until they have passed.