We're talking about bicycle lights where you want, bright enough to see the road/path clearly in dark unlit conditiond, lightweight, reliability, convenience, duration enough for your longest journey. The light detailed in the first post meets those tequirements very well. I can't think hy anybody would want anything else.

Beam shape...

I ditched the light in the first post a very long time ago, in favour of a Magicshine Eagle F3*, that suits my requirements perfectly.

I still frequently privately recommend the light in the first post though, if someone is looking for a cheap light, as there is absolutely no reason not to. For value for money, I don't think that it can be bettered, but for my off road use, the beam shape is just doesn't work.

 

 

*I didn't pay very much for it.

 

 

.

Beam shape...

Good point. Well presented.

 

Yes, it has a very good beam shape for riding on the road and unlit cycle paths as far as the rider is concerned. I've never been flashed by any cars, but I do angle it down a bit when there's cars about. The best thing about these lights is the elastic mounting, so when the cars don't dip, you grab hold of it and point it directly at the driver. That makes them dip very quickly. I guarantee it.

I thought that I was the only one that twists the front light as you do. It is the one thing that I miss when using the Magicshine. The mount is ridgid, so instead, I just increase the beam, then the spot mode. Naughty, I know.

I just used it for this

...

That shows the beam shape pretty well.

Can't use it on my roads. Mine is flat at the top and wider. One day I'll like my camera again and take it out.

The Magicshine Eagle F3. I'll take this any night of the week.

 

 

Edited November 25, 20178 yr by EddiePJ

The Magicshine Eagle F3. I'll take this any night of the week.

That light output is really impressive! So I checked out the Magicshine website, and see it has a 1/2kg battery pack that only lasts for 1.5 hrs at full tilt (those 4 x Cree XM-L2s really suck the juice it seems)!

 

And then I saw this, which they say is Magicshines most popular light, and uses just one Cree XM-L2. Looks very similar in style and spec to d8vehs... except this one costs £60!

 

http://www.magicshineuk.co.uk/bike-lights/front-bike-lights/mj-858-1000-lumens-2015-model.html

 

I recently bought one of the ones below, which has consistently been in Amazons top 5 "best selling" bike-light list for ages. Again like d8veh's, it's just a single Cree XM-L2 (which is why I chose it), but with a smaller, very compact, sealed solid plastic cased 2 x 18650 4400mAh tube-mount battery pack... which does last 3+hours at full brightness. The real issue is that it runs at cell voltage (4.2v@1.25A), so it's under-driving the Cree and giving less than the possible max 1200 Lumen output to start with, and fades further/a little as the cell voltage gradually drops. It does have a really nice solid/rigid clamp rather than a stretchy rubber band mount, and the best bit (for me) is that it uses a USB connector, so you can run it much brighter at 5.2v@1.8A (measured) off a separate/normal USB battery pack if you need even brighter light and/or longer runtime (and you recharge it off a standard USB too, so no dedicated 8.4v charger needed). In truth, because of the lower 3.7-5.2 running voltage it's not going to be as bright as d8vehs running at 8.4v, and so I doubt it'd be the best choice for full off-road/MTB use as some of you guys need, but it's still a great, more-than-bright-enough alternative for commuting/trail/on-road use. It's £25 at Amazon.

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Te-Rich-Rechargeable-HeadLights-Waterproof-Taillight/dp/B01HI48VKQ/

That light output is really impressive! So I checked out the Magicshine website, and see it has a 1/2kg battery pack that only lasts for 1.5 hrs at full tilt (those 4 x Cree XM-L2s really suck the juice it seems)!

 

I must admit that I very rarely ever use the light at it's max. There are three modes, diffused beam, spot beam, and combined beam. I tend to use the diffused beam, set to maximum power setting. Using this combination, I only charge the light every other night ride, with each ride lasting 2.5hrs-3hrs as an average. Sometimes less, sometimes more.

I commend this one for your attention https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/10000Lumen-2x-XM-L2-LED-Bicycle-Bike-light-Cycling-Front-Head-Headlight-Headlamp/322587017989?hash=item4b1baf4305:m:mM6EUIoTMI8im8IGU7eh6Jw

 

However I recommend keeping your eye open for the same item offered without the charger and batteries and instead use it with a decent quality set of batteries in an 8.4V waterproof holder charged separately on a decent charger. Bought that way it costs peanuts (I paid £8 for mine) and much safer - I would personally never risk using any of the cheap charger/battery packs.

 

This light seems to have a much more usable beam pattern than most as one of the twin LEDs is the usual spot focus but the other has a fresnelly lens thing spreading the light into a very nice and wide horizontal bar so you get good near peripheral vision as well as distance. On the ebay page look at the 'low power' beamshot to see the shape, not the overexposed blobs on the high power pictures.

 

Colour rendition is reasonable, a bit nicer than some of the normally harsh blue-white cheap bike lights but nothing like a high CRI Zebralight in terms of either rendition or brigthness, nor price of course.

 

User interface is very simple, it would be nice if you could independently switch the two beams on and off but you can't, just a choice of brightness or flash.

That light output is really impressive! So I checked out the Magicshine website, and see it has a 1/2kg battery pack that only lasts for 1.5 hrs at full tilt (those 4 x Cree XM-L2s really suck the juice it seems)!

 

And then I saw this, which they say is Magicshines most popular light, and uses just one Cree XM-L2. Looks very similar in style and spec to d8vehs... except this one costs £60!

 

[ATTACH=full]22252[/ATTACH]

http://www.magicshineuk.co.uk/bike-lights/front-bike-lights/mj-858-1000-lumens-2015-model.html

 

I recently bought one of the ones below, which has consistently been in Amazons top 5 "best selling" bike-light list for ages. Again like d8veh's, it's just a single Cree XM-L2 (which is why I chose it), but with a smaller, very compact, sealed solid plastic cased 2 x 18650 4400mAh tube-mount battery pack... which does last 3+hours at full brightness. The real issue is that it runs at cell voltage (4.2v@1.25A), so it's under-driving the Cree and giving less than the possible max 1200 Lumen output to start with, and fades further/a little as the cell voltage gradually drops. It does have a really nice solid/rigid clamp rather than a stretchy rubber band mount, and the best bit (for me) is that it uses a USB connector, so you can run it much brighter at 5.2v@1.8A (measured) off a separate/normal USB battery pack if you need even brighter light and/or longer runtime (and you recharge it off a standard USB too, so no dedicated 8.4v charger needed). In truth, because of the lower 3.7-5.2 running voltage it's not going to be as bright as d8vehs running at 8.4v, and so I doubt it'd be the best choice for full off-road/MTB use as some of you guys need, but it's still a great, more-than-bright-enough alternative for commuting/trail/on-road use. It's £25 at Amazon.

 

[ATTACH=full]22253[/ATTACH]

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Te-Rich-Rechargeable-HeadLights-Waterproof-Taillight/dp/B01HI48VKQ/

 

Ahhh, this explains, I think, why my two cree solar storm out performs my 3 cree version

 

The two cree runs off USB packs, the 3 cree one off 8.4v of 18650

I commend this one for your attention... 10000Lumen 2x XM-L2-LED... it costs peanuts (I paid £8 for mine)

This may well be a very good bike light, and I wouldn't argue with that if it suits your purpose.

 

But it always confuses me how any seller can claim any XM-L light can produce 10,000 Lumens when the latest XM-L2 is (from Cree's own website) the "highest performing commercially available single-die LED"... and the XM-L2 produces a maximum of 1198 Lumens? (I think the original XM-L was about 1000 Lumens IIRC).

 

And how can they do the complete light with 2 x XM-L2 for £8 when the bare, genuine XM-L2 LEDs just on their own cost between £2.50 and £4 each? (The cost difference is between the colour temperature - warm/cool light).

 

There is some info out there which explains how to tell an L2 from the original L... and how to spot a fake.

This may well be a very good bike light, and I wouldn't argue with that if it suits your purpose.

 

But it always confuses me how any seller can claim any XM-L light can produce 10,000 Lumens when the latest XM-L2 is (from Cree's own website) the "highest performing commercially available single-die LED"... and the XM-L2 produces a maximum of 1198 Lumens? (I think the original XM-L was about 1000 Lumens IIRC).

 

And how can they do the complete light with 2 x XM-L2 for £8 when the bare, genuine XM-L2 LEDs just on their own cost between £2.50 and £4 each? (The cost difference is between the colour temperature - warm/cool light).

 

There is some info out there which explains how to tell an L2 from the original L... and how to spot a fake.

 

Oh, that's easy to answer - China uses a special type of lumen that does higher numbers. Obviously none of these cheapy lights produce anywhere near the claimed output.

 

The output from this one is *nowhere near* the output from a selectively binned Cree in a properly engineered torch driven hard by a top class driver - but neither are any bike lights I've seen. That said it is a reasonable bit brighter than my sample of the lamp originally recommended in this thread. You do have to be realistic in what you expect from an £8 light and I'm very aware its lifetime could be anywhere from 15 minutes to a few years.

Oh, that's easy to answer - China uses a special type of lumen that does higher numbers. Obviously none of these cheapy lights produce anywhere near the claimed output.

 

The output from this one is *nowhere near* the output from a selectively binned Cree in a properly engineered torch driven hard by a top class driver - but neither are any bike lights I've seen. That said it is a reasonable bit brighter than my sample of the lamp originally recommended in this thread. You do have to be realistic in what you expect from an £8 light and I'm very aware its lifetime could be anywhere from 15 minutes to a few years.

...Obviously none of these cheapy lights produce anywhere near the claimed output.

Obvious to who exactly? Clearly a lot of folk on this and other cycle forums (you included) are fairly clued up, but I'd argue not the majority who frequent Ebay.

 

If I buy a product clearly advertised as McVities Jaffa Cakes I expect exactly that... not some poor, crass, half-baked imitation without *any* orange goo in them... even if they do taste half reasonable and appear ridiculously cheap!

Obvious to who exactly? Clearly a lot of folk on this and other cycle forums (you included) are fairly clued up, but I'd argue not the majority who frequent Ebay.

 

If I buy a product clearly advertised as McVities Jaffa Cakes I expect exactly that... not some poor, crass, half-baked imitation without *any* orange goo in them... even if they do taste half reasonable and appear ridiculously cheap!

 

Yes, but. If those jaffa cakes were advertised on ebay by an unknown seller in China offering to sell them at 5p per dozen packs delivered free to your door with real organic goo lovingly produced by some non politically correct maiden you might suspect they weren't really McVities cakes and might not taste the same even if it was worth investing 5p out of interest.

 

However I take your point, many people know a lot less about Lithium battery packs and their dangers than Jaffa cakes so it isn't at all obvious to them and I regret the phrasing.

The number of lumens isn't important. having tried a large number of lights with different Cree emitters, in can tell you that the light mentioned in the OP is amongst the brightest of the single emitter ones. It gives more than enough light for the average cyclist. It's cheap, it looks cool, it's durable, the battery lasts long enough for long journeys, it's unobtrusive and it's light weight. Even when I ride on unlit cycle tracks, I rarely set it on maximum. I keep looking at other lights, but I haven't yet seen anything that I would consider better. You can a bigger and heavier one, a brighter but not long lasting one, etc., but i haven't yet seen another one with all the desirable characteristics at once.

Could someone please tell me what what type of connector this light has.

 

I have an excellent waterproof Tecknet 10000mAh power pack I occasionally use for charging my phone.

It has a USB power out and I was wondering if I could use this to power this light rather than buying another power pack.

The New Best Headlight is 8.4v. USB is 5v, so the answer is no.

 

It has a standard 5.5mm jack with an additional screw sleeve. It fits this case perfectly.

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-Waterproof-4x18650-Battery-Storage-Case-Box-Holder-For-Bike-LED-Light-P-O9V3/263292514569?hash=item3d4d74f109:g:Lm8AAOSwK~RZ-nhN

you can get power banks with adjustable output voltage i think up to 20v but you must take note of how many amps it can pull at what voltage to match it to the light.

 

https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/power-banks/7974958/

Thanks very much for the informative reply's Dave and soundwave.

 

I've used the excellent (but very expensive) Exposure Strada for many years which I swap between my bikes.

 

This one looks great value so I think I'll give it a try.

....and I'm very aware its lifetime could be anywhere from 15 minutes to a few years.

 

Mine lasted all of about two minutes. Either my fault for not waterproofing the battery before I used it, or some twerp in China's fault for not realising they'll go pop as soon as they encounter a decent bit of rain.

 

Gaz