Lights , it's that time of year again.

[Matthews]

Well I'm looking at getting some lights for the dark nights and the choice is bewildering to say the least (as are the price difference ), having looked around I like the look of the solar storm ones and they are available from uk sellers on fleabay , has anybody tried one and if so how do they compare to the single XML T6 jobbies out there ?
Fleabay link to one of the many suppliers out there
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BLACK-5000Lm- ... 3cd534b061

Posted in this section rather than post 98 as I feel it's relevant no matter how old your bike is , if the mods want to move it feel free if you think pre 97 bikes shouldn't be out in the dark !
Matthew

 

[MADJEZ]

Look like 2 singles together in 1 mount.
I have a single and was considering getting another. Biggest problem I have it they
have a tendency to just die with no warning when battery is low. So 2 lights on separate battery
packs is probably preferable for me.

 

[BobCatMax]

not tried or seen the U2 lamp in action yet, but i do have a Chinese T6 and that's bright on full power. I would reckon that the on the OP is talking baout is closer to 2000lumen rather than 5000, but that's still plenty bright enough

 

[chrisv40]

Myself and most of our Wednesday night ride riders are using the XML T6 lights which are fantastic and cheap too, more than enough light for riding quickly in the woods and mine seems to have a good battery life.
Spudly's light however has a fault and only lasts about 30 mins before dying.

 

[Spudly]

So spudly has a plan, and has bought one of the triple t6 ones, and is going to use the battery pack from the first one as a spare in case the new one suffers from premature expenditure!

 

[drystonepaul]

I've been using an 1800lm Cree XML T6 LED light since last winter. Got mine for about £30 but I now see that they are down to around £20 and still from a UK seller.

I use it as a bar mounted light and I've had no problems with mine. I did make sure I waterproofed the battery by wrapping it in clingfilm inside the bag.
I also carry a spare battery and have a separate helmet mounted light.

It's well worth getting one of the wide angle diffuser lenses to make a much more useful beam spread.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Wide-Angle-Le ... 1c375cd924

Also worth getting a supplemental strap for the battery case for added security.

I prefer this cheap light to my old Exposure Maxx-D when it comes to strength of illumination. The Exposure is still a great reliable cable free light though with a very good pool of light.

 

[ajantom]

The solarstorm light in the first post is excellent. Had mine for a couple of weeks now and it beats my other 2 older (1 and 2 years respectively) Magicshine lights into a cocked hat. Have a look around online as they can be found for even less than £30 in places.
There are currently a couple of massive threads on STW and MTBR about them.

 

[drystonepaul]

What's the beam pattern and battery life like on those Solarstorm lights...?

 

[P20]

Have a look on stw, there's a big thread on those in the OP

 

[JamesM]

not tried or seen the U2 lamp in action yet, but i do have a Chinese T6 and that's bright on full power. I would reckon that the on the OP is talking baout is closer to 2000lumen rather than 5000, but that's still plenty bright enough

Same battery pack as the single LED version. Can it handle twice the current draw? Are the lights really over twice the lumens of the single LED light?