Lights - upgrade Lumicycle vs Chinese Cree XML vs ?

[john]

Don't think we've had a light thread for a couple of weeks so it's probably time to start another.

After a light for occasional night rides.

Used to ride a lot at night, both commuting and 'training' and as such had a quite spiffy for 2007 lumicycle setup with a HID. The HID seems dead now and the NiMh batteries aren't up to much anymore.

As such either thinking of getting an upgrade on the lumicycle, get a LED in one of my halogen lamps. However can see a new battery being needed too.

The more pragmatic might be to just pick up one of the Chinese Cree lamps like > http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-CREE-XML- ... 1080032804? as recommended elsewhere. Have a RC charger I could use on the battery so the possibly shonky charger is perhaps less of an issue.

The alternate is something else, open to suggestions.

 

[EarlofBarnet]

I've used cheapy Japanese lights all through last winter, on-road and off-road. Charger issue was the only problem I had, but soon got another for something silly like £2.50 delivered. The brightest light I had was 700Lm, which I found plenty bright enough, even off-road. Ended up buying a helmet mount for my 200Lm light to run alongside the 700Lm unit. Decided sometimes the direction the bars were facing wasn't always where I wanted to look. Will be running same lights this winter. Not sure what extra you get for the £'00's extra of other lights.

 

[hamster]

If you have a good quality halogen with a metal bulb holder (like a Maglite) then you can get drop-in replacement bulbs with the regulator built-in.

 

[gradeAfailure]

I'd go for the cheap Chinese each day of the week - DealExtreme do a UK-specific charger for £3.50 if you're worried about that.

Failing that, get one of the Chinese lights from C And B Seen for about £15 more and have UK backup. Or a V2 from Smudge at MTB Batteries for £90 but with fantastic support and advice.

 

[JamesM]

I'd contact Trout Lights bloke and see if he can upgrade one of your existing light and supply a new battery and charger. Trout upgrades lots of old lights and the result are pretty mental. Like 2000+ lumens mental.

Those chinese XML lights are a lottery. Its not just the chargers that are problematic, but the battery and the light too.

 

[FluffyChicken]

A fair few of us have both the Cree China lights, but for cheaper than that and they are fine for (in fact more than fine as too bright on full beam) for road use.
Not used it on the trail though.
No complaints in the long ebay lights thread.

Cannot see why the PSU would be a problem, same as all the rebranded stuff over her, just needs and adaptor which should be supplied.
(many branded chargers I've had at work have snapped or given up in less than a year.)

Where are these reports on them by the way.

 

[john]

A fair few of us have both the Cree China lights, but for cheaper than that and they are fine for (in fact more than fine as too bright on full beam) for road use.
Not used it on the trail though.
No complaints in the long ebay lights thread.

Cannot see why the PSU would be a problem, same as all the rebranded stuff over her, just needs and adaptor which should be supplied.
(many branded chargers I've had at work have snapped or given up in less than a year.)

Where are these reports on them by the way.

Got a link to the thread you mean Ben? And the lights you have?

 

[hamster]

A lot of the Ebay China PSUs have not been designed or assembled to UK safety standards. There was a lot about it in a thread on 18650 chargers a while back. Often they have fraudulent CE or BS markings on them.

So, if it electrocutes you or burns down your house, don't be surprised.
:shock:

A lot of the LED GU10 replacements are plain dangerous, for example they will burst into flames if dimmed. The pricey ones like Panasonic or Philips are designed for such misuse, even the 'non dimmable' type.

 

[Andy B]

I'd deffo have a word with Troutie http://troutie.com/

He's very good at what he does, quite a lot of users & fans over on Singletrack forum

You can get the Chinese lights from UK suppliers such as www.candb-seen.co.uk for a quicker delivery and UK back up

 

[JamesM]

The chinese lights are great for £20 but you just cant rely on them. I have one and so do 3 of my friends. Two are broken and the third has a dodgy switch, plus it's on its second battery (first one broke). Mine is the only one still working and thats partly because I took it apart and made some mods plus I don't really use it as I have better lights.