LIGHTS MEGATHREAD - all questions on riding lights asked and answered here!!!

rangie

Likes Dirt
I've been racing on them for a few years now and can answer any questions you have... I am sponsored by them, but that doesn't sway my opinions, I race on them and work with the team because they are the best lights I have seen out there, and no I don't get money from them (just discounts on lights).

The only down side is cost, but you get what you pay for in life... If you want the best lights, these are worth the investment for sure.

Nothing else comes close to the smooth beam patterns. I've done "light offs" with other riders for a laugh and we've all been amazed (me too) how even and wide the beam is compared to other lights.

The problem with a lot of high lumen lights is they deliver it into one bright spot, and you can't see the detail (or the surroundings), the optics in the Radicals spread all those lumens out and make use of them all, with an even spread, no bright or dark spots and a super wide beam pattern, wide enough you can see everything in your field of vision. Give them a try sometime and you'll see what I mean, especially side by by side with other brands.

Try before you buy is always wise, so if you want a demo and are in Canberra sometime, PM me and I'll lend you mine and you'll see what I mean.

It's a good idea to try if you can.



Think recent mountain bike australia magazine reviewed both lights in a big shootout.


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wingy

Likes Dirt
That's an interesting looking light.


Battery looks big. Is it a hard case? Will it cause damage if bumped on the bike?
The battery is about 60mmx 40mm x 40mm. I can measure it when I get home and let you know for sure. I ran it in my jersey pocket as I don't use a bar light. It is definitely too heavy to mount to your helmet in my opinion. The battery has a curved hollow section on one face and the leads are long enough to mount the battery to your top tube. It also comes with a strap to do that. Mounted this way I think the potential for damage would be pretty small although I am not quite sure what you mean. Oh and it is a hard case with rubber edge protectors.
The amount and quality of the light was quite amazing. I don't have a good camera to take photos to show it but even on the 3rd setting which is 700 lumens I was fine riding single track. The 1500 lumen setting was the sun rising!
Hope that helps.
 

akashra

Eats Squid
Just got my upgraded set of Ay-Ups back - I have two original Luxeon sets from 2007, and two Q2 sets, also from 2007, so decided to send back one of the Luxeon sets to be both upgraded and have the high-power mod put in, which will become my helmet light.

A word of advice: Don't shine it at a white wall in front of you when you're eagerly removing your new toy from its packaging and first testing it. I can still see the spots.
 

krisko

Likes Dirt
AYUPs

I just gotmy AYUPs back also.
I had 2007/2008 Ayup's and opted for:
an optic swap out from Medium to Allrounder 200% increase(arguable although the old optic was inefficient)
LED upgrade 200% increase
Power upgrade 40% increase.

This was a very noticeable increase in light. The old medium light was held back by the medium lens. This gives far more light (25-30%) than my Cygolight 380lumen wide beam. The beam throws longer and spreads wider.
I like riding with a flood on my bars.This satisfies my peripheral vision whilst looking 30m up the track. Whilst the Allrounder starts gradually fading out in the long distance 40-50m, the Narrow on my helmet takes care of the rest.
No hotsot just a nice evenly lit foreground, that fades out gradually.

I upgraded my Intermediete to a narrow beam. More of a spot beam.
I had 2007/2008 Ayup's and opted for:
LED upgrade 200% increase
Power upgrade 40% increase.

Compare this to a Topeak HID (600 lumen claimed)where the Ayup throws longer and brighter. The HID although a noticeable 50% less bright does give less of a spot and fades out gradually.
Compared to a Magicshine P7 the Ayup equall the light throw, maybe it would throw longer 10-15%. The P7 has more of a flood though.
The AYUP narrow is truelly narrow but offsetting the lights gives great depth and works very well with the wide beam.

The biggest AYUP benefits are low weight (less then a third of lights compared too), much smaller batteries, low stack height, off helmet. Easy helmet mounting (gecko mounts simply un attach from strong velcro feet) . Now with the benefit of very good optics and lumens!

Did I mention a 2 day turn around! Wow! One very happy customer.
PS There is no way a Magicshine is 900 lumens as claimed, maybe closer to 500-600 lumens.Its hard to tell as the beam has slightly less throw then the narrow AYUP but spreads far more.

Hope this helps others thinking of upgrading their optics.
 

akashra

Eats Squid
I've ordered an upgrade for a second of my sets of lights, so my Q2 Mediums will be a R2 All-Rounder w/+Power when I get them back.
Gotta send them back today.

Haven't really found a particularly good way of attaching the lights as a rear lightset yet though. I could easily use a handlebar mount on my mountain bikes, but my new road bike (Reacto) has an aero seatpost, so it's difficult to attach things to - I don't really want to attach velcro dots to it.
A system that uses a garmin-style set of O-Rings would be handy.
 

ringburner

Likes Bikes
NiteRider Pro 1500 Race Light

Has anyone had experience with these two lights. Just tossing up between the NR Pro 1400 Lighting System and the Radical Podda4L Mk3, 1375+ Lumens. Just hoping someone might have some experience using them and could explain the difference in beams, visability and usage. I plan on using them mainly for single track use. Also if there are any other suggestions for similar quality that would be fantastic too. THANKS
I recently purchased the NiteRider Pro 1500 Race Light, 3 built in settings, High, med and low as described - 1500 lumens (battery lasts for 1hr 30 min), 900 lumens (3 hours battery) and 450 lumens (battery lasts forever...). I am super impressed with this light.

1500 lumen has great spread and really white bright light, super good for really techy single track.
900 lumens is what I use 90% of the time because of the battery life and the output is more than ample light for most situations (and is better than a set of Ay-Ups – handlebar and head mounted set).
450 lumen - I won’t use this setting for XC riding, this is really only just better than some commuter lights.

I have tested the battery life and the claimed 1hr 30 min for 1500 lumen I actually got over 2 hours! So I am super happy with that.

You can buy these babies for $350 in Australia delivered - just search the net (hint TBSM).

Can be mounted on your helmet with battery in back of jersey - or on handlebars, really good feature is the battery straps onto your frame and the solid handlebar mount keeps the light still in place. I only use on helmet – the light weighs about 120grams so doesn’t get too heavy if racing or riding for a decent timeframe, and the battery is about 400 grams (so on your frame it is fine – or in your jersey you hardly notice it).

Charge time is 4 hours 30 minutes – which isn’t great for racing. This is the big negative – but another battery will fix that is you are really worried (although see comment below).

I have previously used Ay-ups and Nightlightning (NZ brand) – this light smacks them off the park at 1500 lumen, and is better at 900 lumens (and way better price).

And for this price if you are keen as you can get another to mount on handlebars – also you can buy spare batteries (which are half as expensive as a new light… but great option for racing).

Get on board, seriously good light, for a great price - and reliable, these things are built like brick sh$t houses!

Enjoy – and get on board.
 

PepsiMax

Likes Bikes
here's my Night Riding light setup. NiteRider 1500 on the head & Cygolite TrindenX 600 on the handle bars & Niterider Cherry bomb on the rear.

The Cygolite was modded to the Niterider handle bar mount, as the Cygolite one didnt fit my handle bars

 

Big Chuck

Likes Dirt
here's my Night Riding light setup. NiteRider 1500 on the head & Cygolite TrindenX 600 on the handle bars & Niterider Cherry bomb on the rear.

The Cygolite was modded to the Niterider handle bar mount, as the Cygolite one didnt fit my handle bars
Be more like day time riding with that much light. :) Looks like a great set up.

Can't wait for some nice cold winter night rides again this year.
 

Steve_N

Likes Dirt
After 4 years using a Dinotte 200L/600L combo I decided to "upgrade" to a set of XML-3 Duals. What a difference 4 years makes! The XML-3 uses the new Cree XML emitters and they're rated at 1000 lumens each with a conservatively rating of 2.5 hours of battery life. The XML-3 only weighs 105g for each lighthead which is substantially lighter than the 182g 600L. I'm pretty impressed with the amount of light these guys put out.

The great thing is is that I can now mix and match to suit. I gave the 200L to a friend for commuting duties but have kept the 600L, so I can have either a 600L on the helmet and 2x XML-3's on the bars, or an XML-3 on the bar and the other on the helmet etc. This will be handy for rides with mates who don't have lights... :p

Just a ride around the block this evening confirmed that these will be great out on the trail. Lots of throw and substantially brighter than the 600L. Looking forward to hitting the trails proper... :D

A couple of pics - the XML-3 is the one on the left in the first 2 pics, the 600L on the right, the third pic is the 600L, the fourth 1x XML-3 and the last both XML-3's. Excuse the dodgy backyard pics... It'll give you a rough idea though...



600L XML3 comparison 001.jpg600L XML3 comparison 002.jpg600L XML3 comparison - 600L light.jpg600L XML3 comparison - XML-3 light.jpg600L XML3 comparison - Dual XML-3 light.jpg
 

Gsutton

Squid
Ayups - I've got genuine love for my set!

They're bullet (and bomb) proof, manufacturer and distributed out of Qld (with the exlcusion of the LiPo batteries, which come from China), are covered by a decent warranty and I've had nothing but great experiences with them on and off the singletrack. The only problem is that you have to buy them online, as they don't stock through shops, so you can't pick up at set and have a fiddle before you buy them. Although, a huge proportion of people own a set, so it should be relatively easy to at least find some to have a look.

Cost about $300 for one set of lights +batteries (twin barrelled) and $500 for two and they can be bar or helmet mounted.
 

steve24

Likes Bikes and Dirt
Just got my AY-UP set ugraded. Paid Tue arvo, they sent yesterday and arrived this morning in Adelaide! They even sent the new upgrades before i sent the old ones back so i have not been without lights.

That is the kind of service that keeps me as a customer.
 

PJS

Likes Dirt
I second the choice of the Dinotte lights!
I bought the XML3 for the helmet and 1200l+ for the bars.
Made my own mount for the helmet, and bought a Hope clamp for the bars. Both just because im fussy. The supplied mounts work.
I think just 2 XML3s wouldve been enough in hindsight. The 1200 is wider, but the xml3 is great in terms of flood and throw!
I highly recommend!
 

nismo

Likes Dirt
lights for night riding

i have been doing some night riding on single track mainly..

and my $10 lights just aren't doing the job.

help me choose something out of these items, or recommend something rechargeable for around $50-70$

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/1600-CRE...Sport_Cycling_Accessories&hash=item45fc6ad456

this one has zoom for flooding and rechargeable.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/1800-Lum...Sport_Cycling_Accessories&hash=item1e6b45188f

this one is a bit brighter but annoying to have installed all the time
 

pharmaboy

Eats Squid
g'day

try this sort of reflector

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/SSC-P7-1...Accessories&hash=item1c1d690886#ht_4768wt_905

note the reflector is pitted rather than smooth - this gives afar better spread of light with these lights - and running one light, you need decent flood. if you can get a light with a 3 position setting, thats good as well, as the flashing mode is completely useless. the more expensive chinese ones seem to come with better batteries in the most part..

Having a seperate battery pack to the light is an advantage - it means you can use on the helmet and put the battery in your backpack, plus battery packs are more easy to recharge, so i wouldnt go the second (some people use the torch like setup as insurance - ie off road, always take somesort of backup light to get you home in the event of an accident (ie broken light/ shorted battery etc)
 

moorey

call me Mia
I went the budget option and couldn't be happier. This is the one i got. Bar or helmet mounted (with the addition of some self adhesive velcro. http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/P7-Water...ccessories&hash=item3cbea9c4cb#ht_3774wt_1141
Used it for the last month, for over 2 hrs at a time and no sign of fading battery. On this cheaper model, i just needed to waterproof the battery better, having also velcroed it to my helmet, as opposed to running it from my back pack.
I think these are identical to the ones you can get on Deal Exchange, and at the same price, except shipped from Aus instead of China.
 
light choices

i have 2 sets i use

i originally purchased the nightlight 1400 and this is a fantastic light. the wide beam is very good and i mount on the front bar and i am very happy with them (although exspensive).

after a few rides i found i wanted a helmet mount light so i could be more specific on what i want to see specially over jumps ect as you are limited with straight line of sight on a bar mount so i got a cheap one from ebay (similar to below)

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Waterpro...Sport_Cycling_Accessories&hash=item3a689bbe07

now as much as i like the night lights i feel the ebay one is actually a very good light and cost $50. they had the exact same batteries ect and ride time was almost identical. i get approx 3 hours on full beams and more than ill ride in a night on medium which is still very good light.

so my view is get a cheap one from ebay. it will give you crap loads of light and if you want more and get more serious than spend some money in aus and get a night light set. at least with 2 sets if one fails or breaks you dont have a long walk out in th dark :)

hope that helps
 

ChopSticks

Banned
i do sugest buying the cheapest option on ebay for now, and start saving for some serious lights once you get into night riding

ie AY-UPS !!!! you cant beat them on quality, yes...very dear, but worth ever single dollar.
 
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