Which light for the night?

[splunk]

Hi All,

With daylight savings over..... I need lights on my bike.

I am looking for feedback on the best light for _recreational_ XC riding at night with the following attributes:
- cheap Looking for less than $200
- long lasting battery (2 hours)
- easy charging

I have been thinking about the cygo night rover extra system?

any comments on them or any others?

Cheers,

Splunk

 

[-DAvo]

well im planning on getting some niteflux vision sticks in a few weeks, they seem pretty good, and they come under the 200 mark. i think you can get a vision stick 5.5 for about $150

 

[luckyphil]

i've got the niteflux 10's for $190. very nice, easy to install, bright enough, comes with a helmet mount. i'm happy!

 

[orchie]

Im with him ^^ Niteflux 10 and it works a charm. Especially for commuting home from the station at night.

Grant

 

[apsilon]

I've got a Niteflux as well and would recommend it. I have a 10 but even a 5 would be adequate and have slightly better battery life.

 

[GordonG]

I'm currently running Nightsticks, and wouldn't recommend them to anyone. You can't tell if they are charging, the blue covers on the switches fall off, the contacts get dirty and you can't get at the contacts to clean them. I think that with all the bits and pieces I've had to buy to keep them running, I've probably spent well over $500.

I'm hoping they'll stay together long enough for the heavy-duty LED lamps to hit the market at a reasonable price. We're using a few experimental ones for caving, and they are providing as much light as our normal heavy caving lights (more than a Nightstick), but run on 4 AA batteries for hours and hours... Supposedly, according to our suppliers, there's a much better version on its way in about June, just in time for it to be getting light again

 

[Beena]

If you are after a cheap light the NightFlux VisionSticks (very different to the VistaLite Nightsticks - different company) are the go.

They are all alloy, built much like a maglite (alloy bezel caps, o rings etc) and are cheap.

4 models:
5 - $110
5W, 4 cell Nicad batt, bar mount, 2hr runtime

5.5 - $135
5W, 4 cell NiMh batt, bar mount, helmet mount, 2.2hr runtime

10 - $165
10W, 5 cell NiMh batt, bar mount, helmet mount, 1.3Hr runtime

20 - $285
1 x 5W, 1x 15W, 2 x 5 cell NiMh batteries, 2 x bar mount, 1 x helmet mount, 2.2hr @ 5W, 1Hr @ 15W

Really good value light and well worth the cash. Details are on www.niteflux.com.au.

I love lighting systems so if you need any info (no matter how technical, on any systems) let me know!

 

[Cruz]

Look hear for some ideas.
http://www.mtbdirt.com.au/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=114405#114405

20 Watt IRC lamp = 35 Watt normal lamp
12 volt 7.2 amp/h SLA battery = 4+ hours run time.
With trickle charger that cant cause damage, over charge etc,
Helmet mount using 3M snap lock.
Bar mount also available.
Total cost = $100 approx.

or

www.nightlightning.com,nz

 

[Beena]

But Dude!!! DId you see the size of that battery!!!!

Where are you going to mount that? That's why Sealed Lead Acid batterys are cheap, low energy density.
You also have to be very careful not to run SLA's all the way down. As soon as their voltage starts to drop (light begins to go yellow) they need to be switched off or the battery will become permanently damaged.

Also, be mindful that most halogen lights have some kind of 'super' globe that is brighter than 'standard'. For example, the VisionSticks have H.O.T. globes, even the Topeak Moonshine Pro with its Phillips MasterLine ES globe is not as super bright as it sounds.

I'd still go for the VisionStick, it's a much more 'together' system and unless he loves tinkering and building his own stuff it will be better. All the brackets etc are there, warranty etc and they are small and light.

 

[Bodin]

I can also vouch for the NightFlux Vision sticks. I used them in last year's FGP 12hour and heaps of night Dirt Crits with no drama.

I don't reckon they're as light as Beena seems to think, though I had Vistalites before this and they were definitely lighter - especially noticeable in regards to the helmet mount - but they constantly pissed me off, so I paid the weight penalty for a more reliable system (and haven't regretted it).

 

[Beena]

I can also vouch for the NightFlux Vision sticks. I used them in last year's FGP 12hour and heaps of night Dirt Crits with no drama.

I don't reckon they're as light as Beena seems to think, though I had Vistalites before this and they were definitely lighter - especially noticeable in regards to the helmet mount - but they constantly pissed me off, so I paid the weight penalty for a more reliable system (and haven't regretted it).

I was making the 'light' (excuse the pun... ) comparison to those huge SLA things! so
(they are a also a whole lot lighter than running my Niterider Digi Pro-12E's on my head - only made that mistake once!)

Theyaren't as light as the Vista's, but that's cause they are aluminium rather than plastic! I can't count the number of plastic bezels we had to replace on those vistalights cause they fell off or broke. (and i can count to at least 12!)

 

[iUDEX_nCr]

Definitely go the niteflux... only problem I've found is that you have to be careful changing bulbs, as if you're not careful you can twist the bulb and break the pins!

I'd recommend the niteflux 10... the battery is larger capacity NiMH than the 5.5... well they have a different item code. Much brighter, I've had customers come back and exchanging the 5.5 for the 10, saying it's just not bright enough or the extra wattage is definitely worth it!

Cheers
i

 

[Beena]

Definitely go the niteflux... only problem I've found is that you have to be careful changing bulbs, as if you're not careful you can twist the bulb and break the pin

Very true, you need to push the bulb inwards (to take the pressure off the o-ring) with your finger while unscrewing the bexel.

I'd recommend the niteflux 10... the battery is larger capacity NiMH than the 5.5... well they have a different item code. Much brighter, I've had customers come back and exchanging the 5.5 for the 10, saying it's just not bright enough or the extra wattage is definitely worth it!

Yep, the 10W battery is a 5 cell as opposed to the 4 cells in the 5W versions. This essentially means it is a higher voltage.
NiMH cells these days give out about 1.5V per cell, much better than NiCads 1.2-1.25V per cell. So the 4-cell NiMH ones are running 6V while the 5cells are 7.2V. This means you are 'overvolting' the globe. This is a common practice as you can get and increase in light output that is disproportionate to the increase in power consumption (in a good way). The downside is reduced globe life. However, using high quality globes can offset most of this. Niterider overvolt all their upper end lights to 13.2V.

 

[AJ]

Nightlighting have NiMH & Li-Ion batteries available and a 20W IRC has a far better output then Vista, Nightflux, and the Topeak lights.

2hrs runtime with 4 ah 13.2V NiMH battery.

Also check out the Multisport page it has a high output LED light, lasts for ever!

www.nightlightning.co.nz

Cheers

 

[-DAvo]

i just got my niteflux vision stick 5.5 and i am very impressed! the packaging is so nice with the roll up bag etc etc.. kinda makes you feel like an gun for hire everytime you go to unpack the light (or not...)

anyway their bright as well! and ill be using it for commuting home from work at night so the 5.5 would be more than enough

but if your going to go offroad, i would suggest the 10watt

 

[Cruz]

I know how big the 7.2 amp.h sla battery is, and I have carried it easily in my medium sized hydro pack for over 2 years without any problems of any kind. Mostly used in 12/24 hour races and long night rides.

I have used the Nightlightning Comet with the 20 watt IRC and 35 watt IRC bulbs and they are an excellent light and value for money.

I also have owned and used the Niteflux 20 model. It is okay but I found that the lights simply could not compete with the Comet in brightness, depth of light, run time and cost. Since sold them.

I have used the home made setup as shown on mtbdirt for months now with great results, the only down side being the weight of the sla battery if you consider the weight a problem. (same setup as the Comet)

I also use a Niterider HID which is very good but would want to be for what they cost.

Overall best value light setup I have used and researched would be the Nightlightning models.

 

[apsilon]

Was just flicking through a Rebel Sport catalogue I found in todays paper and noticed they have the Nightflux Vsionstick 5.5 for $99.99. Best price I've seen for them and a good light. Thought someone may be interested.

 

[FR Drew]

Myself and a few others have been farting around with Luxeon 3 watt star LED's.

It costs about 60 bucks to buy a 6 volt 4500mAH NIMH battery pack.

Two 3 watt luxeons will draw 1.5 amps if running at the spec 750mA rating.
A Luxeon at 3 watts puts out damn near the same level of light as a halogen at 10w and it's a blue rather than yellow light so it seems to work better. that gives you close on 3 hours of burn time.

They require heatsinking, lenses and a power management system that controls current flow (easy enough to build up with an LM317 voltage reg).

Depends if you want to cobble up a DIY rig or buy off the shelf.

No matter what, make sure that your lights are HELMET MOUNTED. bar mount sucks when there are corners, you can't see around em.

repeat after me...

HELMET MOUNTED

 

[iUDEX_nCr]

repeat after me...

HELMET MOUNTED

lol... nonono... how about...

1x helmet mounted
2x bar mounted

XD

For those really tight pitch black rides, I run a 5 and 10 watt on my bars, and a 15watt on my helmet... yeah, heavy, but when you're up the front with a group you gotta light the way


...
also, for those people interested.. you can always go down to "battery world", you can get NiMH batteries for about $20 each.

 

[FR Drew]

You serious?

Well, OK, if you're going to mount three lights on your bike then maybe a good strong spot on the helmet and a couple of spreads on the bars would be nice, sure.

If you only have one light to play with then it's gotta go on the helmet if you're riding anything with tight corners, otherwise you can't see s**t. (well, you can directly in front but nothing around the corner.)