Lights - 2012

[cerealkilla']

Originally Posted by Oldfart

. So they provided a full refund and I went back to my old lights for the balance of night season.

One thing that you don't get on line is in person immediate service like that.

This. I think this is even more important when dealing with finicky stuff like lights. I went overseas on my lights (needed Old Fart's input 2 years ago ), but would go LBS for sure the second time round, even if they didn't have the exact specific product I wanted. Stuff like lights (and dropper posts !!!) are so much better off to go local so you have support if and when the product glitches.

[rideitall]

Way back I had a dual NightSun system with the water bottle battery, worked until the battery finally gave up. Then had two or three Night Rider systems that never worked as well as I would hoped.

Finally picked up my first good system, a combo with Dinotte a 200L headlamp and a 600L bar lamp. Worked from day one as advertised. Added more light with a 400L headlamp. Then upgraded my bar lamp to a 1200L Plus (dual quad XPG), quite bright, wide spread with decent throw. Last year picked up the triple XML for the helmet, has a really good throw and surprisingly wide spread. Could realistically work as a bar light but for me is best on the helmet and the 1200+ on the bars.

As I get older I seem to need more light to ride at night and appreciate having a good quality light that I know will work and allow me to get out for a ride when time permits. I have also been using the lights during fall and winter months when I commute to work. I like being visible when I cycle on the road.

Given what we spend on our bikes and other toys purchasing a decent set of lights that work as they should does not seem like a stretch.

[DaveM]

Originally Posted by Bryan

I think one can get these on Ebay right now for about 60-70, which includes a battery and charger. For someone who is just considering trying out night riding, it can keep the investment low. I actually bought extra so I can loan them to friends to try out.

thanks

it completely changed my view of night riding!

[skifreak]

Originally Posted by Oldfart

Had two. Both failed. The first one only went for maybe 45 to hour before shutting down. Second one would shut down without warning. The second one seemed to last around two hours before it would shut down. The light around the switch was supposed to I think change to red but it just went from fine to nothing. The first one did provide the warning but I didn't get the proper run time. Plus at 1500 it was actually brighter than I wanted so I usually ran at one level down.

We had an issue with a true 500 by Serfas. No problems with warranty from our local dealer. Quick phone call and just gave a new one off the shelf.

[slimdog]

Just ordered a MagicShine MJ-872 from deal extreme last night. Will let you guys know how much and when I get it.

[Bryan]

Santa might get to you before the lights do......just sayin.

I've ordered with DX before and while I had zero issues and would order again with them......speedy they are not.

[Bryan]

and I want to get the same light. might just go the Ebay route though.

[Sublime]

check out these lights and prices. the olympia is friggin bright!!!

http://www.action-led-lights.com/collections/bike

[grahammtbr]

Originally Posted by slimdog

Just ordered a MagicShine MJ-872 from deal extreme last night. Will let you guys know how much and when I get it.

The light itself is good, however my battery's dead after one season of not very heavy use. Can't get more than about a 30% charge in it now. Anyway, you've already purchased, so enjoy this winter, just something to keep in mind for next. May have been a storage issue on my part, maybe someone who knows battery's has ideas...

[klankilla]

Hey guys,

For your battery packs, you can seal them watertight with a product from loctite called colour gaurd. Its a liquid that you dip into, then hang dry for a day. It coats in a durable, tacky plastic coating, fully sealed. It can be cut out afterwards too. Typically its used for the handles of tools, but works great for sealing small assemblies. Its pretty toxic stuff when wet so mind the fumes!

Im going to order the magicshines and seal that way. Will let you know.

[T-rex]

Originally Posted by switch

On the bars is great during the winter evenings when there's more moisture in the air (or when it is raining). Think of it as like having fog lights; if it's misty out, the light on the helmet will be like running high beams on a foggy road.

And yes, the contrast from having a lower light can make visibility better (or appear better).

One light on the bars, and one on the helmet, is a good combination.

Why don`t the bike light manufactures make differnet attachments for the lens to go from a spot to a flood for those times we get caught in the mist, would be a great way to boost sales...

I`ve read on a few flashlight forums some guys are using Aerogel granuals as a diffuser to make a flood light that has zero artifacts or hot spots in the beam with a smooth transition of light. Or so it seems from the pictures.
I just ordered some aerogel granuals to give this a go just not sure if putting the granuales between the lens and led will cause heat issues... I`ll be using the BL-21 shadow I got from http://www.intl-outdoor.com/shadow-b...ght-p-465.html they have great customer service. The 1st order one had a faulty prong in the battery connector and was not split like the other one was so the light shut off after about 8 seconds, Hank was quick to reply and send a replaement. I will post up later how they look on the trail but the indoor test was 3 hours straight with no dimming, I turned it off before it quit so don`t know the max run time...

[switch]

Has anyone moved from a Niterider HID (Storm) to one of the new "high lumens" LEDs, and if so, is the LED system brighter or illuminate the road/trail better?

[Bryan]

^^ask davem.

[C.Lee]

Originally Posted by klankilla

Hey guys,

For your battery packs, you can seal them watertight with a product from loctite called colour gaurd. Its a liquid that you dip into, then hang dry for a day. It coats in a durable, tacky plastic coating, fully sealed. It can be cut out afterwards too. Typically its used for the handles of tools, but works great for sealing small assemblies. Its pretty toxic stuff when wet so mind the fumes!

Im going to order the magicshines and seal that way. Will let you know.

do the same with plastidip

[DaveM]

Originally Posted by switch

Has anyone moved from a Niterider HID (Storm) to one of the new "high lumens" LEDs, and if so, is the LED system brighter or illuminate the road/trail better?

I had 2 niterider storms. On my first night ride this season one of my niterider batteries died so I was left with 1. Bryan gratiously lent me his magicshine (to stop my crying) and put it on the bars. There was more light with one magicshine than both of my hid lights when the both were working. And those aren't even the super bright led lights, you can get them in 1200+ lumens too. It sold me, I ordered 3 magicshine 808's the next day. http://www.action-led-lights.com/collections/bike has good pricing and their support is supposed to be pretty good. You can get them cheaper on ebay but I'd think you're pretty much on your own if something fails.

the niterider storm puts out around 350 lumens. The magicshine 808 puts out around 650-700 lumens. I bought 3 of them for less than I paid for 1 niterider storm.

Who knows how long they will last though, they must be cheap for a reason. The nice thing about led also is replacement parts are cheap. It would have cost more to replace my niterider battery than 2 complete magicshine units. If a lighthead fails they are $45, batteries are $32.