Please recommend me a new front light ,,,its to be used off road and needs to run for about 3hrs and be bright ..im guessing about 300 lumens

thanks

For offroad use, 1000 lumens minimum and probably more. MTB Batteries for good value lights with batteries and chargers that don’t explode. Cheaper lights on ebay from China e.g. Magic Shine but check your household fire insurance cover just in case. Spendy lights from USE, Lupine and Hope – but I’ve never been convinced they’re worth the extra – they still stop working after a year or two of use.

It’s worth seeing how bright the lights the people you ride with are (assuming you aren’t riding alone). I use a Sigma powerled but at 900 lumens it now looks dim compared to what everyone else has. When I’m by myself it’s just fine though

I was looking at the magic shine … But no having concerns have they really been known to explode ?

look at mtbbatteries, or c & b seen for cheaper.

If you go with the cheap chinese stuff otherwise you will end up paying extra for a decent/safe charger and probably a better/decent battery, and then you might as well have bought the mtbbatteries ones anyway and got some decent support.

I bought a Hope R2i last autumn and loving it. Superb quality and no battery pack either. Very bright on dark unlit country roads. Bayonet fitting is excellent as well so easy to take off and mount on other bikes. Not cheap but worth every penny. £150 or so. Although one on ebay just now for £128.

I was looking at the magic shine … But no having concerns have they really been known to explode

Lets clarify, Magicshine can be used as a generic term for Chinese light, as such MS Uk might be a bit miffed, to be lumped in with the very cheap end of the chinese light market. Lets also not pretend that because it cheap from china, it WILL explode, but if you buy very cheaply, let also not pretend that you’ve got a great quality unit for 15p off ebay. Apple, dell and numerous other well known companies have had electrical items that have set on fire, the moral is that you should be wary.
So I wouldn’t suggest that shouldn’t consider a unit from Magicshine UK, or Bikelight UK or any other reputable Uk company selling chinese lights. I wouldn’t recommend charging a battery bought directly from china, or even very cheaply from ebay or amazon in your house overnight unattended.

As for ‘cheaper’ light recommendations, check out MTB Batteries uk, and Torchy on ebay (Big_f_d_d) or take a risk on one from ebay/amzon but charge in a lipo charging bag!

Another thing you might want to consider is having a bar mounted light and a helmet light. I would say look for maybe a twin XM-L based light for the bars and a single XM-L on the helmet should suffice.

The helmet mounted light will allow you to see better round corners as the light will point where you are looking. Having two lights will also give a greater degree of safety because lights and/or batteries do fail. With two lights you should at least have a good chance of finishing the ride/getting home.

Very impressed with a magicshine front light – perfect for road riding even on the darkest night – haven’t used offroad

And the house hasnt burnt down yet !!!!!!

I have 2 of the old supposedly 900 lumen chinese lights that are now coming up to 5 years old , they only hold a charge for a 2 hour ride now but they have never let me down and blew my mates Cateye led lights out of the water. I also have a Solarstorm Cheapy light that came from a UK ebay supplier and has a UK plugged charging cord that seems ok.

I’ve got a magic shine mj876 as have 3 mates. Can’t fault it for the £80 I spent. Never exploded on me.

Hi ..I’ve given smudge a call from mtb batteries, can’t fault him ,, he’s willing to meet up and give me a demo of his product range ,,,,so hopefully sorted next week
Thanks for the replies

I need to replace my original solarstorm x2 and am quite happy with another, not fake, one. Anyone know any reliable sellers?