I want to give night riding a go and need some lights. I see the exposure brand come up a fair bit on various sites such as CRC and wanted to check with anyone who has a set.

Is the maxx d on the bars and then a joystick on the helmet a good combo? Budget wise I’m willing to spend the price of those two new, is there anything else to consider?

And out of interest what sort of riding are you doing on night rides? The usual drops and jumps or just taking it easy?

While I’ve a pair of Exposure lights and they are brilliant, if you just want to try night riding buy a pair of CREE lights from ebay, £40 should be enough.

A pair of these.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5000Lm-2x-CREE-XM-L-U2-LED-Front-Headlamp-Bicycle-Bike-Light-Torch-Headlight-/271686245623?hash=item3f41c31cf7

Everything from XCing in the South to now night-riding Glentress and Innerleithen and Enduro trails.

I’m all for exposure, i’ve replaced my cheap lights with an exposure on a yearly basis as they’re so expensive but brilliant. This winter’s present is a Toro or Maxx D then i’ll be all exposured up!

I’d recommend eBay and a couple of chinese specials first though, for £40 you’ll get a pair of lights you can give it a go and see how you like it. Then get decent lights and you’ve got a spare set to lend to mates to try and if you hate it you’ve not spent a lot. Only charge them in the garage though…

Look back through search functions. Exposures are great if you are using lights a lot and if you replace them every year or so, after initial outlay not crazy expensive. Current MaxxD and Joystick here, giving over 3000 lumens of quality light when you need it but automatically backing off to around 2000 when you are on slower stuff.

Yeap Exposuure lights are great.
MAx-D and joystick is a good combo,
The main light have great fetures, Reflex tech, programable run times etc.
Smart port tec (great for redeye light) no bat packs to rub the frame etc.

If there a local Exposure dealer they might have a demo pack, or they can get a demo pack from Exposure.

Thanks everyone for the info.

I hear what you’re saying about going cheap lights to try it if you’re new to it. In my case I think I have to like it, just from a fitness perspective if nothing else it’s going to suck only being able to ride at the weekends! Something to mull over…

Iainc- when you say exposures are great “if you replace them every year or so” what do you mean? I was maybe naively assuming that once I bought the exposures I could use them for many years

I think he’s meaning instead of replacing every year or so.

If you’re happy with your light failing mid ride or setting your house on fire get a cheap Chinese one. Otherwise get an Exposure.

Iainc- when you say exposures are great “if you replace them every year or so” what do you mean? I was maybe naively assuming that once I bought the exposures I could use them for many years

You can. My Joystick was bought back in 2010 and Toro in 2011, both still hold a full charge. Plus they’ve extras such as the piggyback battery – I run mine with the Joystick and it means full power for over 4 hours.

Thanks, no what I mean is that whilst they do last forever, I buy new ones and sell after max 2 seasons while they have good residuals and replace with current brightest smartest ones. I have been doing this with MaxxD and Joystick setup for last 5 yrs or so and it works out at around £100 a year after initial outlay. I ride offroad for a few hrs most wed evenings so seems good value for faff free quality

If you’re happy spending Exposure money, you won’t be disappointed buying Exposure.

Yes, they’re a premium product at a premium price, and yes on paper plenty of lights that cost far less money throw out as much or more light, but… Exposures just work, and work very well at that. And they keep on working, and if they ever don’t work (or need a service) Exposure will fix them and get them back to you in much the same way Hope look after their customers too.

Sometimes quality is worth paying for…

My maxx d and joy stick have been going strong for 8 years now.

Commuting , night riding , 24 hour racing

Wouldnt hesitate to buy again !

some of the guys I ride with are using 5yr old and older ones,which have generally been faultless, even with weekly use. The few that have gone wrong have always been sorted with minimal fuss by Exposure, usually for free. I only change mine regularly to keep up with technology and lumens as vision and skill compensators 🙂 To put that in context, my first MaxxD was I think 1400 lumens, with a 300 lumen joystick, current ones are 2600 and 800.

As mentioned above, even if they do go wrong, they are an awesome company to deal with. just send tehm back for repair, battery replacement etc if they ever need it and they usually come back with the latest specs!

Must agree with all above , not the cheapest , but 4yrs on , my Diablo has never misbehaved .

Well worth checking out Exposures Web Site , they have an outlet store where they sell ‘ factory seconds ‘ , basically supposedly a few cosmetic blemishes , not that I could see any on a Diabo 5 , that I bought recently at a decent discount.

Fantastic after sales for service & repair if ever needed.

I’d echo all the above. I initially bought a cheap Cree light which was pretty good except for the fact the battery cable would rattle loose from the light unit when riding, plunging me into sudden darkness. These are the risks of buying cheap.

A hugely important benefit of Exposure lights is the self-contained nature, turning an expensive bike-light into an expensive bike-light and torch. My Diablo gets used as much for a general purpose torch as it does atop my head on night rides.

I’d have a MaxxD too if I had the cash

Just thought i’d join the exposure love in.

Had cheap Chinese and moderately expensive UK stuff on the bars over the last 4 years. None of it still works.

My little old joystick has lasted 3 years faultlessly on my MTB lid and daily on my commute.

I got a Maxx D to complement it a couple of weeks back as i’ve probably spent that much on other lights that have died a death.

I consider exposure lights an investment 🙂

In the grandest tradition of recommending what you have,

Check out AyUp lighting systems. Robust, a great package of bar and helmet stuff, variety of batteries and fittings. Versatile and rugged.

Thanks everyone for the replies. Fairly sure the maxx d looks like the one for me, even though I’ve been tempted by the 6 pack which looks nuts!

The one question I have is the joystick enough for a helmet, for trail riding? Ie it’s only 800 lumens, is that enough for the helmet? Now I’ve thought about it seems to be quite a big gap in terms of lumens between what you’d have on the bars and what you’d have on the helmet

Maxx-D on the bars plus Diablo on the head has been working brilliantly for some years for me.

I’ve got an old 1200 lumen MaxxD, plenty bright enough. Would love a Joystick on my lid as well, but manage without at the speed I ride.

After sales is amazing – Flash/Flare lights had quite a few issues, dealt with by return of post. Several times.

If you can stretch to it imo a Diablo would be better than a Joystick as it’ll give you more options. The new Diablos also have the tap technology which is pretty useful..

I’ve found that a Joystick gets slightly overpowered by a MaxxD on full power..

I would echo the comment about the added value of having a ridiculously powerful torch to hand whenever you fancy it. I use mine for night walks in the woods behind my house, and have found it is amazing for nighttime wildlife photography!

Ive been running diablo and joysticks for a few years. I broke a couple of the brackets and couldnt bring myself to spend £18 each on new ones so i bought a cheap £20 4 CREE and a hope universal bracket. Its really good, I will never spend £100 + on a light again (in fact i think i spent 180 on the diablo). Seems bonkers now.

jk – your question about the Joystick being drowned out by the MaxxD. I find that the Joystick on Max (800) is drowned by the MaxxD when it is on full, but that’s OK because as soon as you look in a different direction to the bars, the Joystick takes over and fills in the gaps. Great combination. I prefer it over Diablo as it’s lighter weight on helmet.

I’m still using a race maxx which I 420 lumens. More than enough for solo drowned by others. The joystick compliments it nicely. Saying that ts about ti go in for a better change. Hoping to pick up a pre used one at relentless.

Nosedive it won’t seem quite as bonkers when your Chinese light breaks. Which it will. Hopefully without setting your house on fire.

I’ve had a number of exposure lights and still have a joystick but they all had poor batteries after a year or two which at the price they are isnt good.

My Maxx-D is about 6-7 years old (1200 lumen one) and still gets used for night rides, some commuting and a surprising amount of camping with their diffuser thing on, and the battery life is still great. Same with the joystick.

I tried a cheapo chinese light, the charger literally blew up the first time i plugged it in, and the cheapo torch changed modes every time it got knocked. Couldn’t be bothered with all that! I’m not looking for a diy project or a burnt down house.

When my cheap CREE breaks i will replace it. I can do that 8 times and still be in pocket. 8 times. Ive got 3 exposure lights and still use them but they werent worth the money

Also an exposure fanboi here. Something to bear in mind is to try and charge the lights once a month, even over the summer when you’re not using them, to prolong the battery life.

On my second Maxx D after the last one was stolen from my garage. Both lights were/are faultless.

Exposure lights (as with most quality products) are expensive. However I don’t get the argument that cheap Chinese lights are better value when they are almost certain to fail, and carry significant risks of setting your house on fire….

The Loco endurance team pretty much all use Exposure kit, (we have a few national 24 hour race winners, European solo 24 champ and a Guinness world record) so the kit does get a beating!
Super reliable & great backup.

Thanks all,

Hedgehog /iainc – I think maybe I’d prefer the Diablo having done a bit of research, I just think the 1 hour burn time is a bit of a shame

If you can manage more than an hour of full bore descending in a night ride you’re doing bloody well! 😉 I just turn it to max for the fast bits and leave it off or low for the rest. Maxx-D stays on the same setting all ride. My normal night rides are about 4 hours, half solo, half group.

Thanks – That sounds like it will work then, especially as I reckon my night rides will only be an hour and a half

The Max D needs to be supported by a helmet light due to its focused beam, so two lights become pricey, no?

“The Max D needs to be supported by a helmet light due to its focused beam,”

Utter Tosh,

I use a 6 pack on its’ own. It lights up the whole freaking area, I have never felt the need for a helmet light as well.

The Maxx D has a very “floody” beam, but I still prefer to use a head torch also. In my case, I use an ultra fire 502b which seems pretty reliable.