I want to buy an Exposure front light set for off-road riding in West Yorks.
(Has to be exposure, don’t suggest anything else please!)

Do I need a helmet light as well as the bar light? I was thinking I could get one of their better bar lights at 2000 lumens plus so would that negate the need for the helmet light? I am also concerned about the brackets, they don’t look very sturdy to me in the pics on the website.

I was thinking a MaxxD on its own would be OK, any ideas?

The only other light I can get is that new Hope one but it looks a bit heavy and I do like the all-in-one package of the Exposure lights.

A single bright light on the bars is great until you want to go round a corner and the light isn’t pointing where you need to look.

I’ve got a Reflex on the bars with a helmet mounted joystick and this setup has been trouble free for a couple of years (once a week for about six months). No problem with the brackets.

I’ve got a Maxx D and older joystick combo.

Had it’s first outing as a set on Monday night and it’s brilliant. I’ve had the joystick (mk7) for ages and been through loads of chinese/UK battery packs, lights etc on my bars and they have all died a death in one way or another while the joystick just kept on trucking.

The Maxxd mount is brilliant on the bars, proper sturdy virtually no chance of rotation by the usual bouncing about, even with the extra weight. Waaaaay better than the usual rubber band shite.

Someone was selling a Maxx D/Diablo combo in the classifieds, that’d do the trick 😀

Oh and yes, you want a helmet light as well not just for corners and jumps but it throws a different shadow over stuff and helps fill in the gaps that you get form having a light relatively low down compared to your head.

I XC with an ancient 480L race maxx on the bars and a mk7 (spotty as opposed to floody one) joystick on the helmet and it’s fine. In big groups I can struggle a bit as I’m out blasted by everything else.

mate has a MaxxD which I’m hoping to borrow for a night race (low power for 12 hours) as it’s awesome. If you felt you needed anything else as an addition you might as well ride in the day only.

Do I need a helmet light as well as the bar light?
I was thinking I could get one of their better bar lights at 2000 lumens plus so would that negate the need for the helmet light?
I am also concerned about the brackets, they don’t look very sturdy to me in the pics on the website.

Yes
No
Very sturdy

I’ve a Joystick for my helmet and a bigger light on my bars, but the Joystick is +5 y/o (and low in lumens for the speeds we now do) so looking at a Diablo or new Joystick.

MaxxD is a really good light, I bought mine on impulse when a chinese light failed before a ride. I already had a Diablo for my helmet though, while the MaxxD is good and has an excellent spread of light, I prefer riding with a helmet light too as there’s always light where you’re looking.

I have the MaxxD and a Joystick too.

However, I havent used them at once, i.e the joystick on the helmet. But I will be 🙂 I bought the Joystick ages ago as a commuter and the MaxxD to replace some Hope lights I had for a bit more power.

Superb lights.

The V style metal brackets are very secure, better than any other light bracket I’ve come across. The U style plastic brackets for the small head torches (joystick, diablo etc.) are also very secure but if you snag the light (low branch etc.) it can pop out but this is generally a good thing as rather that than your head gets hooked back – provided you notice the lights popped out ofc which should be obvious.

I use a diablo myself on my helmet and a troute light on the bars but would go for a MaxxD for the bars if I were to change it. Joystick would be a good helmet light, I had the mk 1 years ago and it was a bit weak but it’s much improved now.

TBH it depends on how you want to ride, a joystick on your head is totally adequate for night riding. But sometimes you want to go for a Night Ride, and sometimes you just want to go for a normal ride and it happens to be night, and you generally want a lot more light for that. I’ve gone fully atomic these days but I still like to ride on low power, or in twilight with no lights at all, just for the fun of it

If only 1 light, on the head. Really powerful bar lights can be adequate as solo lights but they need to be pretty mighty for both range and wide beam, and that works out more expensive than buying 2 good lights. But 2 lights is just much better, if nothing else for a backup. Exposure are good but any light can break in a crash or turn out not to be fully charged.

(exposure’s brackets are ace btw. Helmet one especially)

I don’t like the super cheapies but it could be a good balance- one quality light, and a cheapo just to add some power and redundancy.

Got a MaxxD and Joystick combo (lucky enough to win the Joystick in a Tuesday Treats a while ago now 😀 )

Works really well together – tend to angle the MaxxD down a bit and cover the mid-distance with the Joystick. The helmet mounted light is perfect for twisty trails.

The helmet mount seems more than strong enough and very secure – broken one or two clipping trees but I’d prefer the mount gave up rather than my neck.

six pack and diabolo here. i’ve never heard anyone wish they had less light.
bar and lid is good because you get light around corners as mentioned, but also shadows so you can see/judge holes better than you would with just a helmet light. pleased with mine.

I strong,y suggest you all secure your helmet lights with the lanyard. I popped mine out the other day going undera tree – I’ve dented it and now it won’t work properly and switches itself off

Off to USE this week to see what they can do…

I use a MaxxD ion the bars with a remote switch and a Diablo on my helmet with a spare battery as run at full the Diablo on last 1 hour.

Brackets are very sturdy and easy to use.

I’ve also got Hope lights and overall I prefer the Exposure ones as they don’t have separate battery packs, despite the irony of having a spare battery ziptied to my helmet!

MaxxD and Diablo here. Will be adding a support cell battery to the Diablo so I have the option of running it flat out for 2hours.

Diablo is on a lanyard which is looped through the helmet vents and secured so there is no lanyard flapping about, if the light does get knocked off, its not going far.

Diablo on both bars and helmet. It’s just evolved that way from wanting to keep the same mount and be able to switch between bars (road bike) and helmet (MTB) but now I seem to have acquired about 3 Diablo lights!

I’ve used a Toro which I borrowed from a mate, that was also very good.
The light mounts, both bar and helmet, are rock solid.

If I was buying a new bar light I’d probably go for the Toro, good cross between bright enough without being wildly expensive.

This is me descending in the Quantocks a couple of weeks ago, MaxxD on the bars with Diablo on the helmet. Diablo is pointing too far down as I’d forgotten my helmet mount so just cable tied it to the vents.

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuE4809dhyY[/video]

Definitely agree that you need to supplement a bar mounted light with a helmet mounted one. A Diablo on the bars and a Joystick on the helmet work well for me.

Six pack mk3 on the bars and Diablo mk4 for helmet light.

Never had a problem with the mounting with the exception of using the Diablo on the road bike on the bars – it sometimes rattles a little in the plastic holder that clips into the metal bar clamp.

Ive noticed more and more people running lights underneath the bars but not sure if the exposure bar clamp is suitable for this, would be interested to know if others are doing this and it remains secure.

2016 version MaxxD and Joystick here, ideal IMO. I have used this combination for around 4 yrs, upgrading them every yr or so, selling the older ones while they still have decent value. Works out around £100 a yr after the initial investment

Another Diablo/bars and Joystick/helmet user. As above, work flawlessly and only on rare occasions do I wish for something brigher. Great product, great aftersales also if needed.

It does a bit depend on if your budget can stretch. Lots of people are recommending Maxx-D plus Joystick which is a fantastic combination but is the best part of 500GBP.

If you could only afford a Maxx-D (350GBP) would you prefer that or a Toro + Sirrus (375GBP).

I’ve got an older Toro (1200Lm) and Joystick (400Lm) which I still think is a better combo than just a bar light of the same output which riding friends have. As many mentioned above a helmet lights gives:
a) Back-up if one one fails
b) Ability to look around corners
c) Better depth perception than a single point source
b) Handy light to fix mechanicals

Also never had a problem with either mounts.

Where I am going to be riding is probably going to be very rocky and dark (under trees) so does that affect things?

if you are on bar light only without a helmet one, those rocks will appear flatter than they are….

I would always recommend bar and lid conbo

If you’re riding through trees then definitely go for a bar and lid conbo. Alos i have the lanyard for my Diablo which has saved me losing it a couple of times over the last year or so 🙂

Where I am going to be riding is probably going to be very rocky and dark (under trees) so does that affect things?

Yep, definitely need the lights on bars and helmet.

I’m in the Tweed Valley, often it’s Innerleithen – and riding DH trails at night really brings them alive 🙂

I use the Sixpack / Diablo combo, more than enough for anything!

I’ve also got the Revo dynamo light too, which is great if you’re on your own, but needs something like a diablo on your head for group rides as it’s not super bright.

Dusty #downland #singletrack by Jim Barrow, on Flickr

I don’t use an Exposure on the bars, but the Axis I used for the second time last night seems to be an excellent helmet light.

Bit heavier than the Joystick but more powerful and from what I can gather a little more spotty than the newer Joysticks.

Some people on here saying you “need” a bar and helmet light for riding where it will be “rocky and dark”. My advice would be to get a good helmet light – I definitely agree that is more important than a bar light – and then see how you get on.