Gonna get ripped for this but I’ll ask anyway. Having been out of the loop for a while I’m looking to buy some reasonable lights for night time riding.

Have been told a helmet light is essential alongside a bar mounted light.
There appears to be millions of options at dealextreme.

I’m just after a set (for bike and helmet) that’ll be reasonable quality, good beam pattern and not too expensive.

Can anyone enlighten me 😉

forgot to mention price – the cheaper the better

if a full set can be done for sub £50 all the better

Depends what you call reasonable and what you expect.

For proper singletrack riding Id personally expect to pay more – I use Exposure lights.

But some of my mates have used some cheap torches from Hong Kong that were fine, cant recall the name / make, but they were about £80 IIRC.

i mean i don’t need the brightest things available, but want them to last at least a couple of years

For sub-£50 have a look for Hope Vision1 on fleabay. Was someone over on XCracer forum selling one for £30.
On a bigger budget try a fullBeam X12, 4,500 lumens! And still cheaper than some of Lupine’s oferings.

Forget the expensive “proper lights” they are far less bang for your buck thatn a deal extreme/ magicshine

have a search on here for recommendations – been loads of threads recently

I honestly don’t think you can beat the simple advice here:

http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=17265285#17265285

I would only add a helmet mount, I use this one:

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/universal-nylon-mount-for-flashlights-and-lasers-12000

Absolutely brilliant, for about £60 you get two lamps, two mounts, and a spare set of batteries giving you four hours burn at full whack.

I’ve bought three pairs and another two mates have bought a pair each. Very happy.

thanks very much for the suggestions, as has been said looking to dealextreme is my plan

anyone with real experience of a unit please gimme a link!

what about this beastie?

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/t6-waterproof-xml-t6-3-mode-1200-lumen-white-led-bike-light-with-battery-pack-set-904482510

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CREE-XML-XM-L-T6-1600LM-LED-Bicycle-Light-HeadLamp-HeadLight-/280799777306?pt=UK_HomeGarden_Lighting_Lamps_Lighting_SM&hash=item4160f8921a#ht_3850wt_1110

I’ve got one of these as a head torch and it’s great as a headtoroch. For a bar light one of the below fitted to give a better beam would be pretty good i reckon. £75 all in too.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/250970937857?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649#ht_500wt_1361

My link is the same as your last one but cheaper. Job done. Won’t be the best lights in the world ever but more than good enough and amazing for the money.

the one you link to is used by a couple of lads on our wednesday night ride and is very good for the money. there are quite a few of the previous version still running on that ride too.
one of these or similar for your helmet are very useful indeed. to run that you will also require 18650 li-ion cells and a charger. that vendor can supply cells, torch and charger for about 40 quid iirc.
i use one of these torches in conjunction with a powerful bar light and it’s an excellent combination.

I’ve ridden a set of exposures for years and swear by them. Just got back from a quick jaunt with a pair of cheapy cree torches, wanted to see what the fuss was about.

Have to say, they’re nearly as good as my exposures IMO. Not as nice, no bling, no quality, not made in the UK. BUT…. They light the trail well, the batteries are cheap as chips and last well. This is the main light I just bought:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/370568415221?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649

The only big downside I can see is in the mounts. I’ll be keeping my exposures thanks all the same, but will be lending the cree lights to my mates. All in £50 for 2 torches, mounts, charger and 3 18650 batteries. Can’t go wrong, do check eBay tho as the prices compare to dealextreme and you don’t have to wait 4 weeks….

Have a look at is seller. UK based with delivery in a couple of days. £50 will get you a pair decent lights. Ignore the exaggerated lumens claim, but they are plenty bright enough.

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/locoisle-store?_trksid=p4340.l2563

Hi mate,

Smudge’s lights are a good option. They’re £67, so a bit more than the Dealextreme options, but I’ve heard his (UK) customer service is excellent (though I’ve not personally had to rely on it!). You can get them here:

http://www.mtbbatteries.co.uk/4.html

It has a very bright central spot and a gentle flood to it. I’ve used it with its helmet mount on local trails (some twisty, some quite fast) and it’s absolutely fine as a solo light, punching through the Exposure Maxx D (£250) / Joystick (£130) combos my riding buddies had. For racing / very fast trails I’d add another, more floody light to the bar for confidence, but trust me it’s plenty by itself!

Will probably write a proper review of Smudge’s light over the next few days.

Enjoy 🙂

-Adrian

I’ve given Smudge the odd challenge. Really impressed. Good service, really helpful. Think of the opposite of Wiggle………..

A bit less than you want to pay but the alpkit gamma is excellent

Dont forget its chinese new year so if you order anything from DX it’ll take even longer than usual to get here, it’ll probably be light on an evening by the time it arrives!