Hey All,

Does anyone have any reccomendation for a set of lights for off road night riding (web links would be better). Basically the daylight is nearlydone for by the time I get home from work and I’m getting withdrawal symptons!

I am after something that is bright, not too heavy, not too expensive and is rechargeable, preferably with a battery pack.

I’ve seen a few but realistically do not want to spend over £150 and some are just mega expensive.

Anyone with experience of cheap ebay ones?

All help welcome.

Cheers

Andy

I’ve had one of these for a couple of years – bright and has been reliable thus far. They do take a few weeks to arrive though IME.

http://dx.com/p/mj-808-ha-iii-ssc-p7-c-sxo-3-mode-900-lumen-led-bike-light-set-44459

You can buy the same thing here for a bit more cash but it’ll come from the UK – quicker and less hassle if it did go wrong.

http://www.magicshineuk.co.uk/categories/Front-Bike-Lights

Buy one from smudge (or troutie if you can stretch to it!), very helpful blokes 🙂

http://www.mtbbatteries.co.uk/mountain-bike-lights/

Smuge at MTB Batteries is your man

You’ll be wanting one of these

Top quality, very bright stuff, for much cheapness. I think half the forum are using them. It certainly seems that way on our night rides. I certainly am. They’re great!

these are awesome http://www.roughrideguide.co.uk/off-road-mtb-light-pack.html

they won the bike light test in MBUK this month. Budget (if you can call over £100 that), but great performance. Had to turn my down last week as I was casting a shadow for the riders in front of me with their Hope and Exposure lights.

Mine have been fine (also got 808’s which are 3+ years old with no problems), but I would think Hope, Exposure, etc should last longer though. Bulbs will have changed again to something better by then though too.

Ive just started using one of these on my helmet,
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/140744146377?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649
only £30 and seriously bright, very compact battery, I’m very happy.

I also bought some cheap lights for the bars, but they are shhyyyyyyyyyte!

Still at a loss as to why people recommend the old Smudge lights so highly tbh. For slightly less money you can get a Magicshine MJ-872, from a UK supplier, with a UK charger, which totally outclasses it.

Haven’t seen the new Smudge light but it looks like a far better proposition, considering the relatively small difference in price.

I know some people turn their noses up at magicshines but the higher end ones are seriously nice lights, without any real drawbacks (or the lower end ones are seriously cheap, with drawbacks) TBH I’ve heard and seen more people have issues with expensive lights than with these.

I’m close to pressing the button on this one for the bars, they have sold 326 and no negative comments just happy customers.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/220962577490?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

I’ve just got a good set of lights for the bars and a back light, is that enough, or do you need one on the bars and the helmet?

Want to go tomorrow, but if I need another set and I’ll have to wait.

Ride with what you have. You can go out again with more lights if you feel you need it.

Personally, I like a little light on the helmet too – for the purpose of seeing round sharp bends.

Customer service from smudge counts for a lot.

I never liked the look or feel of quality of those mickey mouse lights.

Mickey Mouse lights?! They sound well good, do you have a link?

Check these guys out:

http://www.candb-seen.co.uk/

Me, my brother in law and a few of the fellas have bought these. Absolutely brilliant and holding up perfectly well. Amazingly bright.

I cannot believe how much lights have come down in price in the last 12 months. is anybody still paying 500 quid plus for lupine etc?

+1 for these http://www.candb-seen.co.uk/

They are great for the money.

I use the standard DX and am happy with them. Put a post up a while ago: STW topic

??

Cheers for the recommendations guys, I’ll have a look tomorrow, rubbish wifi in the hotel can’t open the links…..dam travelodge!!!!!!

I have the DX jobbies and also the c & b seen ones. They are both as good as each other IMO. I’d go for whatever is cheapest. My DX ones came from Singapore and took about 10 days. C and B seen have a proper charger and were with me day after next.

Both brilliant and I’m really chuffed with them 🙂

mickey mouse lights are the ones the end is nigh posted a link to. They have big deal ears either side 🙂

+1 for these http://www.candb-seen.co.uk/

They are great for the money.

Got some Cree lights recently. By far the best bike related purchase I’ve ever made!

3600 lm !!!!! for £35 ish

Received my C&B seen last week. Very impressed.

3600 lm !!!!! for £35 ish

Do i need a US > Uk adaptor or do i need to buy a different charger for this?

Surely 4 batteries powering 3xXLM will result in only a 1hour runtime though.

Personally, I’d buy on beam pattern over max lumens. If everyone is happy with that Smudge light, then the speedier delivery might make it worth running with.

Some good pictures here, although sometimes the words seem to argue against the pictures which can be a bit confusing:
http://www.torchythebatteryboy.com/p/bike-light-database.html

Edit: Re: Voltage. Most of these chargers are auto sensing 110-240v, so all you need is a cheap socket adapter which you can get from poundland.

Still at a loss as to why people recommend the old Smudge lights so highly tbh. For slightly less money you can get a Magicshine MJ-872, from a UK supplier, with a UK charger, which totally outclasses it.

Because he provides a very good service, his light performs well and is very reliable.

Mine recently survived 7 hours of continuous rain. I’ve seen plenty of stories about water killing magicshine lights…

I have an ebay 1600 lm cree xml t6 – it’s a great light however you need to factor in the conversation rate from Chinese lie-mens to UK lumens. AN ebay 1600 lm light is more like 500 / 700 lm.

It is not without it’s flaws but what do you expect for £23.

ransos – Member

Mine recently survived 7 hours of continuous rain. I’ve seen plenty of stories about water killing magicshine lights…

Yup, but as I mentioned there are different flavours of Magicshine lights, and for the cost of a Smudge you can get a good one, rather than a cheap one. Doesn’t make sense to compare a £90 light with a £30 light tbh.

But, bear in mind here I’m just talking about the old smudge light- still haven’t seen the new one but I’ve seen similiar units and they’re very effective. Price is very good on that one- you’re not paying a huge amount extra but you get an awful lot more for your money. Much better proposition.

But, bear in mind here I’m just talking about the old smudge light-

So am I. It’s plenty bright enough for my needs, is very reliable, and has well regarded service. It cost £70, not £90.

It’s not just about squeezing the maximum lumens/ £.

I don’t know much about the differences between magicshine lights – do the dearer ones not have any problems with wiring or waterproofing?

They’re £90 now.

It’s not about lumens/£, the 872 has a much wider beam pattern as well as being brighter. Think most lights are past the point of “bright enough” but usability still varies a lot. (there’s newer magicshines with bigger numbers but I’ve not used any of those myself)

The cheaper/older magicshines are splash-resistant at best, I had one of the old P7 ones and ended up sealing it up myself and that made it scotland-proof… But my newer one didn’t need that, it’s been well tested in orrible conditions, exactly as it came out of the box.

Think if you tried one of these higher quality ones you’d be pleasantly surprised. I understand where you’re coming from though, the cheap ones are great value and got me out at night, but it was a pretty shoddy little thing. TBH they could probabkly do with running a dual-brand thing and putting a new name on the better ones.