I’m after a helmet light which needs to be lightweight (head unit 50-100g, including battery approx 350g) and approx 800-1000 lumens. I only need battery power for approx 1.5-2hours on high but it must have a quick re-charge. What would folks recommend?
cheers

One of these from ebay. The link is to one from China but they are available from the UK if you can be bothered to look. Use a joystick helmet mount and a bit of self amalgamating tape to hold it in place firmly as the light is 26mm wide. Just put mine on the scales and the whole setup is a shade over 200g with a battery in.

what about one of these with a joystick mount?- maybe not 800 lumen but very bright

http://www.cnqualitygoods.com/goods.php?id=1060

I’ll throw the Gloworm X1 in to the mix which is the new single Cree XM-L U2 based light from Gloworm.

It will be available in 3 weeks time and is currently on a pre-order offer at £100.

Genuine 850 lumens from the U2 emitter
Light head under 60g including the mount plus light 2 cell battery pack
Very small light head with low profile mount
2 hours 15 mins at max power
3 interchangeable optics included – Superspot, Spot and Flood

http://www.crgmoto.co.uk/gloworm-x1-led-light-system—850-real-lumens-1936-p.asp

cheers everyone
any other suggestions?

Exposure Diablo?

Love my Diablo, pricy but such a nice beam spread, not a Batman summoning super spot, but a really nice on the eye spot. packaging is a little OTT and must contribute to the cost rather a bit. High beam i think is an hour but its so easy to switch i get much longer.

got to say, i wouldn’t want to be Lumi / exposure etc at the moment with the new cheaper alternatives coming in strong, wonder if thats why Hope pulled the R8?

four4th exodus, tiny and very light.
http://four4th.co.uk/products/lights/exodus/
63g 1200lumens

superfli – looks interesting, any experience of these?

Wants to be at that price! :0

Ay-Up
Everything but the full on power
130g + 1 mount so in your specs you could do 2 lights and batteries for 260g.
http://www.ayup-lights.com/technical/specifications/
CREE LIGHTSETS – Light Specifications, AYUP- LCP4N

Weight – 58.0 grams
Colours – 12
Brand marking – Yes, laser marking
Type – Twin LED, Independent rotational light housings – 270 degrees
LED type – CREE High Powered LEDs in a Cool White Tint
LED life – over 50,000 hours – Manufacturers estimate
Light Unit Output – Up to 10500 – 11500 lux @ 1 metre, over 560 lumen (40% brighter light)
HALF EPIC – Battery Specifications, B-HE-09 – high / low & flashing – 2012 now with fuel gauge

Operation – See here
Weight – 72.0 grams
Type – Rechargeable 2 cell Lithium Polymer – 7.4V
Burn time with standard lightset – 3 hours on high, 6 hours on low, 12+ hrs on flashing
Burn time with higher powered lightset – 2 hours on high, 3 hours on low, 8+ hrs on flashing

hitman, I have been using the exodus for a couple of seasons now, after my mate got one 3 seasons ago when they were about to be launched. Neither of us have had any issues what so ever. Standard lipo battery lasts ages, I’ve not come close to running it low on 2-3 hr rides (I flick between low beam for climbs and high for descent).
If you want advise on which model or beam etc, ring Derek at four4th, he is a very helpful bloke. British company too 🙂

Ay Up +1.

I bought mine about a year ago and went for the 40% brighter version. I’ve run then well in excess of the 2 hours that they’re rated for on full power, so their run times are very conservative.

And the Ay Up charger works on AC current in the house or 12v with the included cigarette lighter adapter.

Edit – My light, battery, and both gecko helmet mounts weighs 159 grams. Add the weight of 8 velcro dots that are attached to the helmet that I wasn’t going to peel off just to weigh them…

Ay-Up weight with some excess velcro – as above you can use the spots or zip ties but hey thats about 5g.

I’d say about 6 grams of excess velcro…maybe a gram of it is dirt. 😉

Weighed mine the same way but I don’t have a stylish modern euroscale so no photo. 🙁

Ay Up.

you’ve no need of an ultra fast recharge with a spare 2 hour battery. then you just charge both during day time when I guess you don’t need lights.

They are missing a trick on not having USB charging yet though.

I’ve got one of smudges V2000 lights (2x U2), troutie just reviewed it and reckoned it was an actual 1400 which makes sense if the glowworm is arround 850 as perumably that cools better being a single LED.

Either way, 1400 actualy hurt my eyes over a prolonged period! I usualy had it on it’s 3rd setting which was more than enough for tight singletrack, the top setting might be OK/better if you wanted to take on Fort Bill at night (i.e. somewhere wide open and fast with little to reflect all that light back at you).

Just a side note having seen that glowworm pic, I find the light’s weight far less noticable if I mount it right on the back of my helmet, where it’s actualy on top rather than trying to wobble you lid one way or the other. Added bonus the helmet then shields the light from my bars/front wheel.

how much did people pay for postage and import duty on the ay-ups
also what package/beam pattern did most people go for?

I got mine out here and claimed tax back on the way home 🙂
Missus got stung for import when she got hers in the UK
Last I heard they were shipping from the UK to avoid all the problems.
I went for Narrow/Inter I think (default on the Bike Kit)

i got an ayup before the pound tanked against the Aus Dollar, it was around the £200 and i got stung for a further 40-50 for tax i think????

I find that the best thing is light on head, extension cable and battery in jersey pocket, keeps the head weight to an absolute minimum.

One other detail is the saxon cap, rotate the light put on filter and you have a back light.

Yep the Tax wasn’t the issue it was the fees the courier charged.

I wish the pound tanking would result in a drop in the price of Hope here in Oz but currently CRC have better prices than the distributor 🙂

We also get £500 imports tax free here as opposed to the UK. If you know anyone out here whos heading home they can buy and get the 10% Tax back or just collect and forward on when they get back. If I post on I’d only get the insurance if it was declared full value really.

I got the V4 helmet and bar setup. I got the narrow beam for the helmet, and intermediate for the bars. I think that I might like a wider pattern on the bars, and think that I might have been better off with the all rounder instead. I went with what the mfr recommended, and can’t say for sure without having them to compare.

I have the light mounted on the front of my helmet, with the battery mounted on the rear. I run the cable into one of the side vents, and out the top vent behind the light. Cable is the prefect length for this. No issues if you want to take off your helmet; having the battery in a pocket or camelbak would drive me crazy!

I’m in the US so price, tax, shipping, etc. is of not relevant to you.

Ay-ups are great – not 1000 lumen, but very good bright usable light. Mine are off getting the new-for-old +40% upgrade at the moment, can’t wait to try them!

Good system, loads of options of mounts, batteries etc.

Mine arrived with no import tax, my Mrs was so impressed, she ordered her own set and unfortunately got charged.

We’re both running narrow on the lid to compliment a flood on the bars – work great to compliment my MagicShine MJ-872.

Pretty much any of these from DX. Whichever is smallest

Buy a couple of 18650 cells, a charger, and a rifle-mount to strap the light to your helmet and you’re sorted for not a lot of money.

Another vote for Four4th lights here. ALthough I am running a Genesis 3 spot on my helmet. Great little light which I hardly know is there. Made in England with great support.

gravity slave
is import duty not charged anymore on the AyUps?

Hi, Try these http://liteoption.com/

Mega light and sooooooo bright.

Cheers