bellefied, I have one, it's nothing special and definitely not something you'd replace the batteries within easily. It's lasted well for about 1.5 years and still works ok now, but at a depleted rating. I was thinking about trying to replace the cells but in all honest one of these battery boxes look a better bet, and I'll probably replace mine with one.
Seems a waste to buy a powerful light and need to run it at a low power a lot of the time to extend the battery life.
Surely you really don't need it on high apart from on descents though do you? And sadly they only tend to take up a fairly small part of your ride.
grum - MemberSurely you really don't need it on high apart from on descents though do you? And sadly they only tend to take up a fairly small part of your ride.
I ride a lot of twisty tracks through woodland, and it is just nicer on high.
Could easily get by on medium though, personal choice.
>The problem with trying to combine the batteries with the case are twofold:
1) Batteries aren't from the same shop as the case
2) Royal Mail wont deliver the batteries (from the group buyer to individuals).<
Not seeing how the batteries & case from different sources are much of an issue as 18650 is standard /known size. The only issue for me is the length of the oversized Panasonic protected unit.
>Just to do the group buy on the battery box and order the cells individually from fasttech...sorted.<
As I said, little to be gained by faffing around with battery group buys anyway.
>would this be any good for the solarstorm x2?<
Not for me, I use these already on my other lights and they are struggling after 2.5hrs (riding time) Plus they only rated @ 4400Mah. Doubt that's a genuine figure anyway. The big Panasonics should give 6400 Mah - good for 3hrs on high.
Like some of the others above I don't really see the point in buying powerful lights only to faff around keeping them on low to prevent you from running out of juice.
Like some of the others above I don't really see the point in buying powerful lights only to faff around keeping them on low to prevent you from running out of juice.
I don't see the point of making it look like daylight to slowly grind up a hill.
I guess as pointed out above it depends where you ride, but with the kind of riding I mostly do it tends to be reasonable length climbs followed by quick descents - there's not loads of undulating stuff.
Occasionally pressing a button doesn't qualify as faffing around in my book.
Don't get me wrong I'd like batteries that last forever but I also don't see dipping them as much of a hassle at all. I used to ride at night with 2 x 200 lumen torches and that seemed fine, even for my local DH track - so using these on low half the time should be no great hardship.
That and lots of us ride in groups where having your light on high all the time can cause issues for ppl withless powerful light. I have a bar light (SS X2) and a helmet light (troutie mini) but much of the ride only the bar light on a lower setting is required or polite.
I can see scope for a higher capacity battery pack for my bar mounted light say a 6 or 8 18650 cell bottle job, I already use a 4 cell pack sat rattling about in a converted storage bottle which is ample, but setting that up to hold more cells sort of makes sense to me.
The goal of such an exercise would be to achieve longer general run time, i.e. I could wring many more hours of normal, mixed Hi/Mid/Low use use out of my bar mounted light and charge them far less frequently, obviously there is a weight penalty in doing that, but I could live with it, to only need to charge the cells once a fortnight during winter would be great...
Using your lights on full all the time just sounds like a bit of a waste to me as well TBH. I dip mine for Bridleways and Road sections and turn off the Helmet light when its not needed, running a constant full power death ray would surely just mess up your night vision anyway, having the lighting proportionate to what you are actually doing makes sense... You don't drive everywhere with you full beams on do you?
I can't see me needing any more run time from a noggin light, its normally used on full power, but for no more than perhaps 25-35% of a typical night ride...
I simply don't have enough continuous trail riding available from my doorstep to need more than an hours full power burn time on my noggin, YMMV but I really can't see the need unless your doing some sort of mid-winter Night time super Enduro... Which does sound like a pretty awesome race format, Hmmm...
It probably is a bit wasteful, but given the choice, I'd rather not have to be constantly thinking about whether I should be dipping or switching off lights for fear of running out of juice. I'd rather just be riding my bike and letting my mind focus on enjoying the ride.
It's kinda like the whole adjustable suspension debate - do you really want to be faffing with suspension knobs and levers when riding. Some do, some don't...
I've just down a run time test on the X2 light to see what sort of use I can get out of it on this week's ride. I use a waterbottle to hold my battery, which is big enough to take two of the 4 cells packs, so I made a lead up to run a pair of batteries in parallel in the hope that I'd get a couple of hours out of it.
I put the lamp in the fridge to help keep it cool and I got barely an 1hr15 out of them before the protection circuit cut in 🙁
This was using batteries which had both given 2hr30+ on the single XML-T6.
I've got another battery to try on it, but I don't have much hope of that lasting much longer.
The batteries that come in the kit aren't up to the job of running these lights, and I wouldn't run one on it's own without a backup. The voltage drops off very quickly at the sort of current these lights draw, and it doesn't take long for it to get down to the protection circuit's cutoff point. When the light goes out it seems the only way to reset the protection is to connect it to the charger. Just disconnecting it and giving it a few minutes to recover doesn't work.
The design of the LED driver seems to be designed to maintain a constant power output - the result being that when the battery voltage falls off it increases the current draw to compensate, which just kills the battery even quicker.
My advice would be to avoid using the batteries that come with the light, or if you do use the high power mode with caution. As soon as the battery warning led starts flashing on the light cut it down to low power to avoid it cutting out all together.
I wouldn't recommend the twin LED to anyone unless they already have a decent battery to power it.
I've ordered myself a set of Samsung 2.8Ah cells with solder tabs, which I'll make up into a 5.6Ah 4 cell pack. I'll have to pinch the circuit protection PCB out of one of the Chinese packs as I can't find anywhere in the UK that sells them mail order. I'll probably order a couple more Samsungs and make a little 2 cell pack for the T6 lamp I've got on the helmet - it'll be small enough to stick on the back of the helmet, rather than running the cable down to my pack.
I came across a nice single XML-U2 LED unit on Amazon which looks like it might make a nice little helmet mounted light - it looks tiny!
[url= http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pellor-Portable-Waterproof-Adjustable-Bicycle/dp/B00AZFJVA0/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=2MOQOKQ3PIYDZ&coliid=I38LIMC4NFVID9 ]http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pellor-Portable-Waterproof-Adjustable-Bicycle/dp/B00AZFJVA0/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=2MOQOKQ3PIYDZ&coliid=I38LIMC4NFVID9[/url]
I'm not so sure about the X3 light now. The heat output on the X2 is pretty ridiculous, and the X3 is going to run even hotter. You're also going to need to swap the standard battery for a decent quality 6 cell, at least.
To be honest I'll probably run the X2 on the mid setting for most of the time, but I still want a battery capable of running for 2hrs on full. I don't want to have to monitor my use of the light, otherwise it's always going to be in the back of my mind how much full beam I'm using.
It's been quite interesting messing about with these cheap lights, but looking at how much I've spent so far, I kind of wish I'd just stumped up £115 for the Fluxient 3x U2......
if I get hold of one of these 4 x 18650 battery boxes, am I best running them with protected batteries on the assumption that the battery box wont come with protection circuitry? 😕
I ordered one of these 6 pack batteries from fasttech - not had a chance to try it yet as the X2 hasn't arrived.
http://www.fasttech.com/products/0/10004539/1347108-8-4v-6600mah-2s3p-6-18650-rechargeable-li-ion
I ordered one of these 6 pack batteries from fasttech - not had a chance to try it yet as the X2 hasn't arrived.
At that sort of price I wouldn't get your hopes up. It should be better than the supplied battery, but will won't be anywhere near 6.6Ah. Probably more like 4Ah. On the upside a 6 cell battery should hold up a bit better on full power with the X2.
I ordered my X2 as the light only anyway. Fasttech seem to have an ok reputation from posts I've read on mtbr. I will post up how I get on with it.
My x2 arrived today so stuck it on the bike for the commute home. Had it on for 20 minutes on low and it went down to 2 green lights, so not great. But for the money it's still a great light and I'll probably run this as aback up light and get a battery from smudge at some point.
Mine runs on full for an hour before going down to 2 indicators, but then goes off within the next 15 minutes. Lasts twice as long on medium though, so not too bad.
Jesus, these things must be stupid powerful! I recently got a 4.4Ah battery from Smudge for my led converted Lumicycles running the 670mA black cat drivers.
I wanted to give them a run time test before the 24/12. Ran both lamps on full power and gave up after 4.5 hrs.
Dunno how bright they are, but bright enough combined with a spokeshirts head torch (not strictly necessary) for wanging about in the dark.
MarkLG has pretty much made the points I would have.
For sure the Fasttech 6600Mah is cheap - but there's a reason for that 😉 Bottom line you haven't a clue what you're getting really...
The head unit on its own can be had for peanuts so I'm quite happy to take a punt on that whilst building a battery that I know will have the minimum output it needs.... and one that can be used to improve the life of my existing set up / be used in my single cell torches.
Stumpy - I'm confused which light did you run on full power with the 4.4?
Mine runs on full for an hour before going down to 2 indicators, but then goes off within the next 15 minutes. Lasts twice as long on medium though, so not too bad.
That's pretty much what I'm finding - the voltage holds up pretty well for the first hour, but drops off very quickly before shutting down. If you want to get 2 hours out of the standard battery you can only run on full power very sparingly.
Theblackmount, a couple of yrs ago there was a lot of info on here about converting Lumicycle halogens to led, which is what I ended up doing.
There was a guy on here called Blackcattech doing led drivers that you could squeeze in the halogen cans with some Cree leds to improve the brightness and runtime.
The original 6.6Ah battery from Lumicycle lasted 7hrs 20 with both cans on full whack, but my battery failed earlier this year and I could only get 90 mins from it.
So Smudge (mtbbatteries) sorted me out a 4.4Ah li-ion replacement that is much lighter.
I reckon it should be good for 5 hrs on full. God knows how many lumens they are outputting, but it's plenty, although perhaps not quite up there with the xml offerings now available!
I have got some taskLED drivers that will run at much higher current, but that would require custom housings, which aren't gonna be cheap.
Christ this is a long thread, i've had three glasses of wine and just need to know..
Can I get a decent usb or plug charging 'the aliens have landed' light setup for under 50 quid?
Understood Stumpy.
Probably near enough Mekon but you'll need to sink another few bottles to find out exactly how 😉
Theblackmount, on it.
I've ordered 3 of the solar storm battery boxes. If they're any good ill stick one of them up for sale here for cost.
My x2 (I got from a uk seller in order to get a uk charger) gets +4 hours from both batteries I ordered on medium. On high I reckon I get 1 1/2ish hours.
The light is ace, but having read torchy's and a few others comments - when the advice is "don't let charge unattended" on the batteries, and there are such variances on battery life times (even allowing for the low capacity batteries on some of the ads) I'm thinking its a plan to try something that won't burn my house down...
I ordered some 3100mah panasonics with tabs on and put them in an old magicshine box (the one with the voltage display). Some dodgy soldering and scary short circuit moment later and i have a pack that just ran the X2 on high for 3 hours.
Going to build another one using loose 3400mah and battery holders. Prefer the idea of being able to switch the cells without needing the soldering iron, just need to make it waterproof
Where to buy if you want to snap up a bargain from china:
DX?
Lightmalls?
Fasttech?
Any issues with the quality of the lights from any of these sellers?
Share you experiences guys.
>I ordered some 3100mah panasonics with tabs on and put them in an old magicshine box (the one with the voltage display). Some dodgy soldering and scary short circuit moment later and i have a pack that just ran the X2 on high for 3 hours.<
That's far more like it. Based on that the 3400Mah Panasonics should be on the money.
I have an X2. Toying with stumping up the money for one of Smudges batteries. Still get a good light and battery for under £80 which is round about what i was thinking when buying lights.
My X2 lasted an 1hr15mins... Charged it up, now the three lights on the back come on, but the light will not turn on! 😡
I've had my solar storm now since August and am surprised that anyone needs to run it on full for anything other than the gnadgery bits. By switching between low, medium and high accordingly Ive got plenty of life in my batteries at the end of a night ride.
Just saying you surely don't need them on full the whole time
I contacted Solarstorm direct and they came back with a price of £90 for 20 units delivered by Fedex (which might mean customs charges on top).
So £4.50 + 30% + UK postage will probably come out at £8 a battery holder.
I'm not interested at the moment (can't afford the panasonic cells and a charger at the moment), but I can forward the quote to anyone if they want to take it up. Email in profile.
Not sure if this has been done, but my X2's arrived last Fri charged up (not sure how much though).
If the battery was run right down how long does it take to fully charge them? Got them through the Crawley guy with a UK charger if that makes any difference.
I'm due to use them for first time tomorrow night and not sure about how much charging they need before then to get the best out of them....
[i]If the battery was run right down how long does it take to fully charge them? Got them through the Crawley guy with a UK charger if that makes any difference.[/i]
Until the light on the charger goes from red to green. I take it you go a UK charger with indicator LED? I bought from the Crawley guy and contacted him to confirm the light was supplied with a UK charger as per the pics - I got a 2 pin and 3 pin in the box.
Hey guys, some of you may have seen my post on mtbr and emailed me already, I just found this thread from Google. I must admit that my real love is touring so sorry if I'm a bit of an imposter here!! Just in case anyone's interested I have some of the Solarstorm waterproof battery boxes on their way to the UK, they should be here by the end of the week or by the beginning of next week, I also have a few sets of the Solarstorm X2 with battery boxes (instead of the cheapo battery boxes) with a UK plug I also ordered some high quality, Panasonic batteries. The batteries will be a wee bit later because of the current problems with getting Lithium batteries through HK customs but SHOULd be here by the end of next week
If you want me to put one aside for you or you have any questions my email is ollyboyd[at]hot mail.co.uk If you live in Edinburgh or Dundee you're welcome to pick them up, I can't give you the price of the sets until they pass through customs but they'll be very competetive. I'll send you one of the Solar storm boxes for £12.00 delivered.
Cheers, Ollie
Nice one Ollie :tup:
What LEDs are in the X2 lights you've got?
Hey Nealy, they're U2s I'll test them before I send them out so you don't get any dodgy emitter patterns!
Ollie
ollie, emailed you yesterday, after being pointed to the MTBR thread... did you receive it? (or is it sat in your spam folder...)
Hey guys,
Sorry there were a couple of emails in spam from yesterday. I'll keep checking it.
Ollie
I think the ssx2 is perfect on medium for majority of night riding, high is silly bright, great for twisty downhill id say.
Hi Olly, just mailed you
Cheers
Dom
top man Ollie! 🙂
I've just mailed you too Olly.
Cheers mate
email on its way...........
CBA to read the whole thread and sorry if it's been done but as a user of the single XML cheapie chinese spolight on my lid, I have found there is very little to no strain relief for the cable at the battery end and the lamp end. This resulted, after a years use in a short cicuit at both ends, proving at least there is short circuit protection.
But still an annoying failure.
A simple fix is to cable tie a loop in the cable at each end so the the strain is taken up by the cable, rather than the soldered ends of the thin guage wire and will hopefully avoid the need to re-solder the connections (bloody dificult at the lamp end) if you catch the cable on something
I've a Solarstorm head unit on order - does anyone know what connector's on it? I've also ordered [url= http://www.lightmalls.com/waterproof-4-18650-battery-set-for-led-bicycle-lights-with-magic-bag ]this battery[/url] which looks like the one sold by [url= http://www.candb-seen.co.uk/accessories/battery-packs--chargers.html ]C and B[/url]. Please tell me it's going to fit...
Hi Ollie, I'm also interested in your £12 offer, but can't find your email addy 😳
Right guys I'm off to bed, I'll reply to any more emails from you night owls in the morning! 😀
ivnickkate I've sent you an email.
I've a Solarstorm head unit on order - does anyone know what connector's on it? I've also ordered this battery which looks like the one sold by C and B. Please tell me it's going to fit...
Hey jruk that pack looks like it may just about fit at a push although it doesn't have the waterproof screw attachment. You may also find the runtimes are a bit disappointing.
Ollie
Ollie, put me down for a £12 battery box too please.
Last night's 2 hour nightride on medium with high for only descents. 2 bars left on both. Fast tech stock batteries
[IMG] 
[/IMG]
Saw a SS 3 on last night's ride, stupid bright..
Brand new set out for first time last night.
Fully charged the night before (3 green). Plugged in yesterday and had one flashing green (eek). Still managed 2.5 hours of slightly nervous low + medium use. Hopefully might improve with a few charge cycles.....
On my old Hopes I've been running my son's 4Ah RC car Nimh battery with no problems (much more reliable and longer run time than the original Hope pack which they already replaced twice on warranty). There is a small weight and size penalty, but seem cheap, rugged and reliable compared to Lion and much more tolerant of less than ideal charge / discharge habits. Also means I can do a 30 minute recharge (£25 buys a delta V sensing charger that runs on 12V / 240V)
Oh bugger, looks like I've ordered the wrong battery...can anyone recommend one that will fit, run for a decent amount of time and not burn my garage down when I'm charging it please?
Still waiting on my X2 but thinking about batterys more and more ahead of it arriving...
anyone know how much current the 'X2' actually draws on "High" mode? I was assuming it would run both of the LEDs at 2.8-3A meaning the draw would be 5.6-6A... Right?
But [I]theblackmount's[/I] trial (3hrs run time from a 4x3100mAh battery pack) suggests the 'X2' is pulling something like 4-4.2A on high... doe it run each LED at ~ 2A (to manage heat?) or have I just got my maths way off?
I read elsewhere that they draw around 2A on high, which would fit in with a 3 hour runtime as 4x3100mAh batteries make up a 6200mAh battery when wired for 7.4v.
hi guys, did anyone have a link for a UK seller who sold the head unit without the battery and charger? What with all the concern over it, i'd planned to buy a better battery, but i don't really want to have to have 2!
anyone know how much current the 'X2' actually draws on "High" mode? I was assuming it would run both of the LEDs at 2.8-3A meaning the draw would be 5.6-6A... Right?
No, because the LEDs operate at around 3.2V whereas the battery is at 7.4V.
Someone posted earlier that they draw 2A from the battery. If you assume that the driver is 90% efficient and do the sums, you end up with just over 2A through each LED. This would give a brightness of around 1500 lumens, which is exactly what the manufacturer claims.
4x3100mAh is wired as 2S2P so you end up with a 7.4V 6200mAh battery.
The lights draw between 2 and 2.4 amps, depending on battery voltage. The driver seems to maintain a constant output, so when the battery voltage drops off the current draw.
The kit batteries seem to be between 2 and 3 Ah. Good quality 3.1Ah cells built into a 2s2p pack giving 6.2Ah should give 2.5 - 3 hours on high beam, and about 5 hrs using most med power, and high on downhills.
Heading out tonight with my X2 for the first time. Have that on my lid and a fluxient 3x u2 on the bars. Should be plenty bright enough 🙂
Having read the Cree data sheet it says the XML-U2 puts out a [I]calculated[/I] 742lm @2000 mA, more "honest" sources are calling the 'X2' a "1500lm" (2x750lm) light so that makes far more sense more efficient that running them both at the 3A max...
I was being lazy and just totting up A as if they were in series but then doubling the current the lamp draws... I'd ended up at the same run time numbers, but I was ignoring voltage, which the driver must reduce down to run the two emitters... Effectively Halve the voltage, double the current... right?
But then just how crappy are the stock battery packs then?
The battery pack had to be ~2200mAh for the 1 hour 15 mins on "high" that [I]Milkie[/I] reported, using 1100mAh cells? (laptop reclamation jobbies?), that is concerning...
I suppose you're looking at what ~£40 on some reasonable 3100 or 3400 mAh cells plus a bit for that housing and maybe some other bits?, so achiving that 3hrs plus run time on high is a good £50. But I think it's worth assembling a decent battery pack, not specifically for the 'X2' but because there seems to be a new chinese light doing the rounds every 12 - 24 months and I'd rather just buy a head unit for relatively little and run them off of a reliable power source than the viariable quality packs they come with as standard...
But then just how crappy are the stock battery packs then?
The battery pack had to be ~2200mAh for the 1 hour 15 mins on "high" that Milkie reported, using 1100mAh cells? (laptop reclamation jobbies?), that is concerning...
but seriously what do you expect for £21 for the whole set of lights, batteries, battery charger, battery holder, etc.
They are bound to be reclaimed batteries as they are effectively free compared to buying 4 Panasonics with built in protection
Having read the Cree data sheet it says the XML-U2 puts out a calculated 742lm @2000 mA, more "honest" sources are calling the 'X2' a "1500lm" (2x750lm) light so that makes far more sense more efficient that running them both at the 3A max...
Yep.
I was being lazy and just totting up A as if they were in series but then doubling the current the lamp draws... I'd ended up at the same run time numbers, but I was ignoring voltage, which the driver must reduce down to run the two emitters... Effectively Halve the voltage, double the current... right?
By complete fluke, ignoring voltage gives the right answer in this case: the LEDs have about 3.25V across each of them, or 6.5V across a pair in series, which is about 10% less than the battery voltage - and you'd expect to see about a 10% power loss in the driver. So in this case, the current through each LED just happens to be roughly the same as the current from the battery.
But then just how crappy are the stock battery packs then?
The battery pack had to be ~2200mAh for the 1 hour 15 mins on "high" that Milkie reported, using 1100mAh cells? (laptop reclamation jobbies?), that is concerning...
I'd assumed that the stock batteries were just a single pair of 18650s in series, so two 2200mAh cells. Although if you look here:
[url] http://www.torchythebatteryboy.com/p/18650-batteries-chargers.html [/url]
1100mAh cells are not unheard of...
Next noddy question Anyone ever built a battery using 26650 cells? found some 4000mAh, 3.7V - 26650 for a reasonable price...
I'd be building a battery using my current converted storage bottle as a housing so there's bags of space to fit them in... any reason not to try and lash an 8000mAh battery together?
It should run a single XML or P7 for ~5.25+ hours or the 'X2' for ~4 hours I think...
Next noddy question Anyone ever built a battery using 26650 cells? found some 4000mAh, 3.7V - 26650 for a reasonable price...
Should be an interesting build, I'd go for it. Will you cut the connector off your existing pack?
hi guys, did anyone have a link for a UK seller who sold the head unit without the battery and charger? What with all the concern over it, i'd planned to buy a better battery, but i don't really want to have to have 2!
Hey Spudly1979, I have some sets coming, someone else wants the charger out of one of them so you're welcome to the head unit and I'm sure I can find a home for the waterproof battery box.
Ollie
@wwpaddler ssx2 is mounted with strong sticky back velcro, quick to attach/detach, sometimes quickly add zipties for added security from branches etc
@painy get some pics!
@cookea
"But then just how crappy are the stock battery packs then?
The battery pack had to be ~2200mAh for the 1 hour 15 mins on "high" that Milkie reported, using 1100mAh cells? (laptop reclamation jobbies?), that is concerning..."
when you get the SSX2 for less than £25, and realise just how good medium is on the trails compared to £200-£300 more expensive Hope units etc, I think they are absolute bargains, and switching onto high when needed is to be expected for a 3 hour outing 😉
Marmaduke - when you say battery box, do you mean a box to put a battery in or a battery+box? Sorry for being thick. How does the one you have differ from the one I mentioned?
Ta!
Should be an interesting build, I'd go for it. Will you cut the connector off your existing pack?
I've got a spare connector from a previous dead battery, it'll be going in this setup:
[img] 
[/img]
[img] 
[/img]
It just uses an intermediate section of cable I made up to connect the battery to the head. You simply adjust how much cable it uses with the gromit and the slack stays in the bottle see:
[img] 
[/img]
Easily enough room to accommodate 4 x 26650...
Nicely done! I was thinking getting the Solarstorm factory to send some of their waterproof connectors as long as they're dirt cheap for similar DIY projects. [url= 
]Like these[/url]
Do you think a bit of water/dirt ingress makes any difference? Did you cannibalise something else for the sealed bolts?
I just used cheap connectors, I think I got them from maplin.
If your worried about crap ingress you can just give them a wrap of tape.
I'd be interested to see how you get on. My trusty 14.8V 4.4Ah Lumicycle bottle battery has just died, so I'm wondering what to do to replace it.
Mine arrived today, rode tonight.
Boght solar storm 2 led unit with 4 cell battery, also ordered 8 cell 10000 mah battery for increased run time.
Only took the 4 cell battery tonight, Its got good light very bright decent range, but had it bar mounted. Will try it on my helmet next time as it seems to cast a lot of shadows mounted on the bars. Im hoping the extra height of helmet mount will make this better.
Paid £21 for light & 4 cell battery & charger and £13 for 8 cell battery. Direct from China through ebay. All seems good for the money.
Mine arrived today, rode tonight.
Bought solar storm 2 led unit with 4 cell battery, also ordered 8 cell 10000 mah battery for increased run time.
Only took the 4 cell battery tonight, Its got good light very bright decent range, but had it bar mounted. Will try it on my helmet next time as it seems to cast a lot of shadows mounted on the bars. Im hoping the extra height of helmet mount will make this better.
Paid £21 for light & 4 cell battery & charger and £13 for 8 cell battery. Direct from China through ebay. All seems good for the money.
I have totally non-waterproof Molex connectors for my head torch. No particular need to seal out the water from your connectors - the amount of current drain through the water conducting will be tiny compared to the amount your light is drawing. Just keep the wet away from any electronics.
Can someone give me the definitive link where i can buy with battery spares
So I've been running the solarstorm X2 for a little while now.
No issues with the battery, 2 hours on high, no idea how long on medium 3 hour plus probably - I'm not out that long
For such a cheap light the output is good but its not "ZOMG this light is amazeballs" bright, its not noticeably brighter than my C&B seen 1200 lumen single XML.
Still the head unit is quite nicely made and its pretty small which make it ideal as a helmet light and the three mode settings are useful. Medium is bright enough for 90% of the trails I ride at night.
I can't really fault it for the money.
Mine turned up today. Ordered from the ebay chap in Crawley on Sunday evening
The battery pack is smaller than I expected, indeed so was the whole package. Will give it a run out asap and see how it goes
He must have got a lot of sales in the last few weeks