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So just got back from a night ride and managed to borrow a friends Lupine Wilma after riding with Chinese CREE lights that have been around for 3+ years..
The Chinese ones are great but for flat out riding they are nothing compared to the Wilma.. I want it but don’t want to spend near on £400!
My question is, has anyone found a cheaper Chinese equivalent that put out the same, actual lumens as the Wilma that can be helmet mounted? Happy to have an external battery pack and comprise a little on weight.
These CREE lights don’t seem to have changed much since their release.
Thanks in advance.
I currently make a bar mounted system using a CREE XHP70.2 LED which certainly matches the Wilma for 3000+ Lumens.
The lamp unit I buy in from China, but I make up my own battery pack with top spec cells.
Should be easy enough to fit the GoPro mountings for helmet, and it would cost a lot less than £400.
Anyone use a Chilli Tech light?
Dave - sounds like a great setup. Why don’t headlamps that you can get on ebay use the newer CREE LEDs like the XHP70.2?
I’m not really up for making my own lights, in this light what would you suggest? Do you sell them yourself?!
The XPH70's are great but not sure I'd want one on my helmet. Being a 4-die LED it's quite hard to control the beam into a decent spot (unless you use a big reflector).
I've got 2 in my homemade bar light and the output is immense but quite floody.
Be interested in the details of your home made XPH70. Been a while since I did some bike light tinkering...
The lamp is about the same size as the Wilma. More chunky as it uses a big reflector and more metal than a solarstorm due to the heat. Needs four decent batteries (20700's not 18650's) and a wire to your Camelback as it would be too heavy to mount the lot on your lid.
I reckon £150 should cover it. All a bit new to the market so I'm in the process of doing some beam shots vs Lumicycle Explorer. Daylight Dave on Facebook.
Here's what mine looks like:
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2 x 6v XHP70 wired in series, being driven at 5.6a from a TaskLED H6Flex driver. Ledil IRIS lenses, APEM switch and 2.5mm DC socket..It's brilliant and works great with the 4 x XPL-Hi helmet light (made from a modified Chinese body) with a HBFlex driver and Ledil Cute-4 spot optic.
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Why don’t headlamps that you can get on ebay use the newer CREE LEDs like the XHP70.2?
Are you asking why cheap lights from China don't come with the latest expensive technology? 😉
Ebay is a waste of time for latest tech. Alibaba is the best alternative.
My lamp is quite a decent spot for helmet mount, not too bad for side illumination too.
Anyway, here is a quick lashup...
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I've just bought one of these to replace my cheap Chinese bar light, uses the same battery pack and works out at only about £14 for just the light without the battery pack -
Its basically the same as the NiteFighter / Revtronic BT40S, makes a great bar light.
Team that with a Fluxient u2 mini from Torchy on your helmet and you've got a pretty good cheap setup. You could even order a new battery pack from Torchy for the light above if needed. Still be only around £100 all in.
Kaidomain do a XHP70 LED light.
[url= http://www.kaidomain.com/p/S026105.KDLIGHT-BL70s-Cree-XHP70-Neutral-White-4000K-3000-Lumens-4-Mode-LED-Bike-Light-Black ]http://www.kaidomain.com/p/S026105.KDLIGHT-BL70s-Cree-XHP70-Neutral-White-4000K-3000-Lumens-4-Mode-LED-Bike-Light-Black[/url].
Not quite 3000lm's I don't think but plenty bright enough with a wide beam pattern
Just remember that light will slip on the bars if using the rubber band type fitting.
Nice job on that conversion stevied. I thought the LEDs were only rated to 4.8A? Would be interested in doing something similar. My battery packs are all 14.8v so I'd be looking at the b3flex driver although not sure if that leaves enough headroom on a 12v LED.