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That Pavo looks pretty good value.
Look no further;
I've got the bar mounted one and it's a cracking bit of kit. It replaced a maxx d that was, erm, unrecoverable.
To pick between the two, I prefer the outbound for a few reasons but they're about as important as the colour...
USB c instead of another cable.
Pass through from a standard power bank if I need more battery life.
It's not as bright as the maxx d but for me uses the light better.
Oh, and the cable management thing. That's such a tiny thing but awesome.
I've still got a Diablo sync on my helmet. It runs on a low setting most of the time which gives *hours* of burn time, quick kick up to boost when it gets spicy then back down.
The app connectivity is a bit naff but got used once to create the settings I like then left mostly, I just switch between mode one and two on the head unit depending on the ride in headed out on - low and v. High for winch and plummet, or mid setting for more sustained trails, in both modes I'm disappointed if I'm below about 20% after three or four hours riding.
Remote is great when it works (I think they fixed this and app connection on subsequent versions).
In the past had maxx d which was great. My old one is still going strong though did need an out of warranty repair at about 5 or 6 years old, since quickly and very reasonably. I wouldn't hesitate to recommended.
Gloworm x2 (first version) also a brilliant light but the switch cable failed and was a pita to get sorted. Battery went after a couple of years use but being external was easily replaced. To get a 35mm bat mount I ended up sourcing one from Greece because there was no other option.
I think they're back to having some UK distribution these days and if that's the case I'd certainly take a look at them, that being said I'd not go back to separate batteries these days as I'm fed up of them sliding down frame tubes and no one has a stem long enough to mount them anymore.
Had various "chinese" things, including early magicshine back when they were really just a slightly up market ebay/Ali express "cree p7 light" seller. wouldn't recommend any of them. Poor batteries, o ring mounts, poor connections one I'm pretty sure killed two good batteries (one definitely was good which makes me suspicious about the first one)
MTB batteries (May have been torchy) one, the modes didn't work for me, rubber ring mounts can get in the sea - I modded a hope qr one to replace, and separate battery. Good for what it was but too many compromises on what I wanted and think it's good in a light to recommend it.
Thanks all plenty of food for thought.
I've a pair of yinding (Gemini duo clone) still working well after several winters, a pair of modified solarstorm, again still working well after several winters and a pair of homemade cree lights when troutie posted a thread about making your own light.
Battery wise I use loose 18650 cells and an xtar charger with either a 4 or 6 cell holder.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B07HNVLJSM?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title
Helmet mounted always seems over-kill to me, and frankly make it all very confusing.
Come for a winter night ride at the Golfie or Thornielee..., next day you'll be buying a helmet light.
I'm very happy with my two fenix torches, an E35 on the bars and an E28 on my helmet. About 4500 lumens combinedand less than 250gm for the two, including batteries, which last a couple of hours at least...
Not bad for less than £150 the pair...
Come for a winter night ride at the Golfie or Thornielee…, next day you’ll be buying a helmet light
Last I did any serious night riding was in Hebden Bridge which is just as full on, and I still only used bar mounted, and I didn't die. Really I've tried it, and I dunno, maybe I'm just too used to just having bar lights but helmet lights just freak me out, can't be doing with 'em.
As an aside, has Mark/Smudge managed to sort his issue with couriers getting the hump about the batteries? I know it caused him and some customers some issues in the past.
Hope or Exposure.
Or Exposure or Hope.
Support British companies making great stuff in Britain with great service.and repair/ refurbished if needed in years.to come rather than supporting China and their take-over of the world.
Diablo mk13 on the lid and a Magicshine Monteer 8000s on the bars. Diablo battery life is abit poo TBH, Only use it as back up on the techy stuff though. Monteer seems good but not had a proper winter night ride out of it yet so hard to judge.
Magicshine Monteer of some variety on the bars - around 3500 lumens and easy to use with decent buttons.
Had an exposure on my lid which provided a great beam but always found the button configuration a pain, cycling through what for me were too many options. I lost it and replaced it with a lenzyne, my second one I’ve had from them and think it’s pretty much as good and more user friendly, for significantly less cost.
Did use Chinese lights for ages and they can be a good way to get into night riding, just be careful with chargers. If you get into it you can easily upgrade to something better.
This thread has got me thinking - of adding another Hope R4+ head unit.
I'd want both lamps to run off the same battery, so would need a splitter.
I can only find the Hope District splitter which
a) is too long
b) seems to have the wrong plug configuration.
Does anyone know if such a product exists?
There’s 18% of exposure with Singletrack rewards. They really are excellent and do last.
Anyone with recent experience of the Exposure Axis. Read mixed reviews from the past but it's reduced to £100 on CRC and I need a new helmet light. I like the MTB batteries light on my bars so tempted to get the same for helmet but that means a battery to stash somewhere. Also looking at the Scorch but I don't like the sound of the switching system/touch screen.
I know hardly a controversial opinion but another vote for Exposure here. On a gravel rather than mountain bike, but got a Joystick on the helmet and a Toro underneath a K Edge Wahoo mount with GoPro adaptor on the bottom. Super tidy and avoids bar clutter.
Digging this thread up as it's getting to that time of year again.
To those who use a torch style lights like the Wuben C7 or 18650/21700 torches, how are you mounting them to your helmets?
Exposure Six Pack on the bars and a Diabalo on the lid.
Both new and untried but looking forward to getting out one night soon.
I still have a Light & Motion which is probably 18 years old and an amazing homemade front light that was made by a member on this site about 15 years ago - both still work!
Gooner - would that be a Troutie light? I had one but those utter ****s at Yodel lost mine last year
I've ridden with a Lumicycle setup on my bar since I started night riding well over 20 years ago. They've evolved from NiCad powered halogen lamps to my current setup of a Li ion powered LED. All of which is modular and backwards compatible. I tried a night ride with the old halogens plugged into my new battery a couple of winters ago. The battery didn't last very long, but then neither did I as I couldn't see where I was going! How did we ride with Halogens? I don't want to think about my lead acid powered Cateyes before them, or the Ever Ready battery lights before that!!!
Super reliable and well constructed lights. I've never, in all that time had reason to regret buying Lumicycle, or seen anything that's made me want to swap over to something new.
Over the last few years, I've tried various cheap Chinese manufactured helmet mounted lights and torches, all of which have been subjected to a fair amount of weather and branch abuse during the long Scottish winters. The failure rate was always high enough to make it feel like a bit of a false economy, so I finally settled on a set of Moon 1600lm wired lamps that were on half price offer in Halfords for around £80 at the time. This light rivalled my bar mounted Lumi for power and spread, but the big battery in my bag and the dinner plate helmet mount didn't really work for me. I persevered with this light for 4-5 years until this year when I got my hands on an Exposure Diablo.
I'm really liking this combo, enough power for me to confidently descend through the trails at speed, but also quickly adjustable so that I'm not blinded by glare as I pick my way through the trees. I really like the quick button press, or simple tap to change the Diablo's setting. Worth the money in my opinion, especially as a fairly significant part of my annual mountain bike riding is done in the dark.
C.
Exposure Six Pack on the bars and a Diabalo on the lid.
I have this, kind of wish I got the maxxd. I've used them a few times in the last few weeks and can't complain about performance, battery life or anything. It's just huge on the bars
First ride out last night with lights since last winter. Started in daylight but the light under the trees faded pretty quickly. Still on the Maxx D / Axis combo. Still flipping bright and excellent for visibility.
Still think the Maxx D is epic. The Axis - not convinced and probably wouldn’t buy again - I don’t think the battery is high enough capacity for the power it’s putting out.
Exposure Six Pack on the bars and a Diabalo on the lid.
Same here. The lights are getting on but still run with 0 drama or faults.
Some mates were pricing them up. They have always been pricey but even more so now
Used mine last night (MaxxD and a Diablo), but just for the last descent and then the ride home from the pub 🙂
Anything non Exposure that's similar to a Joystick?
MTBBatteries Lumenator +1
I did have a battery pack fail and Mark did ask me to send it back but it must have been summer and I never bothered. I think it was probably user error leaving flat since the last night ride. The lamp itself is still going strong as a helmet light with a nitefighter battery pack.
Really tempted to take the plunge and get a full exposure setup this winter as work do C2W via Halfords and there's not really much else high-end (as opposed to consumables which they're great for) they sell that I'd want!
Currently and for the last 10-11 years I've had a Lupine Wilma 14 (biggest battery) with 800, 1200, 2100 and 2800 lumen settings. Apparently 32 hours on the lowest setting and 3 hours 45 on the highest. Only use the 1200 and 2100 lumen setting as the spread of light doesn't need anymore even on the fastest and most technical of descents. And on the back lanes riding back from the trails all cars stop in lay-bys for me!
Really tempted to take the plunge and get a full exposure setup this winter as work do C2W via Halfords
Now I’m the last person to talk anyone out of exposure lights (happy maxxD owner here) but you do realise Halfords c2w can be spent not only at tredz, but also transferred to many many other indie and local bike shops.
Another +1 for Outbound Lighting. I've got the Trail Evo/Hangover package and it's phenomenal. Had it over 2 1/2 years now, loads of use from night riding, commuting in shit weather etc, never missed a beat. Beam pattern is best I've experienced - including Exposure.
Rascal, yes it is a Troutie and what a great light it is
I ended up sacking off buying another Hope that I was thinking about further up the page and getting an Exposure Maxx D from the outlet store. Brilliant light, combined with a joystick on my helmet it's enough for me
Mate bought a Diablo last year and whereas I manage my joystick through a typical night ride, he's always moaning that the Diablo won't last the duration
Exposure Diablo on the lid, and a Magicshine Monteer8000 on the bars. I only use the Diablo when the going gets techy though as the run time isnt great IMO. The Monteer kicks out loads of light and has a good lifespan but I do find it has too many modes to cycle through, and strapping a battery to the bike is a faff and looks messy.
Gooner - I ran a Troutie Liberator which I loved - the battery wasn’t holding charge so I sent it to Smudge at MTBatteries so he could look at it…unfortunately I also boxed up the head unit - Yodel admitted they sent it to the wrong place and I never saw it again.
I tried a Diablo but was really unimpressed with the runtimes. Also found it a bit floody for a helmet light, prefer something with a tighter beam pattern.
Had an exposure Axis before that but got rid as it just a bit meh - got lost in my bar light and couldn’t tell if it was even turned on half the time.
My current setup is a magicshine MJ900S and a joystick on the helmet plus a tracer for road sections. I do also have one of the exposure commuting lights but havent stuck the bracket on my main bike.
Tested last night and was rather pleased with the results. It is amazing how stupidly bright lights are now. A couple of years back clearing out some old stuff I found my old ever ready lights and decided to go back to my teens and match them with a jury rigged mini maglite on the helmet. It was an experience.
I have a 6 pack on my bars. Used to have a diablo and a joystick, I sold the diablo in favour of the joystick
It's not the lumens, it's the beam shape that I found more important. Diablo puts out more lumens but because it's floodier, you need to crank it up to see it. The joystick has a more spottier beam, which is perfect for seeing around corners or looking in the distance. It's not very floody but that's fine with the 6 pack as it's so floody already
TLDR - joystick works with the 6 pack (and probably the maxx d) better than the diablo
Agree with the spotiness for a helmet light. Got a 4fourth scorch and a joystick.
In theory the same lumens but the joystick has a much better focus so punches through the dark better. I now use the scorch on the bars as it's floodier which works well.
Another vote for exposure.
A MK2 reflex on the bars and a joystick on the lid (very old and pretty much blown away by the reflex even it's on low). Both 2nd hand, the reflex I rented for 24/12 then bought off exposure. Both phenomenal.
Also have a race maxx MK1/2 for the commuter hooked up to an 80 lumen rear light (I forget the exact name).
Gooner - just messaged you - cheers