Seriously considering an LED3 or 4 system but havn't heard much info on them. They are pretty pricey but I like their company having used some lead-acid powered spots way-back-when. They are also fairly local.
I'm kinda split between Exposure Maxx-D, Lumicycle, or Lupine Tesla. Thoughts?
Tiger Lights? One happy user here...
My single flood Lumicycle LED 3 is so much better than my Lumicycle spot & flood Halogen set up and the LED3 uses the existing battery.
Haven't had occasion to use the boost setting yet as medium and high are plenty light enough.
I was torn between tigerlights and the Lumi LED3. In the end I went for the Lumi LED3 as I already had some lumi 14.8v batteries. I'm not disappointed. I went for a wide angle lens, but Lumi are funny and apparently won't sell lenses on their own.
For me the tigerlight probably has a better switch and certainly has a better fuel gauge. Lumi probably have more credability as a company. As for the rest of the light they are almost identical.
I wouldn't bother with the LED4, not for and extra £80 or what ever it is.
I'm happy with the light output of mine but can't resist fiddling so I've just ordered a triple XPG-R5 LED from Cutter, and spot and wide lenses to suit. The new XP-G LEDs will make the triple brighter and more efficient than the LED4 and still be cheaper. If you really need the extra light, which I doubt you will, think XP_G before the LED4.
+1 for Tiger Lights (my set is starting its third winter now).
As markyd said, they're similar to the Lumi system 3 but with bonus features, the glowing control button and the fuel gauge are both rather nifty.
They won the big lights test that's coming up in December's MBUK 🙂
Cheers all, Had not considered Tiger Lights - had not heard of them before TBH which is a shame as the Mendips is home turf! Are they actually made locally and not just designed (I always smirk at the Apple slogan "Designed by Apple in California") ? This is a important point for me.
That's good news that the LED4 has not superseded the LED3. Thing is I see this as an investment - like a set of forks. Does the flood provide enough penetration when riding at speed?
very impressed with my Lumi LED3s (used for 24 hour solo'ing). as powerful as my old HID lights, but a warmer light (easier to see with) and far more flexibility in power settings. you can ride on high most of the time and be able to see well, then just flick it up to boost for any trickier sections...
Use LED3 flood with 2 * 2.6AH batteries and very happy with it. Pluses: solid, well engineered, can easily vary the power to conserve battery (press switch up for up, down for down), good run time, good company, will be able to upgrade to XPG from them at some point in the future but don't know at what cost, good run time, Smudge can make up a replacement bettery if you need one. Downs: downhills at speed could so with a spot but not at £170 !!!
Agree, no point in LED4. But baby trout worth looking at.
Alex, the guy who designs and makes Tigers is one of our Thursday night Shipham regulars - feel free to join us and check them out if you can make it over sometime. Yes, they are actually made in darkest Somerset 🙂
I use the Led 3 with a spot. I like it, but prefer to use a supplementary light on my helmet because you can't see over drops with the spot. Battery life is much better than Halogens or HiDs, so my Lumi 13.2v battery lasts ages.
Been using the LED3 for a few months now, enough light for my xc riding and occasional night ride on the road.
Battery life is excellent - got the double battery deal at SITS.
Easy to use and adjust handlebar clamp.
Flashing commute mode certainly gets noticed by car drivers.
Everything seems well put together.
Haven't tried a helmet mount though.
I suppliment the flood with a single 240 lumen head lamp (DIY). I only use the spot for fast descents as the flood doesn't have enough penetration for high speed (but is better all round have a spot).
Would you say the beam shot on the Lumicycle website is representative then?
Another vote for Tiger Lights used last winter and worked fine - before I used two Lumi halogens and a headlight but now just use a single Tiger.
The Tiger Lights do look really good, but like the Lumi lights I can only afford a single lamp and as always it looks like I want whats halfway between flood and spot! The Maxx-D is looking competitive!!
Any idea when the Tiger Lights will be back in stock? I'm guessing they will be inundated with trade when the MRUK review 'airs'.
I hear from a good source that they are just waiting for more LEDs to arrive, and that should happen in a week or so. The good source is myself, cause I'm the guy who designed the Tigers and makes them 🙂
The orders have gone a bit mad since the subscribers got the MBUK review last week (the issue is on shelves this week). People are placing orders despite them being out of stock, and it will be first come first served, so don’t delay if you want a set!
If you want to read the review (I'm afraid it’s a dodgy scan from a mate at the moment because I haven’t got an actual issue myself yet) then go here:
http://www.customidea.com/tigers/mbukwinner.php
Note that this year MBUK actually used proper testing (light meters, temperature monitoring, run time tests etc...) to compare the lights, rather than just using the manufacturer stated figures - this is a key point actually as in the past I think it wasn’t the case. Also (and I suppose I would say this, but hear me through!) I imagine that the decision to make the Tigers the winner may have been a bit controversial at MBUK, since they obviously take a lot of advertising revenue from a lot of the other lights companies (and we don’t advertise the Tigers at all) so I think that adds even more credibility to the results…
In a side by side test, 2 Lumi LEDS (Spot+Flood) aren't as good as one old L&M ARC, which you can get for £100-ish off Fleabay. Just so as you know.... 🙂
Nice one Squishy - and congratulations on the test win!
I'm sure HID's can still hold their own, but I'm looking for an LED system. What do you mean by 'aren't as good as'? Overall power, weight, beam pattern?
Feel free to come out with the Shipham group on a Thursday sometime if you want to see LOTS of Tiger Lights in action 🙂
Anyone who fancies a blast on the Mendip on a Thursday night to see the Tigers in action is more than welcome ...
Mail in profile.
Dave
+1 for tiger lights
Tiger lights look great, but the price is virtually identical to the lumis. So I don't know why MBUK rates them as better value.
Amazing squishy, you must be really proud to have pulled that off and beaten huge players like Lupine and Light & Motion!
i've just got some lumi led sys4 with the big battery, happy so far, battry life is claimed at 7.5 hours on high, i've done 4hrs on the first charge and the 50% indicator hasn't appeared yet, so 7.5 hours is probably erring on the cautious side (as the battery needs a few cycles to reach max capacity)
have the flood, and to me it's plenty of light, even in singletrack i can happily ride without a headtorch (but will prob get a p7 for this)
i was sceptical about the boost mode, this gives you the option of having the highest setting on for 3 mins (or you can choose to have on all the time) - but lumicycles reasoning seems spot on, high is fine for 99% of a ride, and having the boost mode on means your eyes just get use to it, so not as bright as first appears
i do try and buy british, both to keep the skills alive, and because it's easier to get things fixed, especially so with lights - so my shortlist was all british, if something goes pop, a repair is just a phone call away
I certainly wouldn't consider the Tesla, not at £245, when you could get a £50 DX Bike light and have enough left over for a Tiger light. The DX uses an identical SSC P7 emitter to the Tesla. Use the DX for hack duties and keep the Tiger for serious work.
