Solarstorm X2 from ...
 

[Closed] Solarstorm X2 from Amazon - Advice needed please.

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Some advice please folks.

I would like to dabble in a bit of night riding.

I can't quite stretch to a Hope R4 or an Exposure Maxx D.

I did however get a few quids worth of Amazon vouchers for Xmas.

Out of all the X2 packages on Amazon, is there a wrong one?

I want a UK charger and (if such a thing matters) an official Solarstorm.

Can anyone recommend a seller? They all seem to be £29.99ish.

Thanks in advance.


 
Posted : 03/01/2014 7:20 pm
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I bought one from [url= http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/131056252467?var=430237007544&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649 ]ebay[/url] for £29

Delivered from UK supplier (ordered Sunday, arrived today) and came with all of the necessary bits including a rear light.

It has an uprated battery that would seem to have better waterproofing.


 
Posted : 03/01/2014 7:48 pm
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I may well end up on Ebay, I was just hoping to use up my vouchers first.


 
Posted : 03/01/2014 7:59 pm
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Looks like I may well be off to Ebay then.


 
Posted : 03/01/2014 9:12 pm
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buy the lamp only from eBay
battery and charger from torchy off Amazon so you can use your voucher

the battery and charger are uk spec and superb quality


 
Posted : 03/01/2014 9:16 pm
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What he said /\/\/\/\
My battery only lasted a couple of charges and is now goooooosed.


 
Posted : 03/01/2014 9:26 pm
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How would I find his Amazon store?

Found it, But he has no batteries or chargers on his storefront.


 
Posted : 03/01/2014 9:26 pm
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Adding it all up that way seems to soon mount up.

£51 for the battery
£26 for the charger
£15 for the head lamp

I could pick up a second hand Hope R4 from the classifieds for £120

It was the £29.99 Price of entry that got me excited.


 
Posted : 03/01/2014 9:47 pm
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Our riding group has quite a few direct from China and they have been fine.


 
Posted : 03/01/2014 10:17 pm
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Adding it all up that way seems to soon mount up.

£51 for the battery
£26 for the charger
£15 for the head lamp

I could pick up a second hand Hope R4 from the classifieds for £120

or a Joystick for £75

http://www.rutlandcycling.com/102692/products/exposure-joystick-light-plus-helmet-mount--and--lanyard-front-bike-light.aspx


 
Posted : 03/01/2014 10:24 pm
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13 for the lasmp
34 for the battery
12 for the charger

£59 all in and an awesome light with a run time of over 4hrs on high
email me for the details


 
Posted : 03/01/2014 11:35 pm
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Have emailed you sir.

Any more suggestions?


 
Posted : 04/01/2014 12:18 am
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Gloworm the moment you approach the £80+ mark


 
Posted : 04/01/2014 12:56 am
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+1 for battery and charger from the likes of Torchy or any reputable UK based seller who knows what they're doing with lithium batteries and chargers and complies fully with CE regulations (unlike many Chinese eBay sellers, even if they stick CE logo on the product).

1. If the battery is coming from China, it could easily get binned by the airline or customs.

2. Torchy's stuff and similar is far less likely to explode and burn your house down. http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=10002&t=12903689 (and also see Torchy's site for bad Chinese batteries and charger examples).

The lights you can get wherever you like. Just ignore the lumens quoted. Or at least knock a zero or two off them 😉


 
Posted : 04/01/2014 1:03 am
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jmatlock YGM


 
Posted : 04/01/2014 2:32 am
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The X2's a nice little light but I don't think it makes much sense to buy it as an upgrader- I'm using my head unit with a quality battery and charger I already had, that works out but spending £60 on it when you could spend a little more and get a better setup... nah.

Hmm. I don't have a spare charger, but if anyone fancies a head unit mine'll be spare, I'm going back to my MJ872- much better light imo.


 
Posted : 04/01/2014 2:35 am
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Have a look here - checked out lamp unit and a decent battery set-up

http://mtblights.co.uk/light-sets/x2-set

I think I've seen him selling them on ebay for £55


 
Posted : 04/01/2014 6:17 am
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Ok, assume I said £80? What would you guys go for.

I'm very new to night riding.

Is the Hope R4 for £120 going to be 2.5x better than a decent UK X2 set up?


 
Posted : 04/01/2014 8:53 am
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There's Torchys X2, BK2200 at £89.99

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Torchy-BK2200-2200-lumen-light/dp/B00GEBDIMQ


 
Posted : 04/01/2014 9:52 am
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Do many guys use Gemini Duo clones?


 
Posted : 04/01/2014 10:08 am
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Not seen Torchy latest offering, much nicer than his previous unit, looks like another Gemini Clone though (supposedly with good battery and decent charger), no bad thing.


 
Posted : 04/01/2014 11:29 am
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If you want an X2 the set from mtblights above is the best bet, at £55 when he has them back on ebay as they are a bit cheaper there I think.

His set have good quality batteries and a nice battery case which takes the individual cells, so they can be replaced when knackered or spares easily carried.

I bought an X2 head unit to compare to my gloworm X2, which is just under 1200 real lumens. It is good on full, not quite as bright. The medium isn't quite as good as the gloworm but OK.

You should also use a helmet light as a bar light on its own isn't much use if the trails are winding. The Exposure Joystick is good but expensive. Torchy does this:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fluxient-U2-Mini-bike-light/dp/B00D13VO0S/ref=sr_1_5?s=sports&ie=UTF8&qid=1388830549&sr=1-5&keywords=Torchy

but it isn't as good for helmet use as the apparently less powerful Joystick, which has a nicer spot. It does have a replaceable battery though, which is useful to match the runtime of the bar light.

Otherwise you could look at the C&B Seen stuff for good value - put a 1200 with diffuser on the bars and another 1200 on the helmet and that might work well and be around your budget.

http://www.candb-seen.co.uk/bikehead-lights/cabs-02-series---cree-xml.html

and

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s?ie=UTF8&field-keywords=C%26B%20SEEN&index=sports&search-type=ss


 
Posted : 04/01/2014 11:33 am
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