I have always coveted Exposure lights but been too tight to fork out for them. However my awesome fam have got me a £200 voucher for my birthday, to use on their online store. Which light should I get, which will need to do mixed duty as an mtb helmet light and a road and gravel bar or fork mounted light? I know their lights are sometimes cheaper on other retailer sites, but I need to use the voucher on Exposure's online store. I could maybe add a bit up to £250 max.
Keep an eye on their outlet section especially now the light nights are in. Usually some bargains to be had!
You should get a Diablo, maybe even a Strada for that money.
Nice present from your family 👌
Just be aware of the difference between the requirements of road and mtb lighting as highlighted by @thisisnotaspoon in this thread ..
https://singletrackworld.com/forum/bike-forum/garmin-out-front-mount-light-underneath/#post-13416998
Thanks Nic, interesting reading. Exposure recommend an mtb light if the intended use is mixed road and off-road. On road I would plan to turn the power right down and angle carefully to avoid dazzle. I appreciate it's a compromise and that the beam pattern won't be optimal in each setting.
If you're looking to be able to helmet mount as well as bar mount for road I'd recommend (what I have) the Zennith, I have the mk1 (which replaced a mk4 diablo) and it's a great light for mixed use. Mainly chosen as the battery has more capacity than the other helmet lights.
Just looked at the exposure webshop, wow the price of their stuff is pretty spicy now! I paid c£165 for my zennith!
I'm a long time fan of Exposure and have had quite a few over the years. If you can only have one, I'd just get the biggest one you can afford, and then knock it back for road use.
I use a Six Pack for everything, and it's absolutely fine on the road (on a low setting), and is obviously very good for night/winter rides in the woods.
If you can only have one, I'd just get the biggest one you can afford, and then knock it back for road use.
Absolutely this ^^ !
No-one ever regrets buying something *too* powerful and using it on 2/3rds power. On the other hand you will very much regret buying something that only gives you 2/3rds of what you actually want / need!
I've had various Exposure lights over the years - several Diablo which are perfect for mixed bar / helmet use and I've got a Toro bar-mounted light for proper off-road, a Sirius (front) and Flare (rear) as my "use all the time" road lights...
They're a great product and the company have legendary support, warranty and servicing.
I've had Exposure lights for years, bought the back in 2009.
Currently have a MaxxD and a Diablo.
I use the Diablo on my helmet for MTB and bars for daytime road/gravel (and as a dusk backup) BUT if I'm expecting to be riding fast gravel at night I use the MaxxD.
If it's to be used bar-mounted for road and gravel and only as a helmet light for MTB then I'd go for a road light.
The Sirius + TraceR pack is well within your budget and would get you a very good rear light as well, with a bit left over to buy an extra couple of mounts or brackets if you need them.
Diablo is a great helmet light, just limited a bit in battery life (mine is good for about 2hrs, which is all I need).
Before I read about the helmet light requirement, I was gonna suggest the Toro as an all-rounder. Lighter and cheaper than the MaxxD or 6pack and with good performance and more than adequate battery.
Contrary to the posts above, I think less can be more (unless there's someone with a 6pack on full blast riding behind you).
Great choice that it will be an Exposure light. For helmet & bar duty I would say the Zenith would be good choice. Quite a floody beam for a small size unit rather than the spot you get with a Diablo. Battery life may be your only concern, I get about 2 hours from mine switching between high & low modes with a 3.4ah support cell.
I've got a MK2 Zenith, Mk13 Diablo & Mk13 Six Pack, so can't comment on any others.
I’ve got a ten yr old toro which I use on my gravel bike generally on wide gravel tracks and on the road plodding around on various other bikes. I use it on my mtb and it’s great but I’m not flying down red trails or anything technical etc with it. It’s not too big and bright but it’s bright enough to see what you need to see. It’s been faultless. Also have a red rear trace light which has been faultless and is moved across a number of bikes as you can get a selection of brackets. I’d buy another toro again, they are probably brighter than the one I have now.
Even on it's lowest setting, light like the Zenith make very poor road lights as they throw a lot of light into the the eyes of oncoming traffic. I'd start with what the mix will be. If it's high road use in rural areas and also for off road - I'd go with the biggest Strada I could buy. If it's a small amount of road, then maybe something like a Toro.
I'm a big proponent of a small, pointy helmet light like a joystick or axis and a bigger bar light, often angled quite far down. This way you can run both at high power using the helmet light to see around stuff and out to stuff and the bar light for what's more in front of you without throwing light everywhere.