Hi All,
I am looking to get some light for a bit of night riding in the local woods. Can’t really justify the price for the hope ones.
Has anyone use these light and if so what the like or does anyone use and cheapo lights they could recommend.

Link to ebay – http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/221219256473?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

Any help will be appreciated. Thanks Gary.

I’ve got a couple of these, work great, plenty bright enough, rugged, great quality housings. Can’t go wrong. Just a light at the end of the day.

What he said, most reliable light I own (and that includes an exposure thing that cost at least 10x that!). Buy 2 at the same time, one on bars, other on your helmet if you can stretch to it.

Mine is sensational. Still can’t believe people are spending hundreds on lights when these are so good

Phew! I remember when these were 60 quid from China and took 6 weeks to arrive.

Fantastic little lights. Not “fantastic but…”, just plain old “fantastic” 🙂

On night rides one on the bars and one on the helmet is like riding in daylight and there is a noticeable improvement against lights on friends bikes costing stupid amounts of money.

You would be daft no to 🙂

How do you attach them to a helmet? Do you need a separate mount?

Mine was OK. Just OK, not fantastic.

£30 in Nov 2011, can’t really complain at that price. But I’m going to.
Very spotty light. Too spotty for the bars as an only light, and not ideal as a head light either. You can only light up a 1′ square patch 6 feet or so from your front wheel. 1600 lumens is brilliant for seeing across to the next valley, mind.
Mine died after a winter and a half. Probably only a handful of night rides and some commuting – not a hard life at all.

Brilliant as an intro to night riding. Worth it 100%
If you’re a seasoned night rider looking for new lights then I’d splash out on something better – probably one of the other deal extreme lights for ~80 (E.g. http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/accessories/lights/front/product/review-magicshine-mj872-front-light-11-45293)

I don’t regret buying the XML T6 one, but I wouldn’t buy another the same now (probably one of the MJ 872 lights above).

I’ve got some, bought from amazon. They lack the functionality of more expensive ones but work and even if they only last one year they’re worth it. Get 2

I have one of these lights. I have found it to be really effective. Good value at about £40 even if it only lasts one or two winters.
Depending on your helmet it can be attached with the headband. I put the back of the headband over the pointed bit at the back of the helmet and stretch it over the peak at the front. It will depend on the shape of the helmet peak though. Mine has a couple of pointy bits that are ideal for stretching the elastic over.

slightl;y more expensive from 7dayshop, but they;re a uk company with uk warranty

http://www.7dayshop.com/7dayshop-super-bright-bicycle-cree-t6-xm-l-led-rechargeable-head-light

I really can’t speak highly enough of these lights. Amazon also do a three cree light which is an unbranded gemini light for forty odd quid.

I’ve got a single LED one for the lid and the triple on the bars and they are just brilliant. My exposure joystick has fallen into disuse as a result.

Run times on the single LED is over three and a half hours on full. The triple will run for one and a half on full power.

Shop around Amazon a bit, but basically I think they are brilliant.

I didn’t rate mine much tbh- lots of light but very spotlighty. I reckon teh older P7 bastid lights were better, they made 2/3ds as much light if that but they threw it better. Still, more than good enough and £18 is a great price

But personally I’d recommend this instead, ymmv:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SSC-P7-1200-Lumen-Rechargeable-Waterproof-Head-Torch-Bike-BICYCLE-Light-BL05-/140975744905?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item20d2cf2789

Or perhaps one of each- the XML is better on the head than the bars.

I got one of these a while ago, had mine mounted on the handlebar though. Agree with some of the other comments, they are a bit ‘spotlighty’ but for the money, they’re brilliant!

And if you did want to see what’s over the other side of the valley, you’d probably be able to!

I’d agree with superficial on all these points:

Mine was OK. Just OK, not fantastic.

£30 in Nov 2011, can’t really complain at that price. But I’m going to.
Very spotty light. Too spotty for the bars as an only light, and not ideal as a head light either. You can only light up a 1′ square patch 6 feet or so from your front wheel. 1600 lumens is brilliant for seeing across to the next valley, mind.

And

Brilliant as an intro to night riding. Worth it 100%

So for the cost – go for it. Honestly, getting out in the dark is the bestest investment in off road biking ever. Your next step up is a wider beam for the bars.

Who is delivering these and any lights now that Royal mail have a blanket ban on Lithium ion batteries .

If they find them when they xray the parcel they will dispose of the items I know this because I have just lost a consignment and got a letter from royal mail to let me know they have disposed of it

That’s interesting Trout. I was in the post office last week and saw a poster about Li-Ion battery shipping and wondered how it would play. It did say you could ship as long as the batteries were “in a device” or some such.

Especially as I had just ordered a pair of 3.7v Torchy cells which thankfully arrived the other day, unmolested.

How are you supposed to import Li-Ion now then?

Edlong – you don’t need a seperate kit to mount to helmet. I took the elasticated head strap. Cut off the third strap that goes over the top of your head, cut one end of the main strap that goes around your head, then thread the elastic through your helmet slots and re-attach on the light mount via the two slots in the plastic mount. You have to wrap the elastic around the helmet straps a good few times due to its length (you could cut is shorter but I wanted to keep the length just in case).

Mine cost £17 and took about 6 weeks to get here from China and were not delivered by Royal Mail. But at £17 I bought three units, the third for spares.

There’s nothing on the Royal mail website about this, has anyone got a link?

Found it on the Post Office website

http://www.postoffice.co.uk/prohibited-items

Under the list of prohibited items :

Batteries that are classed as dangerous goods by the latest edition of the International Civil Aviation Organisation’s Technical Instructions are prohibited. This includes lithium ion/polymer/metal/alloy batteries sent in isolation or with equipment such as mobile phone, digital camera or laptop.

Bugger. So even if lights reach you, if they go wrong, you need to use a courier to send them back. MyHermes also exclude batteries so that’s them out. Any other options?

More detail here

http://www.royalmail.com/sites/default/files/International-prohibitions-and-restrictions-leaflet-consumers_0.pdf

The following items are allowed in the International mail.
ion/polymer batteries the Watt-hour rating must not exceed
20Wh per cell or 100Wh per battery. For lithium metal/alloy
batteries the lithium content must not be more than 1g per cell
or 2g per battery. Batteries must be protected against short
circuit. Cells or batteries that are defective for safety reasons,
or that have been damaged, are forbidden. The equipment
containing batteries must be packed in strong rigid packaging,
secured against movement, and packed to prevent accidental
activation. The sender’s name and return address must be
clearly visible on the outer packaging. You must take items
containing lithium batteries to the counter.

How big are light batteries in Wh?

We have hsd lithium battery fires at work, they are impossible to put out without a special fire extinguisher.

brilliant lights at a bargain price….you can now get a diffuser lens for the light that gives a better spread of light when fitted…i ordered mine via amazon and was surprised to see the postman knocking on my door the following morning with the package….and it was via royal mail…but it was back in september so things may changed since….like all the above…cant rate them highly enough….
incidentally i contacted C&B Seen to ask about the best way to store the batteries when not being used over the summer and this was the prompt response i got…

Thank you for your email – delighted that you are happy with your light kit.
The ideal way to store the kit is to charge the battery to full and then every 6 weeks or so, run it down to empty and then re-charge to full again. Lithium-ion batteries do lose their effectiveness when left dormant for long periods, whatever the state of charge. By following the routine that I have outlined they should be good to go when the days get shorter again.

nbt – I think Wh = mAh x V/1000

so a typical Li-Ion cell of 2400mAh at 3.7v would be just under 9Wh.

So really shouldnt be a problem. I think the limit of 100Wh is enough to permit 9 cell laptop batteries, so individual riding light systems shouldnt be a problem.

i have one of the older P7 ones, the housing etc all looks exactly the same.
i paid about 43 quid, all in, (and i waited 6 weeks for delivery) back in 2011, still works perfectly, its obviously not the greatest light in the world ever, like, but for the money its good.
YMMV, of course, but i would buy another.
best done in pairs, one on the bars and one on the head.

also the rubber o rings you get with the light to secure the light to the bars look great when they glow in the dark but in reality they dont do a great job of keeping the light secure….trail vibrations tend to make the light unit to rotate on the bar….so you may need to buy something similar to a hope universal light mount and fit the light to that….

I hadn’t realised there was a difference between the ‘P7’ and the ‘T6’ – they all lok the same to me!

My single LED light is a P7 – quite ‘spotty’ but very good range – therefore ideal for helmet.

My triple LED bar mounted light is a ‘3 x CREE XML T6’ from Amazon. It doesn’t quite have the range of the single, even on full power, but the flood of light is quite remarkable.

Put these two lights together and you have (what I think is) the perfect combination.

On the subject of pricing, I could live with a premium of as high as 50%-60% over and above ‘cheapest on the internet’, but not 300%-400%.

For example – I bought my dropper post from R53 Sport for about £120, but I’m told I could have got one on the web for £80. I took the view that £40 on £80 was a price worth paying for a warranty and ‘local’ back up if I need any spares.

When you get into lights, though, my 3 x CREE is basically an unbranded Gemini (I think) with a less premium -brand battery. The Gemini retails at over £180, I got mine for £40. So, assuming it doesn’t burn my house down whilst charging, £140 on £40 doesn’t seem reasonable for a bit of back up and spares.

mtbbatteries.co.uk seem to be a reasonable place to go as they are pretty honest when they say the lights are available cheaper elsewhere, but you are paying a premium for their service. I opted not to, but that’s my choice.

The big brands are just taking the mick, I’m afraid. A bit of fancy laser-etching and a slightly better battery do not justify a 300%-400% mark up!

Just to pick up gonzy’s point.

I found that both my light do slip on the bars.

But all you need to do is a combination of:

Superglue a rubber reflector shim onto the base of the light.

Use double-sided sticky tape to put a small piece of old inner tube onto the bars to provde more grip.

Wind the band over a bit to effectively shorten it.

Rocket science this is not! And if you’re getting a single LED you will probably want the ability to roll it on the bar by hand to provide closer light for slower technical stuff and further out for faster stuff.

Just take the plunge, build up a bit of experience of what works for you and your riding and you’ll be fine!

gonzy – Member

also the rubber o rings you get with the light to secure the light to the bars look great when they glow in the dark but in reality they dont do a great job of keeping the light secure….trail vibrations tend to make the light unit to rotate on the bar….

To be fair, it’s the same design as used on some lights costing 10 times more… I’ve found mine moves if it’s on my smooth carbon bars, but was fine on my old alu ones. So I just add a wrap of rough tape round the bar and that holds it perfectly (done some night downhill racing like this 😉 )

So I just add a wrap of rough tape round the bar and that holds it perfectly (done some night downhill racing like this )

i tried this method but it didnt seem to do the trick as the light would still rotate (and that was just on road riding!!)….so i got a bit creative and took the clamp from my old cateye abs light and bolted that to the bottom of the light…now the light stay secure and if it needs adjusting i just loosen the qr on the clamp and put it to the prefered angle…the bonus this set up is i can now also adjust the lamp sideways as the original cateye clamp had lateral adjustment…
basically the whole unit attached to the bottom the light unit in the picture below….owners of this light will know what i mean…

Where did you get your diffuser lens Gonzy? Amazon too? any good?

I am/was on the lookout for an “orange peel” reflector for mine (the “crinkly” ones as used in the older DX lights) to try and de-spot it.

Definately worthwhile for the OP – at worst you’ve tried out night riding for a year or two, with luck they can last even longer.

Orange peel on here at Deal Extreme – i’ll give it a shot.

I run 2x XML T-6s on my bars – one has a reflector off an old P7 to make it more floody. The other has the standard (smooth?) reflector so is very spot-like. Together they do a superb job – loads of light. The only down side is the great mass of batteries strapped to my stem.

I’m very, very tempted by the Lumenator though… looks very neat.

I also have a XML torch mounted on my helmet – a bit greedy probably, but what the hell.

Where did you get your diffuser lens Gonzy? Amazon too? any good?

not got the diffuser yet….they didnt have it when i bought my lights last year but they are now on sale on the C&B Seen website for about £7 delivered….will be ordering one soon..

Thanks guys, I have just ordered mine from eBay at £17.95 delivered with 12months warranty! Cheers for all the help.

Good. And just to add, I have two and think they’re great. Way better than far more expensive lights.