Cheap night lights…recommendations?

Hi all

Im after some basic night lights for a bit of xc night riding.

Before you launch into just get an Exposure branded mega blaster 12k lumen, all I’ve used in the past is some cheap dealextreme lamps and external battery packs and more recently some sunfire dual headlight ones that were similar.

Id normally choose a helmet torch and a bar mount…already have an exposure joystik on one helmet so looking for something similar for my sons helmet and bar setups for both of us to ride at the same time that doesn’t cost a small mortgage to afford!

Im OK with aliexpress or halfords or planet x offerings if you have experience….

TIA

Paul

A mate has the old version halfords 1600 on the bars and it’s been brilliant. Well worth the money. Still going strong after 3 years

I’ve been using mtbbatteries for years. Sensibly priced & great support. I’ve just got another 2 batteries off them in preparation for the puffer.

The guy that runs it is on here somewhere too.

https://www.mtbbatteries.co.uk/mountain-bike-lights/

No prices on that mtb batteries website ?

Im my experience 2000lm is minimum for trail use.

I’m a four4th fan boy and would plump for the £135.00 scorch which can go on your lid or the bars (now available with a big button rather than the lens touch thing)

however MTB have a cracker of a light in the 2200 lm Lumenator 90 at £105.00

Both are good lights with impeccable support.

While I’ve Exposure lights, for a while I used a pair of these type – one on the bars and one on my helmet (with battery in my pack).

Loads of sellers across ebay/Amazon etc – less than £50 the pair.

Nestling® 5000Lm Bike Light Set, USB Rechargeable Bicycle Lights, 4 Lighting Modes,Waterproof Mountain Road Bike Lights ,Safety & Easy Mount LED Cycle Lights,USB Cycling Front Light & Rear Light : Amazon.co.uk: Sports & Outdoors

You need this link / click on The Luminator to buy one.

As others have said they’re really good and Mark will make decent batteries for pretty much anything if you ask nicely

I’ve one of the Halfords 1600lm jobbies on my bars and it’s been great.

For me though I am OK with less power, it’s part of what makes night riding fun, and besides which I started on 10w lead acid ‘Smart’ brand twin headlamps…so everything feels bright.

Halfords 1600 jobbie for me. Has been brilliant for maybe 5 years. When it dies I’m getting their 1800 one they replaced it with

Magic Shine, they do some expensive ones but the sensible end is reasonable.

The set I bought for my dad, 13 years ago is still running

This sort of thread reminds me never to go out for a night ride with anyone who things that in their experience, 2000lm is a minimum for trail use 😉

Like Matt, I started with a lead acid battery powered Cateye. It had a 5w spot and a 10w flood and lasted 45 minutes at most. My first foray into modern powerful lights was with Lumicycle around 25 yrs ago, and I’ve stuck with them ever since.

Until I treated myself to an Exposure Diablo for my helmet earlier this year, I’d been using a unit from Moon and was very impressed with it. Think it cost £60 from Halfords and came with handlebar and helmet mounts, although it was a wired unit and this was maybe 6-7 yrs ago? It’s still going strong though, as is the Moon Meteor? Rear light that I got at the same time. Had all sorts of horrors thrown at them through multiple Scottish winters.

We run the local council health rides and have the 1600lm Halfords lights as our stock light to lend out. A mate uses them as his road light as well, perfectly bright enough. I think he found his on Vinted.

How much light you “need” is very individual.  If you want to hoon at daytime speeds then maybe you need 2500lm. My old Race maxes out at 1900 and combined with a Joystick, I rarely need to put it on max to enjoy a nice spin out with mates.

I have a Ravemen pr1600 on my bars and a Cateye AMPP800 either on the bars too, or on the helmet mount. Both are great in their own respect, however, it can be a challenge to cycle through the modes to get what you need just when you need it!

Chilli tech capsule mk2 as a helmet light

https://chilli-tech.com/content/cree-capsule-pro-helmet-light-1100-lumens/

Then a bar mounted all in one. In my case I’ve gone for a ravemen pr2400 but i dont think there’s much in it between the ravemen, moon riegel enduro, magicshine rn3000 & lezyne 2400+…all discounted on Merlin.

To be fair, whilst overthinking which bar mounted one to get, the chilli capsule has been perfectly adequate by itself for my regular 1-2hr off-road XC night riders

The Halfords 1600 is great but it looks like it’s been replaced by 1200 and 1800 options. They really need to be combined with a sturdy bar mount as well because the supplied rubber band is crap.

They’ve also got a few discounted Lezyne lights available but I’ve never used any of those.

It’s 2000lm for me because I’m not very good at night rides and need all the help I can get.

Halfords 1800 lumen light for the bars / Moon vortex for the helmet.

Budget for a £5 eBay metal go pro bar mount (although the Halfords out front mount included would probably be ok) and the sub £5 Moon go pro mount to connect to a GoPro helmet mount.

https://www.halfords.com/cycling/bike-accessories/bike-lights/halfords-advanced-1800-lumen-front-bike-light-693718.html?plpPlacement=19

https://www.tradeinn.com/bikeinn/en/moon-vortex-usb-front-light/138672094/p?utm_source=google_products&utm_medium=merchant&id_producte=15435387&country=uk&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADqtrtGc1KoClsu9c7M4zAnnJgKYd&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIpqWAzqPZiQMV9phQBh3_IgDaEAQYASABEgLCY_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Big Moon fan here – I remembered that all our rear lights are Moon and son has a couple of really good Moon lights, one on bar one on  helmet. And he does silly things like last night was riding Upper Burnside in Aviemore, solo, in the dark…

If I lost my bar light, I’d look for a secondhand Exposure Toro as a first option.

That Halfords thing looks alright though.

MTBbatteries +1

And +1 for 2000lumen being about right, Mark (Smudge on here IIRC?) recommends the Lumenator as a bar light but I like it as a helmet light too as the wide beam gives better peripheral vision without constantly having to move your head. Otherwise they do the 900, lighter, similar intensity but narrower beam.

Having said that I now have 2 battery packs (ironically not mtbbatteries, that one failed) and a lumenator, I’m tempted to get an ali-express lumenator copy head unit to make use of the 2nd pack.

This T6 is good and bright, its usb, hasnt overheated and shut down

Havent had to ride with it yet but for £3.62.Runs off my powerbank too

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005985894094.html?spm=a2g0o.order_list.order_list_main.20.567e1802MWCnxa