I’ve got the opportunity to get hold of a new Exposure Reflex light at a very good price. Having used a Strada for commuting I know how good the quality of these lights are, but are the worth buying since the influx of cheap Chinese cree lights?

The Reflex is being dropped next year, not sure why, not aware of any big issues, but always a bit concerning.

Obviously all the accelerometer stuff is unique to that light, so it depends a bit how much that interests you. The quantified burn time on the Reflex (and other 2015 lights) is really neat too.

I’d still have Exposures for the peace of mind, the non-exploding charging, and the clutter free design.

I’ve a MaxXD and IMHO it was worth every penny.
Coupled with a Diablo on yer helmet ( 😯 ) it’s about perfect for night rides..

They are kinda like the Brooks of lighting. You know it will be excellent quality and work well. It will also be pricey. Will probably outlast a chinese light, but would need to outlast 3-4 of them to be worth it purely on cost.

A also have a MaxxD and it’s amazing.

Yes, you can get cheaper brighter lights with DIY/Ebay/imports (which i’ve done) but for pure toughness, reliability and faff free usage Exposure lights are the way to go.

Get the biggest you can afford and you’ll never look back. Apart from to check for boogie men/women following you in the woods!

Started with chinese cheapos, now have exposures. If you can afford it, why not?

They’re superb; secure, reliable, bright, neat and durable.

GB

but would need to outlast 3-4 of them to be worth it purely on cost.

I’d expect them to do just that. My Maxx D and Joystick are both 5 years old now, the battery life has suffered but frankly I think that’s my fault for leaving both very very discharged for months over summer!

Still get excellent life out of them if I don’t use the highest setting, more than adequate for most riding.

but would need to outlast 3-4 of them to be worth it purely on cost.

Surely at £300+ for the current Reflex they need to be outlasting more like 10+ of the chinese cheapies?

I’ve got a Maxx and Flash/Flares. All been returned for minor niggles, all fixed and returned in two working days. Swings and roundabouts.

Yes, I’d buy Exposure again.

I have current MaxxD and Joystick and love them. The MaxxD went back to Exposure the other week for a warranty repair as a circuit needed fixed, all done in a few days, no hassle.

I bought a Solarstorm on ebay for £15 on the back of the long light thread. It’s got great light output, not much inferior to the MaxxD however the charger gets very hot and i wouldn’t leave it charging unattended. Could buy 20 of them for price of a MaxxD however. I can’t see it lasting out a winter of night rides, but at that price it wouldnt have to.

My own opinion is that Exposure is great if you can afford it and you get a nice hassle free well thought out product

I’ve got a Maxx Diablo and Flash/Flares. All been returned for minor niggles, all fixed and returned in two working days. Swings and roundabouts.

Yes, I’d buy Exposure again.

Thanks all. Perhaps I’ll buy another bracket and use the Strada off road and complement it by getting a joystick to mount on my helmet.

I’ve two, a Joystick and Strada.

Great to use, reliable and have worked excellent over the 4 years I’ve had them both – plus love the wire-free approach.

Would I buy again? Yes, if I had the cash, otherwise it’d be an ebay special for £30 and be treated as a ‘consumable’.

You could look at it like this..

Yes, an exposure would need to last 10x the life of a Chinese one to be ‘financially worth it’.

Or…

How important is it for you to know your light is unlikely to pack it in halfway round your ride?
How many chinese lights would you buy before realising that actually, I’d rather have just one that worked??!!
(For me it was two….)

DrP

Buy cheap, buy twice. Buy exposure, buy another. I don’t know anyone who owns just the one (Strada and Joystick here). I think they are good value. Not cheap, worth the price.

Since 2006 I’ve collected the following: Joystick, Diablo, Race, Enduro, 6 Pack, 2 Red Eyes, Flash & Flare and a 3 cell Piggy Back.

I’ve had issues with the Race and Enduro (both are quite old now) and USE have quickly repaired these in the past. The Flash & Flare continue to be temperamental but that’s down to the design.

Yes they’re expensive RRP and have their foibles but they’ve generally been very reliable and I have no hesitation recommending them to folk.

Yes, an exposure would need to last 10x the life of a Chinese one to be ‘financially worth it’.
Or…
How important is it for you to know your light is unlikely to pack it in halfway round your ride?

There’s also the aspect of how much time and effort it takes to find out which is the right cheap Chinese light to buy after the previous one expired, and then the riding you’ll have to either do with one light or miss out on whilst you wait for your new one.

For the amount of time I spend night riding (almost certainly over 50% of my MTBing) I’ve felt my Exposure lights are well worth the money – apart from my Maxx-D crashing once, they’ve been totally reliable. The light output is great (not just the power but the beam shape and quality). The cable free design minimises faff. Brackets aren’t cheap when you need one for your other bike but they work really well.

When my Chinese bar light worked it was pretty good but it had an odd habit of pretending it had charged when it hadn’t so I was thankful for my Diablo being bright enough for one light riding. Was very glad when I spotted a heavily discounted Maxx-D last year!

Id echo Dr p, ive had my joystick for years and its been faultless. Ive a few Chinese lights that were good when they worked but were too unreliable.

its a pain in the balls when all of a sudden it goes dark…….

For winter I’m using an equinox helmet mounted and maxD
On handlebars,with a joystick in reserve.You are paying for quality and reliability and a good backup from exposure.

I’m going to echo Dr p too, if you ride at night a lot I’d say they’re worth it for the piece of mind. I also got through two Chinese lights before deciding it wasn’t worth it.

mtbbatteries have a guide to changing your exposure battery online.

Torchy reckons a fluxient T6 mini outperforms the less powerfull Exposure Joystick, but in reality it doesn’t as the ‘quality’ of the light and the beam from the Joystick is actually better.

I’m same as most of the above. My joystick and Maxxd were expensive, but u think they’re great. Good light, hassle free and I trust them totally, which as almost all my rides are at night and I ride alone, makes it more than worth it! My cheap chimes light lasted ok, but I never really trusted it.

DrP and chiefgrooveguru +2 (1each)

I have a maxxD.

One minor issue with the switch warrantied via the shop where I had bought it and back within a week. I am a night and evenings ride primarily and having seen some of the mid rise light fails etc of my riding buddies from cheap Chinese lights I won’t hesitate to splurge on another exposure when this does give up.

My helmet light is a cheaper Moon one which acts as backup / look to the sides light. Not strictly needed but allows a bit more pace in the tight stuff. That’s also ok but no match for av joystick (it was half the price mind!)

seen this?

USE Exposure Reflex MK2 Lights Review

Running MaxxD mk5, Diablo mk4 a Tracer on the back. Did have a Flare but thats MIA (RIP 😥 )

Just echo what’s been already said, a lot of my winter riding is alone on’t moors etc so need something reliable.

Only thing that pizzez me off is the chargers, as I’m colourblind (my fault admittedly) I can’t tell on the Diablo when it’s fully charged with the red/green led.

Reflex has a number display that gives you the charged percentage.

i did the review for bike magic.

The button on the back of my joystick, which I bought second hand, stopped working at dusk till dawn. I gave it the lads at the exposure tent they lent me another one, took my address and fixed it free of charge (Inc post) for that reason alone they will always have my business. I’ve since had a few more that have been flawless.

My epiphany moment was when I was cycle commuting in Portsmouth, along dark and busy country lanes.
My Chinese torch (on the bars) required frequent ‘whacking’ to make it work. It would just flicker on/off when it felt like it.

I had visions of me flying through the air in slow motion, bike and bonnet crumpling below me, whilst I gurned and shook my fist screaming “damn you £20 Chinese light…damn you…”!!!

It’s odd, but with a joystick or maxx d on the bars, and a wired red eye on the back, I felt a LOT safer.

Worth the financial outlay just for that.

DrP

MaxxD mk6 for me after Having had a cheap Chinese torch (on the bars) and No head torch doing the Bontrager TwentyFour 12 last year all was working fine until just after 12am halfway round the course the light just suddenly went dead (turned out to be a broken wire in the battery pack) doing around 20km not fun managed to stop the bike without coming off and had to walk back in total darkness to the pits and meant end of race for me
I just would not take the chance on the cheap lights now as they say you learn from your mistakes and yes I now use a head light as well 🙂

So what Exposure light would you recommend? I need to replace my ageing Ay-ups. Used for commuting and night-riding.

MaxxD on the bars and joystick on the lid probably optimum for MTB. For commuting just pop the joystick on the bar mount instead and leave the maxxD at home

So what Exposure light would you recommend? I need to replace my ageing Ay-ups. Used for commuting and night-riding.

Maxx-D on the bars and Diablo on the head works very well. The multi mode thing on my newer Maxx-D seems confusing at first but in use it’s brilliant – you just preset the brightness of high/medium/low to suit your riding and required burn time. There are eight different modes so I have it set to just have high and low with high being about as bright but wider spread than my Diablo which works really well, and the low is just a back-up or to stop blinding others when chatting. Because the high level is turned down a bit from the full blast power the battery life is long enough to easily do my typical four hour night rides without having to touch it from start to finish. I turn the Diablo on for the descents or technical climbs and leave it off the rest of the time.

Have flash / flare and a joystick. Yes very nice, no issues, but then again I have 3 chinese lights (not tried the £15 solarstorm that just arrived) never had any issues with those either. Plenty enough light to forget its night.

If I had money to burn I’d get the bigger exposure lights, however I’ve got other things I’d rather spend the £300 difference on at the moment.

The money you save in buying a chinese light is likely to be less than the money you lose when you’re off work after it fails at an inappropriate moment!

I have a Joystick which is c 8 years old and still going strong + Flare and Flash which have just been replaced FOC by Exposure after repeated problems with the first set – you wouldn’t get service like that from yr Chinese manufacturer

They’re superb; secure, reliable, bright, neat and durable

2nd that

I have 3 of them.

I have a 4 year old Maxx D which still runs perfectly, after being used twice a week for 2-3 hours at a time, in all weathers.

I use an Ultrafire torch on my helmet, but it is a bit flaky. Absolutely no way i would rely on chinese lights alone.

Loving this thread, as an Exposure user for last 5 yrs or so and recently dipped into Eastern lighting it reinforces my belief in Exposure kit. Hope someone mails them the link !

I started with a Joystick on the lid but found it got lost in the light of the MaxxD so swapped the Joystick for a Diablo.

Also got a second bar mount with the QR clip so can use the Diablo on the bars on the cx for lighter duty stuff.

Have to say the saddle rail mount for the Tracer/Flare is very handy on the reverb.

I lost my flare off the seatpost 🙁

Replaced with a Lezeyne thing which just isn’t as good!