Hi all,

I am pretty sure that everyone likes pictures of bike lights and these are the new Hope R4s with the energy status battery, so here’s some pics 🙂

Fit and Finish
Battery fit. As you can see the battery fits fine, even on the less-than-obliging top tube of this carbon Pivot. This is the larger, 4-cell ES battery.

Lamp fit. Being Hope, the lamp mount is exquisite and works perfectly. Not the best picture, but you get the idea. The lamp fits perfectly on these larger diameter Easton Haven carbon bars:

Comparison
And now the fun bit – comparison time! All shots are taken with a Sony NEX-5. I fixed the setup to be a normal exposure with the florescent garage light and didn’t vary for any of the other shots. For reference, this was 1/100s exposure, f3.5 aperture and ISO3200. Obviously, all shots are taken without flash (duuh) and with the same camera settings throughout.

In all cases, the lamp was mounted on the bar of the bike, which was stood upright just inside the door of the garage.

In these pics, I’m comparing my old light with the Hope R4. The old light was a cheapy single Cree XM-L T6 lamp, bought from eBay for about £30. It has a claimed output of 1800 lumen. It also has an annoying habit of going off without warning, which makes it pretty much useless for riding! The new light is the very latest Hope Vision R4, with the new energy status battery pack.

Both lights were more or less fully charged before testing. The Hope R4 is unused and not run in in anyway (was charged for the first time earlier today) and the eBay-special has had a bit of use, but is still pretty much as bright as when I first got it.

Reference shot. Fluorescent striplight:

eBay Cree XM-L T6. Medium power (the lowest setting apart from strobe):

eBay Cree XML-L T6. High power (the highest setting):

Hope Vision R4. Ultra Low (the lowest setting, apart from strobe):

Hope Vision R4. Low:

Hope Vision R4. Medium:

Hope Vision R4. High:

Hope Vision R4. Max (the highest setting):

For reference, the Hope R4 has two settings:

Trail:
Ultra Low (50 hours)
Low (20 hours)
Flash (16 hours)

Race:
Medium (7 hours)
High (4 hours)
Max (2.5 hours)

(all quoted with the larger, 4-cell pack, as pictured above)

Hope this is a useful post 🙂

Daern

Good work soldier.

Regarding the premium price, did you factor in the postage for every time you need to experience their super duper customer service? TCO and all that.

Have used an R4 for 2 years.

Negatives:
Costs more than a Chinese eBay special
Has no auto power off

Positives:
Costs less than inferior Lupine offerings.
Won’t auto power off at 20mph whilst surrounded by trees, cliffs, rock and wolves.

Tidy.

Regarding the premium price, did you factor in the postage for every time you need to experience their super duper customer service? TCO and all that.

Sure, I work a few minutes from the factory and see Hope guys around here all of the time. I’m not too worried on that score 😉

Also, I’ve been using Hope stuff for 20 years now and I’m yet to be let down by either the product or their service. First experience with their lights, so we’ll see how we go. I have an open mind here…

Worth mentioning that my cheapy-cheap eBay specials let me down big time on my last ride out and I had to crawl back, tailing a friend, so things can only get better from here in 🙂

Won’t auto power off at 20mph whilst surrounded by trees, cliffs, rock and wolves.

Thanks for the info – I’ll make sure I’m wearing the thicker of my cycling socks in future, just in case the wolves appear 😉

If you treat the cable with extreme care then they can be pretty reliable. Nice light though, no lumen war madness, just a good usable beam

If you treat the cable with extreme care then they can be pretty reliable. Nice light though, no lumen war madness, just a good usable beam

I quite understand. My eBay special was never abused and even when “dead” was still helpfully lighting up the blue button on the back of the lamp. It’s just a shame that this was the only bloody light that the thing was giving out… 🙄

I’ll be giving the same love to the R4s, but they’ll certainly get some use!

not sure that bike could be anymore #enduro

@daern, I was referring to the Hope rather than the ebay special! The cables are very weak and prone to damage. Bit of a shame but Hope being Hope they’ll fix it when it breaks but they won’t fix the design flaw.

Are they using a qr on the clamp yet?
A mate of mine had the R2 a few years ago and while it was a good light, the clamp seemed like a real ball ache, compared to the qr clamps on the Lumicycle lights I had at the time.

I quite forgot to mention something here. The battery box is a work of art in itself and appears to be machined from a solid lump of aluminium, much like most other components that Hope sell. In truth, it’s as close to a work of art as a metal box full of batteries can ever be:

Also, nice to see that there’s a battery status button, even if on my bike, it’s sat against the frame so you can’t get to the bloody thing! Perhaps I’m doing it wrong…

@daern, I was referring to the Hope rather than the ebay special! The cables are very weak and prone to damage. Bit of a shame but Hope being Hope they’ll fix it when it breaks but they won’t fix the design flaw.

Ah, ok. Whereabouts are they weak? Be good to know so I can keep an eye on it…

Also, with the new battery design, I wonder if they’ve improved this at all. I’ve stuck some more photos above, so perhaps you could compare with your own…

Are they using a qr on the clamp yet?
A mate of mine had the R2 a few years ago and while it was a good light, the clamp seemed like a real ball ache, compared to the qr clamps on the Lumicycle lights I had at the time.

No, it’s a permanent clamp (well, allen bolts, but you get the idea), and has a 90-degree twist on/off for the lamp unit. The lamp fit and removal is extremely solid feeling and there’s no question about it coming loose mid-ride – not a chance!
My clamp looks like this one and has two small allen bolts to secure to the bar. The lamp is offset from the clamp, so is dead-central over the stem.

That battery box ! WOW 😀

Nice light review too

That battery box ! WOW

Nice light review too
Thanks 🙂
Yes, it’s a sturdy bugger. You do get the feeling that if it came off the bike and was dragged behind you through the woods, it would probably still be working at the bottom…

Never fail to be impressed by Hope stuff, always military grade machining!

Heres the R4’s younger brother, not in the same league nowadays I guess…

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/solar-storm-x2-cree-xm-l-t6-hope-vision-4-fenix-l2d-rebel-roundup

Do you have to wiggle the connectors between the charger and battery to get it to charge?
My older R4 is like that and my mates got the point where it wouldn’t charge at all.

Cool stuff – that’s quite an array of kit on your bars! I’m surprised you had room for your hands 🙂

Do you have to wiggle the connectors between the charger and battery to get it to charge?
My older R4 is like that and my mates got the point where it wouldn’t charge at all.

I’ve charged it exactly once so not really an authority here, but no, I just plugged it in and the red charging light came on. Took about 3 hours to charge from “empty” (or however it comes from the factory).

Ah, don’t think my mate’s R2 had a twist release for the light unit.

One thing I forgot to say was the price!

I bought from Winstanleys and paid £160:
http://www.winstanleysbikes.co.uk/product/74403/Hope_Vision_R4_2015_LED_Front_Light

(note: I am pretty sure that a lot of places still have stock of the older, non-energy-status version of the R4. Certainly, most of the images on other sites are of the older “black” batteries, as opposed to the newer “green” one. Winstanleys had the correct image and, most importantly, no stock. I checked in advance and they confirmed that they would be ordering them direct from Hope. Delivery took around a week all in and I was happy with the extra delay to be sure of getting the correct version. Probably worth double checking if you’re about to rush out and buy one!)

Dearn great colour scheme on the bike too, all matches well 8)

New adapter looks decent, really raises the light above the bars, i’ve had to ziptie cables out the way in the past to stop shadowing.

The clamp design is absolutely fabulous.

Would like to be able to get spare clamps for other bikes for less than £30 each though.

Still have to do the charger lead wiggle but the battery to lamp connection has been 100% reliable.

Lamp powers down from high setting to med when battery is running low. Did so for me tonight and that gives you an hours warning to get home.

Ah, don’t think my mate’s R2 had a twist release for the light unit.

OK. Yes, the clamp is permanently fixed, but the battery and lamp are quickly removed. The clamp appears to be £30 on its own, so best factor this in if you want to use on more than one bike – it’s not really designed to be switched back and forward.

On the plus side, the clamp is itself a lovely thing. Expensive it might be, but at least you know it’ll be pretty 😉

Dearn great colour scheme on the bike too, all matches well

New adapter looks decent, really raises the light above the bars, i’ve had to ziptie cables out the way in the past to stop shadowing.
Thanks! Matching the green battery case to the bike was, frankly, a completely coincidence, but it looks ace 🙂

Yes, the adapter raises the lamp well out of the way, but as it’s so small, it doesn’t feel intrusive. With the setup on my bike, the coiled battery cable has just enough tension to keep the cable taught enough. All being well, I’m not expecting to have to use any cables ties or velcro, which is ace for reducing installation-faff when I want to go riding with the lights.

Lamp powers down from high setting to med when battery is running low. Did so for me tonight and that gives you an hours warning to get home.

Yeah, the instructions mutter something about this. A friend has a USE light which claims “infinite battery life” – effectively, it keeps turning the brightness down so that it never actually runs out. Very ingenious and if it works, it’ll be nice to be able to go riding without worrying about flat batteries.

Now, where did I leave that DI2 charger… 😉

daern – Member

Ah, ok. Whereabouts are they weak? Be good to know so I can keep an eye on it…

My mate’s keeps breaking at the light end (it doesn’t come apart, just the cable breaks internally). I reattached it last time after reading posts on here, the cable feels pretty stiff and there’s no strain relief as far as I can tell so it’s all a bit shonky. Wasn’t hard to reattach though. And you’ll be warrantied o’course.

@northwind – Thanks for the info. For the sake of completeness, I should probably include some pics of the lamp unit itself. I’d be interested to know if the design has changed in any way from your friend’s.

The lamp unit:

Cable exit and strain-relief:

Complete lamp unit:

Lamp unit looks just like mine from the first batch.
My cable broke internally but Hope repaired it FOC even though it was out of warranty.

Lamp unit looks just like mine from the first batch.
My cable broke internally but Hope repaired it FOC even though it was out of warranty.

Ah, that’s, errr, good. I think 😉

Actually, I can’t remember Hope ever mucking me about with warranty and support, so this is good to hear.

Looks the same as the one I’ve worked on from memory. Looking at my posts I could be putting the wind up you a bit, don’t worry! Basically just be very careful with the cable and you might be able to avoid the hassle. Personally I’d secure it to the bars with a cable tie because even bar movement etc causes constant flap and movement. Er, and obviously never dangle it by the string 🙂

Heh, no problem at all. I really appreciate the info and I’ll avoid “windmilling” it where possible 😉

I use mine on my helmet. Catching the lamp on a low branch was more than likely the cause of the cable damage.

I use mine on my helmet. Catching the lamp on a low branch was more than likely the cause of the cable damage.

I can see that – I did the same on my old eBay lamp a time or two.

I think that I might look for a cheaper all-in-one light for my helmet. Something like an Exposure, but more realistically, one of the cheap-ass eBay generic Cree lamps. There are hundreds of different types on eBay, so I guess I’m resigned to many hours reading the other lighting thread…

thanks for the review and pics !

I have 2 hope Vision 2s.
1 is a Mk1 and has been “Troutied”, the other is a Mk2 and is used for commuting in winter.
I also have 2 Cree cheapies.
I see no point in comparing them. The Hopes cost about £100 each, the cheapies cost about £15, they aren’t broken or faulty so don’t switch off (unless I switch them off).

It’s about as uuseful as 5th Gear doing a road test comparing an Aston Martin with a Skoda Superb. You get what you pay for in quality, but it doesn’t mean the Skoda isn’t useful. And the Aston Martin is out of most people’s budget.

Do you have to wiggle the connectors between the charger and battery to get it to charge?
My older R4 is like that and my mates got the point where it wouldn’t charge at all.

One of my batteries seems to be like this – more of a twist of the connector than a wiggle just to make sure the charging light goes red.
RM.

It’s about as uuseful as 5th Gear doing a road test comparing an Aston Martin with a Skoda Superb. You get what you pay for in quality, but it doesn’t mean the Skoda isn’t useful. And the Aston Martin is out of most people’s budget.

Fully take your point. That said, bike lights are a funny thing. You /can/ get something that claims to be Aston Martin performance, but at Kia prices (Skodas are bloody expensive these days 😉 ) – it’s kinda interesting to see what they look like in real life.

Anyway, I never really set out to do a review – I was really just posting a few pics. I’ll be out riding it tonight and that’s what really matters 🙂

You /can/ get something that claims to be Aston Martin performance, but at Kia prices

Ah, yes – this is true. That’s why this place is so useful 😉