Just got my Exposure lights….

…. and chuff me they are gorgeous. Never had lights this nice before.

The Diablo comes in a lovely box with nice helmet and bar mounts. The machining is fantastic and it just feels like quality. The MaxxD is amazing tech, proper display on the back giving you charge info etc. The machining again is wonderful but the (slightly nerdy) highlight is the attachment to the bar mount. It clicks into place like assembling a shotgun, perfectly machined with absolutely no slack or wobble.

I tried to shine the MaxxD out of the office window to see how bright it was. The glare back from the window glass was so bright it made me feel physically sick which was a little disconcerting! I can already see that it isn’t really suitable for public road use, at least not in the brightest setting!!

Had a couple of Chinese lights which were bright enough but I was unlucky with the the quality and I was fortunate enough to be able to afford these as a treat. Expensive yes but so far I’m well pleased!

Totally agree. Recently got an Axis Mk3 and it’s such a high quality bit of kit. 2 year warranty too.

Got the old 1200 lumen MaxxD, not sure my riding needs any more. The new ones must be mental.

MCTD – this sounds a little lame but I’m actually slightly scared of turning the MaxxD on!!!

The Diablo instantly warmed my hand when I pointed the beam at my palm from 15cm away.

put a drop of chain lube on the sprung bare metal bit of the clip on the bar mount.

Also, the remote switch makes a great add-on ime, though it tends to die eventually with heavy use. Just sent one back to Exposure and they replaced it under warranty along with a dead battery in a Joystick. Good people to deal with if anything does go wrong.

Got the old 1200 lumen MaxxD, not sure my riding needs any more. The new ones must be mental.

I have an old Mk1 1000L, i always thought it needed a tiny bit more beam width.
Recently got a 2400L Mk7 (2015 spec), on high its so bright on tight technical tracks i was crashing into rocks as the reflection was so bright close up i couldnt differentiate the trail, onto open stuff it was like the sun had come up!

As with the Mk1, i only buy the brightest lights for the long run times on low power.

robdob – Member

MCTD – this sounds a little lame but I’m actually slightly scared of turning the MaxxD on!!!

It sounds more than a little lame 😆
It’s not a rail gun or Panzerfaust – it’s just a bright light.

If you are happy to spend decent money on lights, then you generally get nice things. Most of the high-end lights I have seen are really well thought out, quality items.

I’ve got a Moon XP1500 and it is a really nicely made bit of kit with a fancy case, nicely encased battery etc. When I commented on here that it was available for a cracking price via Merlin (reduced to £100) it was met mainly with comments that you could get a brighter Chinese light for £30 that would do the job just as well. Exposure seem to escape this inverse snobbery though…

Thanks for the advice Del

Just oredered a Diablo and a MaxxD from my lbs.
Cant wait to receive them and try them out, wire free at last!

I recently picked up a new Diablo, I’ve been really impressed with it. Can do backup on the bars on if needed, but it’s mainly a helmet light for me

Already have a good battery pack so my SSX2 so I bought a Nitefighter BT40s. Seems OK so far but the real test is tonight, a proper night ride

I’d an Exposure job for the bar but it’s a cost too far at the moment. Technically I could just ride with the Diablo!

don’t forget their own Outlet store on the website…

I got a Sirius Mk1 for £54 with a helmet mount – £45 without… Effectively a Joystick Mk6 with 360lumens – I paid £115 for my 300 lumen Mk5 “back in the day”…. Good enough for night road rides on its own…

http://www.ultimatesportsengineering.com/exposure-lights/outlet-store/sirius-mk1-helmet-mount-bundle

I have had a Maxx-D for a couple of winters and its ace, doubled up with a single cheapo cree on the helmet. Recently the Chinese light failed and I dug deep and bought a Diablo to replace to replace it, so know I am Max-D on the bars Diablo on the helmet. I love the no wires thing and with everything on full whack its a heck of a lot of light. As I say the best thing is the wireless. The only minor downsides are the short runtime on full with the Diablo, which you can’t really complain about as its a moon on a stick type of request. Getting a tiny lamp that pumps out massive light but no external battery is always a trade off. I am as of yet though not 100% convinced of the TAP functionality. I haven’t found a sweetspot yet where it doesn’t switch modes itself when helmet mounted and going over the rough stuff. Saying that its not a big deal and I may if I dont have any joy, just switch off the function and rely on old school pressing of the mode buttons. Its not a deal breaker by any means, the positives outweigh the negs by miles.

As an aside, in my early experience its worth following the instructions literally and using the lanyard to thread through the helmet vents as a back up. The helmet mount is ace and its easy to think, wow thats so secure I’ll never need to worry about it falling out and getting lost. But on my second ride with it I clipped a low branch with it and the lanyard saved me from hunting around in the grass for it, Ok I will have probably found it based on the amount of light it would have been pumping out but you never know if it embedded in mud etc, it may have been an expensive mistake.

the current MaxxD is a step up from previous ones by a big chunk. I’ve had mine for around 6 weeks and it is great. I use it on the auto brightest setting – when you get a bit of speed or bounce on it cranks up to full output and is very bright, dimming almost imperceptibly when you slow or stop.

I have a new Joystick on the lid, which makes a great combination

Got a Maxx-D and a Joystick when I got into MTBing 5 years ago. Great bits of kit which are still going strong. Never personally felt the lure of the cheapo lights.

When I commented on here that it was available for a cracking price via Merlin (reduced to £100) it was met mainly with comments that you could get a brighter Chinese light for £30 that would do the job just as well.

😆

Those people always seem to ignore everything apart from the price. The fact that they need to visit a shop to buy stuff to cobble together a wobbly mount. That they need to buy a better charger. And a better battery. That the beam pattern is so spotty that a lightsabre would make a better off-road option. And that charging the thing needs to be carried out in a flame-proof container with a fire extinguisher on stand-by.

But they are £30!

(I’ve got some cheaper lights. My Hopes are better. Surprise.)

It annoys me every time I see or hear anything about cheap Chinese lights. I saw first-hand the damage caused by a cheap light battery exploding and setting on fire. Thankfully it was on a concrete floor and the damage was minimal but still involved a nearby rucksack and laptop being set on fire and destroyed. It amazes me when people think it is acceptable to buy something that they need to charge in the garden, saucepan, bomb proof shelter or similar. I don’t know how you could endanger yourself and family and house for the sake of saving a few £££. Add to that the fact the lights are generally rubbish. I have a friend who has probably had 5 sets of cheap lights in the time I have had one exposure. He still thinks they are a bargain though every time he buys a new one. One flickered so much it was like riding with a strobe light and another would randomly cut out at the most inappropriate times. Another friend has one that also randomly cuts out and I have had to lend him my exposure twice in the last two rides just to get him home.
My exposure is over 8 years old and still works very well. The batteries don’t last as long as they used too but considering it has been used 5 days a week during winter for commuting and every night ride in-between then I think they can be forgiven. I did try and change the batteries but ended up opening the wrong end and I knackered all the led emitters. No problem though I sourced some on-line and soldered them on and it was as good as new.

I’ve just bought an equinox for a helmet light and it is awsome The bar mounted remote is a great feature too.

I have a Diablo on my helmet but fancy the Equinox with remote so I can keep my hands on the bar, what’s the real life runtimes of the Equinox like?

I’ve just got a mk 10 joystick.
The main reason I got it was its light weight. Was really noticing my cheap chinese light on my helmet.
My commute is off road and obviously unlit. The joystick has ended up with me not bothering with a bar light anymore.

Could someone please let me know which exposure lights are best for bar and which for helmet?

I searched etc but there seems loads of models and most have bar and helmet mounts?

Probably me but thanks in advance…

The most popular off road setup is MaxxD on bars and Joystick on helmet. Many people vary it though.

Ive just treated myself to this very setup, maxxd and joystick,tried it out last weekend and although the joystick is ample and works well, I would like to try the diablo on the helmet to see the difference..always next year 😀

Tired a mates Diablo a few weeks back. Cracking light, don’t think I’d bother with the maxx D on the bars.

Maxx-D on the bars and Diablo on the lid is my combo and it’s fantastic 😀 Use the Maxx-D on mode 1 and switch between auto high mode and low, the Diablo on mode 4 and tap enabled to switch. Great setup and lasts for ages like this.

The wife & I both recently bought the Diablo MK7, which we mainly use for road riding.
I weekday night rides are just under 2hrs so we have the Diablo set in programme 2 so we can run on full which last 2hs. At home on initial testing both lights did 2hrs 15mins on full in P2. The wifes light lasted 1hr first time out on the road, we set again to p2 & got over 2 hours, then again this week both lights only lasted 1 hr.

It looks like user error, but some how the lights seem to be resetting to p1 without us realizing.
Anyone else had this issue, & found what they were doing wrong?
Exposure believe we are some how restarting the programming mode when turning on & off.

Lovely lights but for th life of me I can not work out how the button to change the settings works. I given up trying to work it out and just use it for on and off. Not sure why they designed it to be so complicated. Know doubt people will come along now and explain how simple it is and I have been a dumbo!!

You can use the support cells to extend the run time, useful for the Diablo if you want to run it flat out alongside a MaxxD

For those deliberating Joystick or Diablo for the helmet, combined with a MaxxD or other decent bar light, its worth having a think about required burn times.

Having experimented with both over the years, for my typical 2 and a little bit rides I can get as much bright light out the Joystick as I would a Diablo, as the latter would need to be on lower settings to get the time required.

Joystick is cheaper and slightly less weight too.

Current Joysticks are less spotty than those a few models ago.

MaxxD on the bars and a Joystick on my lid here.
My only gripe with the remote switch is if you have one, you can’t plug anything else into the light.
Which is a shame as I’ve one of their rear lights that plugs in and is spotty dog for road riding.
So it’s an either, or scenario.

My better half has got a diablo, though I went for an exposure (was on deal so not that much price difference) and that’s cracking, extra run time is a bonus. Only problem is it now makes my ancient exposure enduro look like a candle…

+1 for piggy back cells, super handy for long/wilderness rides

Lovely lights but for th life of me I can not work out how the button to change the settings works. I given up trying to work it out and just use it for on and off. Not sure why they designed it to be so complicated. Know doubt people will come along now and explain how simple it is and I have been a dumbo!!

It’s really simple 🙂 you just hold the switch down from off then after about ten seconds there’s a series of flashes from the LED – keep holding the button down – then the on/off button itself starts blinking. You select the programme by releasing the switch after the number of blinks corresponding to the programme number on the side of the light. That’s it.

The hardest bit, on the smaller lights, is reading the settings in low light conditions. HTH.

+1 on the support cell. A Joystick with a single-cell back-up on the back of the helmet has double burn time in all of the settings, so even on full you get four hours, or 12 hours on medium – great for 24-hour racing etc when you just want to fit and forget.

My only gripe with the remote switch is if you have one, you can’t plug anything else into the light.

Agreed, you’d have thought they’d offer some kind of splitter cable. It makes the whole “smart port” concept a whole lot less useful when you have to choose which one accessory to plug in!

I thought the remote switches were wireless, looked like that on the Equinox?

The main reason I went for the Diablo over the Equinox is that I CBA with the remote, it’s another thing to mount on my bars somewhere, and I have to move it if I switch between bikes. I really like the Diablo TAP function, I’ve used it a lot so far. It’s a helmet light for me but it’s a good option for the bars too. It’s not much more from the axis to the Diablo and the triple LED up front looks pretty special

The battery capacities in the helmet lights aren’t the same, they have increased capacity further up the range

Can you not change modes on the Equinox without the aid of the remote then?

I too am interested in the MK2 Equinox but I’m struggling to find any real world reviews.

Ianc I have tried both Diablo and Joystick as a suplement for a MaxX D on handlebar, whilst undeniably the Joystick is a good light in its own right, the Diablo kicks it into next week for spirited offroad riding. Weight is unnoticable, but additional output and quality of is unbeatable.

The equinox has a normal button on it, but dont think it has the tap-change of the new diablo. The equinox remote does show the light battery level on the remote tho which could be useful.

Has anyone seen a pic of the new stick-on helmet mount yet? Should be better for the newer ‘enduro’ lids with less vents.

Oh, and the newer remote switch (clear cover over button) is much better than the one from a few years back (black cover over button). Annoyingly still only use one accessory at a time tho, and the cable on it is always too short imo.

Is annoying not being able to use a red eye and the remote switch on my Strada. You’d think some sort of splitter would be doable.