Hello,

i am guessing there must be more threads on this topic than miles i have ridden this year, but best lights for trails, mainly Cannock… have a couple of cheap ebay CREE which are ok, but not the best in terms of mounts, they move around a far bit!

apologies again and if there is already a thread, please direct me!

Si

Suppose it depends on budget and how often you will use them – Exposure, Hope, Magicshine etc. also MTB Batteries which are local (Lichfield).

I’ve got Exposure MaxxD and Diablo – but only because I managed to bag them in cycle to work a couple of years back.

Exposure also have an outlet store with decent discounts.

Bike Supply Drop also have some Moon Lights on sale at the moment.

I’ve got some round eBay ones … if you remove the bottom mount and screw onto a bar mount of some sort they are nice and firm and not at all bad for casual riding.

I had a spare CX dropper lever that I just made into the bar mount for example and the batteries fit inside an Nescafe Azera tin which also just happens to fit in a bottle mount. Battery life is fairly shit though so I’d take 3-4 batteries out for a couple of hours.

This works really decently but even better if you ride with mates with decent lights.

The real difference though is like dirkpitt say’s… if you then decide its a huge amount of fun a proper set of lights completely changes things.

Before last year I used to think people were bonkers cheering the night drawing in… then I tried it and spent my life savings on lights… it’s totally NOT what I expected… its way more fun and way less scary than you think it will be.

budget – probably not enough for high end, but more than “budget”….. thanks,

Before last year I used to think people were bonkers cheering the night drawing in… then I tried it and spent my life savings on lights… it’s totally NOT what I expected… its way more fun and way less scary than you think it will be –

have been going over the Chase for some years, the cree are fine, for FtD etc…. but fancied a bit “off piste”, so was thinking of upgrade – cheers

Buy cheap, buy twice (or more)
Get exposure.

have been going over the Chase for some years, the cree are fine, for FtD etc…. but fancied a bit “off piste”, so was thinking of upgrade – cheers

My main light is a lumineer 6500 … on full power you can land a jumbo jet but mostly I use it at 1/2 power which gives more than 1/2 battery life and on climbs means I can switch the head lamp off as well. It’s got 2 types of LED one wider and one longer.

Sometimes we stop and session a particularly tasty bit then it gets switched onto full power.. but a mate recently shared the 3500 is £189 (and you’ll likely find a discount code) the main difference to me is the battery is 1/2 the size rather than max power.

https://magicshineuk.com/product/magicshine-monteer-3500-mtb-headlight/

Buy cheap, buy twice (or more)
Get exposure.

There’s truth in this. I only have a Diablo but it’s about 12 years old and still works like brand new.

From the Exposure outlet store you could get a Diablo (for the bars) and Joystick (Helmet) for £280.
Plus you get the excellent warranty service from them.
If you sign up for the newsletter before you buy there’s usually a discount code for 5%.

As recommended on here a year or so ago I have a Halfords 1600 lumen jobbie. Rarely run it on full power but paired with a cheap helmet light it’s grand for messing around in the woods.

https://www.halfords.com/cycling/bike-accessories/bike-lights/halfords-advanced-1600-lumen-front-bike-light-253334.html

I’ve also got that Halfords light, it’s mint for the money. I’ve attached it to an old Hope style mount because the standard rubber one is crap.

Paired with the Diablo it’s more than enough for fast trail riding.

For trials you might be better off with lights off the bike and on small stands to light up what you’re riding on. A light on the bars will be useless when you’re hopping on the back wheel.