Right I have been looking at lights in some detail and I think I have down to 3 or 4!

firstly my requirement…

dark commute along unlit country lanes.
also will need for occasional off road night ride
Needs to be easily removal to stop thieves
Preference for LED type due to weight etc
mountable on bars or helmet

I have a cheap set that have doen sterling service but I getting near the end of thier life.

Shortlist…

1. Exposure maxx joystick
2. Ay-up either road or mtb set
3. deal extreme PS2 for cheap option

Comments on choices above and any other suggestions…

Last possible choice is self build using housing from my current halogen electron double enclosures (with 6v battery)

you could over-volt your electrons with quite satisfactory results using 7.2V RC car packs, but TBH by the time you’ve bought all that you may as well get something else.
joystick isn’t up to off-roading by itself, IMO, and you can buy something with similar performance from DX, such as the wf-606a ( i use one on my lid ) for 15 quid. really.
the P7 lights from DX will be good if you can handle the battery faff, or trout was doing an external battery pack for those.
otherwise take a look at the airbike ( i think? ) from on-one – good deal i think.
the ay-ups are pretty decent and folk do love ’em, they’re very neat for sure, but dunno if they’re up to the current bang for buck now.
depending upon required run-time look at the hope 4 – can be found for good money, as can the exposure max i think.

i have the exposure maxx joystick for my commute and i add on a maxx enduro when out mtb night riding.

they are the best set of lights i have owned, and have the advantage of no cables!

I like no cables and the joystick is so neat for the commute…

the DX is p7 not ps2 sorry 🙁

The battery faff does put me off the p7 option a little…I like the look of the ay-ups but they are pricey…

would a joystick and a exposure maxx enduro for off road be a bit expensive?

Tesla

Thanks for the Tesla link snakebite but isnt 250 a bit expensive for a single light?

Also use an enduro and joystick combo, and theyre great…that is all.

My mate’s got the AYUP, he’s well pleased with them and I’m well impressed with them

AYUP – where is the best place to buy?

Combined cost of joystick and enduro is £400+ ?

Changing batteries on A DX P7 is hardly a faff! It takes seconds. Having said that its not uncommon to get over 2 hours run time out a single battery!

If you don’t want to go for a torch set-up, I highly recommend the airbike SL2

SL1 is available cheap

http://www.planet-x-warehouse.co.uk/cgi-bin/sh000099.pl?REFPAGE=http%3a%2f%2fwww.planet-x-warehouse.co.uk%2facatalog%2fOnline_Catalogue_Lights_127.html&WD=airbike&PN=Airbike.html%23aLIABP7#aLIABP7

If i was buying new now, id have one of the custom made ones that trout is doing.

trout?

where can I find about that?

Sorry to be a bore but can someone detail the P7 option for me please?

Airbike SL1 seconded – best value bit of bike kit I’ve ever bought, super bright, small battery, well made, the screw in bracket is a bit of a pain in the arse, but hardly worth moaning about and now they come with a QR as standard.

No brainer, get the SL1 and then spend the money you would have saved on more stuff you don’t need!

can’t see the point in self builds with lights this cheap.

The Joystick is a superb light and multi-use, good for commuting..suprisingly good offroad at night and a super torch when camping or poking around in the loft!! Also if you upgrade to some more powerful offroad lights down the line you can always us the joystick as a helmet light…

In your situation I would go for a 480L Hope Vision 2. Online about £150 and build quality is superb.

The Exposure range is indeed supurb, but their more powerful lights aren’t helmet mountable.

In your situation I would go for a 480L Hope Vision 2. Online about £150 and build quality is superb.

The Exposure range is indeed supurb, but their more powerful lights aren’t helmet mountable.

Or a 670 lumen airbike with high/ low mode for £25 less 😉

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/a-thing-of-beauty-for-the-diy-light-builder

Although the joystick can be used on it’s own for night riding most people would use it on their lid and add a good bar light.

If what you need is an easily detachable commuter light then check out Fenix torch.

http://www.fenixlight.com/flashlight/fenixl2d.htm

The L2D easily attaches/detaches to your bars or lid with a seperately available velro strap. 175lumens on full power. There is also a L1D, slightly smaller. Both run off AA batteries – use rechargeables.