Lights question - now sorted thanks

raymondluxuryyacht

Senior Retro Guru
Feedback
View
I would like to get a decent bar mounted light for cycling off-road in about 2 hours of darkness. I have a budget helmet mounted light which is ok, but it has a bit of a tight beam pattern and it doesn't penetrate quite far enough ahead into the dark for my liking.
I am considering the Hope Vision 1. What do others think about this ? Is it good enough for off-road ?
Also, does anyone know if there is a difference between the lenses in the Hope Vision 1 and the Hope Vision 1 Adventure ? I quite like the latter as then I don't have the weight of the batteries on the handlebars.
 
Re: Lights question

I have a Hope Vision 1 that I use bar mounted for commuting and helmet mounted off road at night coupled with a Vison 2 bar mounted.

If you want one light for riding off road, at night then this isn't the one. If you're on a budget then for the same sort of money go for the deal extreme 900 lumen jobby, someone is bound to post a link soon.
 
Hmm. What's the build quality like ? It looks a bit plasticky in some of the pics. Also, what's the run time like ? I don't really need 900 lumens. 300 would probably be plenty.
 
I believe the lenses are the same.

I found my Vision 1 ok for commuting but a barely adequate offroad. It was a bit too much of a spot for me and didn't inspire confidence.

If you can stretch to it then I'd recommend an exposure diablo. It's a great lightweight light that good enough for off-roading in the pitch black in it's medium setting, giving 3 hours runtime. I use one as a helmet light but would be happy to have it as a bar light too. You can get battery expansion packs if you want to run it for a long time.


There's also various LED torch solutions that some people use which are much cheaper and powerful but the ones I've had a go with all had a typical torch beam spread while I like something wider for off road. I've seen mixed reports on reliability.
 
raymondluxuryyacht":3e1v9euy said:
Hmm. What's the build quality like ? It looks a bit plasticky in some of the pics. Also, what's the run time like ? I don't really need 900 lumens. 300 would probably be plenty.

build quality is rock solid,a million times better than the £200+ vistalites i used 10 years ago.run times i think are on the website and seem pretty accurate.
 
The Hope Vision 1 is not really enough for off-road night riding. I have the Vision 1 & 2 lights and the Vision 2 is so much better. The Vision 1 has a very pointy beam whereas the Vision 2 is a flood. Used the Vision 2 for years on regular night rides at Chicksands. Only recently upgraded to a double Ay-Up system for the ultimate offroad night riding experience.
 
Thanks. I have a fenix one already as my helmet light. Its the predecessor to the ld20 and its not really good enough for off-road use on its own, thougg it is a sturdy piece of kit and plenty good enough for commuting. I have the orange peel reflector for it which was recommended for bike use, but it seems to put all the light in one focussed spot. I tried it on the bar, which was worse so I am not that convinced two of those are the solution for me, though may see what else fenix do.
The electron unit is interesting, but it appears to be a twin head unit system. Is that right ? I'd prefer a single unit.
The dx units seem ok , but I am put off by the reviews. There are loads of comments about battery failures and the warranties do not seem to be honoured by the manufacturer.
The benchmark I am trying to achieve is the Hope Vision 2, but I am not willing to spend that much.
 
Back
Top