Night riding - recommend me a light

[jimo746]

Re:

I think you're probably right, I very much doubt that 8 LED's is actually twice as bright as 4 LED's, just the Chinese manufacturers getting all excited and jumping on the "more is better" bandwagon.

 

[FluffyChicken]

Re:

Its the buyers, my nobs bigger than your nob, you see.

They can run each at a lower power to offset heat dissipation they can also disperse the beam to cover a greater 'spot' or brighter peripheral area.

If they do I don't know. The 7 looks to have a larger heat sinking area than the compact 8.

 

[JamesM]

Re:

More LEDs each being driven with less current should make them more efficient so will improve battery life and reduce heat. Also when in the circular housing the larger number of LEDs generally means each one has a smaller reflector which will give more flood and less throw. So I can see the 3 XMLs lights being better than the 1 XML lights as they could potentially have twice the lumens, better efficiency a wider floodier beam pattern (the single XMLs being to narrow really). Beyone 3 LEDs though I wonder if it's really worth it.

 

[S-M]

Got my new 4 led light, works great, in fact works better than the 1 as its a bit less "spotty" (and dammmmm its bright) i was expecting different modes to run with 1/2/3/4 leds, but it seams high is full blast on all 4, and low is just running all 4 on a lower setting. I never bother with the strobe mode especially in poor lit areas, as i found it makes things appear a lot slower than you would expect and i crash LOL it does have its use for pointing at the ground when commuting on the road as the flashing is more than enough to get car drivers attention (just don't aim it upwards or they will run you over)

Never tried it for any legnth of time yet, unsure on battery life, i would expect it to be less though (i was getting 3 hours + from the single XML led) Its a shame it does not have a super low mode of just 1 led, so you can still get 3 hrs + from one charge, but.....

I tried my new battery pack with my old light and it switched on for around a second before it went off, i started to investigate and it looks like the led driver board is toast on my old lamp plus point is that the battery pack is fine, so i now have two of them and can keep one in the back pack as a spare.

A lot of the time on club rides i turn mine off completely as its not needed unless we are deep in the unlit woods!

One chip on the old lights driver board looks a little damaged and it has that kind of "burnt electrics" stink about it, i would quite like to resurrect this as a little project and had a quick look on ebay for cree led driver boards, but i am gazzzumped on all the different options (saw some for about £1.50) a lot of the boards i looked at seam to be for 1 single battery (not a pack of 4) and i am a little bit confused on how to change the mode, i dont care if the thing is stuck on high as soon as its plugged in (in fact i prefer it) but all the led driver boards i looked at dont have the little switch on it (i think there for torches)

Anybody played around with these internally?

 

[jimo746]

Re:

My 3 Cree LED eBay light arrived on Friday, I've charged the battery pack up and will fit it tonight, first night ride using it will be tomorrow evening
The light looks quite well made, it certainly seems flippin bright when I quickly tested it! (note: do NOT look directly into the light to see how bright it is :facepalm: ).
The battery pack will probably need sealing up a bit more to make sure it's properly watertight.
The case for the battery seems a bit lower quality to my eyes, it's functional, not pretty.



Not pictured are the 2 rubber loops to hold the light unit to the bars, and the cumbersome looking head strap/mount for the light (doubt I'll ever use it tbh).

I'll update with a report and some pics after tomorrows ride....

 

[EggyBum6969]

http://reviews.mtbr.com/review-light-motion-taz-1500

anyone seen these ?

 

[EggyBum6969]

never stare at a cree led light or any led light for that matter
or ule be doing this :facepalm:

 

[JamesM]

One chip on the old lights driver board looks a little damaged and it has that kind of "burnt electrics" stink about it, i would quite like to resurrect this as a little project and had a quick look on ebay for cree led driver boards, but i am gazzzumped on all the different options (saw some for about £1.50) a lot of the boards i looked at seam to be for 1 single battery (not a pack of 4) and i am a little bit confused on how to change the mode, i dont care if the thing is stuck on high as soon as its plugged in (in fact i prefer it) but all the led driver boards i looked at dont have the little switch on it (i think there for torches)

Anybody played around with these internally?

Found this:

http://www.dx.com/p/5-mode-1-6a-led-dri ... 18v-231936

 

[EggyBum6969]

i would think any with leds with freznel lens an little leds around the the main bulb throw a good amount of light

1500lumens would be wicked but id want more then 1.5hrs battery
usage

 

[jimo746]

Re:

So I got out on my bike this evening and tried out the 3 Cree LED lights...

1 LED:


3 LED's:



1 LED is fine for roads and unlit paths.

2 LED's steps up the brightness quite a bit, suits me for off-road riding.

3 LED's adds a little more brightness, ideal for off-road.

The pictures are just to give an idea of the brightness and reach of the lights, my cameraphone has a hard time taking pics in the dark...

The battery pack is strapped on the underside of the top-tube, and taped on to ensure it stays there!
The mount for the light unit (a rubber o-ring type affair) is "OK" but the light can move slightly off-road, and so I'll try taping over the mount to secure it further, or use a cable tie...