night lights cheap and good

[kaiser]

I have 1 of these 900 lumen

2 of these 230 lumen

Do they come with batteries / chargers, or is that extra?

Extra I'm afraid but they're not expensive. Look out for ones with a high ma/h these will last longer.

 

[kaiser]

while you are at it. don't forget to pick up mounts/holders from DX:

or go with these TwoFish Lockblocks, depending on your application (helmet or bar mount), which i picked up a pack of three from Fenix-store:

Good call, the middle one is crap. Its a bit shaky and the bolt is plastic. The very basic one is good. You can also get a velcro rifle mount one which can attach to your stem.

 

[DoctorRad]

Extra I'm afraid but they're not expensive. Look out for ones with a high ma/h these will last longer.

Heh, I know what to look for, I was making SLA powered 20W Halogens a la the Mark Alker / Chipps MTB Pro article about 12 years ago. The big problem back then was finding 10W Halogen spots, as 20W was arguably too bright and ran your battery down too quickly.

Stuff like this just seems to make DIY a bit pointless though, unless you want something extra special or particularly enjoy the process.

 

[RockiMtn]

there's still a lot of potential for DIY projects using the flashlights as a base point.

on MTBR, there are people taking the flashlights, cutting the battery cylinder in half and re-tapping the end for the cap, drilling holes at the rear for cables, and connecting them to battery packs which are put together with multiple batteries strung together.

 

[kaiser]

Have a look at candlepower forums as well.

 

[DoctorRad]

there's still a lot of potential for DIY projects using the flashlights as a base point.

on MTBR, there are people taking the flashlights, cutting the battery cylinder in half and re-tapping the end for the cap, drilling holes at the rear for cables, and connecting them to battery packs which are put together with multiple batteries strung together.

I think internal batteries would be less hassle unless you're doing really long rides and/or it was precipitating hard when you needed to change the batteries. Would be interesting to see if you could come up with a modification which allowed either an internal battery OR an external pack depending on the ride you were doing. EDIT: looks like they're way ahead of me...

 

[IbocProSX]

I run an MTE 900 lumen flashlight from DX since Xmas last year. I use the simplest rubber spacer and velcro strap mount on the helmet. Lasts well so far and turns night into day, really does. Once I was out for 20 minutes on singletrack before I realised I was on the medium setting...

I posted this earlier: http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=50051&highlight=led

I have a 5 mode version that has useful low, medium and high settings but I now see mostly 8 mode versions. Beware DX have dozens of very similar spec'd models. The thing to look for is the wide beam reflector, the one that Kaiser pictured. Some versions are designed to give a narrow beam for the brightest possible spot 50+ meters away, not what I want in a trail light.

I have no heat issues with the set-up above even stationary with full power on. However, you'll never use it with anyone near you, they're far to bright even in the medium setting.

Enjoy!!

PS
I use a battery for 60 minutes at full power then switch to the spare (30 seconds job). This will then last a minimum of 80 minutes at full power again. This adds up to 2 hours and 20 minutes, enough for all my night rides so far. If I get a flat or any other mishap, the remaining charge in the first battery is good for well over 60 minutes again in the medium setting. In real wilderness I'd carry a back-up light, but no need for that where I ride.

I do not see a need for the heavy 4 battery pack in the kit other than to do a 24 hour race solo. Just my 0.02$