Lights

[Sal Minella]

I need suggestions for a night trail riding light set up, handlebars and helmet.
Thanks

[Jim]

For helmet, look for a self contained light like the Exposure Lights Diablo Mk.5 Headlight. It's expensive but well built and no cords! I have the piggyback battery too which is superlight and increases run time by 2 hours and zip tie it to my helmet. I have the 2011 or 2012 model. For handlebars, I'm running the MagicShine 2000-Lumen LED and strap the battery inside my water bottle cage to prevent frame scratches. The MagicShine is bright (claimed lumens of 2000 is higher than mtb reveiw tests) but runs hot.

[Tim D]

I run a Dinotte lighting 1500 lum. On the bars and a small cat eye 300 on the helmet. Thats enough to have no problem at all seeing what your doing. Don't go really cheap. I have a few friends who got some $50-70 light highly overrated lumen, poor light quality and they over heat then turn them selves off without warning.
Dinotte Is a smaller company out of new Hampshire, seems to be really high quality and priced pretty well for what you get. I have had mine for 2 years without any problems.

[masterofnone]

I also recommend Dinotte lights, I have been running a set for 6 years now trouble free before encountering my first minor wear and tear issue. A small company with excellent quality lights and value, and customer service is outstanding. Plus they're made in new hampshire, not china or who knows where.

[chiefmatesam]

I run a Serfas 250 lumen on my helmet (self contained) and a Serfas 1500 lumen on the handlebars (it has a battery, but I strap the battery to my seatpost). I thought I had an issue with the battery of the 1500 lumen light, so I sent it to them, they tested, and said it was within specs. Turned out I just didn't charge it long enough (duh!). Absolutely no problems with either light, and I've had them in the mud, rain, and even a couple of crashes. American company, American made. I prefer to throw up as much light as possible for me...with this setup I can ride at daytime speed. I'm of the opinion get as much power as you can afford.

One word about the cheap lights (mind you this isn't all of them) - while they might seem like a good deal, be cautioned that they can overheat, causing a meltdown. Or worse, they don't shut down charging due to a malfunction...and the battery catches fire, or worse explodes. Again, this isn't the case for all of them....just beware of cheap. You typically get what you pay for.
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[Sal Minella]

thanks!

[oh_blinding_light]

All the suggestions made so far are very reasonable. Buying as much power as you can afford is a good idea. 1200 to 2000 lumens is usually enuff to ride as fast as you'd like to, the only problem is a lot of places lie about how much power their light puts out.

I feel having both a handlebar mounted light and a helmet light is a better setup. I prefer more power and a wider beam on the bars and maybe 400 to 800 lumens on the helmet. I'm usually willing to go with a less bright helmet light if it works without wires. With 2 lights when one dies you can still see where you are going.

If you want to look at higher quality lights, take a look at the review on mtbr: http://reviews.mtbr.com/2014-mtbr-bike-lights-shootout

A few links for those looking for cheaper lighting options:

Yinding - http://www.fasttech.com/product/1443727-yinding-2-cree-xm-l-u2-4-mode-1800-lumen-white

3 LED handlebar light - http://www.fasttech.com/product/1406907-3cree-xm-l-t6-4-mode-2000-lumen-led-bike-head-ligh

DX bikelights - http://www.dxsoul.com/category/bike-light-1352

Cygolite - http://www.universalcycles.com/search.php?q=cygolite

I've been commuting, about two days a week, for over a year, with a Yinding. Nice light. Good beam pattern. Pretty well made (if you can get a real one ... poke around on mtbr forums for details on that). The battery is probably crap but they are suspect on all Chinese lights as they use laptop rejects to build battery packs. I built my own pack for my light.

The 3 LED light hasn't seen much use, but it seems well made. You will need to find a battery pack for it or build your own. Mine worked with the battery pack that came with the Yinding.

If you buy from DX, I don't have any specific recommendations as models change all the time. Look for ones that run on 8.4 volts. XM-L2 LEDs are better than the last generation XM-L LEDs. Pick a light that got good reviews if possible. It's usually not worth ordering one with more than one LED, 2 at most. Don't believe the stated output. Ordering from dxsoul is a tiny bit faster than ordering from the main China site (www.dx.com). I have become more impressed with the electronics they build into these but they usually do a miserable job on the heatsinking. Consider opening you light and smearing some heatsink grease in areas where the LEDs make contact to the external case. If you are handy with a soldering iron, consider building your own batteries. The 8.4 volt lights can typically be run off 6 AA rechargeable batteries. Or if you want more run time build yourself a pack using decent 18650 cells.

If you go the cheap Chinese route, consider buying an additional inexpensive light from a more reputable manufacturer. Run that on low all the time (or as your helmet light), that way when your cheap light suddenly fails (and it will) you still can see what you are about to run into. I like Cygolite lights. The Expillion models usually come with a pretty decent helmet mount, which if you go to their web site you can buy separately. The Expillion and the Metro models are interchangeable in terms of mounts.

Make sure, regardless of what lights you get, you have at least one good flashlight with you. The Thrunite Saber comes with 2 screw on bodies. One works with an AA battery, the other with a CR123 lithium. In a pinch you can velcro or duct-tape one to your helmet and ride out. http://www.thrunite.com/thrunite-saber-2014/

Ride safe.
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Nimium est melior!

[Sal Minella]

Wow. Thanks again!

[Tim845]

http://reviews.mtbr.com/category/lights-shootout

I have a Magic-Shine knock off, claimed 3800lm. Its probably 3k lumens less, but comparable to my HID that went for $400 8 years ago. Its got 3 Cree LED's.

The new light kit cost a whopping $65 with a larger battery. 20 cycles on it w/o problem. The mounts (big o-rings) arent great, but it runs so cool that I am considering a direct mount to the helmet.

I also have had good luck with (2) Cygo Lite's.
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Pedal, b*tches!!