What's the best deal out there these days? Solarstorms from lightmalls look good… Just went for a ride and my old light n motion died on me after 20 minutes..
Lights - 2014-15 season (merged)
I ordered 2 Solarstorm X2 from lightmalls. They got here after 3 weeks and were already charged and ready to go when I opened the box. Stoked. I went for an hour ride and they were pretty awesome.
They weren't completely out of juice, but I thought I would charge them fully for the next ride. Plugged the batteries into the chargers and plugged the chargers into the wall. The LED on the chargers was green the whole time. Not red like others have said. I left them plugged in for about an hour. One battery charged up (3 green LEDs on the light when I plugged the light back into the battery). But the other battery appears to have lost its charge entirely. After removing the charger from the wall the battery doesn't even power the green LED on the charger. Has anyone else seen this? I'm hoping to try with a friends charger and see what happens, but I'm worried that the battery might be toast somehow.
What's the protocol for charging these batteries? Should they be run down completely before charging?
Update: Lightmalls sent the wrong chargers with the lights. The ones I received are 4.2V/1000mA chargers. My friend just got the same lights and his came with an 8.4/1000mA charger. Good things chargers can be found for cheap. Other than that: all good!
good deal on a one piece compact light that you can charge USB ( in the vehicle).
I have a good set up but this is a great back up or commuter.
http://www.pricepoint.com/Brand/Niterider/NiteRider-Lumina-700.axd?src=NITERIDER[HTML_REMOVED]trk_msg=48O13IV5BPT4T2CRREPJT41QOG[HTML_REMOVED]trk_contact=5500B27SDCI8N0GV20G87H7JD4[HTML_REMOVED]utm_source=Listrak[HTML_REMOVED]utm_medium=Email[HTML_REMOVED]utm_term=http%3a%2f%2fwww.pricepoint.com%2fBrand%2fNiterider%2fNiteRider-Lumina-700.axd%3fsrc%3dNITERIDER[HTML_REMOVED]utm_campaign=20140105_NITERIDER
WTF, Over?
Double that. I have this exact light, and use it for back-up, utility, and to supplement my other lights rides when more is better. The simplicity of no wires is a huge plus. Also, the output is truer than most of the overly inflated lumens claims you find out there, and the actual light quality and beam pattern is excellent. It does work best as a spot. That price is pretty good too.
[QUOTE=cerealkilla';2798357]Double that. I have this exact light, and use it for back-up, utility, and to supplement my other lights rides when more is better. The simplicity of no wires is a huge plus. Also, the output is truer than most of the overly inflated lumens claims you find out there, and the actual light quality and beam pattern is excellent. It does work best as a spot. That price is pretty good too.[/QUOTE]
Awesome. Thanks for the quick revi3w. Im gratefull, my credit card not so much…:P
WTF, Over?
I got a GC to MEC and am thinking of picking up some lights. Anyone running the Cygolite Expilion 800?
Would that work as a standalone unit or will I be wanting more light?
well I was using an old light n motion stella 150 for trail riding so I think 800 lumens should be plenty. I may have to hold back and ride more careful than people with super bright set ups I guess. Ordered a chinese cheapo, will have to wait n see how it works
I tried my cheapo LED on a road ride tonight and it's plenty bright. Medium setting is sufficient. On the trail, where it's very dark, medium setting is more than enough. The little battery pack is good for two hours on medium.
It is easy to dodge our responsibilities, but we cannot dodge the consequences of dodging our responsibilities.
- Josiah Stamp
Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the future of the human race.
- H.G. Wells
Went on the road again a couple nights ago. It was a bit foggy, and quite foggy on Lilloet road up the to LSCR. On brightness setting 3/4, I could see really well up to 15 meters in front of me, and fairly well up to 30 to 40 meters in front. The LED cuts really well through the mist. Definitely something I'd use on the trail when you get those foggy or rainy or misty nights that really cut back visibility.
It's amazing how much is lit up in pitch black environments. Almost like having high beams.
Again, mounting is really easy. Battery life indicator is fairly accurate. Charge time seems slow - a few hours - but that's OK.
http://www.fasttech.com/products/1603/10006318/1480901-ultrafire-d88-l2-3-cree-xm-l2-t6-5-mode-2500
Sanrensho has a light that looks like a two light version of this one, and it's both really light and it's also very bright. Easily fine for mounting on an XC helmet. Less expensive too.
http://www.fasttech.com/products/1603/10003977/1527800-solarstorm-x3-3-cree-xm-l-u2-4-mode-3000lm-led
It is easy to dodge our responsibilities, but we cannot dodge the consequences of dodging our responsibilities.
- Josiah Stamp
Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the future of the human race.
- H.G. Wells
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jerry-Rig View Post
A OK Battery on Ebay (Hung_Lee). They use high grade Panasonics and relatively cheap. I have a 2 cell coming and it was $30 shipped.Thanks for the link. I just ordered one for about $40.
Got mine last week. The plug wasn't a waterproof design so I have to solder one on and then plasi dipped it. Works great has lots of power and last longer.
I picked up a few of the Solarstorms.
Cheezus, they put out an awesome amount of light for the price.
The best things in life all start with the letter B
Hooray for: Bacon, Bikeys, Boobies, Boards, and Beer!
Its starting to get dark on my ride to work. I bought two new battery packs from lightmalls for my old DX lights one is a water proof holder for replaceable 18650 batteries. I should be good for another year or two.
"X is for x-ray. If you've been bikin' and you haven't had an x-ray, you ain't goin' hard enough." - Bob Roll
Now that fall is almost on us, time to get some new lights.
My last set of lights were a NightRider HID, and before that a bunch of sets of NightRider halogen. I know riding lights have come along way in the last decade.
What are people using for this season?
Factors in no particular order:
- Local availability
- Parts
- Reliability
- Price
- Battery life
the best value for batteries are here:
I bought a 2 cell from him last year for the helmet. Light and battery lasts really long. I will be purchasing a 4 cell, a Y cable and run 2 lights (3 Cree XM-L2) on the bars.
Best places for lights are Fasttech, Lightmalls, eBay, DX and Amazon that I've found.
:canada:
my magic shines have been more reliable, brighter and better battery life than my night riders by a long shot.
No problems so no need to see about parts so far .KOW.
I was concerned about parts as back when I used to night ride regularly, crashes were a regular occurrence so mounts used to break often.
Since NR had a distributor in Metro Van getting a helmet or bar mount quickly was easy. Some of my friends that that ran other brands of lights had to wait weeks or months to get parts.
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