what lights to buy

[solo]

hiya all
Been thinking of getting some lights for my mtb and wondered what systems other people run .Wouldn't mind suggestions burn time price and power of other peoples lights would be great to compare .Had a look at the ones people make out of towball covers but dunno maybe i'm too lazy to make my own.Not talking fireroad or road riding only singletracking.

cheers solo

[Goocharlton]

If ur looking for some realy good ones, try the nightrider storms, they are asome - it is like daylight, trully.

cost over a grand now

[Macr]

Take a look at the Adventure Lighting Products LED lights (http://www.nightlightning.co.nz/endurenz%20details.htm) You can save money by building them yourself and they are no far off from HID output. Or is money is no object then take a look at the lupine LED setup

[VB valley boy]

so are these for comerical use or for racing cause if its just for fun use you could save money by getting over night charges with your lights rather than a fast charger you will save aroung $100 doingt this. Get Lights that GO ON YOUR HELMET because it allows you to see around corners and if there is a tricky section that is steep you can look down and see where you going not where the handle bars are faced, it also allows you to fix things on your bike like a flat tire as the lights on your head. lights range at all prices, tal to bike store that has some in stock and they will help you get an idea, i bought a nite rider enduro which was on sale at $500 it lasts for 4hrs and charges in 4hrs but i do alot of night riding with mates and love to race at night, my light is HID globe so its pretty high tech but if you wont to save money get a halogen globe and look for no less than 15 watts try to aim for the 20 to 25 watts from the globe, and aim for around 2hrs run time so you can get a half decent ride in, halogen that run for 2hrs range from $280 to alot more just depends on quality.
good luck
there are also other threads within this forum and parts and stuff forum on this topic

[John U]

I have a niterider storm. i think they go for about $800. if you can afford a decent light like this it is well worth the money. it came with a helmet and handlebar mount (very handy if you can get both of these). i use it offroad and for commuting in sydney traffic. no driver misses me with this baby turned on. There are some options similar to this made in oz and nz. all of these are probably worth considering
get a low hassle charger. probably a fast charger is best if you are forgetful like me. and the less chance there is of a chager frying your battery the better. any savings you make on getting a cheaper charger can easily be erased by a charger frying a battery. you only need to forget to turn it off once and the chances of this happening are increased if you are knackered after a bir night ride.
Also, the nite rider has coped well with the sydney torrential rain.

[Rider]

Another vote for the Night Lightnings (http://www.nightlightning.co.nz/). I just got a set and they are great, good burn time, fast charge, light, almost as bright as HID, cheaper than HID. What more could you want?

[PrOd]

There has been a few threads recently about lights. Check them out. I personally bought a headmount Chervy light. $200 was an absolute bargain for a light that had people pulling over 20m ahead of me at the NZO 12hr coz they thought I was right behind them :)

[demo9pro]

Vista Light Nightsticks, awesome lights and they start at $140...

[Macr]

Blackburn took over vistalite and they no longer exist as vistalite.

[FR Drew]

I'll put in my 2 cents for the Vicious Power Vicious ARC system.

I've done a couple of training rides out at Kowen Forest where the 24 hour race is going to be held in Canberra in a week or two and for pretty much the whole track the ARC on half power is more than enough light.

With their larger capacity 400g LiIon battery (14.8v, 4600mAH) you get over 9 hours of run time on the 7 watt setting (about 5 hours at full power). their regular battery is 200g but half the capacity and run times. 200g you don't even notice that you're carrying and even 400g is a lot less weight than most competitors batteries. The 4600mAH batt is also only $200 which is a bloody bargain!

Personally, aside from the brilliant light, the awesome thing about the Vicious is the low weight on the helmet. These puppies are LIGHT. No more sore necks from having a ballast on your head. 80g on top of your head as opposed to 200-300 for most competing HID systems.

Yes, it's a lot of money, but if you plan on seriously keeping on doing night singletrack, don't throw dollars down the drain on things you'll eventually decide to upgrade, get the Vicious ARC in the first place. I know a few people who have balked at the outlay, because, as I said, they don't come cheap, but I do not know of a single person who has purchased a Vicious ARC and then said they wished they had got something else.

In the past I've used Vistalight 6v 10w, home built halogen 6v 10w, home built 6v 20w, home built 12v 20w, home built Luxeon LED 2x 3W. none of them comes anywhere near the Vicious, even when it's running at half power.

[scratchy]

2nd what FRDREW said. I wore them all winter and it's so easy to set them up so that you'll actually forget you're wearing them. The helmet is light (no traditional ballast) battery is light and the light is bright.
Lifetime warranty and 30 day satisfaction guarantee (oh and Ozzy made)

What more could you want?

[DW-1]

2nd what FRDREW said. I wore them all winter and it's so easy to set them up so that you'll actually forget you're wearing them. The helmet is light (no traditional ballast) battery is light and the light is bright.
Lifetime warranty and 30 day satisfaction guarantee (oh and Ozzy made)

What more could you want?
click here: http://viciouspower.com/niteflux.htm

and be surprised.

Elvis.
(who has a pdf of the new Niteflux/Vicious Power 2007 catalogue)

[scratchy]

What's that surprised looking icon again?

Well at least this means that people will be able to see them in the shops now. As opposed to Viscous sell direct policy.

[angryasian]

I've used those cheap niteflux lights with good success.

They're dirt cheap, and really not bad value for what they are. Locally designed. Lots of sets floating around in bikeshops.
DO you have any electrical equipment?

YOur best bet is to buy the heatlight unit + mounts and plug it into an rc-car 5 cell pack. More power, more light. You'll also need a cheap rc charger. Usually around $60 bucks.

Some of the LED light units aren't too bad either, but they're quite expensive for the amount of light you get.

I've used a dinotte 5W LED with good success at the dirt crits. (Chuck it on your helmet. It's TINY!..
http://www.dinottelighting.com/

BUt.. really. If you plan to use the light for races of any kind, or if you plan on using it long-term then spend the money up front. Save yourself the sunk cost and time.
A cheap system will last you okay - but as soon as sonone rolls up with a "real" light you'll change you mind...

For the record - I've got a vicious HID as well. Hands down the brightest, lightest, best lighting system I've ever used. Halogen, LED included.
I thought the Dinoote unit was light. The vicious is not even there..

It's laughable.. it's like riding in your own little bubble of daylight.
Highly recommended..

[Archibald]

Fourth to Drew, scratchy n dw-1 for the Vicious Arc.

[GrubNut]

Those vicious lights look pretty good. I want to upgrade from my halogen before the scott (that gives me just under two weeks :eek: ) .

Ideally I would like a HID spot on my helmet and a LED flood on the bar.

Anyone know how the vicious LED works as a flood? Also how do the 6° beam and the 13° compare? Archibald/Drew/ scratchy/dw-1 are you running 6 or 13°?

[lance]

I've just got a Vicious LED - it is more like a 10-15 halogen in its beam characteristics (ie not a flood light, quite tight bright spot), but it has a 7.5hr run time on a 200g battery - tiny. 7.5hr run time, 1hr charge time - awesome!

I plan to run it with a bar light to provide some definition of the trail, but i am unsure as to what light to get as a bar light - I've got some old halogens, but they are heavy. I think you can get some way cheap superbright LED knock offs, but haven't bought one yet - I've seen em on Ebay, but am not sure about the dealers etc.

I got it because the HID was more $ and less run time for way more light than you actually need to ride off road. If i wanted to ride in light as bright and white as the sun, I'd go riding during the day :) There comes a time when too much light is too much light! LOL to all you saying the HID is the only way to fly!

I remember when night riding was about riding the tunnel of light you could light up, not blinding people with too much light. It is more fun when you are focusing only on what you can see. LEDs are the future.

Choice, eh, bro?

Lance :cool:

[GrubNut]

So Elvis,

Can you tell us how the new gear is different? :)

click here: http://viciouspower.com/niteflux.htm

and be surprised.

Elvis.
(who has a pdf of the new Niteflux/Vicious Power 2007 catalogue)

[angryasian]

Those vicious lights look pretty good. I want to upgrade from my halogen before the scott (that gives me just under two weeks :eek: ) .

Ideally I would like a HID spot on my helmet and a LED flood on the bar.

Anyone know how the vicious LED works as a flood? Also how do the 6° beam and the 13° compare? Archibald/Drew/ scratchy/dw-1 are you running 6 or 13°?

Well...

I run a Dinotte 5W for the bars (roughly 12W Halogen - but is very white. So looks more like a 15w) and point it basically right infront of the wheel.

The Vicious ARC is on the helmet with the batt in the jersey pocket. I've not run the 6° beam and use the 13° instead. The guys at vicious advocate using the 13° for singletrack duties as the 6° forms too much of a bright spot.

But to give you an idea - The beam pattern is probably a touch wider than any halogen system that you're using now. The "cone" of light spreads around to make a large circle that borders on your peripheral vision.

The difference is that there's so much light that this big "light cone" you ride in, that it rules out the usefulness of any other light you might be mounting on the bars. There is still a decent bright spot in the middle. But there's so much light that instead of the diffuse glow that you get at the edge of a halogen light, the edges of the cone are fairly well defined. But it's wide... the best analogy I can give is like riding in a bubble!

You really won't need anymore light... The 5W led has a fairly tight focus. But, it's almost invisible in the beam of the HID.

I'd say get the 13° ... Vicious have a 30day money back /exchange program. If you need a tighter beam (lots of open road commuting?), then just exchange the head unit..

[GrubNut]

Thanks angry,

That's very helpful and confirms my feelings that the 13° would be the go.

[Archibald]

Those vicious lights look pretty good. I want to upgrade from my halogen before the scott (that gives me just under two weeks :eek: ) .

Ideally I would like a HID spot on my helmet and a LED flood on the bar.

Anyone know how the vicious LED works as a flood? Also how do the 6° beam and the 13° compare? Archibald/Drew/ scratchy/dw-1 are you running 6 or 13°?
13' for mtb, 6' for road.
i run 13' HID and has been great! - i wouldn't worry about LED from what i've seen of LED's... just not bright enough.

i got mine the week leading up to the subaru 12hr.
sorted the order n payment out on the friday. was told that fresh stock would be available for shipping by tuesday (natural rush of orders with the 12hr coming up).
confirmed sent on tuesday arvo.
had it in my hand wednesday morning.
all good!!

2.5hr charge time to full capacity and that'll give you 2.5-4.5hrs of riding on the 200g battery...

[angryasian]

If I was buying again - I'd go for the CF battery.
The rubber is functional, but the CF looks soooooooooooooOOoooo much better. I figure.. if you're shelling out $$$ for the system, what's a few dollars more?

[GrubNut]

I just ordered the Vicious Arc kit - 13° beam, 200g battery, rubber

[stainless]

I just ordered the Vicious Arc kit - 13° beam, 200g battery, rubber


so did I, with 2 x 200g batteries tho, so i can ride one and charge the other, this is what vicious guys recommended for the scott. They said i should go the 400g batteries if i didnt want to stop as often, i dont think that will be a problem in my case, its good that i will be able to use 'the battery need charging' as an excuse to stop ;)

[DW-1]

So Elvis,

Can you tell us how the new gear is different? :)

love to. 'cept I'm not familiar with the old/current models. So I have point of reference to compare the new ones to...

Sorry.

Niteflux/Vicious have a stand @ Interbike so I'd suggest trolling the new sites for pix

Elvis.

[DaGonz]

...They said i should go the 400g batteries if i didnt want to stop as often, i dont think that will be a problem in my case, its good that i will be able to use 'the battery need charging' as an excuse to stop ;)

I was thinking with some smart management I might be able to squeeze in two laps on my 200g's, and may even get a 400g battery to give me the option of doing a double or whatever. Reality is craig gordon was doing 75min-80min laps last year, that doing 2hr laps maybe not all that unlikely, and I'll probably appreciate the break every lap by 2am anyway ;)

*shrug*

Cheers
Gonz

[FR Drew]

With a Vicious, you'll be able to pretty comfortably ride most places using the half power setting in which case, the small batts will give you around 4 and a half hours run time.

I have one of the bigger batteries, purely for the peace of mind but I don't expect to ever drop it lower than half full, even double lapping the Canberra 24 hour course.

[Archibald]

If I was buying again - I'd go for the CF battery.
The rubber is functional, but the CF looks soooooooooooooOOoooo much better. I figure.. if you're shelling out $$$ for the system, what's a few dollars more?
I got the rubber, simply because I have carbon fibre sheeting and resin left, so can "coat" it with a carbon fibre case myself...
;)

[solo]

wow the vicious arc lights sound the go i'm gonna look them up right now and the person who said HID's are too bright may have a point as my mate has a real expensive system helmet mounted HID and its soo bright when he is behind me my own shadow is in my field of vision maybe too powerful.

[FR Drew]

Yeah, but that's only a problem for people you're about to pass. Once you have one of your own, casting other folks into gloom is all part of the fun:)

[angryasian]

I PAID for those damn shadows thankyou... LoL...


The only problem is if you want to try to read a map with it. The backscatter is too much and the whole sheet looks like a white glow with no detail..
Or when silly work commuters are wearing underwear under their niks... They beam right through! LMAO!

[bluewonder2]

If money is no object.. then you really should be considering the Vicious arc's. they are also aus made!!!

check thm out at:

http://viciouspower.com/ViciousArc.htm

[Caffeine]

I just built some for a friend running in the 24 hour.

http://home.people.net.au/~lohagan/LED1.jpg

That's 2 osram DragonPuck LED units in custom aluminium housings (50 grams each with LED), 185000mcd each (about 15W halogen)

Runtime for each is 3.5 hours off a 75g polymer lithium ion battery pack. (14.8v, 860mAh)

I'll find out how they went on sunday :)

[Al_D]

So in the post Scott wrap, how did everyone's lights go? I've got to upgrade my Nightpro Elite before the Kona this year so am very interested in hearing some comparisons between lights, especially the Endurenz and Viscous Power ones...

So, can anyone enlighten me?:p

Cheers,
Al.

[FR Drew]

I found the vicious worked brilliantly, the problem was the dust.

I don't think it mattered what sort of light you had, seeing what was on the ground was always going to be bloody difficult, especially if you'd just een passed and someone threw up a fresh cloud of powder into the air.

As I think some people have said already, you can get better definition of undulations in the track surface if your light is lower (mounted on bars) but if you do that then you can't see around the corners. If you do the head mount thing, you cna see around the corners but you lose the ability to pick the rise and fall of the terrain.

And a cloud of dust makes everything shite.

I only ended up doing 1 night lap, simply becasue for me it just wasn't worth the risk of injury to keep heading out in those conditions. I guess if I'd ben on a team that cared at all about where they placed it might have been an issue, but for us it was just a casual lark.

Some people have said that the brightness of the HID lamps makes the dust worse and you're better to have dim lights. I'm not convinced with the argument that seeing less of everything means that you don't see as much dust in the air, that sounds a bit like throwing the baby out with the bath water to me.

[GrubNut]

Basically what Drew said. I was very happy with the vicious but perhaps a couple of yellow bosch fog lights mounted to the fork lowers would have helped. But absolutely no regrets about my vicious arc. The 13 degree flood was perfect.

[Oracle]

Edit: Sorry, meant to send via pm rather than raise an old thread. :o

[Trance_Kidd]

can anyone recomend a good xc light under $400

cheers Matt
MKR

[Oracle]

can anyone recomend a good xc light under $400

cheers Matt MKR

The following thread has lots of links/discussion: What lights for XC? (http://forums.farkin.net/showthread.php?t=78060) ;)