Not quite a budget light but my Fenix BC30 is damn near perfect for me. The beam pattern is very good, floody and has a decent spot. Supposedly it optimized to not point into other drivers eyes. You can easily dismount it off your bike and it even has a remote for a “burst” mode. It’s nice when you want a bit more distance and for a short period of time. Plus the neutral color is nice.
+1 :+1:
That’s a good idea for the phone 
That’s cool. I’ll have to read or watch your review. If you could PM me or post the link to the review in here that would be awesome! I don’t like the sudden step down. It startles me sometimes idk why.
I was reading up about the indigo that it also has something on it to help keep the light out of oncoming traffics eyes which is neat.
I’ve been using a modded C8s with OP reflector which works well but it doesn’t spill enough or light enough.
I have a monsterflashlight (that’s the brand) that is pretty much a knockoff ultrafire 501b flashlight. If you’re curious I ordered the flashlight from monsterflashlight.com and it is under the budget light area.
350 lumen claimed. 5 modes. Was my first light. It’s all twitchy now. Tried cleaning it and it still does twitch. Pretty old too. But yeah…… oh yeah I used to use that light. That’s why I brought it up. Not bright enough.
My hybrid bike is a Giant brand (I can’t quite remember the exact model at this moment) and the handlebars aren’t aren’t circle like on them bikes you’d get at a Walmart or target.
They are more oval and change thickness from the center to the grips. That’s why I got the Twofish mount. The mounts from amazon or even at the bike shop wouldn’t fit the handles.
Other than the Indigo, does anyone know of any good mounts that will fit different shaped handlebars? That one that came with my old Thorfire C8 is crap (it came with a cell, the mount and charger. Charger also crap).
Thanks
I use a CycleBlock by TwoFish to secure a single mode C8 with a neutral emitter and a DC-Fixed lens .
It doesn’t shift modes when going over rough terrain .
I aim the light down in town and aim it higher out in the country .
I usually get an hour and twenty minutes of runtime with a Panasonic B .
jacktheclipper I have the same mount and sometimes use a stock C8s. About an hour runtime on high mode.
I also do the same when in town. I got the twofish because I was reading on BLF I think about how much better it is than them cheap plastic ones off amazon. Very sturdy mount. Was just curious what others were using.
Do you use protected cells? I use NCR18650B cells protected in my stock C8s lights. Cells often get stuck. :person_facepalming:
But it works.
If you like the idea of a floody TIR beam, but don’t like the idea of blinding drivers, you can get elliptical TIRs that will give you a wide but short beam and angle it slightly downwards. These aren’t available for the Astrolux S41, but you can find them for lights that use standard Carclo optics or even most reflectors.
What’s a TIR beam? Carclo?
Lights like the S41 that have multiple emitters use a TIR, a plastic lens that uses the principle of Total Internal Reflection, instead of a normal reflector to focus the beam. Another common option is the Jaxman E2L, the Emisar D4, a custom built Convoy S2+ Triple, etc.
Ok thank you for clearing that up for me. I’ll check them out
I use protected cells .
I have tried the plastic elliptical inserts for my C8 , but found the shard-like artifacts distracting .
I like the beam profile DC-Fix gives me because I don’t like a blinding hotspot , particularly when it.s aimed down .
This sounds like a winner. Intriguing…
Any links?
Interested in which insert you used for C8. Link or model number?
Thanks!
Sure, sorry. I just hate formatting links on BLF. Here is an elliptical triple optic that would work in a triple light such as the Jaxman E2L .
You can also find similar TIRs for single emitter lights that should work in any 1” tube light with a bit of luck.
This Reddit post should give you an idea of the beam patterns that various TIRs, including the elliptical options, can give you.
I’m putting my foot in my mouth a bit now because I can’t seem to find any elliptical optics for quad emitter lights, sorry.
I find the KDIY 5Ks with a XHP50.2 5000K LED and single 26650 to be quite nice. I get about 1,5 hour at 2000+ lumen with a 6000mah keeppower cell. It’s also available in 6500K and 3000K colour temperature, and it’s cheap.
Two UltraTac s20’s and two Olight bike flashlight holders.
Works great for me.
Probably could go with the Nitenumen they are talking about at the link below too. Many modes probably matter less for bike lights. I probably would have gone with these at this $17 price had I not already had the S20s.
I use a custom bracket and some hose clamps. long story though. It’s not very heavy, so I think a twofish mount would work on the G20 quite nicely. I was saying it might not be quite enough for a TK35 though. I’d have to estimate the battery live of the G20 at maybe 2 hours average and up-to 4 depending on how I’m using it. I never run it full turbo most for more that a minute I would say. It’s been long enough for me, when I’m using that one it is often very dark.
I often ride at around 2am cuz i can never sleep and riding my bike on trails and on the back roads helps relax my mind or body for some reason. No street lights at all so I’d need or want some decent light. Wouldn’t need to use the G20 on turbo at all though.
I really like the Q8 for bike riding. I rarely ride on roads to worry about blinding drivers though. My C8.2 and BLF A6 are also great bike lights. The A6 on mode 4 of 7 is around 230 lumens and enough for anything I do. I pack extra lights always but never had any die on 2 hour+ rides.
The less light in the area you’re riding the less light you need. Pitch black is ideal for me.