Bike light

Hello, having read through the recommendations for flashlights & headlamps, I am wondering what flashlights could fit my needs. Need to pick up some lights for mountain biking. My budget is low, otherwise I would just get the Acebeam H30 for my bike helmet, & one for the handlebars. The headlamps seem to not hold the high modes very well according to the reviews & runtime tests on BLF. For around $50, what flashlights could be mounted to helmet or handlebars & not be too big or heavy to throw in my pack in case the ride goes into the night? Looking at Convoy M3-C, Convoy S11, & Sofirn SP35 currently, but I don’t know much about flashlights at all, only headlamp models. The headlamps that I look at are Wurrkos HD20 & Armytek Wizard something or other I saw on an ok sale somewhere. Currently using Zebralight H600 :slight_smile: , but I need them somewhere else besides my mountain biking bag so it looks like I get to buy more lights! On the last ride I forgot to get the lights from the house & almost didn’t make it back before dark. :person_facepalming: Any suggestions on lights are appreciated.

PS. I am not afraid to mod something if it’s easy since I have solder & a good iron. Just never done it before. :wink:

Nitefighter BT40S

Looks like a good light, but can’t find any available.

https://www.magicshine.com/c/bike-lights_0045

I just got a Lumintop B01 or whatever bike-light for 35bux. Flat cutoff on top so you don’t blind oncoming bikers/cars, and I think it’s even blessed by St Vizo, the patron saint of bicycles.

Probably don’t need the cutoff feature for my mountain biking, but it looks good for the road. Wonder how many cars got blinded by the ZLs…

Plus, I probably want that better IP rating than the MagicShine lights. Sometimes it rains hard & it’s a safety item for the areas I tend to ride off road. The B01 looks like not enough flood for the tech I usually ride however:

B01 looks like a good option for when I ride back on roads.

Thanks for the suggestion :+1:

Wellp, if you ain’t afraid of modding, you can take a Convoy S2+ (get a cheapie with the rubber-boot switch, as the metal-switches ain’t too waterproof) and stick in a 20mm elliptical TIR lens like from LEDsupply.

Eg, 10197 Carclo Lens - Elliptical Spot LED Optic

5min “mod” of replacing the reflector with the TIR lens, but it works nicely.

I think I have some Carclo lenses around here somewhere. The CREE xml stars are wherever they went to as well as the voltage or maybe current? regulators I was playing with. Found the 18650 battery holders at least, but my headlamp project never got off the ground… :person_facepalming:

Check out the Indigo5 bike light. Fully regulated with no step down at 1800 lumens.

A triple with a 10510 in an S2+ and a spacer would be even more floody and more efficient

Actually, no, it’s quite warm and nice. Maybe 4000K? Dunno beyond that, as the manual ain’t telling.

Trying the Convoy S11 with SST40 or whatever. It was somewhat of sale. Hopefully not too throwy. Figured it was worth a try for the price.

I’ve been a slow convert, but I’ve gotten around to think that bike-lights with the appropriate beam (like car headlights) are the best bet.

You want something throwy to see what’s up ahead of you, and you want something floody to see what’s up close and to the sides. But too floody means, yeah, getting rather annoying to oncoming cars. And possibly dangerous instead of just annoying if you’re throwing 2000lm down the road.

Just gonna add that floody and throwy are mutually exclusive, and spill + hotspot is not the solution, as spill to light up what’s in front of you and to the sides will also shine upward into oncoming peoples’ eyes.

Unless you wanna do like that one guy here was doing, ie, going around sticking exhaust-tips on his lights to kill off stray spill. Might look goofy, but should work.

Most of the time no one is out there in the forest on the trails, let alone at night. Planning 5,000 lumen + isn’t out of the question for big mountain descents, it’s just out of budget for now.
Hope I didn’t overspend for the S11, but it said $12 so I figured to try it at least.

Thanks for the thoughts on safety for cars & roads. Even gravel forest roads sometimes have a truck or two, so that makes good sense.

I’ve had some good results with a Sofirn C8F (link ): 3 emitters (Samsung LH351D - neutral white 5000ºK) and the tail switch to turn off when cutting thru roads with street lighting (oncoming traffic/pedestrians - have another front (white) and back (red) lights to be seen. Nice combination of throw and flood. The high color index helps in quick judgement between a soft twig or a hard dry branch. Not needing the turbo mode all that often, a typical ride of some 2 hours it can sustain. Also, have a second one in case this one was to fail in all the bouncing around - but has held up.

BTW, I mount the slightly oversized light on the yoke (just beneath the handlebars), just in case I was to flip over. Wouldn’t want to tear-up the light or myself!

Edit:

[quote=Lightbringer]

The fellow is andychrist and he’s got a particular setup for his low-rider… And you will find more info on this MountainBkeRiding Forum (link )

What do you think of the SP36 Pro? Would it be silly to mount to a bike?

andychrist has done it. Be it the non-pro version. Depends where you mount it. Does give a lot of light and good runtime. The SST40s do make a nice thrower and some spill. Depends on the reflector (or in this case, the TIR).
A mount may be hard to find. My mounts are flexible (and that’s a thing I’ll have to amend this season - often have to re-adjust the light) and somewhat forgiving for all the harshness I give it. I’m not into trail cutting, but rather trail riding (nothing too intense).

Trail-cutting reminds me of last year ride when I rode down a trail that quit in a bramble patch. It was too steep to go back up a half mile so the better part of the night was spent hauling the bike over & around huge fallen logs & thick bushes to attempt finding the trail again. Rode a few deer/bear trails in the process, but never found the trail. Maybe it’s out there somewhere, but…

It seems like a good reason to get more lights. :innocent:

And that’s why I keep a second light (and some first aid, and a poncho, and a multi-tool). Already got lost and the Maps (on phone) didn’t show much.

Had to goggle “lowrider bike”. Good Lord… they’re like those little clown-bikes! :open_mouth:

My ancient Schwinn is like the anti-lowrider. (Ha! “andy-christ”, I get it…) Tires are 1” bigger’n the norm (27” vs 26”, or was it 28 vs 27?), and the frame is a taller rhombus than most, so it’s more of a “high-rider” if anything. :laughing: