Mountain Biking light help

Hi,
I’m looking for a light for my mountain bike for night trail riding.
I already have a Convoy S2+ sst40 that I’ll use as a helmet light.
I need a light that is fairly floody and can sustain 800-1000 lumens for at least an hour, probably a 21700 light. I have a bunch of low capacity 18650 cells (from a Dyson vacuum) that I’ll bring with me as backup.
Some options I’ve thought about:
Sofirn sp33v3 - looks nice but reviews say the thermal regulation makes it bounce between ~400 and ~1000 lumens, I need something stable.

IF25A - according to reviews it can only sustain around 500 lumens.

S21A - can keep constant 800-900 lumens for almost 2 hours with the SST40 emitter, maybe I should get it with a TIR/STRIP lens? Maybe even 2 of them? (though charging 3 batteries before a ride is annoying)

M21B gt fc40 - runtime and output looks good, the high CRI should be very nice for riding, but I’m not sure it’s floody enough.

Astrolux EC01/03- Some people in my area ride with them, not sure what’s the sustained output, and it’s only available at 6500K and kind of pricey compared to the other lights (and doesn’t come with a battery).

I would love your help, It’s great that there are so many options but it’s pretty overwhelming :slight_smile:
Thanks!

This might not exist because of thermal limits, though if the bike is moving then the airflow might help keep the light cool. Is a D4Sv2 a possibility? It is built for a 26650 so will have a little higher capacity and more thermal mass than a 21700 light.

800-900 lumens is really pretty bright. An old-fashioned car headlamp was around 500, I think. Come to think of it, maybe if you were using handlebar mounts, you could deal with the thermal and runtime issues at the expense of some weight by using two lights, one on each side of the handlebars. That could help people see you too.

List of threads for bike lights with one pretty recent: Search results for '' - BudgetLightForum.com

But first of all, what sort of riding are you doing? Speeds, width of trail, terrain type, lots of straightaway vs. lots of hairpins, etc.

I ride with just a helmet mount usually, so that can soften detail and shadows that can be helpful at times, but it works for me and I can ride as fast at night as I can in the day on trails that I know well. I’d suggest no less than 1000 legit lumens if you ride fast and/or are on narrow trails that aren’t groomed/easy. Adding a bar light to the helmet light is a good combo if you don’t mind the added weight and such…probably would opt for the helmet to be brighter than the bar, personally.

Honestly there aren’t any flashlights that I would want to ride with for my preferences and style of riding. My main light now is a Dinotte……triple emitter housing with remote pack, tucks nicely into the camelbak. The housing is lightweight and rugged but I wouldn’t want to go back to a heavier light on the helmet, even something like an S2 feels kinda weighty up there and will tend to make the helmet shift around (with straps adjusted correctly). Some lights I had in the past that were heavier were just irritating but a couple times turned out to be almost a hazard when landing or riding baby heads caused it to shift enough.

Think carefully about hazards in a crash, too (mount type, cables, whether a tube light on top will be able to catch on something and wrench your neck…stuff like that isn’t important until it is).

I can think of a few flashlights that give the light and run time but none that aren’t way heavier than anyone would want, even on the bar. If it’s just easy pedaling on tame trails, about anything will work ok if you’re happy with the output.

Back when I was biking at night much (on roads, not trails), powerful led lights weren’t a thing and I got by on the typical 10 lumen or so incandescent handlebar lights that everyone used then. I can understand trail biking being more demanding, but even still, if you want really good lighting why not go in the daytime? Flashlights are great but nighttime darkness is also great. We shouldn’t try to eliminate the dark, despite the logos of some flashlight makers ;). Use enough lumens to see what you need to see.

Why make a flashlight with more than 30 lumens then? Ooops…that’s Maglite and alkalines…which they still sell! :slight_smile:

I started out with I think 7w lead acid halogens and then the bump to 12w was incredible. Those were the days.

If you do mountain biking on narrow singletrack or trails that twist tightly in the trees or that’s overgrown, has rocky sections that aren’t just open slabs of rock, deadfall, etc…you’ll appreciate the light. And you can run them on lower settings if you like. Actually riding by moonlight is a blast, on some trails.


Yes thermal protection will decrease output after about 1-2 min

I have just build a biking light for a friend based on an Aliexpess bike light with great cooling. it is not floody al also 12V xhp 70 but you can replace the emiter to a 3v and change optics..
Motorcycle LED Headlight from Aliexpress for bicycle night rides | BudgetLightForum.com

-Well this review of the S21A says it stays at 800-900 with a fan cooling it, the M21B is similar. The D4Sv2 looks quite nice but also pricey, $55 plus another $20 or so for a battery (shipping is expensive for batteries), I can buy 3 S21A (with a battery included) for that price.

-A quick search tells me standard car halogen bulbs are around 1500lm per bulb

Thanks, My local trails are narrow twisty singletracks, wooded and rocky but nothing crazy, the fastest descents are around 20mph but I'm not going to reach that speed on night rides. I never tried night riding so I don't want to spend too much right now and bike specific lights are very pricey. I looked at the Dinotte light you mentioned and it's 100gr compared to 122gr for my S2+, not a huge difference.

During winter the sun sets before 5pm, it's not always possible to finish a ride before that. And I heard night riding is super fun.

Nice light but I'd like something that has adjustment levels and doesn't require DIY work. Plus flashlights can be used as, well, flashlights when not on the bike. BTW I'm pretty sure I've seen you post this light on the "Moshe lumens" facebook group :)

So I'm pretty sure the S21A (or maybe two of them) is a good option, Simon sells lenses to make the beam more similar to "real" mtb lights, it can keep 800lm for an hour and a half and it's very cheap ($25 with a battery). I'd love to more suggestions though. Thanks!

Check the specs of the Xtar R30.

The first 10 minutes on Turbo on mine show “no” decrease.

I didn’t do tests any further but Zeroair has this graphics on his review:

TURBO

HIGH

Being a believer of Murphy’s law, and the theory that
Two is One, an one is none, I ride with 2 front lights.
Olights RN1500. They are dedicated bike lights.

Never need or use anything above medium.
These lights are a designed by Magicshine.
The mounts are similar to the GoPro.
I’m sure they can sustain 500 lumens each
for at least 3 hrs. Maybe 4.
Way more than the rider can.

Cheers.

I am also using “regular” flashlights for night mountain biking. Similar to you, I am using
approximately 1 hour or 2 hour runtime brightness modes. See below for my setup, as an example.

In my experience the helmet light is the more important one. Your S2+ with SST40 will work, but I would want more throw, like a dedomed SST40 or SFT40 in an S2. The required throw depends on your expected speeds, but I don’t live in a mountainous area and would still want more throw for those faster sections even if they are shorter. The S2 is good for a helmet light since it’s light weight. I switched to a 21700 light, but am modifying my setup because it is a bit too heavy.

I think there are less stringent requirements for the handlebar light. It should have a smooth wider beam. Of course brighter is better, but the bar light is illuminating closer objects so it is not as critical for it to be very bright.

An important consideration is getting a light with the right modes. I have my lights setup for roughly 1hr and 2hr modes, but most lights will not come setup with good modes (for me). Often the high mode is too high and the medium mode is too low. I really like convoy’s “ramping” linear driver because it lets you precisely customize the modes. If you decide on a convoy light you might be able to have Simon install it for you.

Regarding thermal limits. The breeze while riding provides a lot of cooling. Also, night riding often happens in the fall when temperatures are cooler.

LOL. What a buzzkill on a flashlight forum. :smiley: Nightriding in the woods is a lot of fun, and can be practical (like when it gets dark very early).

And before the spiders rebuild their webs….

I would assume the more the better especially for mountain biking. Sort of like what rally cars have but obviously downsized with our flashlight choices for 2 wheeler rides at night.

I get that…and dedicated higher power bike lights are pricey (more than they should be, imho, always have been). I haven’t tried to keep up with the cheaper brands and such over the years but I wonder if Magicshine has anything decent these days or someone who picked up that ball. Their early ones weren’t so good really, but they were ok and certainly inexpensive. If MTBR still does their annual light roundup, that’s a great resource (even just past years’ reports are worth a look).

Not to niggle but I just weighed my Dinotte with the helmet strap mount and got 135g. My S2+ with a Sony VTC6 is 140g, so another probably +/- 60g for a mount. An ounce (28.35g) doesn’t sound like much but up top it feels like more weight, plus any leverage. Maybe not a deal killer for folks.

There are some flashlights like the Convoy M3 that will put out that much light sustainably for quite a long time, but not so suitable for riding (that one is large and beefy, uses a 26650 cell…plus a small issue that would totally rule it out for night riding). I don’t know of any compact ones that can deliver both qualities. If the riding isn’t so intense it’s not too much hassle to swap out a battery and you can tuck a couple in the pack easily (I’d keep them insulated and protected from any chance of denting in a crash, though).

S2+ is about 70g without battery so should be around 120g with an 18650. Is your S2+ a triple?

If your helmet has the vents arranged so there is one in the center you can usually mount an S2+ very simply with a velcro strap.

Nope…but actually the one I weighed is a purple UV with the filter…can’t see that adding any weight vs stock, although the lens is a tad thicker maybe. I think mounting the light that way would be irritating (no adjustment) but sure. It could also encourage a split in a crash vs. breaking away or deflecting some of that impact. Back in the day before I plunked down money I hardly had for the early halogen lights, I taped two minimags to my helmet and attempted to have one on the bars…boy that sucked. lol. More exciting, though. :slight_smile:

I never used to think about “safety” like this, much less harp on it, but I’ve seen too much. Very odd things can happen in trail falls vs. typical pavement crashes, and you don’t even need to be going fast or on tough terrain. Very long time ago Bicycling magazine published a great tip-of-the-month: store your car key in your helmet using some velcro, and then it will never fall out of your shorts or jersey pocket. That was great, right, brilliant! Until that key becomes a harpoon into your noggin if you happen to crash and impact hard enough to crack the foam (doesn’t take much really, even with today’s better helmets). Along those lines, some of the “roadie style” helmets with rear projections that worked their way into the “mtb helmet” area pose some similar risks in off-pavement crashes and can accentuate head or neck injuries in the right circumstances.

I trail ride at night as well. I’ve found that I need a very wide beam so I don’t crash when I’m cornering fast. I ended up with 2 S2+’s in 2 Fenix mounts (Bike Mount (ALB-10) - Fenix Lighting). I have them angled slightly outward, which gives me a nice big oval of light. I’m sure a larger convoy light would work even better, but the key was getting 2 and using mounts that made it easy to angle them outward. I also have a smaller light on my helmet which helps.

“Hey, you leave the parking brake on or something?”

“Naw, that’s just alternator drag…”

There’s certainly no shortage of options. With good airflow you’d likely find output would be much more stable on the Sofirn sp33v3 and the light variance wouldn’t be perceptable. I’d definitely consider warmer neutral light tints as well for improved depth perception.

The recent TS21 appears (with proper temperature calibration) to hold in excess of 1000 lumens (from Lumen Maniacs recent review) which is a 27000 light.

A ton of convoy lights, the S2+ also has options with TIR optics that can flatten and widen your beam profile which is excellent for nightriding.

If you’re willing to go premium, thrunite has some excellent options with excellent sustained output, such as the TC20 or T2 and come with neutral white.

There’s no shortage of dedicated bike lights out there as well, including budget friendly. The nightriding forum at MTBR.com is an excellent source.

Any flashlight with an XHP70.2 emitter along with smallish reflector will give you high sustained lumens and a ton of flood, and look for lights that include neutral white as an option.

I just can’t justify spending $80+ for a “real” bike light. There’s the new Astrolux BL02 bike light, it can output a constant 1100-1200lm for about an hour, 21700 cell, has a nice beam and is very cheap at 23 bucks, the performance is comparable to the Magicshine Allty1000 which is $85. But it has two issues- the UI is crap and the battery can’t be replaced, sucks if you run out of juice in the middle of a ride.

Just weighed my S2+ with the helmet mount (gopro mount+straps) and it weighs 166g, a bit heavier than a light with an external battery pack but as I said I ride with a hip pack so I have nowhere to put a battery pack (I really don’t like riding with a backpack).

Thanks, the TS21 looks quite nice, runtime seems better than the S21A and the beam is floody.
As for the SP33v3, I also think that airflow will improve its performance but unfortunately I can’t find a review that confirms it.

depends on how rough and rowdy your trails are… I’ve shorted at least 2 lights, one didn’t even make it 50 yds down a rocky section.
After that I had lights built for me that are potted and no more issues.