Help choose a budget light for daily commute on a bicycle

The only thing you need to know about the S2 is that it heats up fast and hot, on a bicycle you will have no problem because all the moving air will keep it very well ventilated but when using it handheld it will get too hot to hold on high in about 10 minutes, the risk is not to the light (you could put it in boiling water without harming it) but to your hand, so if your using it off the bike and feel it too hot to hold then turn it down or off for a few minutes to cool down. Fortunately i rarely ever need it for more then a few minutes at a time on high (i have left it on all night every night on low for several weeks, recharging it every day of course without any problems)

(boiling water is very bad for the battery so don’t test that idea unless you remove the battery first)

I have biked with the S2, M1 and M2 on the handlebars, as well as a variety of other models. Most of the terrain is non-urban with no street lighting, so one XM-L2 T4 for near, and one XM-L2 T5 for far is what I prefer. Both driven at 3A on a copper Nocticgon PCPCB and heat is never a problem for this use profile. I find that I like to have two lights on the handlbars, one pointing at the closer foreground and one at the furthese distance it will throw. When I get back to the outskirts of town and encounter traffic, I either shut off the T5 light or angle it sharply to the ground right in front of me, and turn the T4 to low mode. I’ve eventually settled on the M1 as being the best host for my purposes, like it better than the M2 both for the reflector and for heat dissipation, and as mentioned above, the Panasonic NCR18650B is about the best battery choice so it’s my ‘go-to’ cell for most of my activities.

what do you use for holding the light on the bike?

I’ve tried every bracket Fasttech sells, including the ‘bandages’. They all more or less work. None are perfect, but they are cheap. What determines how well or not well I find depends on your handlebar geometry. I recall that on my full suspension bike one type worked better than on my hard tail bike. I also always have a headlamp on for when I look off to the side, and for many rides I also have a Spark SD6 on flood clipped below the top tube so it is facing down, allowing me to see at a glance what is going on with the front derailleur, chain ring, and bottom bracket.

Most mountain bikers seem to prefer the TwoFish style of bracket, I think on the hardtail I tended to prefer the one that swivels and replace them more often as they are not really well built (it’s easier to rotate the light out of the way when yo encounter oncoming traffic or other bikes). I’d go look and try to see what brackets are on them, but since the last snow storm the bikes are buried under other junk in the bowels of the garage.

Just in case you haven’t placed your order yet…the Convoy S3 is MUCH better for biking! It is floodier and has a wider spill, which is more useful on a bike.

floodier then an S2?

I feel bad about having to question that, cause simply put you’re a nice guy with good opinions. However, I’d say if the light was helmet mounted in a picatinny rail, then the S3 would be the way to go. But on the handlebars, I’m going to stick with the M1 recommendation. And this is based on trying every Convoy last spring and summer. When I first got started, I thought the M2 was the Bees Knees, but I did notice Johnny Mac’s comments that the M1 was a better light. Turns out with the 20mm emitter base as opposed to the smaller base in the others, the M1 cannot be matched in my opinion.

And before the question gets asked, why the T4 emitter on close range? Higher CRI means better GS obsticle recognition and avoidance, and T5 means more long-range OTF lumens than the T4. Now I realize that the OP’s original requirement may not include the ability to get the maximum forewarning of a reflected tapetum lucidum signal from the woods ahead, but why not just go for maximizing your potential when the cost is the same anyway?

Thanks for the suggestion tallboybass. I already placed my order 4 hours ago for S2 and a charger. I’ll order the batteries tomorrow.

I did see some comparison of S2 and S3 on the forums, with some people concluding that S2 was a better choice, but that was for general purposes, and not cycling specific.

I would also like to thank everyone for all the suggestions and comments.

I am discovering a whole new world. I had never realized there could be so much interesting about flashlights.

I am curious. I had looked at all these lights on DX.com, and was told here none of those are worht much. Comparing the specifications, they still seem comparable to the S2, for example. How can you tell that those are worse? Is it just from prevous experiences of buying things and seeing the quality first hand, or are there differences in the specifications that I am not noticing?

I am just thinking, how can I tell in the future what’s a good light to get and what’s not, other than by coming here and asking (not that I mind getting the help of those with experience and knowledge).

Lots of opinions here, and mine is just one more! :slight_smile: I have an S5 which has the same throw pattern as the S2 and I prefer the S3’s wider hotspot and spill for biking. I do a LOT of night riding in the summer and have to have really good lighting.

The best I have come up with is BOTH an S3 and S5! A flooder and a semi-thrower working together give you good peripheral vision and a view down the road/trail to see what’s coming up.

Again, just an opinion. :wink:

check out reviews on BLF, a good percentage of the lights out there have been reviewed on this forum or post a thread asking for info on it if no one has reviewed it yet
but keep in mind that if the review was a long time ago they may have cheapened out the light since then, thats how chinese manufacturing works, quality fades over time

I’m surprised nobody has suggested riding with more than one light yet. Aside from having the spare for those times you’ve forgotten to recharge the batteries, having a second light allows you to use one on the handlebars and one on the helmet. The helmet light is great for looking into corners and for drivers who look like they haven’t seen you yet.

Well, not exactly nobody, perhaps I was too long winded in my post so it got buried:

and:

The result is 4 lights, which is obviously unecessary for most urban or pavement rides.

I ride with 4 lights too, but it’s usually 2 on the way in and the 2 others on the way home.

Due to the requirement to be able to see in a bunch of different locations, I doubt that any serious riders can get by with just one light source. I have a very high end prototype dual beam light given to us by Spark to test in the 24 hrs of adrenalin race, and even when I ride with that in the backcountry I have 2 or 3 more lights on the go.

I tend to put a 1x18650 tube light on my handlebars (Convoy S3 or S7 or similar) and a headlamp on my head (ZL H51 or H52). And I frequently bring a XinTD C8 in my purse in case I need to see something far away. A zoomie headlamp can be fun sometimes too, but tends to give me tunnel vision so I see only the far-away objects and not what’s right in front of me.

Would the UltraFire WF-501B XM-L T6 work decently mounted on a helmet? I am thinking of using it with the Convoy S2 (once it gets here) mounted on the handlebars.

It’s currently available for $6.85 at tmart.

http://www.tmart.com/UltraFire-WF-501B-CREE-XM-L-T6-1000LM-5-Modes-LED-Flashlight-Electric-Torch_p150607.html

Thanks!

I use an older version and it’s fine. It works great when drivers look at you and then continue to drive right at you, one flash of that and they usually decide to stop breaking the law.

Thanks. Someone suggested here that with these chinese products often the quality deteriorates with time. Would that apply here as well or is the 501B from Tmart still fine?

There is a review here Review: UltraFire 501B XM-L but that one was from DealExtreme and the review dates back to 2011.

What I’ve noticed from most of the drivers I’m the 501b’s is they have horrible pwm
I’d stick to a tube style light as they’re better balanced for a helmet like the s2
These are just my thoughts I’m sure others will have an opinion also