newbie here,and new to the torch scene lol,have a few china 55w hid and lots of led lensers…i love cycling and im looking to buy a light for someone to mod or help me mod…and use this forum to maybe one day mod my own…so any help in modding or buying a decent bicycle light for xc racing be great thanks guys gals
I belive your best bet is to use cheap XM-L lights, and then buy some of the bike mount doodads. Ive noticed that bike-specific solutions are VERY expensive.
Heres an example of a clamp: http://dx.com/p/mount-holder-clip-clamp-for-bicycle-bike-led-light-lamp-flashlight-black-55828
You can then decide whether you want Flood to Throws (in full flood) for even lighting, or reflector based ones with a hotspot in front and a spill beam.
Here is a bike specific solution: http://dx.com/p/xm-l-t6-3-mode-500-lumen-led-yellow-light-headlamp-bike-light-set-4-x-18650-58cm-cable-length-114018
You can find more here: http://dx.com/c/flashlights-lasers-999/bike-lights-947
ive heard nothing but bad reviews and light focus is poor and battery life is terrible to the claimed life…i like the look of this,but would like to upgrade it?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/230877884628?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&\_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649
What a can of worms bike lights are. Maybe even more so than handheld.
What are you riding?, how fast do your ride?, where are you riding?, what’s your riding style?, how long do you ride? Do you want a whole new shelf of lights just for bike riding?
bike lights
I spent a lot of time looking at this…easy to get caught up in needs you didn’t even realize you had. And boatloads of cash, lots of innovation here in that markeplace.
I have seen a few decent price bike style XM-L triple emitters that I am going to consider for my next purchase, the prices keep coming down and down.
In the meantime, bike mounts for my P60 drop-ins are working pretty good.
im riding a superlight xc race bike front sus only…i ride fast hard…i ride at night for arounf 4-5 hours…im using a mixture of lights atm but want 1 good light instead of 3 and all the batteries to charge just want one with one or 2 batts so easy to carry a spare 1 insted of 3 lol…ive looked on ebay at those china ones look ok,i might get one and if im not happy with it mayb mod it with help from you guys of course….whats the p60? im interested
Hi vectraross, welcome to blf!
Building bike lights is what got me into modding torches, its a slippery slope!
I recommend you have a look at some of Troutie’s creations (here and on mtbr forum) he’s a bike lighting expert.
I ride singletrack on the South Downs and use an xml on the bars and an xpg aspheric on my head and find this setup gives the right balance between lumens, runtime and weight and I made it 
Yes, Dx ebay etc sell cheaper setups, but the battery packs/chargers usually leave a lot to be desired.
Woody
G’day mate. Welcome.
Lots of good advice and experienced riders on here, I hope you find what you need.
I think the search for the perfect bike light is like the search for the perfect torch. Too hard to limit yourself to only one, but good luck
Gooood... was gonna say morning, but it's already arvo.
Anyway, would it be weird if you wore a headlamp?
It's hard to find something that will give you sufficiently illumination if you ride hard for 4-5hrs.
Not sure if something like this (link) is suitable since all I ride is a road bike powered by two hairy pistons.
This (link) could be better, but it is kinda pricey.
WELCOME TO BLF! May your wallet not hate you find finding this place.
Thanks for joining the party, vectraross!
Welcome to BLF ! ! ! :party:
Welcome to blf Ross, it sounds like you need to look into building a battery pack/packs to keep about your person then a couple of light heads, one for your lid, one for the bars.
Or, a couple of lights using 18650 + 26650 cells and carry spares and a small edc light for changing out cells.
If you go this route, I would suggest a keygos m10, modded with 3 mode nanjg driver on the bars (simple to build yourself if you can solder, cost £20 ish + cells and charger) and a c8 on your lid, I would suggest the xintd from intloutdoor in 3 mode, its about £20 shipped to England.
You’d have to buy cells and a charger to suit these two lights, fasttech is a good bet here, and you’d need mounts. I believe the “two fish” mounts are well thought of but betweenrides on here is a good one to question on this.
Let me know if I can help with building any of the lights.
thanks all for the warm welcome!!! yes i think my wallet will suffer lol…not only do i want someting bright but custom so others can say where you get from its epic!!!…gords1001 i will need some help any pics on what your kindly suggesting…i like this as its focusable…http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/230877884628?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&\_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649
17mm driver into m10
Here’s some modding reference to go at
That should get you started
Couple of pictures of an m10 and c8
Some beam shots of a modded m10
Welcome to the family, VectraRoss! You are in good company here. We have many cyclists that can advise you on the better light choices.
I have to bow out of any discussion that involves vigorous activity for 4-5 hours!
Be very interesting to follow this thread and see what you all come up with. OTS or heavily modded.
Hiking, backpacking, climbing (hopefully NOT in the dark) and mtn biking will really put some of these ‘trailer queen’ lights to the test - and its a foregone conclusion (imho) that you are going to have to switch out battery packs at some point, maybe more than once.
There’s alot of really good products out there in the mtn bike marketplace right now w alot of man hours of development behind them (as far as usefullness and practicality, thinking lots more in field development than almost any handheld lights)…
My trails are buried currently under 2-3’ of new snow!
im out on the bike tonight ive got around the same snow,but very high up where im going so will defo be deeper cant wait….ive opened another thread in general section,as this hello newbie section lol…i look forward to the results,cheers all!!!