was wondering what runtimes i can expect from my UF-2100. i plan on using it as a night riding light and want to know how many cells to pack for a 1.5-2 hr trail ride. i'm using TrustFire flame 2400 mAh cells. i've heard 45 minutes on high is a safe bet. i plan on riding moderately technical trails with some fast sections so i'd probably keep it on high unless i'm stopped.
anyone have an idea? thanks!
Why don't you try it? You have the flashlight and batteries. Test in your home.
If you do a runtime test be sure to put a fan on the light to get airflow over it. Those 2100's get mighty hot!
fair enough. i guess i was asking for calculations based on power draw. the real deal is the real deal though, eh?
for riding, is the flow of air from movement sufficient for this light? thanks!
after 10 mins it will be too hot. Should be okay if riding at night though.
I do 15 miles at night once every week @ 12MPH
My lights never get hot , even on high , at that speed .
My UF-2100 XML gets hot after 5min. My KD C8 XML only gets warm after 5min. I guess there is less heatsinking for the UF-2100 since it's a small light.
I did runtime tests with the TF flames a while back and it was over 1 hour on high, 2.5 hours on med and 6.5 hours on low.
that's very helpful. thanks! i did a quick ride tonight in not-so-optimal conditions and the light did as well as could be expected. the mist/drizzle made for sub-par visibility and i forgot to bring my contact lenses to work, so i did the ride with my slightly foggy glasses. light stayed cool and most importantly, stayed lit and on my head. in our unofficial tests, my buddy's NightRider Pro 1500 looked brighter on high and maybe about the same brightness on medium to the 2100's high. much more floody, too. will have to test in dry conditions to make sure. looks like i can't use long hours at work as an excuse not to ride anymore.
Your buddy's Night Rider with 3xXM-L costs precisely 50 times more so no doubt UF-2100 is doing very well for the price. Although it does suffers from low PWM which is why I don't use it for riding but I like the form factor and I have my eye on the Roche f12 to replace it with, you should check that out.
yep. i have this ongoing thing with him about me spending way less money on a light but getting something as useful. i'd like to see side-by-side comparisons of the Roche sometime. i'll have to put in a few more rides before i make judgement on the UF-2100.
Really? My 2100's pwm isnt even noticeable in video.
Yeah, I'm surprised too. High pwm is one of the things I love about this light. For a budget light price I don't expect such high pwm. From where did you buy your low pwm uf-2100?
You guys are soooooo right. I've pretty much decided I won't be buying anymore dedicated bike lights, gave my Strykr to my son who does technical mountain biking. My flashlights are now brighter and more versatile and by combining two on the bars flood and throw, I can duplicate or beat almost any bar light out there for a fraction of the cost. With a few spare cells in the jersey pocket, can even match or exceed run time on most bar offerings out there.
I have the UF clone Yezl Z1 and an F12 on the way. I'll be doing some comparisons vs several other lights I use on my helmet: Shiningbeam S-mini, P-Rocket, N-Light ST-50, SF L2P.
My uf-2100 is perhaps a bit different, it has a completely different switch than all other 2100s that I've seen reviewed here. I got it last year from DD and while riding PWM is even noticeable on the highest mode and on the lowest brightness PWM is much much slower!
the PWM on my DD uf-2100 is so high it isn't even there..much like a nangj driver..
I added Beam Shot Comparisons to Richie's Roche F12 Review here:
The lights are all ones I use interchangeably for helmet mounting while cycling. The Balder BD-2 and Solarfarce L2P and M6 also see plenty of bar mount action. Yezl Z1 is second set of shots. It is outperformed by all the other lights. Beam on Z1 is ringy, green and not all that bright.