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My lights have just died after 5 years service so I need a replacement.
I don't trust the quality of these Magicshine/ebay things having seen them and used them. I'd rather pay more for a higher quality product, even if it's not as bright. Lumens are not the most crucial thing here- anything 300 plus is fine.
Any recommendations for something that's high value? If I were rich I'd be on Full Beam Nemesis's but that won't happen sadly.
troutlight.
Troutie's Dominator's definitely worth putting on your list, extremely happy with mine(previously running a Lumicycle HID).
FWIW the higher end Magicshines are (as far as I can tell without dismantling a friend's lights) about as well bolted together as the Hopes, Lupine and Light and Motions I've seen. Genuinely I think if it said Hope or similiar on the side and cost 3 times as much, lots of people would buy it who wouldn't buy a magicshine for £90.
I still think Lupine lights are tough to beat, quality build a clean powerful light. I could only stretch to a Tesla 5, but if budget isn't a problem then look at the Wilma.
Check out the Exposure web site! Beautiful uk lights
I'll only comment on what I've got, AY-UPs. Light, reliable, versatile, robust, long battery life and they look pretty good IMO. Had mine about 4 years and just had them upgraded, new LED's, more power and a few spares for less than £100. They were also kind enough to replace a lamp unit, that I buried in a tree and squashed, for just the cost of postage. If Lumicycle had brought out their LED unit a bit quicker I'd have got that as I already had their halogens lamps. Always had great service from them also. Saying all that if I had to replace my lights at the moment then I'd be tempted with the Magicshines at that price although I prefer the beam patterns my AY-UPs give.
Another vote for troutlights here, great lights.
I have the magicshine mj872 and it's fantastic!!!!!!!!!!1
nightrider are great quality but at a cost.
^^^^ If you're going to look at Lupine Tesla and Wilma, maybe look also at a Model 401 as recently reviewed in issue 129 of WMB, page 53.
Or visit the website and check out the 701 and 601.
😉
The £30 Deal Extreme XML light may not have been pretty but it made me leave the old Hope2 at home until Trout supercharged it. 3 months in and its still going strong.
ptrockymountain: what you said mate! the best I've seen for the cost, beat a lot of much more costly too. let them who want to spend more do it though, it helps drive the economy. 😉
i was blown away by the quality,when was perusing some exposure lights (joysticks i think?)* i plan on saving up for one of their six pack mark 2 lights someday. *do not switch said light on,whilst pointing directly into your eyes 😳
My Magicshine mj808 light is starting its 3rd winter used 40 weeks of the year and never let me down yet. been out on some pretty grim nights too. They are as popular as any other light I've seen around where I ride.
I have heard of some cracking deals on hope lights at the minute if the magic shines aren't for you.
Exposure
What about this bad boy!
Exposure Strada - last year's model is £165 at their factory outlet. Add a £100 Joystick helmet light an you are done. Same charger too.
Exposure. For the quality of their product, their system and their service.
munrobikerI don't trust the quality of these Magicshine/ebay things having seen them and used them. I'd rather pay more for a higher quality product, even if it's not as bright. Lumens are not the most crucial thing here- anything 300 plus is fine.
Agree with you on that. FWIW, you can pretty much ignore the stated lumen output of these things, they are generally exaggerated by about 40%, so in reality a 1000 lumen chinese light will be about the same as a 300-400 lumen light from exposure, lupine or similar.
muddyfunster, that's an interesting bit of maths 😕 And many "proper" manufacturers exaggerate figures fairly freely too.
FWIW my old Dealextreme P7 torch claimed 700 lumens, as did the Diablo mk1 I borrowed, and both seemed to produce much the same amount of light. TBH I'd be surprised if either actually made 700 lumens.
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[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/ukbikeskills/6309417143/ ]Night_0011[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/ukbikeskills/ ]ukbikeskills[/url], on Flickr
troutie for the win
The Four4th stuff looks pretty good value and well engineered as well.
Another vote for Ay-Up V4. Small, light, and bright. Parts and accessories are backward-compatible, and they also upgrades to newer emitters at a very reasonable cost and are thus future-resistant. (Nothing is future-proof!) 3 beam patterns to choose from, and various color light heads available mean you can tailor it to your needs and taste. The included car charger and head strap are extra cost options from most other brands.
I love my Exposure lights for racing, but before that when I wasn't doing much racing I had some Light an Motion ARCS, which are really nice reliable bright lights. I still have them btw, trying to sell them!
I wouldn't say any high quality lights are really good value, you get what you pay for though.
Trout Dominator light all you could want. Very happy with mine and riding buddies are blown away by its power.
Excellent quality construction too, and i'm sure will have superb customer services should it go wrong, which it hasn't.
I'm sure most of these lights do the job. I just got a new Wilma head unit to replace a knackered halogen and its great. Run with a Fourth 3 spot on helmet. Some of the time there is almost too much light. The brightness on full power seems to diminish night-time vision, so you see further down the trail on a medium setting. For more tecchy bits the high power is great. The decision will come down to cost, whether you want intrinsic batteries and runtimes.
Troutie, on a lower setting I can do a few rides between chargess and still have the option to knock squirrels out of trees, blind my mate's or read a book in the next field on high.........