You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
Picked one of these up today for £31.50 with BC discount. Was going to be for the wife but really impressed with it on first impressions. I’ve been using an Evolva which I’ve been really happy with but on the full power setting, this looks a bit brighter with a wider flood. Only slight concern is battery life. The Evolva lasts forever but this suggests only 1 hour on full. Will have to do a bit more of a comparison.
You shouldn't need it on full much though!
@ewan I'm planning to do the same re: Wahoo. Apparently if you cut 1mm or so off the gaps on a Garmin mount and rotate 90 degrees it works, but this would mean drilling new holes and using a nut and bolt.
Jb89 - my epoxy didn't work (probably the plastic types). I reverted to something slightly more getto. Drilled a hole in the middle of a whaoo mount, counter sunk, and stuck a small screw in it. I was then worried it might not be stable enough with rotation, so I countersunk one of the wahoo mount bolt holes and stuck a small screw through that as well.
Used it this morning, everything seemed pretty solid. Its a bodge, but it's a bodge that should last a loooong while.
Managed to get the last one at my local Halfords. Great looking beasty specs wise.
Can anybody help with the charging LED status please?
Mine is sitting with one LED flashing when I try and charge it (from a 2A charger).
Actually, as I type the LED has gone solid and the next one up is flashing, so I guess it is a charge capacity thing?
As it's too late to edit my above post, in case anybody is wondering - what I concluded at the end of the above appears to be right. It is now on two solid LEDs and the third (of four) blinking as it nears another full bar.
So I picked up my Bikehut 1600 light today. First thoughts are it didn’t come with the remote mentioned on previous posts - but that doesn’t bother me at all.
Its a chunky beast and pretty heavy - will be interesting to see how stable it is on the bars off road. I pooped it on the road bike on my way home today - ran it on one from the least powerful on the road then full power on the unlit towpath I have to go along. Plenty of light - ultimate brightness vs my 600 lumen moon vortex pro didn’t blow me away but it’s much more of a flood and slightly warmer in colour.
When I got home I tried to take 4 pictures of my 600 lumen vortex vs 900 lumen vortex pro vs 1600 lumen Ryder Alumia vs Bikehut 1600. Didn’t work well as I didn’t have a long enough dark area and it was raining.
Initial thoughts are the Alumia (also cycle republic stocked) has a more stable handlebar mount, feels lighter and marginally brighter / more light output.
The bikehut 1600 has a better low battery warning system and feels very solidly built (heavy)!
Need to do some off road comparisons over the next few weeks of the 1600 lumen lights, but thinking if I put both on the bars I can run full power on one of them until it runs out then run the other on full power so I’ve always got maximum light on the trails.
Pictures:
Lights to compare for size
[IMG] 
[/IMG]
[IMG] 
[/IMG]
Dark:
[IMG] 
[/IMG]
600 lumen:
[IMG] 
[/IMG]
900 lumen:
[IMG] 
[/IMG]
Alumia 1600:
[IMG] 
[/IMG]
Bikehut 1600:
[IMG] 
[/IMG]
The shroud on the micro USB port on mine came off with the charging cable on Sunday. Conveniently, the Halfords in Dorking closed the other week. Bums. Dropped into the branch near work on Wednesday and swapped it out for a new one in about five minutes flat, thanks to some helpful staff who took one look at it and went straight over to the display to fetch a replacement for me.
The remote is an extra, by the way - £5. Mikey's 3d printed switch housing (now at V3) is well worth a go - I find it much easier to use with my miniature thumbs.
Weightwise, mine's less than the BT40s + battery enclosure it replaced, and a decent mount means it's not shifted once while bouncing off bumpy things so far.
Pics of Mikey's enclosures when I work out how to use Pinkbike to host images from Dropbox...
Is there a link to the 3d remote, can you buy one?
Hey Merak, Mike's adventure starts upthread a bit here:
https://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/bikehut-1600-light/page/3/#post-10306361
damn they are cheap now but Halfords are claiming they should be £60...pretty sure they were not on offer at £50 when I bought one.
I picked up a 2nd brand new from ebay with a voucher a few weeks ago which ended up costing me £35 posted, I was going to fit the second to my helment and tbh it should be fine for that but for £28 I think the smaller one would be more sensible.
For the money it is cost effective and weight effective (as well as good redundancy) to buy 2 of these rather than a more expensive unit with a large separate battery and swap them over mid ride. I've been using them as general torches and I am getting more like 1.5hrs on full power.
noticed an odd one today. Put my light on charge in the car and it killed the DAB reception. Unplugged it and the DAB came back on.
Not had any problems using the same USB charger (Aukey) on my phones for the last 2 years so wondering if it's something to do with the internal battery conditioners.
Just had an email from Halfords and these lights are on offer at £35
So I've finally reserved the 1000 Lm version and a remote for pickup, will fetch Thurs or Friday this week probably.
I can't help thinking 1600 is probably just over gunning things a bit and 1000 might just be the "sweet spot" i.e. sufficient output for on/off-road use (I was pretty happy with "900" lumen P7s a few years ago and seldom run lights on full), better runtime for having one less LED than the 1600?, a smidgen cheaper than the 1600, but barely any more pricey than the 500.
I've a plethora of go-pro mounts for both bar and lid including a stem mounter OF garmin mount with a go-pro mount on the underside already on the road bike, so I can play with the mounting options on several of my other bikes...
The main draw for me is the remote option TBH that is a big selling point IMO, that and it being a self contained unit.
still not sure about lid mounting it though, my old solar storm X2 will doubtless be less weight on the lid for similar output, just with a annoying cable tot he back pocket, and I have found even a little bit of extra mass on the lid over a long enough period will do your neck in...
My old SS X2s are a fair bit less bright on full than the 1000lm setting on the bikehut 1600
Runtime on the bikehut 1600 at 1000lm seems to be about the same as the bikehut 1000lm light
Plus someone on here weighed the 1000 at about 250g. pretty much the same weight as as the 1600.
I'd just buy the 1600 it's £31 now with BC discount.
it hasn't done anyone who's worn mine on their helmets neck in
Hey chaps, which mount do I need to fit to a Bell super GoPro mount?
It should bolt straight on to the Bell Go Pro Mount, the light comes with a Go Pro connection already.
Are those weight measurements correct? A similar sized Lezyne 2 light is about 150g. The 1600 is not too heavy for a helmet but something a bit lower profile would be good.
Be interested to know what the run time is? the 1000 looks like it could be good for evening rides on the road.
I've got the 1000. It's superb. I use it off road but on decent paths without roots/rocks/big cambers. (Someone shouted at me last night because it was too bright.)
My standard evening ride is 1hr30 and after that it's still showing 2 hours left. (Used on 'full beam' for half the ride, lower settings for the rest)
I dunno, 250g might not sound like much but I've done longer stretches in the past with basic (1x18650 type) torches strapped to my noggin before, which are probably a similar sort of weight to that, you might be fine for maybe 1 to 1-1/2 hours of off-road use with your head wobbling about, but beyond that it definately has an effect on my neck after a sustained period of riding, YMMV of course.
I'll still give the BH 1000 a try mounted on my lid of course...
As for the X2 being out-lumened by the BH jobbies at 1600/1000 LM, well that's fine and as expected,
TBH. I have barely ever used the old x2, or the single far eastern XML-T6 Bastids on full. the glare back from stuff is normally way too harsh, outright brightness isn't an arms race I'm looking to win.
It's just that I can see 1600 Lumens as being a redundant output setting (for my own use) and to get it you end up carrying round an extra LED that (IMO) isn't really needed, my only other thought, from looking at the pictures online, is have they maybe packed an extra cell into the housing for the 1600? it's difficult to gauge.
read back to what I said a while ago about the weight of the light helmet mounted
My brother tells me he has just ordered this http://amzn.eu/d/cCH6uCL will report back 😆
Trying the bikehut light for the first time in anger tonight in the dark and (probably) rain. Will report back after the right. Also got the Ryder Alumia 1600 with me so I can try them back to back in similar trails. I think the BH one has a slightly colder light so will be interesting to see which is best and also which matches my Moon helmet light best for light colour.
I have bought one of these so I have a decent light permanently fitted to my Road/Gravel bike. I also got the remote so can switch between higher power beam on narrow, twisty potholed roads and dim the light quickly when a car approaches.
It looks fantastic for the price, the only thing that worries me is the Micro-USB port. Given how fragile micro-USBs are, and it looks like an easy route for water to get into the light, I am going to get a Male-female USB 15cm lead and silicone/sigru it in place so the port is waterproof.
That's a great idea👍🏻
I've been using this for my commute for the last couple of months.
I echo what Andy says about the micro usb port, its a bit fiddly and i really think micro usb's are too fragile to be constantly plugged and unplugged.
I used the remote and some sugru to make a cover for the usb port when using the remote as i expect water to get into it easily when its pointing up using the go pro mount. Seems to work so far, time will tell though.
Using it is great. The first 5 miles of my commute are pitch black country roads and on 1600 lumens the road is lit up really well, no angry drivers because i can dip it using the remote and they see you doing that so hopefully that prevents rage! The remote is what makes it a perfect commuting light, i just wish i didnt have to cycle through the flashing modes to get back to high beam.
A mixture of max power, low power and constant/flashing mode (in town) does the 2 hour commute without any battery level warnings or powering down.
I used a metal go pro mount I had lying around to mount it as the out front garmin mount supplied with it was a bit wobbly and the roads around here are terrible so it vibrated quite a lot. Metal mount is solid though.
I got mine for £55 (inc remote) and i think that was a good price so at £35 it seems to be a steal.
EDIT: Andy, careful with the usb extender lead. I tried it and for some reason the remote wouldnt operate with it in place, even though the lead was advertised as having all pins connected. Was only 2 quid on ebay so no tragedy.
Cheers will check it before I Sigru / electrical tape in place. The way I see it is its always the Female socket on Micro USBs that fail so that if the USB extender lead works, then when it fails its easier to just replace that. Thats in addition to the socket being an obvious water trap, and preventing water ingress.
no probs andy, its a shame they didnt think of the water tight aspect when they designed the remote. I'd have happily paid a tenner for something with a waterproof plug on it.
Quick update on the 3D printed switch.
Thanks to those who've given me some beer tokens for one, you've almost paid for the light! (at its black Friday price...)
Ongoing improvements with my testing team (Bentudder) has led to V3, which integrates the o-ring loops onto the main body to reduce the stack height by around 20% and makes the whole thing a lot sturdier on the bars.
Have you considered making a Joystick mount with your printer?
So a quick few observations:
The light output at full power is pretty good - with a very white colour to it.
The ting of light you can see round the lens from the top is very distracting. Probably great for visibility on the road, but not so good for off road use. I may get some black electrical tape and blank the top clear section off to solve this.
Using it on a handlebar just with the rubber strap fitting isn’t really off road proof. In comparison, my Ryder is rock solid on the bars and has a much better mounting system. It is also a flatter light so sits closer to the bars which probably helps stability.
I need to try the bikehut light with that stabiliser thing that was in the box when it arrived. If not find some other more solid way of mounting it (but not on the outfront Garmin light where it’s upside down perfect for collecting water in the usb slots.
What alternative mounts have people bought?
Just if anyone is interested in the Ryder Alumia 1600 light I ran it in full power tonight for an hour’s ride and the power button was blinking red at the end. The light hadn’t dimmed, but I don’t know how much longer it would have lasted.
but not on the outfront Garmin light where it’s upside down perfect for collecting water in the usb slots
Fit the garmin mount upside down so the light is the right way up
The ting of light you can see round the lens from the top is very distracting. Probably great for visibility on the road, but not so good for off road use. I may get some black electrical tape and blank the top clear section off to solve this.
yes, that's really annoying on road as well, I did this and taped over it.
What alternative mounts have people bought?
an adapter to hang it under an official garmin mount which are much more rigid - unfortunately they're also not long enough unless you mount it upside down
That’s a cunning plan. I should have thought of that given I don’t have a Garmin so it doesn’t matter that it would be pointing at the ground.
plenty cheap alu chinese K-edge copy 31.8 bar gopro mounts on ebay for £3.
<p>If you're not using a Garmin surely you could just mount it the correct way round?</p><p></p><p>Oh, page 2 I think someone said they got cheap outfront stem mounts from Aliexpress, that's going to be my fallback if I'm not happy with it as is.</p>
What alternative mounts have people bought?
I've already got one of these on my gravel bike so I can mount it above the bar with a drybag strapped on:
And one like this already on the road bike:
Something like this could be used with a gopro clip mount for swapping between multiple bikes/helmets nice and quickly perhaps?
Less than a week old and mine has packed up 😔 Went out early doors for a 100mile road ride. Used the 800 (?) mode whilst it was dark then changed to flashing as it came lighter. Got to the caff and noticed it’d gone off. I just put it down to it running out of battery so put it on to recharge today so I could go out later. Came to it after a couple of hours and the final charging bar was still flashing but because I was only going out for an hour or so thought it’d be enough. Turned it on and within a couple of seconds it went off, tried it again and the same thing happened. Taking it back to Halfords on Saturday to get it exchanged for a replacement. Shame it conked out, up until then I was very impressed with it.
I’d seen those anodised mounts on eBay just before I went to bed for a few quid each. Had a quick look to see if there was anything a little more expensive with rubber bits to go against the bars / with a quicker release system but got tired before I found anything. Will have another look tomorrow but if I don’t find anything better I’ll order one of those. Cheers!
Apologies for the crap photo but here's the light on an upside down Garmin mount with a go-pro adapter.
...the only thing that worries me is the Micro-USB port. Given how fragile micro-USBs are, and it looks like an easy route for water to get into the light, I am going to get a Male-female USB 15cm lead and silicone/sigru it in place so the port is waterproof.
Having played with my 1000/remote now I can see me wanting to do something similar to this.
Are you planning to cut out the original port plug and stuff the connector in with some sugru to set in-situ; essentially making it a non-removable, sealed in flying lead. Or will you be moulding yourself a sugru plug around the USB extender/remote connector to allow you to pull it out and put the original port plug back in, should you want to run it without the remote?
Are you planning to cut out the original port plug and stuff the connector in with some sugru to set in-situ; essentially making it a non-removable, sealed in flying lead.
This. Either using electrical tape or Sigru or both to make a waterproof join for the flying lead that fits into the light. The female end I will use to either connect the remote or a charge lead. Just looking around for a 6" lead that does power and data and with a small looking rounded male end to ensure it fits ok.
THIS from Amazon looks like might do the trick, but one review said didnt work for data - which think need for the remote to work.
I might just use electrical tape and leave the port plug connected as the longevity of the light is still very much open to question and I may need to return under the 2 year warranty.
I might just use electrical tape and leave the port plug connected as the longevity of the light is still very much open to question and I may need to return under the 2 year warranty.
This was sort of my thought, when I picked it up the fella in Halfords seemed keen to make me aware the Receipt was my proof of purchse for guaruntee, and the couple of posts already in regards to the logevity of these lights is making me wonder if I should keep the original light as intact as possible.
My other thought was I could simply make heatshrink (or similar) sleeve to cover the whole back end of the housing with a flying lead/remote plugged, just in to keep the weather out and obviously should I need to return the light that would come off easily, and keep the product in it's original state...
Here's a question, is the tail end USB (powerbank) port on the same bus/circuit as the micro USB charging/control port? And if so could I plug an inline Male USB -> female micro USB adapter in (assuming such a thing is available) and connect the remote there?
Because that port might actually be eaisier to seal/sleave over...
Something like THIS?
The micro-usb does annoy me, more so regarding getting the correct orientation in that recessed hole. USB-C would have been much better.
Wonder if something could be made using a magnetic usb cable?
unless you paid cash cookae it shouldn't really matter.
Just slightly more time consuming proving your purchase
has anyone had a problem with the light stopping working with the remote. Got on the bike this morning to come home from work and the remote wouldnt do anything. Have a second remote at home so tried that and it still doesnt work. Buttons on the light all work correctly.
Think its the micro usb, has a lot of movement. Anyone found a cable extender that plugs in and allows the charging and remote to work through it to stop having to constantly use the rubbish light connection?
Andy: did the cable you got work correctly or like mine would it not allow the remote functions to work?
Picked up my 1000lumen light for my helmet. 211g on the kitchen scales, not weighed the 1600 but I think it is only a smidge heavier. Both boxes state the same battery capacity so looks like only 2 cells in each.
Disappointed it isnt lighter as the equivalent Lezynne is 150g according to the specs.
Noticed a slight issue with my Bikehut lights recently (actually a 500 in this instance but I suspect my 1600 will be the same). When I put it on charge in my kitchen the DAB radio cuts out, or goes to static.
Charging it in the hallway was enough not to interfere.
littlerob - I posted about the same problem in the car the other week. Wondering if they have not been tested for RF emissions or something.
I find that charging any Li Ion batteries makes nearby DAB radios stop working.
I picked one of these up last week. I particularly like that I can use the out front mount vertically to raise the light above a drybag on the handblebars, and that it replaces a battery bank, a separate light with external battery, and frees up some handlebar space 🙂 Perfect bikepacking light 🙂 And it charges from USB so I only need the lead rather than a specific 3 pin charger for my light on longer trips.
Got one & pretty pleased with it on the bars. Generally don't need it running full blast, so it will cover the usual 2 hour night ride, provided I have a backup for the commute home.
Too heavy on helmet for me - pushed the boat out and got an older Joystick for that.
Was musing on runtimes & extra batterys & have come to the conclusion that at £35 might as well have two! No cables, no velcro cases dangling from the frame, no big difference in weight or price (buying from a semi-reputable source) and a spare for mates in an emergency.
After a week or so of using the 1000 I have a few observations to make:
1- There's plenty to output available, I've made a point of trying to ride with just the bar mounted light through wood on wiggly singletrack and deliberately not making use of my helmet light just to see how I get on. the 1000 and 650 modes suit this, I tend to knock it down to 650 to try and save battery and reduce glare off of things but sometimes 1000 lumens is what you need and that is plenty (no need for 1600 so far)...
2- The Beam pattern is OK, there's maybe not quite the width of spread I would ideally like for offroad use, but that's probably a benefit on the road (for not blinding drivers) if you are mixing it with a helmet light this becomes much less of an issue, the beam is certainly sufficient for riding offroad but you'll maybe find a bar mounted light with a wider beam better if you don't use a helmet light too.
3- There are too many modes. just my personal opinion but eight modes is too many. Of the ones it has are I find the full output useful and the 650 and 400 both OK, I can't see why you wouldn't just split the difference and have a 500 Lmn mode istead though, the 150 Lmn low mode is adequate for round town at night and While I quite like the 15 Lmn mode as a bit of a daytime/dawn/twighlight running light I could easily live without it, similarly the flashing and pulsing modes are (IMO) pointless. 3 modes would make sense (High/Mid/Low - 1000/500/150) and I'd not complain if the 15 Lmn mode were added to that just as a daylight running option.
4- Cycling through all the modes is a pain, even with the remote. I wish they'd used the two way remote to allow you to change light level up and down rather than having to flick through all the modes (see above point) just to get to the next brightest setting. This isn't an uncommon thing though lot's of lights have a cycling mode switching setup like this.
5- The remote port, lots of people have already made comments on this, by plugging in the remote as designed you defeat a bit of the weather proofing (the mini UB port plug) so of course you either accept this, or you have to modify the product to address the issue.
6- The remote, it's alright, it's a cheap and cheerful housing for a couple of microswitches, the mounting is fine on a flat/riser bar, but I've struggled to find a convenient/useful/ergonomic place to put it on drop bars, I will probably chop one up and find an alternative way to fix it to the LH hood on my Gravel bike, it's only a fiver.
7- Battery life is good, I've had plenty of runtime from it (mostly used in the 400 and 150 modes). Charging takes a fair old while but you don't need to do that every day so it's not such a bad thing.
The backlit numbers on top to indicate remaining charge are nice, but of course if you mount it upside down they become utterly useless, still it's the thought that counts....
8- It is too heavy for using on my Lid (YMMV), I did try it briefly but compared with my crappy old X2 (with it's simpler to use 3 brighness settings and significantly lower weight) it's not an ideal helmet light, it's a very good bar mounted light, especially because it lacks a separate battery but I'll not be putting it on my head again.
All in all I'm pretty impressed with it for £28 (plus £5 for the remote), but I note it's now gone back up to £40 looking online, and I'm not totally sure I'd want to pay that extra £12 for it, not given it's few flaws.
I'm almost tempted by the Single LED, 500 Lumen version (still on for £25) to just leave on my road bike all winter as that would have plenty of output for my local roads, but again there are just too many modes and I can see the mode cycling will be similarly frustrating.
Found an aluminium mount on eBay that has a go pro style attachement on top of it. Think it’s cnc’d alloy and was under a tenner. Bolted it up last night and it feels very sturdy on the bars / no flex.
[IMG] 
[/IMG]
[IMG] 
[/IMG]
has anyobe tried the 500 as a head torch yet? i`m tempted i do tend to like my head torch to be more powerful tham bars though (super twisty singletrack here)
Is 500 going to be enough lumens as a head torch? I guess it depends how powerful your bar light is. Think I’ve currently got 900 on the helmet and 1600 on the bars and that works really well.
Tested the 1600 for the first time properly tonight in its new mount. Rock solid and the battery seemed to last well. Run it on full power pretty much the whole time I was out (hour and a half perhaps) and it was still on the 1.0 when I finished. My other 1600 light would have been flashing red by then I think.
I've just been into the garage and at first I thought I had forgotten to turn my light off after sundays ride, but it appears that one led is permanently on low even when switched off. Back to the shop I think.
I think @geex did a comparison between the 2 lights and I think dimensions were the same but the 1600 was slightly heavier, but not by much...I'm sure it was posted a few pages ago on this thread.
Quite the thread! Considering grabbing two of the 1600 one for the bars and one for the helmet, reckon that's a good alternative to the MTB Batteries Lumenator17 + Lumen800 combo?
My Helmet has a gopro mount so that's part of the appeal.
Would be replacing a solarstorm x3 on the bars and u2 cree torch on the helmet, which have stared getting flakey.
Kelvinshuffle - I’d say the 1600 is too heavy for a helmet. I’d look at a Moon Vortex Pro as a good alternative and pick up the Moon GoPro bracket for it. It’s a more focused beam than the 1600 so as a combination with the 1600 on the bars it works perfectly.
Scotthep:
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F122851708371
I’d say the 1600 is too heavy for a helmet.
As reported on page 4. it's not too heavy for an 8st girl to ride with for 2 hrs.
Can't comment for weakAF middle aged STWers tho 😉
Geex - maybe she wasn’t shredding the gnar as hard......
It isn't heavy but the weight makes the helmet wobble a lot more...I've used it a few times as a helmet-mounted light but always found I couldn't get helmet secure without overtightening the ratchet system.
Likely to work very well for others I suspect I've just got a stupid shaped head or sensitive skull.
I found that with a light that is a little less heavy / bulky than the 1600 (an 18500 type metal head torch) it wobbled a lot on the helmet. Swapped to the Moon I mentioned above and it’s a lot better.
It isn’t heavy but the weight makes the helmet wobble a lot more…
If your helmet really fits so badly it wobbles on your head I'd put money on it not fitting you properly. Forget MIPS, any other expensive gimicks or what trendy brand it is. Buy a helmet that actually fits you properly and learn how to adjust it so it doesn't wobble on your head. This is by far the most important aspect of a helmet you're going to be using with lights mounted to it.
Personally my helmet is fine until I attach a big metal light to the top of it.
Maybe I'll pick up a single light first and try it on the lid! See how I get on
Seems like a plan. I would say the 1600 is very much a flood rather than focused spot. My other 1600 lumen light has more of a focus - although the battery life doesn’t match the bikehut one. The moon is 900 lumens over full power but I usually
run it one setting down from that as it’s more than sufficient. So far the Moon outlasts the bikehut for battery.
There are some beam comparisons a few pages back that I posted up.
Anyone know if its possible to hack to remove some of/all the flashing modes?
https://www.cyclerepublic.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=+Ryder+lights
Anyone tried any of these Ryder's from cycle republic?
Picked one up today, I think they're firmly in the "could work on the lid but something lighter might be nicer"
The Ryder 1600 is a bit more focused than the bikehut but the battery doesn’t seem to last as well. I’ve got both. If you go back a few pages there is a beam pattern comparison of those 2 lights.
Picked one of these up on Sunday, together with the remote switch. I took it out for the first time last night in Mortimer forest, my first proper mtb night ride. The bikehut 1600 was bar mounted to the left of the stem on the supplied rubber mount. I put the remote switch on the end of my left hand grip over the lock ring, it's a bit too loose on the bar itself, unless you wrapped some tape or similar around it. I bodged a helmet light with a 650 lumen Fenix torch I already had, zip tied to the helmet. This worked surprisingly well!
The light was super bright on full beam, a nice wide flood pattern that lit up the trail ahead and well to the side for a good long distance in front. The light is a good solid piece of kit, but the remote switch is incredibly flimsy. The first time I used it, it fell off the bar! The rubber mount is only attached by holes in it which fit over plastic bosses on the switch. To be fair, I had shortened it by moving it to different holes so I may not have reattached it properly, so I will give it another chance. It is fragile and uninspiring though, but t'was only a fiver.
I was only out for about 40 minutes and did switch to lower settings when climbing but it was still showing over 75% charge when I finished. The rubber mount on the light worked well. It held the light tight to the bar and there was little noticeable movement when riding, though I didn't do anything particularly steep or technical.
So all in all, well chuffed with the light at that price, the remote switch not so much.
Plus one.
For me having too many modes to cycle through is quite a big disadvantage. Would love to reduce it just to 2 or 3 brightnesses.
Agreed, thats one of the reasons why I ended up returning mine to Halfords. The other reasons were the ease with which water could get in the light when the remote cabke was fitted. I also got a cracking deal on a USE Exposure Strada 1200 so it main sense to return
Re hacking around all of the extra modes and a remote that cycles "both ways"....
I noticed that the light cycles between modes quickly - at least faster than I can press the button. If it is really quick then it may be possible to either reverse engineer the remote or just to take the microswitches off the board and feed a signal into it, via a simple circuit or something like a Raspberry Pi zero. Button one gives one pulse to switch "down" a mode, button 2 gives 7 pulses to switch "up" a mode (actually cycling through all modes but hopefully quickly enough to not be noticeable).
Has anyone tried this or something similar yet ?