[Closed] Exposure Lights. Worth it?

The Reflex is being dropped next year, not sure why, not aware of any big issues, but always a bit concerning.

Obviously all the accelerometer stuff is unique to that light, so it depends a bit how much that interests you. The quantified burn time on the Reflex (and other 2015 lights) is really neat too.

I'd still have Exposures for the peace of mind, the non-exploding charging, and the clutter free design.

I've a MaxXD and IMHO it was worth every penny.
Coupled with a Diablo on yer helmet ( 😯 ) it's about perfect for night rides..

They are kinda like the Brooks of lighting. You know it will be excellent quality and work well. It will also be pricey. Will probably outlast a chinese light, but would need to outlast 3-4 of them to be worth it purely on cost.

A also have a MaxxD and it's amazing.

Yes, you can get cheaper brighter lights with DIY/Ebay/imports (which i've done) but for pure toughness, reliability and faff free usage Exposure lights are the way to go.

Get the biggest you can afford and you'll never look back. Apart from to check for boogie men/women following you in the woods!

Started with chinese cheapos, now have exposures. If you can afford it, why not?

They're superb; secure, reliable, bright, neat and durable.

GB

but would need to outlast 3-4 of them to be worth it purely on cost.

I'd expect them to do just that. My Maxx D and Joystick are both 5 years old now, the battery life has suffered but frankly I think that's my fault for leaving both very very discharged for months over summer!

Still get excellent life out of them if I don't use the highest setting, more than adequate for most riding.

but would need to outlast 3-4 of them to be worth it purely on cost.

Surely at £300+ for the current Reflex they need to be outlasting more like 10+ of the chinese cheapies?

I've got a Maxx and Flash/Flares. All been returned for minor niggles, all fixed and returned in two working days. Swings and roundabouts.

Yes, I'd buy Exposure again.

I have current MaxxD and Joystick and love them. The MaxxD went back to Exposure the other week for a warranty repair as a circuit needed fixed, all done in a few days, no hassle.

I bought a Solarstorm on ebay for £15 on the back of the long light thread. It's got great light output, not much inferior to the MaxxD however the charger gets very hot and i wouldn't leave it charging unattended. Could buy 20 of them for price of a MaxxD however. I can't see it lasting out a winter of night rides, but at that price it wouldnt have to.

My own opinion is that Exposure is great if you can afford it and you get a nice hassle free well thought out product

I've got a [s]Maxx[/s] Diablo and Flash/Flares. All been returned for minor niggles, all fixed and returned in two working days. Swings and roundabouts.

Yes, I'd buy Exposure again.

Thanks all. Perhaps I'll buy another bracket and use the Strada off road and complement it by getting a joystick to mount on my helmet.

I've two, a Joystick and Strada.

Great to use, reliable and have worked excellent over the 4 years I've had them both - plus love the wire-free approach.

Would I buy again? Yes, if I had the cash, otherwise it'd be an ebay special for £30 and be treated as a 'consumable'.

You could look at it like this..

Yes, an exposure would need to last 10x the life of a Chinese one to be 'financially worth it'.

Or...

How important is it for you to know your light is unlikely to pack it in halfway round your ride?
How many chinese lights would you buy before realising that actually, I'd rather have just one that worked??!!
(For me it was two....)

DrP

Buy cheap, buy twice. Buy exposure, buy another. I don't know anyone who owns just the one (Strada and Joystick here). I think they are good value. Not cheap, worth the price.

Since 2006 I've collected the following: Joystick, Diablo, Race, Enduro, 6 Pack, 2 Red Eyes, Flash & Flare and a 3 cell Piggy Back.

I've had issues with the Race and Enduro (both are quite old now) and USE have quickly repaired these in the past. The Flash & Flare continue to be temperamental but that's down to the design.

Yes they're expensive RRP and have their foibles but they've generally been very reliable and I have no hesitation recommending them to folk.

Yes, an exposure would need to last 10x the life of a Chinese one to be 'financially worth it'.
Or...
How important is it for you to know your light is unlikely to pack it in halfway round your ride?

There's also the aspect of how much time and effort it takes to find out which is the right cheap Chinese light to buy after the previous one expired, and then the riding you'll have to either do with one light or miss out on whilst you wait for your new one.

For the amount of time I spend night riding (almost certainly over 50% of my MTBing) I've felt my Exposure lights are well worth the money - apart from my Maxx-D crashing once, they've been totally reliable. The light output is great (not just the power but the beam shape and quality). The cable free design minimises faff. Brackets aren't cheap when you need one for your other bike but they work really well.

When my Chinese bar light worked it was pretty good but it had an odd habit of pretending it had charged when it hadn't so I was thankful for my Diablo being bright enough for one light riding. Was very glad when I spotted a heavily discounted Maxx-D last year!

Id echo Dr p, ive had my joystick for years and its been faultless. Ive a few Chinese lights that were good when they worked but were too unreliable.

its a pain in the balls when all of a sudden it goes dark.......

For winter I'm using an equinox helmet mounted and maxD
On handlebars,with a joystick in reserve.You are paying for quality and reliability and a good backup from exposure.

I'm going to echo Dr p too, if you ride at night a lot I'd say they're worth it for the piece of mind. I also got through two Chinese lights before deciding it wasn't worth it.

mtbbatteries have a guide to changing your exposure battery online.

Torchy reckons a fluxient T6 mini outperforms the less powerfull Exposure Joystick, but in reality it doesn't as the 'quality' of the light and the beam from the Joystick is actually better.

I'm same as most of the above. My joystick and Maxxd were expensive, but u think they're great. Good light, hassle free and I trust them totally, which as almost all my rides are at night and I ride alone, makes it more than worth it! My cheap chimes light lasted ok, but I never really trusted it.

DrP and chiefgrooveguru +2 (1each)

I have a maxxD.

One minor issue with the switch warrantied via the shop where I had bought it and back within a week. I am a night and evenings ride primarily and having seen some of the mid rise light fails etc of my riding buddies from cheap Chinese lights I won't hesitate to splurge on another exposure when this does give up.

My helmet light is a cheaper Moon one which acts as backup / look to the sides light. Not strictly needed but allows a bit more pace in the tight stuff. That's also ok but no match for av joystick (it was half the price mind!)

seen this?

http://bikemagic.com/gear/use-exposure-reflex-mk2-lights-review.html

Running MaxxD mk5, Diablo mk4 a Tracer on the back. Did have a Flare but thats MIA (RIP 😥 )

Just echo what's been already said, a lot of my winter riding is alone on't moors etc so need something reliable.

Only thing that pizzez me off is the chargers, as I'm colourblind (my fault admittedly) I can't tell on the Diablo when it's fully charged with the red/green led.

Reflex has a number display that gives you the charged percentage.

i did the review for bike magic.

The button on the back of my joystick, which I bought second hand, stopped working at dusk till dawn. I gave it the lads at the exposure tent they lent me another one, took my address and fixed it free of charge (Inc post) for that reason alone they will always have my business. I've since had a few more that have been flawless.

My epiphany moment was when I was cycle commuting in Portsmouth, along dark and busy country lanes.
My Chinese torch (on the bars) required frequent 'whacking' to make it work. It would just flicker on/off when it felt like it.

I had visions of me flying through the air in slow motion, bike and bonnet crumpling below me, whilst I gurned and shook my fist screaming "damn you £20 Chinese light...damn you..."!!!

It's odd, but with a joystick or maxx d on the bars, and a wired red eye on the back, I felt a LOT safer.

Worth the financial outlay just for that.

DrP

MaxxD mk6 for me after Having had a cheap Chinese torch (on the bars) and No head torch doing the Bontrager TwentyFour 12 last year all was working fine until just after 12am halfway round the course the light just suddenly went dead (turned out to be a broken wire in the battery pack) doing around 20km not fun managed to stop the bike without coming off and had to walk back in total darkness to the pits and meant end of race for me
I just would not take the chance on the cheap lights now as they say you learn from your mistakes and yes I now use a head light as well 🙂

So what Exposure light would you recommend? I need to replace my ageing Ay-ups. Used for commuting and night-riding.

MaxxD on the bars and joystick on the lid probably optimum for MTB. For commuting just pop the joystick on the bar mount instead and leave the maxxD at home

So what Exposure light would you recommend? I need to replace my ageing Ay-ups. Used for commuting and night-riding.

Maxx-D on the bars and Diablo on the head works very well. The multi mode thing on my newer Maxx-D seems confusing at first but in use it's brilliant - you just preset the brightness of high/medium/low to suit your riding and required burn time. There are eight different modes so I have it set to just have high and low with high being about as bright but wider spread than my Diablo which works really well, and the low is just a back-up or to stop blinding others when chatting. Because the high level is turned down a bit from the full blast power the battery life is long enough to easily do my typical four hour night rides without having to touch it from start to finish. I turn the Diablo on for the descents or technical climbs and leave it off the rest of the time.

Have flash / flare and a joystick. Yes very nice, no issues, but then again I have 3 chinese lights (not tried the £15 solarstorm that just arrived) never had any issues with those either. Plenty enough light to forget its night.

If I had money to burn I'd get the bigger exposure lights, however I've got other things I'd rather spend the £300 difference on at the moment.

The money you save in buying a chinese light is likely to be less than the money you lose when you're off work after it fails at an inappropriate moment!

I have a Joystick which is c 8 years old and still going strong + Flare and Flash which have just been replaced FOC by Exposure after repeated problems with the first set - you wouldn't get service like that from yr Chinese manufacturer

They're superb; secure, reliable, bright, neat and durable

2nd that

I have 3 of them.

I have a 4 year old Maxx D which still runs perfectly, after being used twice a week for 2-3 hours at a time, in all weathers.

I use an Ultrafire torch on my helmet, but it is a bit flaky. Absolutely no way i would rely on chinese lights alone.

Loving this thread, as an Exposure user for last 5 yrs or so and recently dipped into Eastern lighting it reinforces my belief in Exposure kit. Hope someone mails them the link !

I started with a Joystick on the lid but found it got lost in the light of the MaxxD so swapped the Joystick for a Diablo.

Also got a second bar mount with the QR clip so can use the Diablo on the bars on the cx for lighter duty stuff.

Have to say the saddle rail mount for the Tracer/Flare is very handy on the reverb.

I lost my flare off the seatpost 🙁

Replaced with a Lezeyne thing which just isn't as good!

Apart from the flare I like explouse stuff and will buy another for this winter as my joystick is years old and finally died
Mk1 6 pack still going strong and love my revo dynamo light

Never had to return any of my stuff but the odd customer stuff has always been delt with very well

SSX2 with battery box and 3400 18650's, if it fails i'll drop back to my older chinese light, .... and wait for the replacement SSX2 to arrive through the post 😀

Once youve got a decent set of 18650 and battery box chinese lights are very cheap to own. Not had any fail so far either. Fasttech seem to sell the "genuine" solarstorm.

I use one and can't fault it, currently looking at one of the road specific ones.

Exposure user here for over a year. I resisted for a long time, having tried a whole number of other options (including a Troutie Lumen Liberator). I reasoned that no light could be worth as much as they were charging, given their relatively modest outputs for the price.

The Troutie Lumen Liberator will always be the most impressive light I've used when it comes to power and beam pattern, but my Exposure Maxx-D (I also have a Toro and a Joystick) gives about 90% of the performance of the Lumen Liberator (and a lot more than just about any Chinese light I've seen) but at probably half the weight, and 10 times the convenience. I'm completely sold on the "all in one" construction, it means using the light on several bikes is easy, especially carbon framed bikes.

Exposure Lights are like iPhones. You either get them, or you don't. Those that get them are more than happy to pay a significant premium, and those that don't will never understand.

Overpriced with shit batteries/chargers. Loads better for far less.

I have two and the design is brilliant but they've been back to exposure several times. How many components in there can go wrong?

They also offer great support to the UK race calendar from what I've seen. I'd buy them if I could afford them but wouldn't stretch myself financially.

We have a few Exp lights: joystick, 2x Maxx D's, diabolo, equinox and a few old enduros.

They need to make the bar clamp quick release I think, as the allen key fixing is too slow and too fiddly. Chargers can be a bit flaky too (though we have some pretty old chargers). Other than that they are great lights. Backup is very good and race support is a godsend (thanks chaps!)

We do a fair amount of night riding in groups and those bloody chinese lights are a pain - always someone with one conking out mid-ride.

PS: mboy: Didn't I buy a MaxxD off you at mayhem a couple of years ago? (or was it someone else?) - if so it's still working great, ta! 🙂

Well worth the money.
I've been using a Maxx D for a few years now and it's still going strong, absolutely no problems at all.
When I was looking for a helmet light I tried a Chinese thing as recommended on either here or Bikeradar and it was rubbish, the battery only lasted about half an hour and the beam was rubbish. I picked up a Diablo soon after that and realised that I should've done that in the first place.

I hired a Six-Pack at 24/12 last month and it was brilliant, better than the Maxx D and longer battery life so I think I might treat myself to one of them fore use during the winter.

I bought my first 6 years ago and still use it now, original batteries, now got a Sixpack and 2 diablos, used them on my 24hr this year despite being "supported" by 4th Lights, I just don't like faffing with external batteries, although they probably are brighter as all mine are a few years old now

[url= http://chris-noble-mtb.blogspot.co.uk ]http://chris-noble-mtb.blogspot.co.uk[/url]

I've got two, six pack for the bars and Diablo for the head.. fantastic kit and I echo all the +'ve stuff already said.

I had the back fall out of my six pack during a ride (already had it two years), I contacted Exposure and they replaced FOC within a week.

Expensive, yes, but customer service, quality of light and 'doing what it says on the tin' more than makes up for it

+1 to what pretty much everyone has said .... they're ace 🙂

MAXX-D, Strada, Trace and tracer all completely faultless, unlike an
exploding chinese one I had some time back !!!

I got given a Joystick as a present. Its well made and I like the programmable modes. The beam pattern is very good too. But I wouldn't buy one full price too expensive for me.

There are good half way houses between the super cheap lights and Exposure lights. If I was buying again I'd go for these.

Four4th must have have on of the most confusing brand names out there - I've always understood it to be "Four Forth", but it always seems to be pronounced/written as 4th or Four or sommat.

Do any of the Chinese lights come as an all in one package, with internal battery? That's one of the biggest appeals of the Exposures, and yet they seem to have remained about the only people to do it. I know you can get the Joystick/Diablo-esque torches, but what about a full on handlebar mounted one?

I really wouldn't want to go back to having to attach batteries to stems and top tubes and what not!

I've seen [url= http://www.dx.com/p/sky-ray-6-x-cree-xm-l2-t6-3600lm-3-mode-cool-white-light-flashlight-black-4-x-18650-300102#.VABJOvldUk1 ]this monster[/url] on DX. Also comes in 4 and 3 LED versions.

Not tried them but I'm not convinced they are any good. Assuming they have designed good thermal paths and proper heat sinks (an area which these cheap lights usually are rubbish in) then I'm not sure what the beam pattern would be like.

They use smooth reflectors which can produce spotty beams with halos. Not sure what will happen if use multiple emitters? Will the uneven beams cancel each other out to produce a smooth pattern or will it just make things worse with a patchy beam pattern?

Same as most others in here. My Toro was a very expensive purchase for me 5 yrs ago, but has been faultless on the daily commute ever since (all weathers and every working day, and is used both am and pm when winter really sets in for around 1 1/2 hours a day).

I also use it to power the Red-Eye on the rear (cable-tied the cable along the top tube of my commuter). Also used on weekly 2+ hour MTB rides in the dark evenings and has been dropped / soaked and generally well used without fault.

Have now paired it with a £20 Chinese thing mounted on my helmet (with wire trailing down my back into my camelback to the battery). The Chinese things seem to last almost a whole winter before the battery pack stops holding charge.

Not sure I would pay the extra for another Exposure though. I don't have that sort of cash these days and a 'disposable' Chinese thing suits me OK.

Echo all positive comments above - have had a MaxxD and Joystick for a looong time (both Mk1 IIRC) and they're still going strong. MaxxD switch broke off recently and Exposure fixed it for a couple of quid.

I have used Chinese torches as lights in the past and they've been crap.

njee - the reflex is defo being discontinued, but if you look on wiggle the newest version of maxx d is using the same techonolgy (which is a great idea as per reflex) and its now got 2400 lumesn (so more thank the reflex too)

i guess it makes sense, as the price is lower than a reflex for the new maxx d and the maxx d is their best selling light so in that respect it makes sense to put all of the best bits into 1 unit, to save on costs etc

they are great lights, i had a period away from them but ive got a reflex again now and the quality is just amazing, everything from machining to the light itself (what limited time ive used it so far)

best thing is the run-time on the back, its absoutly genius!

I'd not noticed the Maxx D could do the Reflex thing for 2015, that makes sense then, and means there's definitely one on my shopping list!

+1 for exposure. MaxxD on the bars and a gloworm X2 on the lid.....blinding, literally.

MaxxD two years old now and still going really well, especially as its used at least 2nights a week for a combined 6 hours. Battery still going strong with no drop off in performance. Crashed with it several times and only ever damaged the bar clamp.

+ 1 for all the positive feedback above.

Diablo helmet light , going into it's 4th fault free year. Would happily buy again!

njee20 - Member

I'd not noticed the Maxx D could do the Reflex thing for 2015, that makes sense then, and means there's definitely one on my shopping list!

it would be on my list too, but luckily i got an absoultly amazing price for a reflex @ 219 quid brand new so it was a no brainer

exposure really are the best around at what they do, and they have a market as clearly no one else can make all in light units anywhere near the same power/quality/finish so i truly hope they do well for themselves, a genuinely innovative product that is clearly hard to be replicated

I got a Maxx-D from Evans last winter at 40% off, which made it palatable / affordable. I wouldn't have paid full whack. However, it's been brilliant and I love the design. Better quality light pattern than my previous Chinese jobs. i'll be using that and my Joystick when cycling from Carlisle to Edinburgh tonight!

Flash and Flare are ok, though the rear is a bit temperamental when I don't have mudguards on the commuter and it gets covered in spray.

PS: mboy: Didn't I buy a MaxxD off you at mayhem a couple of years ago? (or was it someone else?) - if so it's still working great, ta!

Haha, so you did! I bought that one on a total whim, wasn't doing any night riding at all at the time really, so couldn't justify keeping it.

The moment I sold it to you, I regretted it! My light packed up that night, and I had to borrow one off someone else!

Bought a 2nd hand Toro a year or so later which isn't bad at all, if a narrow beam. Now the GF uses that as I bought a newer Maxx-D.

Exposure all the way for me. I have a toro and joystick. The toro used weely on night ride and the joystick in almost constant use for commuting due to working a crazy shift pattern. One issue with the joystick which was sorted for free very quickly. customer service has been great for me all my riding mates use exposure as well highly recommended. Expensive yes but you get what you pay for. I had a cheapo chines light prior but reliability was just not good enough.

My Diablo's just been through the washing machine and it still works fine. I would definitely recommend. Although I wouldn't recommend the heart failure when you realise whats banging about in the washing machine!!

since about four years I´m very pleased with my diabolo...used for commuting, nightrides and as back up light for the alps trips..
it never let me down..
after several quite good chinese lights, with poor batteries, a melted charger , and some issues with my current handlebar light a leyzine SD, I decided to get another exposure
the Maxx D MK7 has a very good price at eavenscycles right now and will be available next week ..
but I`m in no need for the reflex/accelerator thing and not really convinced by the capacitive switching..(touch the backplate of the light to change the mode )..
so I will go for the Maxx D MK6...

Well after reading all that I'm glad I didn't go for a cheap Chinese light. I went for a slightly less cheap Chinese light which has been flawless.

Well after reading all that I'm glad I didn't go for a cheap Chinese light. I went for a slightly less cheap Chinese light which has been flawless.

Indeed. Perfect STW logic.

Cheap lights are rubbish so I absolutely HAVE to buy the most expensive ones.

Ive had a number of exposure lights . Lovely ide and build quality but i found the batteries to be awful. They just seem to fail to hold charge far too quickly

Cheap lights are rubbish so I absolutely HAVE to buy the most expensive ones.

Has anyone said that? Exposure Lights are good. Some very cheap Chinese lights aren't. These two statements are unrelated. No one's saying it's exposure or tat.

Four posts up from mine...

Again, someone saying they had cheap Chinese lights, but the reliability was poor? That's not saying "the only alternative was therefore an Exposure".

Sure there's a degree of 'once bitten, twice shy', and everyone seems accepting of things like inability to leave chargers unattended, which for me would be a massive red flag, but again, not seeing anyone saying "my £20 ones were shit, so I had to spend £400".

No one's saying it's exposure or tat.

An awful lot of people on this thread appear to be choosing between those two options. The general theme is that experience of cheap tat makes Exposure worth it - which does suggest people haven't really considered the alternatives to those options.

Admittedly I don't use the charger which came with mine, but the quality charger I already owned is only £20, which still leaves a lot of change.

So? You've paid your money and made your choice. As have I, and everyone else on this thread. It differs from yours. I'll buy Exposures again, although I'm well aware of the other choices out there.

I could've bought a Chinese carbon frame instead of my Trek, would probably have been every bit as good, may well have been lighter. But I didn't.

Out of interest are your lights a fully self contained jobby, or are you hanging bits off your bike?

If it's not such a big deal, why are you so defensive?

the pic shows the reason why I decided to go for the diablo..
riding down from a valaise peak on a fantastic tech trail after a long day exploring,the batteries of my magicshine light collapsed, they where well charged and worked perfect on the evenings before..
I had to push my bike for another two and a half hours down to the ground of the valley with the help of a tiny petzl emergency headtorch..
(no way without these !!)
there are very good cheap chinese lights ...but for me reliability has first priority..
[img] [/img]

...but for me reliability has first priority..

Plenty of examples up there of exposure lights failing. Yes they get fixed quickly under warranty but you'd still have been walking down that hill in the dark....

no...since that happened I always go with two lights.. 🙂

Diablo here, helmet mounted for MTB, on the bars for the Road. Piggy back if needed. It's been repaired twice at two years foc and three years for £12 but never let me down on a ride.

What's not to like?

What's not to like?

Price?
And the fact they have been repaired twice?!

😉

Still tempted to save up and get a diablo. Already own mj-872, ay-ups and a Joystick. The Joystick v7 was £56 in the wiggle price drop sale and is brilliant for the.money but not quite bright enough for proper mtbing. Good as a road headlight with the micro red eye rear though and a great occasional bar light for spring/autumn when I don't want to lug the big battery magicshine for 30 mins use at the end of the ride.