Headlights

[eeksll]

I used single set of all rounders on the bars for a year. Even with 40% brighter, the light does get washed out when the road is wet/damp.

[MattyK]

Two sets mounted:

People give me plenty of space I get the feeling that spacing the lights out wide adds to your perceived size/weight, as opposed to just one point source or tight cluster of lights.

[Aushiker]

3600 lumens (claimed) anyone?



Andrew

[jasonc]

People give me plenty of space I get the feeling that spacing the lights out wide adds to your perceived size/weight, as opposed to just one point source or tight cluster of lights.

you running both of those off the y-cable?

[trailgumby]

3600 lumens (claimed) anyone?



Andrew

That's not just going to zap possums, it's going to fry them

[find_bruce]

3600 lumens (claimed) anyone?



Andrew

That's not just going to zap possums, it's going to fry them

It would need to kill them quick as the battery is not going to last long.

The site asserts they have a test certificate the University of Darmstadt showing a measured 3200 lumens. Given that it has 6 x XML emitters, and from memory 1 XML is around 550 lumens in the real world, the numbers would seem to be about right.

Battery side scares the beejeebers out of me. 8 x 18650 (ie double the magicshine size) wired up at 4S2P with a capacity of 5.8 Ah and a run time on high at 2 hours 11 minutes. They would want to be some high quality cells.

Back of the laptop calcs indicate that each XML is drawing something like 2.6 amps. That it going to be putting out some heat - better ride fast. Be nice to hear when someone has stumped up the significant amount of cash & actually received a light.

The only thing I would quibble with is made in germany claim - the Cree XMLs at the heart of it are made in china & I suspect other parts are as well.

[find_bruce]

I will see your 6 x XML and raise you 7 x XML - the completely OTT Troutie from MTBR & other places.



Lighting up a barn said to be 170 m away

[MattyK]

you running both of those off the y-cable?

Yes*. Battery life is around 1.5 hours, good enough for 3 nights' commuting for me. Tends to make the indicator lamp go from green to red pretty quickly though.

* I'm now back running my 4W Niteflux Commuter light, due to the cables breaking on the batteries. The batteries themselves are fine, but somewhere near the connector socket they've cracked - you wiggle the wire and the light goes off or on.

I will rebuild the batteries at some point, shorten the cable and use a bulkhead socket inside a different housing to prevent straining the cables. I keep these batteries in my pannier so no problems about waterproofing.

** Because I'm sick of the cables breaking on these lights (never had problems with the lamps or batteries), I now have a Philips Saferide light on order. Will review when it arrives - hopefully next week.

[vance.heredia]

I recently bought a Spiker 1206 from Xeccon for AUD 90 delivered and was really impressed for the price.

It is the newer version of the Xeccon 14 (another variant of the Magicshine) review posted here http://www.bicycles.net.au/2012/07/xeccon-s14-1200-lumen-bicycle-light/

The battery is in excellent housing and the light is great.

A couple of caveats -
1) The strap mount looks and feels cheap and I'm sure I will need to revert to the O-Ring mount soon.
2) Also the in flashing mode the light is so bright and the flash is so fast that it is almost disorientating even when pointed down at the road

I usually leave fairly early in the morning as I've only just stated riding and it take around 2 hours along beach rd (melb) to get to work (docklands) or get home (chelsea). yes yes I know I'm slow, but like I've said I only just started. So being new on the roads and having to cycle in the dark, visibility was important. I've found that I can use it on medium mode and see well enough most of the time.

I'll post some pics up

[find_bruce]

** Because I'm sick of the cables breaking on these lights (never had problems with the lamps or batteries), I now have a Philips Saferide light on order. Will review when it arrives - hopefully next week.

Are there a pair of XMLs on their way as well, he asks hopefully.

[MattyK]

** Because I'm sick of the cables breaking on these lights (never had problems with the lamps or batteries), I now have a Philips Saferide light on order. Will review when it arrives - hopefully next week.

Are there a pair of XMLs on their way as well, he asks hopefully.

Haha, nah, not up for that just yet. I do have a XC-997B from dx.com that is a potential lens donor for an XML conversion though. Nice beam pattern, but way too underpowered.

[il padrone]

Lighting up a barn said to be 170 m away

"Beam me up, Scottie"

[find_bruce]

Are there a pair of XMLs on their way as well, he asks hopefully.

Haha, nah, not up for that just yet. I do have a XC-997B from dx.com that is a potential lens donor for an XML conversion though. Nice beam pattern, but way too underpowered.

i hear you- not sure I would lay out the cash on a Phillips just to immediately hack it

I thought you had decided the reflector hole on the dx light was too small for conversion, or have I misunderstood

[MattyK]

Are there a pair of XMLs on their way as well, he asks hopefully.

Haha, nah, not up for that just yet. I do have a XC-997B from dx.com that is a potential lens donor for an XML conversion though. Nice beam pattern, but way too underpowered.

i hear you- not sure I would lay out the cash on a Phillips just to immediately hack it

I thought you had decided the reflector hole on the dx light was too small for conversion, or have I misunderstood

Philips was only about $100 from bike24. Still, not going to hack it yet. I was very tempted to buy two to get a wider beam, I suspect that will be a feature it lacks.

Th whole on the xc997 is 5mm, which is the same size as an XML so it might fit but if not the hole might be enlarged, though that might prove tricky. Cheap enough to play with though

[Aushiker]

Fenix, the torch people are getting into the bike lights market according to this post over at Gizmag.

The flagship light will offer up to 800 lumens of output and four separate lighting modes that will provide ample lighting for off-road use. It will burn for up to three hours on high and use a rechargeable battery pack that takes about two hours to charge. Fenix did not have run times for the lower settings, but like other LED lights, those will be significantly longer. The second light will offer up to 350 lumens of output.

Andrew

[Marty Moose]

Still got my original Magic shine 808 its 3 yrs old,have the original battery "water proofed" $70 from deal extreme its a no brainer for me.Also have their rear light its great too but only 18 Months old so not a long term test yet.

Sent from my MB526 using Tapatalk 2

[trailgumby]

Barn Stolen by Aliens from Camden Countryside
It was reported this morning that a barn was stolen from a property near the Camden River near Sydney, Australia by aliens overnight, according to local sources.

As the picture below shows, it appears the aliens have some form of advanced anti-gravity ray that is capable of lifting quite heavy structures, complete with foundations, out of the ground.



"All that was left was a large hole!" said Kylie, who declined to give her last name.

Both NASA and the Defence Signals Directorate declined to comment. ASIO stated that it does not comment on operational matters.

Peter Smith, from Ray White Real Estate, Camden, said that some of these older barns were quite sought-after as home conversion and renovation projects by tree-changers.

[find_bruce]

Barn Stolen by Aliens from Camden Countryside
It was reported this morning that a barn was stolen from a property near the Camden River near Sydney, Australia by aliens overnight, according to local sources.
...

loved it, although I am still slightly confused as to how the barn got from Troutie's place in deepest darkset Yorkshire to Camden Australia.

[ggevo]

I purchased a set of Ayups (Adventure 4 kit) Saturday night after reading the countless positive reviews on this forum.

Australian Air Express sent me an email yesterday (Monday), confirming parcel dispatched from Brisbane, arrived at Melbourne depot late yesterday. Suggest it will land on my doorstep in next 48hrs, can't complain about the service and delivery time!!!!

[ggevo]

And here they are, delivered to my office at 9:30am. Honestly you can't beat that service and delivery times.

[NhiTrac]

Put me down as well, as having just purchased a pair of AyUps... Got the twin kit literally just seconds ago so hoping they'll arrive sometime this week.

Soooooo going to get in trouble with the Director of Finance

[zero]

Barn Stolen by Aliens from Camden Countryside

awesome!

[MattyK]

Philips Saferide arrived today! Hope it's dark enough when I ride home to adequately test... On the charger at the moment.

[NhiTrac]

Just took delivery of my AyUps at the office. Delivered in 24 hours (ordered at like midnight Tuesday). Just in time too because my P7 "900 lumens" light is about to die. The back coloured light which tells the battery just died two days ago and it turns itself off when I go over bumpy roads. The damn thing is less than a year old too! Will be doing a warranty on these then sell the replacements methinks...

I've been a bit sceptical with AyUps but now can see why they cost a bit more, the quality of these units are amazing. Real test is when I ride these in pitch black like most of my winter commute has been. Cant wait!

[Aushiker]

MTBR have published their 2013 bike lights shoot out.

Andrew