Niterider MiNewt 750 - night MTB

[hitch]

http://www.jensonusa.com/!N3OMmN491tL42 ... wt-Pro-750" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Does anyone have any experience with these? Any comments? Pros/Cons? Other suggestions at a similar price point?

I've just got a new bike and fave found that a few groups hold night rides in the area. Would love to get out, but can't really contemplate it until I have a decent set of lights. It seems that most groups leave at about 6 and return at 9 - all of this time, at this time of year, would be dark. However some of these lights claim only 1.5 hours run time on high setting - however I'm assuming that time spent on road/bike tracks on the way to proper trails would not be on high, and therefore real use length would be longer.

I've also seen some people talking about cheaper DX options like these:

http://dx.com/p/fandyfire-x2-2-x-cree-x ... 650-206199" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

or these:

http://dx.com/p/ha-iii-cree-ssc-p7-c-sx ... uded-30864" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Would these be any good as a second light option? i.e. minewt on the helmet and one of these on the bars?

I also have a Cygolite which has a very strong, good, directed beam - will need to test it out for run time. As well as a bunch of dx torches with velcro mounts I can put in the pack in case of emergency...

It's a bit difficult - don't really want to spend hundreds on lights before I even get out there to find out if I enjoy it, but if I don't spend the money I can't really even try it out...

[trailgumby]

The second is popular as a helmet light. The first would get you by as a bar light if you can live with the ribbing about the name, but thse days is perhaps a bit light on as a bar light.

Better for the bars I'd recommend this:
http://dx.com/p/2-x-cree-xm-l-2000lm-hi ... ack-112248" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I've seen it on the site admin's bike and for the money it's pretty much unbeatable. Not far off my german one in output at 3x the price, and actually better from an ease of use perspective. Where it might suffer is in the battery life department - perhaps not as long-running, and the battery may not last as many cycles. The beam also has a greater hotspot, but unless you are racing and watning to negotiate tight turns as fast as you can go in the day, this is unlikely to be a concern.

[hitch]

Thanks for the details trailgumby. Something else I meant to ask - do most of these lights use common plugs and sockets, or are they all proprietary? Most of the complaints I read about the DX stuff is that the battery is not waterproof, the battery dies quickly etc. Can a better battery be bought and used with the DX light?

[Jean]

I bought a FandyFire X2 a few weeks back and have been happy with it so far. I'd call it a bar (flood) light rather than a helmet (spot) light, but it would be OK if it's what you can afford. My views on it are in this thread:

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=61460

Good aftermarket batteries for DX type lights are not hard to find - Google is your friend here and it won't take long to find some.There's a few in the US and on eBay too. I'm contemplating a Li-ion replacement/upgrade battery for my X2 from this place if and when it becomes necessary. They also seem to have some lights that are worth checking out.

http://www.magicshineledlights.com.au/i ... ry&path=61

[hitch]

Dammit - T7 had the MiNewt at $149 - went to buy and the price has gone up...

http://www.torpedo7.com.au/products/N8L ... met-mount-" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Thanks for your thoughts Jean - might get the fandyfire and see how they go. Any reason why you went fasttech rather than DX (obviously a few dollars difference is enough reason)...

[Jean]

(obviously a few dollars difference is enough reason)...

That and DX's spotty reputation for timely shipping. Though I think they have been working on that and customer service in general, or at least they are trying to give that impression.

Fasttech had good vibes on the intertubes so I gave it them a go and I have no reason to complain apart from them taking a few days to ship it, which is nothing to complain about really. I was a bit anxious about it at the time because I'd never used them before and was keen to get the lights. When they did ship they sent me a photo of the addressed package, which was a nice touch. There was a tracking number too, but once it left Singapore it was meaningless.

If you are going to use it as helmet light you might want to consider a Magicshine style helmet mount too. YMMV