Lights

[Thunderer]

Could someone recommend a decent light, max budget around £150.00, thanks

 

[wepn]

Exposure are high quality. I've got one that's more than 5 years old. More commuter but 1400 li - that's not bad but there are better ones for nighttime mtb
Fuse E-Bike

Also not for mtb unless you ride on road as well but for a taillight, Lupine Rotlicht, has an accelerometer brake light feature & car headlight brightness proximity sensor.
Lupine Lighting Systems - Tail Lights • Rotlicht • Rotlicht

 

[Chubba]

Could someone recommend a decent light, max budget around £150.00, thanks

These are very good, do a lot of night riding.

Lezyne

 

[Akiwi]

You looking for battery powered or wired in.
I did permanently wired in and love always having a light. Often I was caught out on a ride that took longer than expected and it was great just being able to turn the lights on.
I have the B&M IQ-X on the front. Is 150 Lumens. Good on the road and not bad for trail riding.
On the back I have a Supernova E3 well worth the price.
I used to have them on my Focus Jam3. I have to admit that the Shimano method of turning the lights on or off was a royal pain in the bum. But I now have it on my Bosch bike and it is soooo easy and convenient.

 

[Maxb]

For what type of riding? Road or off road singletrack?

 

[lumpy]

I'm really happy with these
LED Bike Lights | Rechargeable Cycle Headlights | Gloworm Lights

Whatever you get, I strongly recommend getting two, one for your helmet and one for your bars. You'll get better coverage and you should always have a backup just in case

 

[Rich-EMTB-UK]

HOPE make excellent lights and battery life.

 

[Thunderer]

For off road riding Has anybody come across these mtb batteries - Portable Power Solutions & High Perfomance Sports Lights - Our Products the Lumenator 18 £115

 

[Maxb]

Personally I use cheap lights such as the solar storm x2 they are very bright indeed I have used the for trail riding and racing for which they have Preformed well they only problem with the cheaper lights is the quality of the battery packs mine last about 1hr 20 min if you had a better battery they would go for much longer.

My favoured set up it just a helmet light with a backup light mounted to the bars.
LED Mountain Bike Lights Rechargeable 18650 Bicycle Torch Front & Rear Lamp Set | eBay

 

[DrStupid]

I'm using the Bontrager ion pro on the bar and the ion 450 R on the helmet. Super nice so far. I run them on the dimmest setting on the trail and its plenty.

 

[Zimmerframe]

I've got some cheap ones I bought earlier in the year, which in fairness are brighter than my van, but I think will lack run time if I needed to use them for longer. They're usb chargeable, which for me has become a must have as I'm sick of all the other stupid chargers (wall vipers for your americans ?)

Just saw this, which is a must for any serious cyclist :

Bicycle Horn bell LED light Little Yellow Duck With Helmet Bike Bell child Toy | eBay

For the next bike lamp, I'm tempted by something like this :

bike Bicycle Lights USB LED Rechargeable Set Mountain Cycle Front Back Lamp VHS | eBay

Usb chargable, easy to remove, doubles as a lantern if I'm doing some stupid trail task and need extra light, acts as a power bank, so can give the phone a boost charge if I'm out and I've flattened that ..

But I think as others have said, also wear a head torch/ helmet light, otherwise you end up turning blindly - it's terrifying enough riding trails at night !

 

[Moose]

The best mountain bike lights - MBR

 

[Zimmerframe]

The best mountain bike lights - MBR

Some bargains there ... only £435 for the exposure six pack. In fairness it does come with it's own nuclear power station, well, it must surely ? It's not like it's just he same 18650 cells and the same cree bulbs as all the other lights ..

Madness.

 

[Shifty]

Think about getting two sets of lights. I did, I got two that had 1000 lumens for 1 1/2 hours each of charge at that brightness. So I got 3 hours in total and a bonus of a back up if one failed.

 

[squeegee]

I'm running Exposure Six pack on bars, Glowworm ASV (3 led) on helmet, total 7900ish lumens for go fast night rides.

Hard to beat Exposure for solid build quality and high quality bright light. My first Diablo is 6 years old and still running strong. Six pack has digital time remaining display and accelerometer which automatically dims when the bike slows or stops, then kicks back to high at speed.

Glowworm is new to me and though not as polished a build as Exposure, has interchangeable lenses in the kit which is really nice to tune your light pattern for riding style. I have mine set up for helmet with 2 spots and a wide lens in the center which gives a strong spot with a wide band of light, I like it for cornering. Comes with wireless handlebar remote.

Glowworm is pretty reasonably priced if you look, lumens/run time vs. cost.

Lupine is another to check out, but like Exposure, if you're not serious about riding at night it's laughable to spend so much.

Also have had Light N Motion in the past which are very reasonable on price and provide good light, excellent support. On a budget check them out.

Biggest thing about lights is you get what you pay for in terms of batteries and quality of light throw. Lots of friends with Amazon cheap-o lights whose batteries wear out after a season or go dead on rides mysteriously.

 

[Gee]

Just got a Hope R4+ thru the post.

Looking forward to trying it out once my man flu has buggered off. Mounted it on the bike and tried it in the street and it looks the business.

£163 but the quality is fantastic.

 

[Russell]

My last hope light still works after 10 years it's just a bit dim now as things have moved on. I bought a moon meteor but I doubt it will last 2 years, it has already had a few funny moments after less than a year.

 

[Pabs]

I've been rocking a Lezyne Super Drive XL on the bars and a cheap Cree T6 strapped to the top of my helmet for the past five years with no real complaints. The Cree is much brighter than the Leyzne but will always die (1.5-2 hours in) before the Super Drive does. External Battery on the Cree will end up in the backpack or strapped to the bike and could be seen as a hindrance, although its nice not to have the battery weight on your head.

Sadly I managed to leave the Cree strapped to a tree in the Lake District after a little bikepacking adventure in the summer. I know I'd have been more upset if it was the Leyzne and at 15 quid on the bay I'm tempted to buy the exact same one again. I find they work well as a team and when the Cree does die the super drive has never failed to get me home before it gives out.

 

[Bomble]

I use an exposure joystick on my helmet. I bought an exposure race mk13 for the bars, lovely bit of kit but stopped working after 3 weeks.
I had to send it back to crc, who then sent it to exposure for repair. I was disappointed with this after spending so much, I thought they would just swap it.
While it was away I bought a bike hut 1600 from halfords on offer at £30 or £35, can’t remember which.
Easily as bright as the race so when they eventually returned it I sold it on eBay and kept the Halfords one.
Battery life seems better on the Halfords too.

 

[HORSPWR]

I've got some cheap ones I bought earlier in the year, which in fairness are brighter than my van, but I think will lack run time if I needed to use them for longer. They're usb chargeable, which for me has become a must have as I'm sick of all the other stupid chargers (wall vipers for your americans ?)

Just saw this, which is a must for any serious cyclist :

Bicycle Horn bell LED light Little Yellow Duck With Helmet Bike Bell child Toy | eBay

For the next bike lamp, I'm tempted by something like this :

bike Bicycle Lights USB LED Rechargeable Set Mountain Cycle Front Back Lamp VHS | eBay

Usb chargable, easy to remove, doubles as a lantern if I'm doing some stupid trail task and need extra light, acts as a power bank, so can give the phone a boost charge if I'm out and I've flattened that ..

But I think as others have said, also wear a head torch/ helmet light, otherwise you end up turning blindly - it's terrifying enough riding trails at night !

Correct, best night time lighting setup is to have a light on your bars so you have light where your front wheel is pointed and one light on your helmet so you have light where your eyes are pointed.

 

[HORSPWR]

I use this light on my helmet, the wireless remote is what really makes it awesome.

Duo 1500 Lumens

 

[Husky430]

Just bought this and it's like having car headlights in the bush at night. Plus look at that price, what's that about 30 pounds English? With postage to the UK, still a very cheap option.

 

[Rusty]

You could try a 30K Lumen light from Aliexpress. Of course, it may fail the first time it rains and a decent candle with some tinfoil as a reflector may be brighter .... but they are cheap

To be fair, I have a couple cheapies and they work well enough. To me the biggest issue with the cheap ones is the quality of the chargers & batteries. I often play with the reflectors and lenses to get what I am looking for.

Night racing has always been what I enjoy the most when it comes to MTB competition. Piss-poor eyesight means I don't frighten myself too much when going faster than I really should.
For the helmet light I want my most powerful one and I use Spot reflectors and lenses. For the handlebars I use Flood reflectors and lenses and also a much bigger battery so I have plenty of reserve if the helmet light goes out.

My current favorites are Glow-worm - X2 on the helmet and X3 on the handlebars. Previously I was using Ay-Ups and really loved them but the cost to upgrade the light units was a bit much and I got my Glow-worms cheap.
I do like the look of the Gemini. Have a friend with the Titan 4000 - da-aum, that thing burns eyeballs wayyyy out there.

 

[HORSPWR]

Just bought this and it's like having car headlights in the bush at night. Plus look at that price, what's that about 30 pounds English? With postage to the UK, still a very cheap option. View attachment 20199

That's a crackin good deal!

 

[Sorinok]

I use this on trails, verry good made and verry bright!
Radon High Power LED Helmet Light 3800 Lumen | up to 6,000 lumens Shop

 

[Jamsxr]

For off road riding Has anybody come across these mtb batteries - Portable Power Solutions & High Perfomance Sports Lights - Our Products the Lumenator 18 £115

These get my vote. Great value and customer service. I damaged mine in a crash and they repaired it for £7 including postage.

They also chucked in a GoPro Mount so it easily secures to my helmet.

 

[RobbieBear]

I use the Bikehut 1600 lumens one from Halfords. Cost me £45 with BCC discount and it works a treat.

 

[RedTed]

Have a look at Fenix lights, I’ve got the BC30 which fits into your budget although admittedly you need to buy 18650 cells plus a charger. The rechargeable version is also available.
Fenix Flashlight, Fenix torches Bike Lights - Fenix Lights | Myfenix.co.uk

Fenix are a quality brand, I‘ve tried a good cross section of their lights when in Mountain Rescue, can’t fault them.

The neutral tint on LED lights works well for MTB’ing at night as it gives a more natural light compared to pure white LED’s, making rough stuff easier to spot.

i also use a Zebralight with a Twofish lock block for my helmet light (again neutral tint)

 

[Gee]

Have a look at Fenix lights, I’ve got the BC30 which fits into your budget although admittedly you need to but 18650 cells plus a charger. The rechargeable version is also available.
Fenix Flashlight, Fenix torches Bike Lights - Fenix Lights | Myfenix.co.uk

Fenix are a quality brand, I‘ve tried a good cross section of their lights when in Mountain Rescue, can’t fault them.

The neutral tint on LED lights works well for MTB’ing at night as it gives a better depth of field compared to pure white LED’s

Can confirm this, I also used Fenix lights when on MRT duties and they are very good. Led Lenser also worth a look.

 

[Zimmerframe]

Just bought this and it's like having car headlights in the bush at night. Plus look at that price, what's that about 30 pounds English? With postage to the UK, still a very cheap option. View attachment 20199

For anyone in the uk or Europe who wants this one ...

Azur 2000 Lumens Rechargeable Front Light Kit | eBay

Or this one looks pretty good as a "budget" wolf blinder :

USB Rechargeable Bicycle Bike CREE XML T6 LED Front Light Headlamp Headlight Led | eBay