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Night-riding lights


mack_turtle

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I do this almost every time this subject comes up.  But a few years ago I purchased a light off Amazon for my sons to use when night riding.  As for me!...I've always used my assortment of L&M gear!  But when my venerable L&M stella battery went south and I grabbed one of my son's lights to use as my 2nd light up on my helmet and I've never looked back.  These are cheap, liteweight and put out a very decent amount of light.  We now own 3 of them.  I think I got the recommendation way back on Mojo and I also think there may be 2-3+ other people running them around these parts also 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01IHIMJRS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

It weighs 95 gms and I normally run it middle of my helmet so it doesn't really push my helmet down on my forehead too much.

 

IMG_3097-2.jpg

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7 hours ago, CBaron said:

I do this almost every time this subject comes up.  But a few years ago I purchased a light off Amazon for my sons to use when night riding.  As for me!...I've always used my assortment of L&M gear!  But when my venerable L&M stella battery went south and I grabbed one of my son's lights to use as my 2nd light up on my helmet and I've never looked back.  These are cheap, liteweight and put out a very decent amount of light.  We now own 3 of them.  I think I got the recommendation way back on Mojo and I also think there may be 2-3+ other people running them around these parts also 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01IHIMJRS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

It weighs 95 gms and I normally run it middle of my helmet so it doesn't really push my helmet down on my forehead too much.

 

IMG_3097-2.jpg

What's your opinion on the actual runtime?

I'm also thinking of just experiments with placing the light higher on my helmet so it does not push down unevenly.

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10 hours ago, ATXZJ said:

Been looking at buying a few of these for the wife and I to go on some fall group rides.  Prices from this vendor seem pretty reasonable.

https://bikecloset.com/product/niterider-lumina-micro-750/

 

And maybe this one for ballin' on a budget

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HDWSQ4F/?coliid=IFFEDGERWEO0M&colid=QF35KH787K14&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

One thing to think about is how long you will want to use it. I had a Lumina 650 that lasted for at least 6 years before I lost it. I am sure whoever found it is still using it now. Replaced it with a 900 for ~$65.

I buy a lot of cheap crap but I find Lumina to be a great price based on how much you get.

I generally run on the lowest or second to lowest setting so battery life is great, I use it for urban rides primarily and get a month out of the charge.

I'd take the Lumina over the cheap one, I never use the full setting so getting to 1000w is not a big concern for me, I'd rather have better quality and longer product life than higher output, but that is just me.

Edited by AustinBike
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My MagicShine (circa 2010) finally died on me last night. Thankfully, it was at the end of our ride, so I didn't have to suffer through much trail with just my helmet light. Christmas is coming early for me and I'm getting the NiteRider Lumina Dual 1800 for my handlebars and the NiteRider Lumina 1000 Boost for the helmet. I have always run my light and battery pack strapped to my helmet, so I think going this route will actually be lighter than my current setup. I have a friend who has the exact same combo and it throws a crazy amount of light on the trail. I've also had good success with NiteRider products and they have a solid warranty.

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13 minutes ago, schoolie said:

+1 for NiteRider Lumina. I run one on my head, one on the bars, and have never had a problem. Great little lights!

Happened to notice this today: https://bikecloset.com/product/lumina-1000-boost/?gclid=CjwKCAiA7dKMBhBCEiwAO_crFOGEePXL_20211114_142344834.thumb.jpg.f776dd5964fb80697344b4d6b9e8bf8c.jpgZ0nntfm9IBlQ_GL4YxaehKu8JX0kIztJ_0lZtaWyTJZ4ydwgBoC1ggQAvD_BwE

I've tried some similar lights on the helmet and I can't tolerate the extra weight on my head. literally a massive pain in the neck. Niterider says it's 172 grams, which is only a little heavier than the Lumina 550 I've tried and that's a hard "no." that's a heckuva deal though. might make a good handlebar light for me, although 1000 lumens for 1 hour is not enough juice. good for such a small package, but I'll run it on high and get stuck in the woods in the dark with that.

Edited by mack_turtle
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11 minutes ago, schoolie said:

+1 for NiteRider Lumina. I run one on my head, one on the bars, and have never had a problem. Great little lights!

Happened to notice this today: https://bikecloset.com/product/lumina-1000-boost/?gclid=CjwKCAiA7dKMBhBCEiwAO_crFOGEeZ0nntfm9IBlQ_GL4YxaehKu8JX0kIztJ_0lZtaWyTJZ4ydwgBoC1ggQAvD_BwE

Great timing! You saved me $20. Thanks!

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28 minutes ago, circuitbreaker said:

Do you know how many years it lasted?

I bought it in 2012 or 2013. it still goes for at least an hour on medium, but that's about half what Niterider says the capacity should be. I think I got my money's worth out of it, but it's not worth what Niterider wants for a new battery. I'm tempted to buy my next light based on what has serviceable batteries or something that takes whatever battery you plug into it with a standard cable of some sort. other companies sell spare batteries a lot cheaper or offer to fix batteries for free. I know these batteries aren't cheap, but the cost is excessive.

Edited by mack_turtle
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7 hours ago, mack_turtle said:

What's your opinion on the actual runtime?

I'm also thinking of just experiments with placing the light higher on my helmet so it does not push down unevenly.

 

I'm not entirely sure in run time.  I can say this, I've yet to have it run out on me during a ride.  I don't think I've done much more than 2 hrs rides at night over the past few yrs.  I've done C&D, R&I and Oskar Blues with it and never ran out.  We own 3 of them (oldest one is 4 yrs old) and occasionally when I leave house and I'm unsure if its fully charged, I just put a 2nd one in my back pocket JIC.  FWIW I also run a L&M Seca 1300 on my bars.  So I can toggle back and forth with my lights to maximize run time or light needed for techy riding.  Oh and I've also used the light on road rides too.  Those may be more than 2 hrs??  Overall, I have zero complaints.  Its served its function, been handy and is pretty cheap

Later,
CJB

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3 hours ago, Tree Magnet said:

How are  you guys mounting these lights to your helmet?  I have a Kali helmet with a mounting rail that works great and that's actually why I bought that helmet.  However, it limits me to my helmet selection.  

A lot of lights either come with a helmet mount or have one you can buy. For the NiteRider I just bought I had to buy the helmet mount separately. I have a buddy with a Bell helmet that has a built in light mount as well. Pretty nifty.

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On 11/19/2021 at 9:27 AM, Taco Man said:

Just bought this https://www.outboundlighting.com/products/hangover yesterday.

I havent had a light on a bike in 10 years when I quit commuting to work (WFH now).  That old NiteRider was weak compared to what these new ones can do.

I may even have to gasp.... try a night Trail Ride Again. 

I saw these advertised on Facebook. Will be interesting to see how it works out for you.

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My lights crapped out two weeks ago. Then, last week, I discovered that plugging and unplugging them made them work again.

That method gave out last night when I tried to flop them on, only to find no power, no matter what I did. This is the culprit:

IMG_0881.thumb.jpeg.0ad8104929d5439c6f7e4971f8bcd24b.jpeg

When I opened up the batter pack, I found that the LEDs were all broken as well (should be soldered onto the board:

IMG_0883.thumb.jpeg.92871e889dabb6f91702a933e95cf060.jpeg

Last week's maintenance exercise was all about the torque wrench. Today I will be playing with the soldering iron. I hate those, especially with old man eyes.

 

 

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3 hours ago, mack_turtle said:

Just bought a Hangover and a Magicshine MJ-902s. Helmet/ bar combo. Hopefully i have at least one of them to ride next week, but the Outbound products seem to be behind due to parts shortages.

I bought my Hangover ~a week ago.   I noticed Monday they are on sale for a bit cheaper.   I could have cancelled the order and re-ordered at lower price as Im in no real hurry but instead I asked for the discount.

Owner gave me the discount but was a bit snarky about it- I almost cancelled the order after his response but frankly I like the light so I stayed with it.

Moral of the story- if you want a light go get one now since its discounted.

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We've been having good success for the past 2 years with the silly Amazon Shenkey on the helmet paired with a Lumina 1100 on the bar. But I've been jealous of everyone with Outbound lights. And damn it....with this Black Friday deal,  I just had to go and buy the DH package for 2. 

The Shenkey will probably still get road duty, but I'm not yet sure what I'm going to do with the also baller Lumina 1100 lights. 

Edited by Barry
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