Budget XML-T6 Lighting?

[Arjimlad]

I've not got the replacement yet.. due next week. If it works it will be great, if it changes mode I have decided to just use it as a torch and get something else as a bike light from a UK based seller !

 

[HovR]

I've not got the replacement yet.. due next week. If it works it will be great, if it changes mode I have decided to just use it as a torch and get something else as a bike light from a UK based seller !

I've looked at UK based sellers, although they all seem to be noticeably more expensive for the same product. Did the seller ask you to return your faulty light before sending out the replacement, and if so, at who's cost?

 

[Arjimlad]

He was happy to send me another one FOC, which is pretty good, - can't say fairer than that really.

But bearing in mind the 2 weeks it took the last one to arrive, it's a month in the dark with the same old lighting rig as before... Torchy the Battery Boy on ebay seems to do a decent serviceable light for £25.00 - only £5 more than what I paid ... and heinnie.com have some tasty torches with decent lumens too, for about £30.00... so the saving in going abroad just is not worth it, I feel.

 

[Cletus Van Damme]

Secondly, the beam shape as the light comes is terrible and virtually unusable IMO with a tiny bright spot and a diffuse halo. But by replacing the smooth reflector with an orange peel reflector (I had one from a previous Magicshine) and the stock lens with a diffuser lens like this - http://www.ebay.com/itm/Wide-Angle-Lens-4-MagicShine-Gemini-Lupine-Bike-Light-/280752532003 - you get a superb beam spread.

Total cost is still only around £40 and I'd definitely recommend this set-up.

I have the same light and I also bought that same lens to help improve the beam shape. However I could not get the lens to fit correctly as it is slimmer than the regular clear lens that came with the light. I thought about trying to source a different thicker lens seal so that the lens holder would clamp-on the thinner lens. Just wondered if you had this issue, and if so how did you get around it please?

 

[Cheradenine]

The MTE/Deal Extreme torches change modes when they get bumped as the threaded collars inside them that hold the circuitry in place work lose, you need to tighten them back up with circlip pliers.

I had a single AA model and it was a bugger for it, changing modes at the slightest tap.

 

[Wobblers]

@McWobble: Another user on here recently bought the WF-502B, which seems to be a very similar unit, and they have reported mode changing. I'm not sure if this bike specific, or why some people get this, and others don't.

Interesting... It's probably down to the batteries - some 18650 cells are longer than others. If the battery is loose and able to rattle around, there's a good chance it'll make intermittent contact causing a mode change. Protected cells have a circuit board on the base to prevent overdischarge and overcharge so tend to be longer than standard cells - they ought to fit better and are also safer. I use protected cells and haven't had any problems.

The contact spring at the bottom could also be too weak to hold the battery in place - bending it out might help.

 

[Wobblers]

The MTE/Deal Extreme torches change modes when they get bumped as the threaded collars inside them that hold the circuitry in place work lose, you need to tighten them back up with circlip pliers.

I had a single AA model and it was a bugger for it, changing modes at the slightest tap.

You could try putting a dab of thread lock to hold the collar in place (but at one spot only so as to keep electrical contact).

 

[amaferanga]

I have the same light and I also bought that same lens to help improve the beam shape. However I could not get the lens to fit correctly as it is slimmer than the regular clear lens that came with the light. I thought about trying to source a different thicker lens seal so that the lens holder would clamp-on the thinner lens. Just wondered if you had this issue, and if so how did you get around it please?

I didn't have this problem, but I think that is because the reflector I swapped from my Magicshine light is actually a little big bigger so with the original lens the cap won't actually screw on fully. With the diffuser lens it's a perfect fit.

 

[Cheradenine]

You could try putting a dab of thread lock to hold the collar in place (but at one spot only so as to keep electrical contact).

The internal collars don't realy play a connective role in the electrical gubbins, there are literally just threaded baffle washers inside the tube to keep everything in place.

 

[Arjimlad]

Interesting... It's probably down to the batteries - some 18650 cells are longer than others. If the battery is loose and able to rattle around, there's a good chance it'll make intermittent contact causing a mode change. Protected cells have a circuit board on the base to prevent overdischarge and overcharge so tend to be longer than standard cells - they ought to fit better and are also safer. I use protected cells and haven't had any problems.

The contact spring at the bottom could also be too weak to hold the battery in place - bending it out might help.

Thanks for this advice ... I stretched the springs at both ends of the torch, carefully, and the torch is now much less prone to switching modes. I have not been able to ride the bike with it on yet to properly test it, so will update my review once I have done that.

 

[wiggydiggy]

.............. Electron mount like this - http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/...le&utm_medium=Shopping&utm_name=UnitedKingdom

...............

What you say is true, it is unfortuntate that the actual supplied bracket is the Electron Extreme Micro bracket and not the one pictured. CRC need to update their website....

 

[Scilly Suffolk]

...Torchy the Battery Boy on ebay...

Interesting blog: he certainly seems to know his stuff.

Particularly illuminating (I thank you) were his comparisons of various lights and the tests he has had done on 18650 batteries.

His comments on Magicshine also confirm what I have been reading on CC and elsewhere: whilst there are plenty who are happy with them, people seem to have been dazzled (I'm here all week) by their supposed output without giving much regard to the quality of the units and the beam.

In the "arms race" of bike lighting it seems that less (money) really is more.

 

[Monsieur Remings]

I personally wouldn't bother with the XML T6 unless you have a guaranteed UK plug and adaptor. I made the mistake of buying mine from China, the charger is 2-pin, is crap, has shorted an adaptor and finding a replacement is a nightmare.

Avoid.

 

[amaferanga]

I personally wouldn't bother with the XML T6 unless you have a guaranteed UK plug and adaptor. I made the mistake of buying mine from China, the charger is 2-pin, is crap, has shorted an adaptor and finding a replacement is a nightmare.

Avoid.

No problems with mine.

 

[Monsieur Remings]

No problems with mine.

Fair enough, I was hoping to find someone with a similar set up to work out what to do next?

Were you sent a 2-pin and what do you use with it? Did they send you an adaptor?