Hope Vision 1 - Winter will soon be with us

[potsy]

Decent re-chargeables are a must with the Hopes,I have 2450's and get a good 8 hours+ on level 2 which is plenty for 90% of the rides I do.
Probably the best thing I have bought so far for the bike,if you can get 2 for perfect balance and symmetry

p.s. I use mine all year round(shift work) makes such a difference to have decent lights at 5am or 10pm.

 

[BentMikey]

PS I took my Hope 1's on Cub camp in May, just in case things went wrong............................. ..ahem....
Well let's say the cub tents were pitched in the dark......... via my Hope 1's............... then the Hope 1's were lights in the tents as the kids got their beds sorted out, them the Hope 1's went on max and lighted up the camp field.......................................

So not just bike lights.................................

Well I never, ants to the rescue whilst camping?

 

[martint235]

Martin,
cancel that order.
There are more powerfull batteries you can get. 2700mAH.
These are what I have inc. Charger @ £14.99 inc P+P.

They last a good 8-10 hours on setting 2 (which is all you need for the FNRttC

Cheers Ian. I'd had to query the order anyway as it didn't seem to have gone through correctly. Ordered some 2700mAh now.

Out of interest how long do they stay charged for if they aren't in anything, ie charged up but just lying around?

Ta

 

[Panter]

Martin,
cancel that order.
There are more powerfull batteries you can get. 2700mAH.
These are what I have inc. Charger @ £14.99 inc P+P.

They last a good 8-10 hours on setting 2 (which is all you need for the FNRttC

Are they the "smart" batteries though? the real benefit of the "ready to go" or "eneloops" is that you can charge them, sling them in your bike bag/drawer whatever and a Year later they're still virtually fully charged.
They don't have the outright capacity of something like the Vapex 2900, but are more useable, IMO anyway.

 

[Origamist]

In a couple of months there'll be a new range of more powerful lights coming out (with better emitters - R5s, SST-50setc) - the Hope 1 may drop in price, if you wait a while.

 

[martint235]

Ok got my new Hope 1. The next question is does anyone have any tips for getting those stupid little rubber handle bar mounts in or should I just forget about them???

 

[ianrauk]

With a lot of fiddling Martin...

 

[HJ]

Trouble is - it can't run on batteries that can be bought anywhere, whereas the Hope Vision 1 does.

Is that really such a disadvantage? If thieve are unsure about the batteries they are unlikely to be able to sell it on, and therefore less likely to steal it in the first place...

 

[martint235]

With a lot of fiddling Martin...

Ian, you are my mentor, my guru and that's the best you have to offer........

 

[potsy]

Ok got my new Hope 1. The next question is does anyone have any tips for getting those stupid little rubber handle bar mounts in or should I just forget about them???

I found them a right faff to get in Martin,persevere,swear,and I'm sure you'll manage it(eventually)

 

[slowmotion]

Ok got my new Hope 1. The next question is does anyone have any tips for getting those stupid little rubber handle bar mounts in or should I just forget about them???

Yes, those little rubber inserts are a right pain. Your thumb and forefinger are probably worn right down to the bone having attempted to "worry" them into position.

My advice....

1) Do not be tempted to use a metal tool like a small screwdriver to force them into place. The tool just splits the rubber.

2) It helps if you warm up the inserts to make them more pliable. Stick them in an oven for 15 minutes at about 50 degrees C, and then try again.

3) My light is six months old, and gets removed at least four times daily (I don't leave a £70 light on the bike, even if nipping into a shop for five minutes ...that's London) After six months, the inserts disintegrate anyway, but it is still a good idea to have come kind of cushioning for the cam-clamping plastic, otherwise the mounting bracket will probably be stressed. Just get some thin neoprene foam self-adhesive tape and stick it to your bars, and that should do the same job as the rubber inserts that Hope supply.

Good luck.

 

[martint235]

I gave up on the inserts, they just weren't going to go in. Tried everything:heating them up; putting grease on them the works. Anyway I've used a strip of the stretchy rubber I use to hold my race blades on, that seems to have done the trick.

If I'm knackered and late back from Ashford tomorrow, it may even get its first use.

 

[Davidc]

Is that really such a disadvantage? If thieve are unsure about the batteries they are unlikely to be able to sell it on, and therefore less likely to steal it in the first place...

I wouldn't leave a removable light with a QR mount that expensive on the bike for the thieves to take! Dynamo lights of similar value stay on of necessity but thieves generally don't like them and they're bolted on and the bolts have their threads crushed.

I view using widely available AA batteries as a big advantage.

 

[summerdays]

Is that really such a disadvantage? If thieve are unsure about the batteries they are unlikely to be able to sell it on, and therefore less likely to steal it in the first place...

Mr Summerdays used to think like that but thieves stole his battery pack for his Ay-ups last year - admittedly it was in a school holiday so was probably kids - but it was an expensive mistake to make by the time we had to add on postage from Australia.

 

[dellzeqq]

There's no comparison - that Cateye is dimmer than a dim thing by comparison with the Hope.

I disagree. The Cateye does me fine. If I was buying new then I might go for the Hope, but I'm not sure that they're worth the extra.