Ultrafire Cree XM-L Cree T6 LED light

[Arjimlad]

I bought this on ebay. It only took 2 weeks from order to delivery.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/330611713...NX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649#ht_3740wt_952

My normal winter light set-up was a Smart 5XLed light to be seen, and a Smart halogen twin light thing on a 6v battery pack. Jest ye not, that halogen twin set has lasted five winters.

As of this winter, I also use an Aldi 3w cree 2xaa torch, helmet mounted.

Here's a piccy of the Smart twinset..

I thought I could do better (and lighter) with a more modern LED torch, and after reading the reviews on here I just chose a £20 set off ebay which came with 2 Ultrafire 18650 batteries, charger, bike mount, UK power adaptor, and a cheap back light. The torch only runs off one battery so the other will be a useful spare.

If I could have got another Aldi 3w cree & mounted that on the handlebars, that would have done nicely, but you know what it's like with those deals, they don't come round very often.

The torch itself seems pretty well made. The threads are all nicely greased too.

Here it is next to the Aldi 3w cree. It is significantly brighter. I don't know if it is 900 lumens but it is bright enough for the dark country lanes of my commute.

I have found the Aldi torch spot on for helmet use. It has a tight spot, I can use it to get seen, or have it pointing downwards just in front of the wheel. But a stronger light on the bike would not be bad.

Here are some pictures of the different lights in use. First the Smart Halogen in the garage : -

I have always found this light pretty good but the battery is heavy, and is getting a bit tired.

Next the Aldi 3w cree in the garage. You can see how tight the spot is : -

Finally the Surefire. It is significantly brighter than the Aldi torch, but not so much of a spotlight

Even on the lowest power setting it chucks out a usable light for road cycling.

I will be sure to keep it angled down, but am looking forward to a night ride with it as soon as I can.

Hope this helps someone make a choice.

 

[MattHB]

I have one. It's unbelievable, but buy the 18650 extension tube off eBay. It needs 2 batteries to get a decent burn time if you go out at night for any decent time.

 

[Arjimlad]

Thanks for the tip !

My commute is only up to an hour and not all on unlit roads - will see how I get on.

 

[uphillstruggler]

Great timing. Looking for a new front light after a night ride this weekend raised the need for a flood as well as a good spot.

Cheers for taking the time to review this.

 

[Arjimlad]

Glad it was useful. I have yet to test it on the road though. It is certainly very bright.

 

[Scoosh]

I have one. It's unbelievable, but buy the 18650 extension tube off eBay. It needs 2 batteries to get a decent burn time if you go out at night for any decent time.

What sort of run times are you getting on 1 and 2 batteries please ?

 

[MattHB]

I get about an hour on 1 at full blast on the stock 2.4ah battery, or 2.5 out of 2x 4ah juicy jobs.

 

[Scoosh]

OK, thanks

 

[Arjimlad]

I'll probably not need full blast for all the commute, and my ride home is less than 30 mins. Thanks Matt !

 

[Arjimlad]

Update - finally rode with this on the other night, and it switched whenever I went over a bump in the road. If on high, it went on to medium, if on medium, then to low. Not sure how to fix it ... I will make sure it's all screwed up tight..and will message the seller on that auction site !

 

[MattHB]

Update - finally rode with this on the other night, and it switched whenever I went over a bump in the road. If on high, it went on to medium, if on medium, then to low. Not sure how to fix it ... I will make sure it's all screwed up tight..and will message the seller on that auction site !

They switch to low power when the batteries are low. I bought a 4Ah for mine which turned out to be faulty, would switch in 5 mins.

 

[DCLane]

Worryingly I've got the same one - a 1300 lumens T6 for the Python MTB plus a 700 lumens T5 for the Carrera. £14 seems good value for a very bright light.

 

[Arjimlad]

It's definitely bump-induced..

 

[Svendo]

A couple of hongkong ebay torches I've had have needed to have all the bits screwed up tightly to remove any dodginess in the electrical connection. The emitter bit usually has two dimples which you can get purchase on with a biro nib. The first one I got also didn't have enough 'springage', so I added a cylinder of folded kitchen foil, wrapped in insulating tape, which worked to get enough stability from the spring in the tail cap. If the connection through the body of the torch is a bit iffy, bumps can be enough for the control circuit with the emitter to thing you've done a mode switching press with the tail cap switch.

 

[HovR]

My 5W torch used to change from high beam, to seizure inducing mode after going over large bumps in the road. The issue was that the diameter of the battery compartment was a little bit too wide, allowing the battery to be able to shake around and quickly cut out/back in, which caused it to change modes. Fixed this by wrapping the battery with 2 layers thick of paper to stop it from shaking around.

It would be great if we could get an update as to whether you fix this issue, as I was moments away from buying this exact torch until I read your post! Also, if you could post some pictures of this light being used in a larger unlit space, such as a garden or road (to get an idea of how the light spreads), then I would be very grateful!

Thanks very much!