XML-T6 Torch or "Bike Light"?

[mrmacmusic]

I'm finding my Moon XP500 isn't enough on it's own for spotting potholes at speed, so am looking for something brighter with more throw that I can point slightly further ahead and/or use as a 'high beam'.

I've spotted a few options at less than £40 which would seem to fit the bill, but I'm confused – what are the differences between a torch like this and these bike lights..? Better beam, runtime or build quality? Some of these torches just look like the bike light 'heads' with battery barrels attached, which isn't a bad thing from my perspective as I'm used to the all-in-one Moon, rather than a separate battery pack.

There are lots of different yet very similar looking torches around the interweb, and equally as many Magicshine 'clones'... I must admit, I quite like the idea of running two torches, although if they're not as robust as the 'bike light' option – or won't run for more than 5 minutes at full power – then maybe they're pointless? My commute verges on the hour when it's dark, wet and windy, so 2 hours run time would be ideal though not essential.

 

[fossyant]

The clone bike lights can be a bit variable in quality. What you might want is a torch which runs off 18650 lipo batteries, but you will need to factor in a decent charger and batteries, so add say £30 to the cost of the torch, and then a mount.

The specific bike ones are ok, just don't expect the batteries to be super.

How about another Moon 500 ?

What conditions do you find spotting the holes hard, how much of the route do you really need that power level ?

 

[mrmacmusic]

Cheers fossyant and sorry for the delayed reply!

The clone bike lights can be a bit variable in quality. What you might want is a torch which runs off 18650 lipo batteries, but you will need to factor in a decent charger and batteries, so add say £30 to the cost of the torch, and then a mount.

So are there any specific models I should look out for (or ones to avoid like the plague)..?

This Ultrafire C8 CREE XM-L U2 from C&B Seen claims 1300 lumens, and adding their 3100mAh battery, USB charger and mount adds up to ~£46 (delivered) They also have a CREE XM-L T6 1200 lumen bike light for ~£41 delivered with the usual separate battery pack affair. I also spotted this set on eBay – twin Ultrafire 502B (1000 lumens) with 300mAh batteries, charger etc... for just £40. Seems ideal even if the lumens claimed is a bit on the generous side?

How about another Moon 500 ?

Bottom line is I can't afford one right now, plus I think on a bang-for-buck level, the C&B Seen 1200 lumen bike light offers better value for money (as do the torches). I'm even considering selling the Moon and buying both the eBay torches plus one of C&B's bike lights which would about break even I reckon.

What conditions do you find spotting the holes hard, how much of the route do you really need that power level ?

When it's dark, and most of it....

Seriously, the past few nights have been overcast or raining which highlights the need for more power. I point the Moon towards the road to avoid dazzling other road users, such that it's probably aimed about 5m ahead of the front wheel. Whilst illumination is good at full power, the recent dreich conditions mean that the damp/wet road surface is soaking up all the light. With the fairly poor road surfaces on the majority of my commute (which is mostly made up of unlit back roads), I'm just not seeing the bumps and holes as early as I'd like to.

I do remember last winter (when I was using the tree-lined cycle path instead of the main road for one section) that I wanted a long-throw light to complement the Moon, as I'd sometimes almost be on top of ninja dog walkers before seeing them. Aiming the Moon up helps a bit with throw, but then compromises the visibility of the area directly in front of me.

On dry commutes, I'm sure the Moon would be OK on its' own, but even then having an extra 'high beam' would be beneficial. Having said that, it's rarely dry here these days so I feel I need to do something.....

 

[GlenBen]

If youre on a really tight budget, like me...
I recently bought two cree q5s on amazon. They were only £6 each including a surprisingly good mount. I just point one into the floor to look for holes in the road and point one up slightly for general light.

Obviously there are much better lights out there but im hopeful these will see me through one winter until I can afford something better.

 

[MrJamie]

The CandBseen lights are good, I use one of the T6 ones as a high beam. Best of all, the first one had a loose connection, I emailed them and they shipped me a new one immediately on next day delivery, so very impressed

I wouldnt trust the lumen ratings at all in terms of letting you decide which way to go, you can go onto Cree's website and look at the actual output of the emitters, then go to ebay and see lights/torches listed at upto triple the max output depending on how much they feel like exagerating.

 

[Scoosh]

Some time (? years ?) ago , I read a thread/post/article which said that one of the reasons why it is difficult to see potholes when cycling is because of the angle of the light beam onto the road, while in normal light there is much more all-round light, so holes are easier to see - they are not just a dark shadow.

It might be worth trying a head/helmet mounted light in addition to your handlebar light(s) and see if this assists in seeing the potholes.

 

[mrmacmusic]

The CandBseen lights are good, I use one of the T6 ones as a high beam. Best of all, the first one had a loose connection, I emailed them and they shipped me a new one immediately on next day delivery, so very impressed

Thanks for that – good to know about the service from C&B Seen, as I'm definitely thinking about one of their T6 lights

 

[mrmacmusic]

Some time (? years ?) ago , I read a thread/post/article which said that one of the reasons why it is difficult to see potholes when cycling is because of the angle of the light beam onto the road, while in normal light there is much more all-round light, so holes are easier to see - they are not just a dark shadow.

It might be worth trying a head/helmet mounted light in addition to your handlebar light(s) and see if this assists in seeing the potholes.

Cheers scoosh I seem to recall reading something to that effect myself too... I already have a helmet mount for the Moon, so I'll be able to give this a go regardless of whether I go down the bike light or torch route.

 

[potsy]

I think this is a case of 'never being happy with what you have' I know as I'm just the same

When I ran a Cat-eye I thought it was great, then moved up to the Hope vision 1, then added another Hope to make the symmetrical look on the bars.
Now I have the Moon500 and the Hopes are just back up/flashers on the commute.

I am already looking with interest at the Lezyne Mega drive 1000 lumen lights

 

[mrmacmusic]

I think this is a case of 'never being happy with what you have' I know as I'm just the same

Oh I get like that sometimes, but not this time...

I don't want to blast thousands of stray lumens all over the place and look like a UFO coming along the back roads, but I do want to feel confident that I'm not going to whack a hole at 25mph. In the dreich dark evening commutes of late, I've not been confident enough to feel comfortable, and I don't like that.

Like I said above, I've not had the luxury of a dry, bright commute yet this "dark season" which would probably reveal the Moon in a very different light... Last winter I distinctly remember some frosty, moonlit (celestial) commutes where the road was plenty visible without the addition of any Moon light (LED variety).

 

[HovR]

This light that I reviewed is an exact copy of the Ultrafire C8 torch you have linked. In fact, I believe it is even made by the same company, as they will often produce their own torches for other companies to put their names on.

The light output is excellent, and I'm still more than happy with it 10+ months after the purchase, so would recommend it. At that price you could easily buy two for bar mounting, although this is probably a little excessive!

Some people don't like the mounts, but I have no complaints - It hasn't fallen out for me yet. Replacement mounts can be easily bought off eBay if you're not satisfied!

 

[mrmacmusic]

This light that I reviewed is an exact copy of the Ultrafire C8 torch you have linked. In fact, I believe it is even made by the same company, as they will often produce their own torches for other companies to put their names on.....

Thanks for that HovR – much appreciated

Can you confirm the mAh rating of the battery you have? 45 minutes to 1hr would only last one commute (as long as it's not windy LOL!), so I'd need two per day – the seller I linked to offers a 3100mAh battery.

 

[HovR]

Thanks for that HovR – much appreciated

Can you confirm the mAh rating of the battery you have? 45 minutes to 1hr would only last one commute (as long as it's not windy LOL!), so I'd need two per day – the seller I linked to offers a 3100mAh battery.

The batteries that came with my torch are rated at 2400mAh, however the seller that I linked in my review provides two batteries.

Do you know the brand of the battery your seller would be supplying? It might be worth checking if it is really is the rated capacity. Here is a useful test of various 18650 batteries by torchythebatteryboy.

 

[MrGrumpy]

C&B only offer a months warranty btw and you can get the same torches from China which is where they get them or buy the very same on ebay by UK sellers although these sellers are based in china anyway?? I myself have been looking at these myself on the bay however I got my batteries out of old laptops, at least I know they are decent brand ie Sanyo and Samsung. Apparently some of these ultrafire batteries are rubbish and its pot luck what you get!

 

[mrmacmusic]

The batteries that came with my torch are rated at 2400mAh, however the seller that I linked in my review provides two batteries.

Do you know the brand of the battery your seller would be supplying? It might be worth checking if it is really is the rated capacity. Here is a useful test of various 18650 batteries by torchythebatteryboy.

Thanks again – the C&B Seen batteries are XTRA 3100mAh, so amongst the better performers by the looks of things... on the other hand, the Ultrafire 3000mAh ones (eBay auction) don't seem to perform nearly as well according to Torchy's Test. Hmm.