Bike Lights Data Base

[Szemhazai]

What can I say...

Q5 @ 1A => 240 lum
R2 @ 1A => 270 lum

So how "close to" 1000 is 810 ?? :lolsign:

 

[cave dave]

BR lights is shipping their 1000 lumen model C2-K in a couple days, and you can get your old model upgraded for $100!

I assume it is two Cree MC-E.

http://brlightsblog.blogspot.com/

 

[hit4six]

anyone have any comments on lumicycle? they claim 850 lumens from their 3led head on 'boost mode'.

 

[rav]

anyone have any comments on lumicycle? they claim 850 lumens from their 3led head on 'boost mode'.

It's possible, but only if they are using over 1000mA driver.
Note that they also claim [email protected] with 40hrs of runtime, which is impossible and real output in this mode is 90 lumens.

 

[rufusbduck]

I know this website celebrates the very best in lighting. Indeed, it seems like everyone enjoys watching the amazing march of progress with at least a fantasy eye toward owning the newest, lightest and brightest

But...

Not all of us (read: yours truly) have the technical knowledge, skills or $$$ to choose the best. This is my way of saying you may be singing the death song a little too early on incandescent lighting. It's so simple (even I can do it) and bright. I just looked at an $89 MR16 LED that just wasn't remotely as bright as my $6 halogen. I realize the efficiency of halogen doesn't come close to LED's but, over volted, it can exceed HID
NoShoulder

I think the point is that LEDs are improving so rapidly and the costs are coming down almost as fast that there's no point in listing halogens that are altready outclassed. I have halogens that I converted to LEDs and even overvolted they don't come anywhere close to being as bright as the converts. Cost...only ~$40 to get a 3led 700+ lumen light. It won't be long before lumens/$ goes way up on stuff for sale to others like you so the only reason I would include older halogen lights would be in a separate thread, maybe over at MTBR to list the best lights for modding with LEDs.

 

[ian_W]

Although I'm not keen on spending hundreds of dollars on a bike light, I applaud your initiative. I'm sure it will be useful for many members here.

This could easily become a sticky.

Thing being, is some of these like the diablo, can be easily dual purpose. Why spend £100 on a flashlight and £100 on a bike light, when £150 will get you one that does both!

Spoke to exposure today and they are also looking at making them waterproof, so dive/bike/general flashlight....makes one expensive torch perhaps the way to go!

 

[stephenTheObdurate]

One thing I don't see is the light distribution, which might be very important. lumens is a measure of how much light is output. If it covers a wide angle it's not very bright and if it's too narrow it only lights up what's straight in front, unless it's helmet mounted. Then if it's wide it's still not bright and if it's narrow it's very shakey and you have to hold your head just so.

I was just looking into LED lighting for a generator light (I'm way too disorganized to remember to charge and carry batteries and have been known to stay out way later than I planned so a generator works for me.) Generators put out about 3w. I made a proto with 15 each of two different half angle LEDs. Half are 9 degree and half are 30 degree. Now they aim together, which is a bother, but they provide a spot 20 or 30 feet out (15 mph is 22 fps) and wide area of light in front of the wheel. The narrow spot provides forward lighting which is aimed, in this incarnation with the handle bars. The wide angle light with a reflector to direct the light down provides good illumination up close for maneuvering around near obstructions. This is OK but way short of ideal. Now I'm designing two different lights. One for close and one for far lighting so they can be aimed separately.

Does anyone have information or suggestions about the ideal light spread for riding?

 

[brucesparky]

What about the new Gloworm X2?

mtbr.com write-up

 

[a1penguin]

This first post hasn't been updated since October 2010. It's not particularly helpful. 2012 brought a ton of changes in the availability of bike specific lights. And many people use inexpensive flashlights that never appear in any lists.

 

[Changchung]

This first post hasn't been updated since October 2010. It's not particularly helpful. 2012 brought a ton of changes in the availability of bike specific lights. And many people use inexpensive flashlights that never appear in any lists.

+1

A lot of chinese lights that make a great job costing no more that 70$ multi XM-L Leds, batteries and charger inclued...

 

[rbid1962]

Is there in this forum an updated list?
I like this list because it shows all the required data

It will be nice to have in the list a link to a good reliable review per Bike Lights.

Have a nice day to all.

--- Ricky Marek (AKA rbid)

 

[Amy sunshine]

can you give me some useful recommend about bike lights from China? and I have found a bike light from a online shop. as for the price, what do you think about it?

thank you very much!

 

[Calina]

Don't expect too much for 25 dollars, but the thing I would question even more than the quality is the reliability of the vendor.

 

[Crane]

can someone please update this thread

 

[angerdan]

I guess there are not so many people who collect all the data in their free time. There are so many lights that you would have to update it regulary.
You can find some smaller data collections here:
reviews.mtbr.com/lights-shootout-light-meter-measurements
mtb-news.de/forum/t/fahrradlichter-mit-fernbedienung.612091/
mytinysun.de/online/templatemedia/all_lang/resources/Leuchten%24C3%24BCbersicht+Stand+2012-02-13.pdf

If you're just looking for a new lamp, you could ask.
Cheap and good are also some $25 like this:
gearbest.com/led-flashlights/pp_133573.html

 

[RickZ]

I think that there is no longer any use for incan's in bike lightning, HIDs will extinct in 2 years... I'll probably add a few 5/10/20W incan's & HIDs for cost / efficiency / burn time comparison but that's all.

If somebody thinks that is necessarily to add more this kind of lamps he can gather data and post here.

For the lumens, LED lighting is extremely pathetic on the road. Hid and incandescent is far more useful, gives way more light, better for road biking anyway. Unfortunately because generators are not a thing in the US, we don't have as much incandescent and HID bike lights as other countries, running the US cost up into the hundreds. One of the same reasons LED seems good, is why they are no good for the road: LEDs excel at visible light spectrum. This means they're not so good at telling the difference between oil and water, ice and water, and are also typically pathetic at penetrating bad weather, and tend to rainbow at the higher lumens. Since more than 600 lumens of forward-blasting light is regularly considered illegal, you can't fairly just up the lumens. You are part of the problem, a consumer only willing to test and observe LEDs, don't take it personally, it's a common practice. Real cyclists know the problem. It can almost-kinda be solved with advanced filters that change some of the spectrum into infrared and UV, the waves that give incandescent and HID such advantage.

 

[angerdan]

It is true that LEDs do not emitt as much UV and IR as HID. Thats one point why they are so much more efficient!

Its also true about the bad weather penetration, which can be solved with the same color temperature (Kelvin) as HID. There are some bike lights with warm white LEDs, for example the out-led Hellena.
http://www.out-led.de

The color rendering index (CRI) depends always on the LED chip used in the lamps. Usually its more than CRI 70, there are also Bike Lights with more than CRI 80. Even with CRI70 you can distinguish well between all the substances you'd mention.
The Magicshine MJ808 P7 has CRI 83.

 

[kaichu dento]

For the lumens, LED lighting is extremely pathetic on the road...they're not so good at telling the difference between oil and water, ice and water, and are also typically pathetic at penetrating bad weather, and tend to rainbow at the higher lumens.

Real cyclists know the problem.

You're buying the wrong emitters apparently because hCRI emitters are very good at all the things poor emitters are not good at and people enamored with high output over quality output are at least partly to blame for this.

 

[RickZ]

You're buying the wrong emitters apparently because hCRI emitters are very good at all the things poor emitters are not good at and people enamored with high output over quality output are at least partly to blame for this.

I've used the bes LEDs in existence, at 100-200lumens, they are still pretty insufficient. If you want to run with the points of durability and reliability, then run with it. That's a great choice, turning the efficiency way down so you can keep the other points LEDs are good at, sincerely. But then still have a little problem not telling the difference between water and oil, since visible light reflects off both. Unless you have more than 200 lumens, LED lighting is relatively and depressingly unusable on a road bike. Blinding drivers with 4-500+++++++ lumens is counter productive. LEDs have low potential in the infrared category, as converting their light on purpose drastically reduces efficiency to even below incandescent. My desk lamp is led and though it has excellent color rendering and has good infrared it is, 200lumens, with 20 whole watts. A twenty watt incandescent is about the same amount of lumens. So advancements need to occur. This is written by a well seasoned cyclist.

 

[angerdan]

This is written by a well seasoned cyclist.

Maybe you can proof your nearly unbelievable story with facts.
Everything you wrote i won't believe.