1st Attempt at an UPGRADE - TrustFire TR -D014 - 7x CREE XML-2 T6

EFMax

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Oct 26, 2008
Messages
41
Location
60Km west of London
UPGRADE: TrustFire TR-D014 7xCree XM-L2 T6 4-Mode 3000LM Bicycle Light

This is my first attempt at upgrading what is already a quite reasonable light system. Having read reviews by other more experience modders on this light, I was interested in reviews that suggested that the light had upgrade potential because it was under-driven.
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So I bought not one but three. One to mess around with/get it wrong/mess up/throw away: One to leave as standard: One to upgrade.; the upgrade is with much thanks for his help "George at Task LED" and MK96 on MTBR for his help as well.

I have picked this light apart and although initially, I upgraded the wiring, in the final version, I left it the same because the cable used was able to handle the amps without over-heating or give cause for concern. I tried my best to make sure the new board was as connected to the chassis as possible for the best heat transfer.

The standard light on high, gets warm when stationary but the upgrade gets HOT. Out on the road, the upgrade is fine as long as there is a passing wind. Photos were done down by the river and it was cold so the unit stayed cool.

I fitted a HBFlex board so as I could drive the lamp at the full 3amps and bought a new 16.8v Li-Po batteries (5500mAh) pack from my local Hobby Store.

The following four images were all taken at F4 @ 6secs.. and yes the images could have been better but I just wanted to see just what 7x XML-2 T6's at full chat would be like.. I will leave you to make up your own mind. Both lights were set up, one on top of the other on the front of my bike which was supported by a bench. The camera is about 2ft to the left of the bike and that reflective strip on the tree ahead is 100ft (30m) away.

IMAGE 1: Control shot, everything is switched off = Lens@21mm - F4@6secs..
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IMAGE 2:
Standard light at low – 8.4v @ Lens@21mm - whatever amp setting it comes at.
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IMAGE 3: Standard light at high Lens@12mm - 8.4v @ 12mm - whatever amp setting it comes at.
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IMAGE 4: Upgrade light at high Lens@12mm – 16.8v. Driven at 3Amps.
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With the new board, the flexibility to set things how you want is great as the standard board offers no user configurations.

To help with the heat, what I have done as a temp arrangement is to get an oversize thermal pad and cut it down to fit. The HBFlex board is almost a good fit but not perfect but with the thermal pad in place, the board sits on this and it is now nicely coupled to the surrounding chassis and is quite tight.. The board is about 39mm across and the ring it sits on is about 43mm.. It is a tight fit allround and I have had to change the on/off switch so that takes up a bit of space.

From a hand touch, I can see that the leds are sending their heat to the front of the chassis. The rear end where the board is appears only slightly warm, not sure if the way I have done things is the best way as this is my first attempt at picking lights apart and putting them back like this but I feel more rest assured when I have done say an hour's riding at full throttle.

The original driver sat nice and snug on the chassis. Below it was the wires leading to the leds and the power input. That gap is about 50mm, so there is a lot of space but not much space above.

What I have done is cut a thin disk (from a empty can of baked beans) the same size as the original driver, got a thermal pad cut to the same size.. made it possible for the wires to still get to where they need, and then press-fit the driver unto this disk and the disk to the chassis.

My conclusions are - if one XML-2 T6 is able to put out approx 1125L @ 100% then if I calculate for 10% losses then that is around 1000L per led @ 3amp input - so 7x 1000. At full power they are just too much. To be fair, with the driver set in Multimode, L1 is bright enough for road use (to be seen only) and L2 is pretty awesome for road use to be seen and to see. L3 is great for off road only and throws enough light for fast trail stuff. L4 is the main beam of off road. L5 is just to show off and to show your mates what you can do - but is just too bright and a waste of battery power.

This light is now officially much brighter than my Trail Tech 30w HID and that was crazy bright and this setup will outshine the newest of the Lupine Betty (4500L) by quite a margin..

For me, level two makes for some very easy off-road riding at a pace. Level three is a luxury and level four is just there if you feel you need it. I have the light set with a 70*c temp cut off, 13.1v mid voltage check and 12.6v low voltage check with a 12.1v cut-off and on L4 I have ran the light for over two hours on this set of batteries and I feel sure they can go a lot more but it is cold out here at the moment so two hours is fine by me.

One thing I disliked about the original board was that the flashing mode was just too bright for day or night us, now on the new board there are six (I think) stobe options plus you can control the light output as well - so I have settled for ON (L1) followed by two slow pulses at (L2) - this means I am seen but is bright enough to not totally p'ss everyone else off. I like this mode because in daylight it can still pick out reflective road signs about 250mts away - this means everyone knows you are coming even if they can't see you yet. And my safety is of more importance than your "WTF" was/is that..!

For now I am very contented. Without the cost of postage then the approx. costs are - light unit £38, HBFlex board £35, batteries £40, very good charger £55, accessiories £10. TOTAL = £178.GBP - ($286.US). Having spent a fortune in the past and having own many previous lights by both Trail Tech, Lupine and Troutie, this outlay seems to be good value for money and to that end, I am very pleased.
 

Steve K

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jun 10, 2002
Messages
2,786
Location
Peoria, IL
Nice photos, and some very impressive results! It looks like the highest output level ends up being nearly a death ray, incinerating everything it touches. :)

The total cost is quite good for a light with these capabilities. It does seem to reinforce the notion that bike lights can't (or shouldn't) get any more powerful, and the only area for improvement is cost or perhaps features and a better user interface.
 

EFMax

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Oct 26, 2008
Messages
41
Location
60Km west of London
From a cost point of view, it is great, especially when you consider that the battery and charger I used are of very good quality as opposed to "cheap" imports as these were all sourced in the UK from good shops. This compares well with my first lights where I had a good Troutie 7up + Troutie mini on the helmet plus a Trail Tech 30w HID + batteries and respective chargers and that little lot was just under £1000 (and worth it back then)... and they added some weight to the bike - back then I was using 16x 18650 to run the whole show, now just 8x.

I think many of the Chinese imports use a 8.4v system, as do Lupine but this does limit the driver capabilities and thus the overal ouput. I am guessing that this is all to do with cheap chargers and cheap batteries as it is easy to double up on an 2Cell 8.4v system to get longer run times and to this end, nearly all reviews I see, seem to say the batteries are the letting down point.

The CREE XML-2 T6 or U2 are hot stuff but unless light makers drive them up to around 3amp, then the lights are all capable of more. I think I have shown that you don't actually need to drive them at 3amps and maybe 2.5A or even 2A would be more than enough.

When out offroad and down by my local river, L1 does not really show the path that well (yet it is great to be seen and can be seen from far) but at L2, the path is clear and there is a lot you can do. If like me you like chucking yourself down steep gradients of loose rubble and rolling stone at midnight, then L3 and L4 will give you confidence.

At the end of the day, I wanted to ditch my three lights and just have one. Below is a photo of all three of my old lights, shining the way ahead.

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It is worth saying that the standard O-Ring that this light comes with is a bit under-par, so I have made up my own bracket that fits in under the front fork using a Hope Hed Doctor fitting.

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Bingomaster

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Joined
Jun 9, 2013
Messages
3
1st Attempt at an UPGRADE TrustFire TR D014 7x CREE XML 2 T6

I have the cree 1800 non modified and it has been on at least 8 caving trips on average 5 hours per trip. I bought 3 xtra batteries for it. I also have the cree 1600 non modified and it has been on at least 5 caving trips on average 5 hours per trip. I bought 2 xtra batteries for it. I am not easy on my gear and have gotten both of them in the water the head unit and they never went out. These lights are awesome, especially for the price. I did notice one time that when the battery went dead, the light never dimmed, it just went out.
 

romkoot

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Joined
Feb 5, 2015
Messages
3
Is it just me,or...light comparision photos arent there.....
 
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