Good bikelight and focusable light

[beastman]

I have always used Led Lenser P7's on my bike. I started doing this when my Maglight 2AA (and its weak light) almost got me killed. A fence post was poking out into the bike lane and "I missed it by this much." (best Getsmart voice)I recently got a Zebralight SC600 based in large part in what I have seen in these forums (as a lurker, this is my first post).Dang! :huh: What a light! Super small and floods like crazy. Lasts long enough to get me where I am going.However, I would like a similar sized thrower so I can see farther down the road. With my P7s I used to flood one and spot the other (the P7 is focusable).I also have a Maelstrom G5 that I plan on using (yes, you evil people have "forced me" to get more than 1 light, my wife isn't happy, "What do you need another light for?"). Just got it and haven't taken it out on the bike yet.In any case:1) Is there a small "thrower" like the SC600? (Zebralight needs to make an SC-600T or something)2) Opinion on the Maelstrom G53) Is there a good focusable light? I would want something that puts out a ton of light, could take either AAs or 18650, and is regulated (learned that from here too, see? I am teachable). Something like a focusing SC600 would be amazing.Thoughts?Thanks!Oh, and a shout out to Selfbuilt: Your reviews have done a lot to educate a newbie.

 

[joe1512]

If you go to shiningbeam.com under manufacturer MG, you can see that they have some good throwers there for reasonably priced. You can get either the SST50 or the XM-L version...I dont see any big difference. Both use 1x18650.

Throw to flood dont usually work very well and are limited to smaller emitters. There are XM-L throw to flood but they are generally crap. Poorly driven, and they don't throw very well due to the big size of the emitter itself.

Still, you can get several cheap flood to throw which is what I did. I have 2 of em on my bike which is enough for me and run them in full flood. 10 bucks each. 3xAAA.

I also use a cheap 20 dollar MC-E light 1x18650 from dealextreme on my wife's bike. It produces 600ish lumens in a floody pattern, but provides enough throw for us. We arent really extreme bikers though.

There are also several bike-sets around on dealextreme that have 1 big floody light and 2 throwers with a multi-18650 power pack that you can put elsewhere on the bike. These are much easier to mount.

Obviously you dont want a 2x18650 light as it won't balance very well on the handlebars and will move around too much.

 

[tjswarbrick]

Eagletac P20C2MKII in Neutral has an XP-E emitter in a small form factor, which throws very well. Not bright like an SC600, but that's the tradeoff for an XM-L.
It's maybe an inch longer than the ZL, but still quite compact, and I feel, good value for money.
Personally, I like the SolarForce L2T as bike light. It's not too huge, and has a good shape for velcro straps to hold. It runs 18650 or 2xCR123, and I can get drop-ins in my choice of emitter, tint, modes, reflector finish, and voltage to suit any need.