Good clones?

[Genxsis]

I was just at a bike shop and noticed 3 interesting bike lights that look exactly like flashlights I'm familiar with that cost alot more. They are made by Cannondale and are under the name Foresite. One looked just like an Inova X5 but ran on 1AA battery and cost $15. There were 2 others that I don't know what they could be compared to, but they were pretty bright, even though they ran on 3AAA.

Anyone familiar with the Cannondale Foresite that looks like an X5? Here are links to the lights I saw:

The "X5" http://incycle.com/itemdetails.cfm?catalogId=39&id=4370

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=25629

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=25628

 

[Fallingwater]

Stay away from the 3AAA lights. AAA carrier-lights tend to suck in general.

 

[kramer5150]

Stay away from the 3AAA lights. AAA carrier-lights tend to suck in general.

x2... Although some 3AAA lights can take an 18650 cell, which would be a better alternative IMHO.

Theres a 1AA version too... either that or this www site has a typo.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=25276

 

[nikon]

Those lights won't provide enough illumination by any stretch of the imagination. But if you insist on getting them you'll find them at a small fraction of that price at the Chinese dealers such as DX, Kaidomain, etc..

 

[Jarl]

Basically, this is how bike lights are marketed:

A well known company buys in the lights and puts their names on them. They mark them up, because they have their names on.

They realise they're selling to cyclists, so they put the price up again.


What you can do is skip out these two steps, and get a decent 18650 (or similar) light. I've been thinking of customising some lights myself- there are some rebel TIR optics that give a really nice beam. I'm looking for a small 18650 light from DX/KD with a rebel in it, which I can then put the TIR optic on, throw in a new driver board (2 mode, 700ma/250ma or something like that) and sell them on. Haven't found anything, though.

 

[Genxsis]

Well, I guess I won't be buying these then. In the past, I had seen this shop selling lights for $50 or more. Now I see these new ones for so much less and thought they looked great too. Figured it was because time had gone by and technology had advanced.

 

[Gunner12]

The 1 AA one looks like a 5 LED Xnova.

I could buy a decent current gen LED light from Dealextreme for the price of any of those lights. I would wait the extra 2 weeks for DX stuff to arrive unless you need light now.

3 AAA lights are bright at first, but dim quickly(most people use alkaline batteries in them). The current gen lights of similar or lower price are probably brighter.

 

[TONY M]

Basically, this is how bike lights are marketed:

A well known company buys in the lights and puts their names on them. They mark them up, because they have their names on.

They realise they're selling to cyclists, so they put the price up again.

Too right Jarl, especially the last bit! :scowl:

As a cyclist myself I can say that most of the LED lights (at least in UK/IE) are pathetic and hideously overpriced to be frank. Many of my buddies still praise Cateye luxeon LEDs :shakehead. Just get a L2D and forget the rest.
Cannondale accessories tend to be a rip-off anyway. I owned a C'dale a few years ago and was to cheap to buy their stuff.



PS. Genxsis were you in the Chain reaction cycles store in Ballyclaire?

 

[Fallingwater]

x2... Although some 3AAA lights can take an 18650 cell, which would be a better alternative IMHO.

What 3AAA lights I've seen would need some intensive modifications for a 18650 to fit. My experience is that 18500s are a much better idea.

Note that most 3AAA lights are completely unresistored and only rely on the internal resistance of the small AAA cells (or lower voltage if using NiMH) to prevent thermal runaway on the LEDs. A fully charged 18500 caused a 9-LED 3-AAA from DX to draw 850ma for the brief moment before I chickened out and disconnected it. That's almost 100ma per LED, and a rather monstrous overdrive factor. The LEDs wouldn't live long at that draw.

What you can do is to make up a small spacer made of two metal contacts and an appropriate resistor soldered inbetween them. This will give the 18500 a better connection to the terminals (18500s are usually a bit shorter than 3AAA carriers) and will keep the LEDs from barbecuing themselves.

 

[mpk]

Stay away from the 3AAA lights. AAA carrier-lights tend to suck in general.

This is very true. They seem to be inherently unreliable, too many points of failure.

 

[LEDninja]

The X5 1AA clone is nicknamed the Xnova here. Extremely dim. $6 without the bike bracket. CPF members lost interest in this one when Fenix introduced the L1P back in '05. I gave mine away because it is too dim for wandering around inside my flat. Forget about outdoors!
http://www.qualitychinagoods.com/medea-xnova-fn5v3-p-316.html

The 9LED 3AAA lights usually burn out their LEDs 1 by 1 under constant use. Still very dim.

The 1 watt 3AAA is the best of the bunch. Here is a link to a 3 watt Cree version and people still complained it is not bright enough. (And they are not on bikes!) At least the thing has a reflector that gives it some throw.
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.5759

Looks like those guys bought a bunch of cheap out of date crap, added bike mounts and is palming them off as quality bike lights.

 

[Fallingwater]

The 9LED 3AAA lights usually burn out their LEDs 1 by 1 under constant use. Still very dim.

It depends what light you get. The ones on DX are plenty bright, and *seem* able to tolerate quite ferocious overdrives better than the cheapo ones you usually find in chinese stores. At least, neither of the two I have has died yet.
However, adding an inline resistor remains a good idea.

 

[phreeflow]

Ultrafire C2 Q5 5-mode on Dealextreme is a nice bike light...good combo of throw and spill. I'd get a nice headlight as well.