Quick Light Test - B&M Ixon vs Cree T6

[zigzag]

here's a quick test of a fairly old b&m ixon and a fairly new cree t6 (magicshine-a-like) lights. the cree t6 light has a wide-angle lens instead of original plain glass that it comes with. camera settings (fwiw) were f2.8 1/25, distance from lights and camera and the wall 2.8m.

b&m ixon low setting (10lux):




b&m ixon high setting (40lux):




cree t6 low setting:




cree t6 medium setting (light gets too hot to hold it):




cree t6 high setting - allegedly 1200lm (the light gets very hot very quickly!):




edit: added a lidl light (as in hubner's post below)

lidl light low setting (10lux):




lidl light high setting (20lux):




edit: added tesco cree 3w 2xaa torch, quite popular 3-4 years ago, single mode with 2hrs of light from two aa batteries:




another edit, doh!

smart lunar 35lux 2xaa bike light with three modes: low, high and flashing.
low setting, 12hrs of light from two aa's:




smart lunar 35lux high setting, 5hrs from two aa's:

[Kim]

That's very useful, thanks.  Might have to get one of those Magicshine clones to play with.

[Oscar's dad]

Very interesting.  I have yet to test mine on the road.  I have the wide angled lens as well, I bought it as everyone else was.  What advantages does it offer over the standard lens?

[LEE]

How long do the batteries last at each output?

I managed to get through a night-ride with my B&M IXON without changing batteries (by using low setting mainly).

[Kim]

I managed to get through a night-ride with my B&M IXON without changing batteries (by using low setting mainly).

I do regularly.  The low setting is fine on lit roads, and most of the time when riding in a group.  I'd only switch to high for descents, iffy surfaces and the like.

These days I have a Cyo, so the Ixon is mainly as a backup, wowbadger repellent on long climbs and 'main beam' for descending.

Looks like these Magicshine-alikes could fill that role well.

[Bledlow]

Very interesting.  I have yet to test mine on the road.  I have the wide angled lens as well, I bought it as everyone else was.  What advantages does it offer over the standard lens?

The normal beam is circular, with a bright central spot surrounded by a large less bright flood. A lot of the light is going up in the air or in the eyes of anyone coming the other way, unless it's angled down sharply.

The fresnel lens reduces the light going upwards, gives you a more uniform level of brightness within the beam, & shows the sides of the roads better. It does cut down the light going down, but I think that's a minor disadvantage, There's still enough to show what's immediately in front of your front wheel.

[Oscar's dad]

Very interesting.  I have yet to test mine on the road.  I have the wide angled lens as well, I bought it as everyone else was.  What advantages does it offer over the standard lens?

The normal beam is circular, with a bright central spot surrounded by a large less bright flood. A lot of the light is going up in the air or in the eyes of anyone coming the other way, unless it's angled down sharply.

The fresnel lens reduces the light going upwards, gives you a more uniform level of brightness within the beam, & shows the sides of the roads better. It does cut down the light going down, but I think that's a minor disadvantage, There's still enough to show what's immediately in front of your front wheel.

Thanks, useful stuff.  I will try both lenses and report back.

[zigzag]

How long do the batteries last at each output?

I managed to get through a night-ride with my B&M IXON without changing batteries (by using low setting mainly).

i've yet to test the cree t6 run times.

with good batteries the ixon shines for around 20hrs on low setting and 5hrs on high. a single set of energizer lithium batteries in ixon saw me through pbp and and still had enough juice for high beam in the end. low setting, imo, is enough for unlit dry smooth roads.

edit: i've tested hope vision 1 on highest setting and b&m ixon on high and the output is about the same, only ixon has a better shaped beam.

[hubner]

Very interesting.  I have yet to test mine on the road.  I have the wide angled lens as well, I bought it as everyone else was.  What advantages does it offer over the standard lens?

The normal beam is circular, with a bright central spot surrounded by a large less bright flood. A lot of the light is going up in the air or in the eyes of anyone coming the other way, unless it's angled down sharply.

The fresnel lens reduces the light going upwards, gives you a more uniform level of brightness within the beam, & shows the sides of the roads better. It does cut down the light going down, but I think that's a minor disadvantage, There's still enough to show what's immediately in front of your front wheel.

I haven't got the fresnel lens but doesn't it just spread the light out horizontally? I would have thought the light coming out stays symmetrical.

Here are some beam shape shots (taken with point and shoot camera so brightness is not accurate):

L to r; Cree XML T6 bike light with direct view of the LED block by a bit of foil, Lidl 4xAA with dynamo type shaped beam (15 lux I think), Cree XML T6 zoomable torch.


Cree XML T6 bike light with direct view of the LED block by a bit of foil

Has large halo that's dimmer than the hotspot but it's still bright enough to dazzle.

Lidl 4xAA with dynamo type shaped beam

The beam has blotches, ie it's not evenly lit, and makes it hard to see pot holes etc.

Cree XML T6 zoomable torch, takes 1x18650 battery

In reality the light fades really quickly the further up the road you look, so the brightness at the top of the beam on the road surface is quite feeble. But the torch puts nearly all of the light into the beam with very little overspill, unless you're looking at the beam you won't be blinded.

[zigzag]

i've got the same lidl light which i may add to the test. it's got two settings - 10lux and 20lux. 10lux output is comparable to ixon's 10lux, but the lidl light has less efficient circuitry meaning shorter battery life for the same light output. it is not weatherproof either. but it's good enough to be used when pointed at eye level - very visible due to it's large reflector.

[Bledlow]

Very interesting.  I have yet to test mine on the road.  I have the wide angled lens as well, I bought it as everyone else was.  What advantages does it offer over the standard lens?

The normal beam is circular, with a bright central spot surrounded by a large less bright flood. A lot of the light is going up in the air or in the eyes of anyone coming the other way, unless it's angled down sharply.

The fresnel lens reduces the light going upwards, gives you a more uniform level of brightness within the beam, & shows the sides of the roads better. It does cut down the light going down, but I think that's a minor disadvantage, There's still enough to show what's immediately in front of your front wheel.

I haven't got the fresnel lens but doesn't it just spread the light out horizontally? I would have thought the light coming out stays symmetrical.

Symmetrical, but not round. Less light going down, just as there's less going up.

[zigzag]

op updated with the lidl 4xaa light and tesco cree 3w 2xaa torch; and smart lunar 35..

[zigzag]

cree t6: it takes 4h10m to charge the battery pack (claimed 8.4v 8800mah) from flat to full with the supplied charger

[zigzag]

i've yet to test the cree t6 run times.

cree t6 shines 11h30m on the lowest setting. i've ran the test four times and the results were very consistent 11h32m - 11h38m. the power/mode button goes red about 8min before the light shuts off - there's no dimming before the end. if the light had one more mode, say 1/5th of low mode, it could be used as "be seen" light if pointed at eye level with over 50hrs of battery run time.