Time for a new "what light" thread...

[Jaded]

OK - we did some light testing this evening before going to the pub.

Here are two of the lights tested







Manual exposure, the 2nd <editor> 1st, you silly tit, remember we swapped the images round to fix the test?</editor> one is brighter than the first. So, a result, I think.
No idea what the yellow thing above is.

[Biggsy]

Before the pub?  Are you sure that wasn't after the pub? 

[frankly frankie]

[Jaded]

868	Fenix LD20
Dinotte 400L	40 lux Ixon IQ
Dinotte 200L	Headtorch

[Chris N]

 

What's the funny square light? Ixon IQ?

[Jaded]

We need wisdom from Clint.

[Hot Flatus]

Yes, 40 lux Ixon IQ.  The Bright new light is the 868. It outperformed the others by a huge margin. Pulling a figure straight out of my arse, id say it is twice as bright as the Dinotte 400.  I was quite impressed by the Fenix LD20, although i dont know what the runtime is.

The 868 is bright enough on the lower setting, probably about the same as the 400. I havent tested runtimes but i have a sneaky suspicion you'd get at least 6 hours on low.

Obviously, if David Martin had been in charge of the camera the end product might have been useful.

[Bledlow]

The 868 looks very bright. If the modes are the same as the 808, then low is 30% of high output, so I'd expect it to run roughly 3 times as long. Easily enough for a summer overnight ride.

[Cudzoziemiec]

OK - we did some light testing this evening before going to the pub.

Here are two of the lights tested







Manual exposure, the 2nd <editor> 1st, you silly tit, remember we swapped the images round to fix the test?</editor> one is brighter than the first. So, a result, I think.
No idea what the yellow thing above is.

|It is the great luminous pineapple of doom, disrupted from its evil intention of flooding the Stroud valleys with corrosive juice by a beam of electromagnetic energy signalling an urgent message: come quickly, clint has stolen my goat and is feeding it lightbulbs.

By the way, I'm really disappointed in the Ixon. Bright, but such a restricted beam.

[Chris N]

Good to compare with the Ixon IQ and the LD20 - I've got one of each.  The LD20 is great - but I'd like something brighter and longer lasting for MTBing.  It lasts about 2 hours on full beam, maybe 2 1/2 if you use Lithiums.  It does depend on which LED is in the torch though: mine's a Cree XP-G R4 LED - the newer R5 is as bright but lasts longer.  The older Fenix L2D (with a CREE XR-E Q5 LED) is about 80% as bright as the LD20 and lasts about 1.5 hours on full beam.

This is interesting too: http://www.mtbbatteries.co.uk/4.html - Cree XML LED so apparently 1000 lm, with a decent battery and charger for £67.

By the way, I'm really disappointed in the Ixon. Bright, but such a restricted beam.

Have you used one?  It's not as bad as it looks on the photo.

[Hot Flatus]

The Ixon certainly had it's place, but it is ripe for upgrading. A better LED and a reshaping of the reflector perhaps.

[Kim]

The Ixon certainly had it's place, but it is ripe for upgrading. A better LED and a reshaping of the reflector perhaps.

That's called an IQ Cyo R.

[Chris N]

The Ixon certainly had it's place, but it is ripe for upgrading. A better LED and a reshaping of the reflector perhaps.

That's called an IQ Cyo R.

Does that run on AA batteries too?

[Kim]

That's called an IQ Cyo R.

Does that run on AA batteries too?

With a little work and a trip to Maplin.


(I agree, it's about time for a new B&M battery light, though I'd say that re-designing the hinge and battery contacts were the main priority.  After all, the vast majority of Cyo users on this forum scoff at my preference for the 'R'^[1], which suggests that the Ixon-style beam shape is fine for most people.)



_{[1] Which isn't universal.  The 60lux version is clearly the better choice if you're going to be mounting it low down on a fork or on the boom of a low recumbent.  It's all about the angles.}

[Tewdric]

As a small aside, the Magicshine MJ808 battery pack velcros very neatly to one of the upright bits of a Brommie M type handlebar and the light sits nicely on the opposite flat bit.  It's all neat and doesn't affect the fold.

[Bledlow]

This is interesting too: http://www.mtbbatteries.co.uk/4.html - Cree XML LED so apparently 1000 lm, with a decent battery and charger for £67.

Looks exactly the same as the Magicshine MJ-808E, with a different charger  & slightly different O-rings.

[Tewdric]

This is interesting too: http://www.mtbbatteries.co.uk/4.html - Cree XML LED so apparently 1000 lm, with a decent battery and charger for £67.

Looks exactly the same as the Magicshine MJ-808E, with a different charger  & slightly different O-rings.

It's just a cheap magicshine copy, of which there are cheaper examples again on DealExtreme.  The magicshine is already effectively a cheap rip-off of the likes of Lupine and was as naff as I was prepared to go.

[Bledlow]

Ah, I see.

I've just noticed that magicshine.co.uk is selling 200 & 400L heads, with mix 'n' match battery etc. options, including a splitter so you can run two heads off one battery. Nice.

[Chris N]

The clue's in the name - the XML light on mtbbatteries = XML LED = 1000 lm.  It's not the same LED that's in the MJ-808E, which is a SSC P7 LED = 900 lm.  I don't doubt that the head unit is the same as the Magicshine.

[Hot Flatus]

The clue's in the name - the XML light on mtbbatteries = XML LED = 1000 lm.  It's not the same LED that's in the MJ-808E, which is a SSC P7 LED = 900 lm.  I don't doubt that the head unit is the same as the Magicshine.

I've ordered a cheap 808 clone from Manafont. Think it was £30.

[clarion]

The priority for redesign on the Ixon IQ is actually the body catch.  It's flimsy.

[Kim]

The priority for redesign on the Ixon IQ is actually the body catch.  It's flimsy.

Not as flimsy as the dozen spring contacts, but more essential.

[clarion]

TGL's Ixon was rendered hors de combat when it fell from its perch at high speed.  Functionally fine, but tiny plastic catch broken.  No reasonable bodge available for us (YM(and resources)MV)

[Kim]

TGL's Ixon was rendered hors de combat when it fell from its perch at high speed.  Functionally fine, but tiny plastic catch broken.  No reasonable bodge available for us (YM(and resources)MV)

I hate snappy plastic.   

Mine (and Meegat's) suffered battery contact failure after much less (changing the batteries and a static drop from pannier-height respectively).   

The only thing I can suggest is my battery contact bodge: strip out all the contact and battery holder rubbish, solder some decent NiMHs together into an appropriately shaped pack, and solder wires directly to the PCB in the Ixon.  Charge in situ.  That renders the catch irrelevant for electrical contact, which means a bit of electrical tape or similar would work to hold it closed.

[cuddy duck]

Hope Vision 4 bought s/h here. Can't imagine ever needing a brighter front light.
Came with District 3 rear which I've yet to attach (seatpost specific mount, would be obscured by luggage) but again it's unimaginable that I might ever need a brighter rear light.