MTB Bike Light Suggestions

Jonesy101

Wondering if anyone has some reasonably priced and reasonable quality suggestions for lighting the trail up in Ticknock or similar.

Would prefer <€100 for each of helmet and bar light. 250 for a Hope R8 is a bit steep for me!

Is a cateye amp 800 lumen enough for helmet, there doesnt seem to be many helemet specific lights or attachments from what i can see, what do people do?

does anyone use the cheaper amazon type ones and have good experience and similar quality to the proper ones you see in local bike store or crc?

thanks!

comete

I have a cat eye volt 800 for the road and it would be nowhere near strong enough for dark trails. Maybe as a helmet light with a brighter bar light, but not as an only light.

I’ve dome strathpuffer a handful of times and rented the exposure lights (Diablo helmet light and 6 pack bar light), and they are awesome. If I was doing a few night rides a year I’d have no hesitation buying them.

As for Amazon lights, I had one for my road bike about 10 years ago and it was shockingly bad. It was bright when it worked, but the battery pack would barely hold charge, the whole setup looked clumsy, and towards the end of my 3 months of use, going over a bump would toggle the lights on/off. I might have been unlucky but I think with the vast majority of bike stuff it’s worth paying the premium and only buying once

mad turnip

I bought two cateye amp 800's a few months back, quite impressed. Although getting a helmet mount can be tough. I bought one of these for the helmet gopro mount which did require some sanding down to get it to fit as its about 1-2mm too chunky for my EU gopro mount.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B078XXNPSD/

Shotser

I would try to get a night ride in once a week (usually works out 2 rides a month) lasting about 2.5-3 hours. This includes the road cycle up to Ticknock when I only run one light on a low setting. Never run out if battery are charged.

I recently got a NiteRider Lumina 1800 for the bars. Its an all in one light which replaced a 1000 lumen Aldi light with an external battery (the bracket broke). It has been a great upgrade, great spread of light and plenty bright in the 1500 setting. On the helmet I have an old cheap Cree light from Magicshine (can't remember where I got it online) with an external battery which goes in the jersey pocket. Its lasted fine over the years but is nowhere near its claimed 1000 lumens now (probably 7-8 years old). Still does the job as a spot light and is not too heavy on the head thanks to the external battery.

Don't forget to bring as red rear facing light with you if on the roads before or after. I stick mine in a pocket when I'm on the trails so I don't lose it.

saccades

It depends on your night riding tbf.

An easy xc trail at a steady pace and 300lumen is enough if you're on your own. Everything feels way faster too : scared face:

Try to match your mates riding brightness if you are in a group otherwise the difference in brightness is a killer.

I bought a second hand joystick which is 9 years old and cablefree is a proper pleasure so that's another route to think about.

munsterleinster

These Lights from Halfords are incredibly bright. Have used them over the winter on very dark trails.

I'd recommend using a head torch on the helmet along with this attached to the bars. The halfords one as a main beam on the bars (comes with a go-pro style mount) and any half decent head torch cable tied to the helmet for a bit of better perspective.

For some reason they don't appear on the Irish Halfords site but the shops seem to stock them. Halfords also good for returning stuff if they go tits up.

https://www.halfords.com/cycling/bike-accessories/bike-lights/halfords-advanced-1600-lumen-front-bike-light-253334.html

xxyyzz

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117854053#Comment_117854053

+1 for this. It's a great light for the price. The handlebar mount is pretty flimsy so I switched it out for another mount I had and the battery isn't as good as my Hope light but overall it's great value for money. I run this on my bars and a Hope vision 4 on my helmet.

mr spuckler

I bought the Halfords one above yesterday, loads of them in stock in Coolock store. Any further suggestions on a helmet light?

jscallan53

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118140137#Comment_118140137

I bought a sigma buster 700 from bike discount a few weeks ago and im very happy with it. think it was around €35 and it came with a helmet mount.

i have tried it with the light on my bars turned off and id be very happy to use just it if i got stuck.

prunudo

Can't really add to the original question but what I would say is get the best light you can afford. I'm done with cheap chinese lights from ebay/aliexpress. From dodgy connections, weak plastic clamps, unpredictable batteries going from full to empty without notice and then the worry of faulty chargers, I'm now saving for a hope as the main helmet light.

Haven't used it on the mtb but very happy with Moon lights on the road bike, main one being a Meteor storm pro and smaller Meteor as a backup/day light.

g0g

I'm a sucker for lights and have tried a lot out

Magicshine was recommended to me by loads and I used an MJ-906 front/rear set for a while and found it excellent. Selling it now - see Adverts thread in other forum.

Moon Meteor Vortex Pro Front Bike Light | Chain Reaction (chainreactioncycles.com) --> picked two of these up last week and I really like the convenience. Not quite as bright as the Magicshine for the serious biker, but do the job perfectly for me as I go very slow at night! Excellent value as they go up to 1300 lumen, plus include handlebar mount, helmet mount and wired remote control! Also USB-C chargeable. Sign up with a new email address on CRC and you'd get a pair of them for € 86!

Jonesy101

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118165410#Comment_118165410

wow great value! I got a Halfords one 2 weeks ago. only 1 left in carrickmines at the time. but realised that it didnt have a helmet mount. this looks like a great option

mr spuckler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118140588#Comment_118140588

I ordered this off Amazon as was getting a number of other items there - arrived without helmet mount despite description clearly saying it's included 🤬

OTG

Get one of these but make sure you buy a model with the old rubber handlebar mount. Depending on the helmet you use you'll find a way of aiming the unit correctly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5Dy_kf2uOY

I've an old 1200 lumen model, it's never been used but been in a box for 5 years as my 700 lumen version never packed in. it's the model in article below €80 if you want to risk old electronics, multiple things to go wrong, flimsy charging station etc. has the battery degraded, anyho available if you want one.

it has a bar mount, helmet mount, extender cable. I used my 700 with battery in a backpack and extendercable running up to the helmet mount, great little bubble of light.

https://www.singletracks.com/mtb-gear/niterider-pro-1200-light-review/

CramCycle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117854053#Comment_117854053

On it now: https://www.halfords.ie/cycling/bike-accessories/bike-lights/halfords-advanced-1600-lumen-front-bike-light-253334.html

CramCycle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058205683/mtb-bike-light-suggestions

Got a lend of this from a friend to try out, more suited to road than MTB, beam is narrow enough. I would consider it a great commuting light, You'd certainly want something else with it, OK for a helmet light but if you go at any speed off road you need better in my opinion.

mr spuckler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117888716#Comment_117888716

Do you know what the other mount you used for your handlebars was? I have an old Cycliq handlebar mount which I use on one bike but it's a pain to have to switch that to my other bike, depending on which I'm using. I also can't find a similar Cycliq mount anywhere to get another one...

xxyyzz

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118571531#Comment_118571531

I have a Hope vision 4 which I mount on my helmet so I use the bar mount that came with that for the Halfords light. There is a screwhole on the underside of the Halfords light so pretty much any bar mount will work once you have the right bolt for it.

mr spuckler

Thanks, that's what I've done with the Cycliq mount. I actually found one since on Amazon that should do the trick so will grab one of those.