Topic Title

I suppose that lights will be a pre-requisite for the trip to Scotland in October so it looks like I will have to dig deep into my piggy bank.
So whos got what, which ones are good and which ones are not!!

Anyone used the Use Joystick lights before?
I am thinking about a 480 lumen bar mount twin lamp version with a single lamp version joystick on the helmet........

Hope Lights. Can't go wrong. If they do they fix them straight away and send them back. Long Live Hope. There's bound to be some good deals at the mo. John at Cyclescene carries a good range or can get them for you.

Gill uses (and abuses) a Exposure Enduro Maxx and swears by it. It's very compact and can go on for hours if needed so is good for road riding too (no separate battery pack). She had a small problem with it rattling and they fixed it by return post.

I've got a Lupine http://www.lupine.de/web/en/products/lightsets/wilma/5/ which is slightly brighter than Gill's (although she refuses to believe it) and has a neat programming feature so you can set what outputs you need for the 2 step levels.

Most of these new LED lights basically use the same LED chips and the differences are down to lens design, battery mounting/size and the drive circuitry giving different power outputs and battery life. Each year the latest version of the LED chip has a slightly higher output/better efficiency.

Gill's small problem was that she crashed and then dropped it a few times.
The service from Exposure was really good- I think Mr. Tullio is rather envious that I have a bit off kit better than his!

Hope every time for me and its great to support a UK company!

Simon

Hope Vision 4 Leds are half price at £150 in the bike shop at Glentress that was about 3 weeks ago

This looks interesting!

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.25149


Simon

HOPE for me to:

Before i bought my vision 4 i have had everything borrowed from shops & friends

Build quality, weight, design are ace on the vision 4.

Allan i had a joystick borrowed last week on my helmet and was well impressed i had it mounted on my helmet, very light, i dont normally use a helmet mount but if i need more power thats what i will get, there is a new model slightly bigger than the joystick just come out with 760 lumens. If you are interested i can probably borrow you them both for a night.

Wayne

Totally agree with Wayne on the Vision 4.
Just to give a bit of feedback on the Hope vision 4 led (that I bought a month ago) last wednesday night a few of us rode around Dalby and out to and around the Hole of Horcum and I only needed to run the hope in the medium setting. I think that the only time you would need to supplement this light with a helmet light is on tight twisty forest singletrack although the red route posed no problem at all.

Probably one for after Scotland but does anyone fancy a Demo Night for lights?

Our friends at Big Bear Bikes in Pickering have sent me the following note and I've spoken to them before about the idea;

I've seen the thread on your discussion board and just wanted to let you know that BBB have the full range of Exposure lights in stock including the Diabolo which is a 700 Lumen helmet light and the 'Joystick's Big Brother'.

http://www.exposurelights.com/index.php

All are avilable for demo and comparison at our shop in the car-park on Tuesday night when we are open until 7.30pm. Any Clfton CC club member can demo any of the Exposure Range in Dalby for an evening or two if you wish - normal club discount applies to any purchases!

We are also able to supply Hope, Lumicycle and Light & Motion lights if Exposure isn't the one."

If there's enough interest I'll set up an evening to go and try some toys out in the Forest.

My only comment on Hope is their policy which seems to be 'let the customer do the final development'. Years ago when they first started out they were widely renamed 'Hopeless' amongst riders because everything failed, sometimes spectacularly. I had 2 hubs break at the spoke holes which they changed without quibble with the retort 'They all do that eventually but we've changed the design now.' I was talking to someone with a Hope light last week (Jeff I think) with a similar story with the on-off switch. Not knocking them as you'll see I have a fair sprinkling of Hope bits. Just be prepared that you may be buying into a test program.

If my memory serves me, I think USE had more than their fair share of failing products!!!!! they just stopped producing the stuff. Hope may have a few issues but send anything back to them and its sorted, Pronto, even my cack handed bodge ups!!!! The 4 LED is a superb light and you can even buy it at that shop on the Helmsley road by Wigginton at a better price than c/reaction et all. So my vote is with Hope every time BUY BRITISH. (SWEEPING STATEMENT FROM A BELGIE EH)

I think that a bike light testing night would be a good idea...