Bright Ideas?

[gloryhallelujahAl]

Looking for lights suggestions, as I’m doing the Dales Divide for the first time and don’t want to come unstuck with no lights in the middle of nowhere
Any bright ideas for something with a good lumens and holds a long charge please folks?

[RIP]

Exposure Joystick usually gets lots of mentions on Here..... little bit spendy but probably worth it.... just don't get the Mk12

[Bearbonesnorm]

I'll second what Reg says. Certainly not cheap but it's a case of getting what you pay for. I can happily ride with a joystick alone mounted on my helmet as long as I'm not getting overshadowed by Six-packs etc

[ScotRoutes]

Meh. MAXX-D on the bars and Equinox on the helmet.

I luvs teh lumens!

[RIP]

You and your joystick helmet Stu. Or is it the other way round.

It's my age.

[Escape Goat]

Love my Diabolo. Love John's 6pack, haven't got one myself yet though, it would be the one I buy. Constantly looking at them on ebay then checking my account... Ha.

[Mark E]

Toro on the bars and joystick on the helmet for me. I’ve always thought the Toro is a good mixture of run time, weight and size.

[techno]

Joystick and a MTB batteries support cell.
Run the joystick on the lowest setting and be smart about switching brightness and this combo will last a long time!
(Obviously depends how much night riding you intend to do)
Cost less than the exposure equivalent with but has a larger capacity than the exposure.
https://www.mtbbatteries.co.uk/our-products/

[Al]

Diablo - on a long run setting most of the time for me.
As above I’ve also got a Mtb batteries spare battery on a lead, I used it on bb200 so I didn’t have to eek it out or worry about it

[RIP]

If "good lumens and holds a long charge" are your sole purchasing criteria, and if you're prepared to part with a fairly major body organ that you no longer require, then this is what you need. Yes, you do , https://www.lumicycle.com/mountain-bike ... 9-275.html

[whitestone]

Another Joystick user here. I just set it to the programme that gives the longest run-time then cycle through the modes as required by the terrain. I went the whole of the HT550 and only used about half the charge doing this. Also two BB200s without getting near empty.

The downside of Exposure lights is their cost but, like Hope, they have excellent backup customer service should anything go wrong.

I also have a Hope Vision 2 bar mounted light with a four pack MTB Batteries battery - just provides an extra bit of fill and light from a different angle to head only. I think it's the old 800 lumens model so not even as bright as the Joystick.

[composite]

Exposure Revo on the bars, Exposure Diablo on the helmet.

[sean_iow]

Joystick and Revo user here as well. I have the remote for the Revo so I can turn it up and down without moving my hand off the grip.

Also, get something like a Lezyne Orb for the bars. There's a couple of hours when it's getting dark so you'd want a light on for the road but you don't need a light to see. I switch the Orb on so I can save the battery in the main lights. I can then also turn the main lights off completely at night if in a steet lit area.

[Lazarus]

as above exposure and a MTB battery pack - good management and its lasting days of usable light. It is also simple and reliable and if i only have one light i want it on my head.

The real answer is of course a dynamo hub using a beacon headlight and a usb battery pack . I dont think you could ever run it out as it runs off the battery , so constant output as bright as my joystick, and charges it at the same time.
Somewhat spendy solution that one.[£700 ish all in].

[benp1]

Exposure love is boring huh...

Strada on my bars, joystick on lid. Diablo for either (eg good in summer for lightweight just in case bar light)

[dlovett]

Revo or Strada on Bars, Diablo on lid. USB cable for multiday charging,

[In Reverse]

Joystick and a MTB batteries support cell.
Run the joystick on the lowest setting and be smart about switching brightness and this combo will last a long time!
(Obviously depends how much night riding you intend to do)
Cost less than the exposure equivalent with but has a larger capacity than the exposure.
https://www.mtbbatteries.co.uk/our-products/

The beast from the east is absolutely correct here. Joystick is a fine light and is plenty of lumens for riding at bikepacking/endurance pace.

I used mine without a backup battery on last year's DD and it ran out at half one on the Sunday night. I'd ridden until 3am (? Sean?) on the first night and 4am on the second night so I'd got a good innings out of it. I only discovered on the sunday evening that it wouldn;t charge from a normal power bank so a specific charger is advised for multi-day rides.

[sean_iow]

I used mine without a backup battery on last year's DD and it ran out at half one on the Sunday night. I'd ridden until 3am (? Sean?) on the first night and 4am on the second night

Trackleaders shows us stopping at about 01:20 on the first night but it probably seemed later as you were riding with me and the time can drag listening to my endless chatting

If you'd peddled a bit faster you'd have got back to the finish before it ran out

[jay91]

Joystick and a cheap Chinese solar storm on the bars more than light for me

[whitestone]

[Joystick is a fine light and is plenty of lumens for riding at bikepacking/endurance pace.

I used mine without a backup battery on last year's DD and it ran out at half one on the Sunday night. I'd ridden until 3am (? Sean?) on the first night and 4am on the second night so I'd got a good innings out of it. I only discovered on the sunday evening that it wouldn;t charge from a normal power bank so a specific charger is advised for multi-day rides.

Check what output your powerbank has. Mine, an Anker, does 0.8-1A @ 5V and will charge the Joystick. Might not be as quick as the plug-top charger (1.5A @ 4.2V) but it does the job. You can get cheap in-line USB multimeters https://www.amazon.co.uk/AboveTEK%C2%AE ... B00ICR1UB6 to let you check what you actually get.

[techno]

The beast from the east is absolutely correct here. Joystick is a fine light and is plenty of lumens for riding at bikepacking/endurance pace.

I used mine without a backup battery on last year's DD and it ran out at half one on the Sunday night. I'd ridden until 3am (? Sean?) on the first night and 4am on the second night so I'd got a good innings out of it. I only discovered on the sunday evening that it wouldn;t charge from a normal power bank so a specific charger is advised for multi-day rides.

can I change my username?

[In Reverse]

[Joystick is a fine light and is plenty of lumens for riding at bikepacking/endurance pace.

I used mine without a backup battery on last year's DD and it ran out at half one on the Sunday night. I'd ridden until 3am (? Sean?) on the first night and 4am on the second night so I'd got a good innings out of it. I only discovered on the sunday evening that it wouldn;t charge from a normal power bank so a specific charger is advised for multi-day rides.

Check what output your powerbank has. Mine, an Anker, does 0.8-1A @ 5V and will charge the Joystick. Might not be as quick as the plug-top charger (1.5A @ 4.2V) but it does the job. You can get cheap in-line USB multimeters https://www.amazon.co.uk/AboveTEK%C2%AE ... B00ICR1UB6 to let you check what you actually get.

It was a 20,000Mah Anker power bank Bob. The Joystick wouldn't pull any current off it at all. I'll be taking one of the mtbbatteries bloke's ones this year regardless.

[Mart]

Diablo and Revo user here

[In Reverse]

I used mine without a backup battery on last year's DD and it ran out at half one on the Sunday night. I'd ridden until 3am (? Sean?) on the first night and 4am on the second night

Trackleaders shows us stopping at about 01:20 on the first night but it probably seemed later as you were riding with me and the time can drag listening to my endless chatting

If you'd peddled a bit faster you'd have got back to the finish before it ran out

that first day definitely felt like a long one.

[whitestone]

I'd a thought that my powerbank was only charging to a certain point then it needed something with a bit more oomph.

So I drained my Joystick to the point at which the indicator light turned orange. Plugged in the powerbank and after 3.5hrs it had taken 1750mAh and stopped taking charge. I plugged it into my iPad charger and it took another 2mAh (yes two) before it stopped taking charge again.

Stick it on the official charger and it charges for another 20mins before that decides the Joystick's fully charged. Dunno how much charge occurred during that 20mins.

It looks like you can get close to fully charged but not completely using non-official chargers.