The nights are drawing in and I'm starting to think about getting the lights out. The set up I've run for the last couple of years has been great ... DX 900 thing on the bars and a NiteFlux LED stick on the helmet.

The trouble is, it's an arms race come winter and whilst everything's fine when I'm on my own I find I get a little 'over-shadowed' if I'm riding with folk who are using the next generation of lights ... so much so that sometimes it's easier to just turn mine off.

What's your lighting set up or even what would be your ideal set up?

Ta.

I have my ideal setup - 4 year old, 320 lumen Ay-Ups, with a backup of a Fenix L2D on a lockblock in case of emergency. The Ay-Ups are lightweight, have brilliant battery life, are easily bright enough (without burning out the scenery/shadowing out riders in front) and are simple to mount, set up and use.

Maybe I'm a bit of a purist/snob, but the point of night riding is to ride at night, in the dark, not to carry your own personal sun...

I'm a big Exposure fan, no cables no fuss and they become a torch/lamp with a diffuser for bikepacking so they have a double use

I run a Maxx-D on the bars and a Diablo on my helmet, both on medium setting as high is too much for all but the trickiest sections.

The diablo is great on it's own for quick evening blasts as the run time is limited and lightweight.

I also have an older generation Joystick that I keep in my pack for emergencies if my lights or a fellow riders does, which happens in experience.

I've been riding with a Taiwanese import P7 setup (not magicshine) for about three years now and it's still going strong. I also have a couple of small torches helmet mounted for a bit of throw.

Most of my riding mates have been using P7 Magicshines and although they are (were) occasionally of dubious quality, imo for the money they can't be beaten. Now they're readily available from UK suppliers warranty issues should be easily resolved. Add to that quality improvements and they are even more of a bargain.

The latest quad XPG magicshines should help you in the arms race. I'm very tempted myself.

Pyro, fair point but I guess it depends what kind of riding you're into. I like the thrill of fast tunnel-visioned singletrack / downhills that bright lights give you, on the other hand I often enjoy turning my lights off and riding across the cliffs in the moon light.

I run an old exposure enduro (with a extra battery if required) and a old joystick on my helmet. Works well enough but I'm finding myself tempted by the Maxx-D/Diablo set-up. Maybe next year

THe DX/Magishines/Bastids are great for the money and i think it's now very hard to justfy spending much more - but if I had to depend on my kit being reliable and not letting me down miles from anywhere I'd want a Troutelight (which I have) or a Lumicycle LED set up - I also have a cheap chinese torch which fits nicely in an exposure helmet mount.

I'm a big Exposure fan, no cables no fuss and they become a torch/lamp with a diffuser for bikepacking so they have a double use

+1, exactly what I was going to say but valleydaddy beat me to it.
The fact that they can be fitted/taken off in a second makes them a winner for me. They're quite bright too, which doesn't go amiss!

Hope Vision Two Epic, Exposure Flare, Joystick Mk5, Hope Vision One and a Vision One Adventure, anybody got experience of the Exposure Spark, planning on using one on the road bike, don't want silly lighting just something reasonably light and bright.