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Introducing Gloworm X2 - New Dual XM-L LED light system

231K views 1K replies 166 participants last post by  Skyraider59 
#1 ·
Hello,

My name is Vag (Vaggelis) coming from Greece and together with Bruce from Gloworm Performance Products ( formely Gloworm Lites) in New Zealand we have been working since last August in order to design from scratch and produce with the highest standards a new Bike Light. We call our initiative Gloworm Manufacturing and we are more than proud to introduce to you our latest project.....

Its name is Gloworm X2 and it is a dual XM-L that produces 1200 lumens. We have finished testing and we are about to launch the X2 just before New Year.

Presale will start pretty soon and more information will be posted here.

Take a close look at our teaser photo and focus on the size/ lumen rate.
Also you can read a small review of our light here. We showed our first (not-anodized) prototype at "on your Bike Expo" in New Zealand. Feel free to check the link following for first impressions of riders who saw it live.

On Your Bike - Day 2 | Spoke Magazine

Please treat this post as a soft opening. More and more information and details (including beamshots) will be available soon.

 
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1
#509 ·
I have experimented with various tints over the years with my DIY lights as I wanted things to look "real" just like they do on a nice sunny day.
I have settled on the 2b tint for Cree LEDs as it the most realistic tint I have found so far.

First I took a picture of a wall in my garden on a nice sunny day then locked the exposure and the white balance. I then took the same pictures at night with the same settings. First with a cool 1c tint LED light and then with a 2b tint LED light to find out which one looked the most like it did in the day. The 2b tint wins for me.

I like riding on sunny days so I try to get the same thing at night:D

Sunny day.....


1c tint....


2b tint...
 
#678 ·
OK... So thanks for negging me again, whoever you are!... Anonymously of course. Daren't even add your name to the end of your comment "More neg for whining" LOL. Wimp.

I just ordered the new version full set with one extra lens. Total showed 127.22.
@killerbunny:

What happened? Are you still going to be able to get the reduced price?
 
#197 ·
So far this has been a very informative thread. I really do want to thank the Gloworm people for all the time and effort that went into the production of the X2. Not to mention all the quick feed back to all the questions and requests that have come forth. To date, I don't think any other bike light manufacturer/vendor has been so forthcoming in setting the stage on a "Pre-sales product". I can't wait to get the light. I just hope I'm as pleased with the product as I think I'll be. ;)
 
#248 ·
I did not manage to get proper mtbr settings beamshots but i got you some product information in these pics:

Handlebar measures 73cm end to end. You can't flipflop the bar mount and i thing that's the best mounting place. You can always put the button on the left side (probably my choice) or on the light itself....

Less possible rattling/carbon love i suppose:












Package:
 
#251 ·
.... got you some product information in these pics:

Handlebar measures 73cm end to end. You can't flipflop the bar mount and i thing that's the best mounting place. You can always put the button on the left side (probably my choice) or on the light itself....
Giant Lander, Great photos! Thanks a bunch!

Your bar set-up is very similar to mine although your stem looks a little wider. Judging from your photos I think it's going to work. I will however have to change how I set-up the battery connections. Since the battery plug wire ( from the junction ) is so short I will have to fold it back and tighten it down on the bars so it stays in place and doesn't rattle. I have lots of Velcro stripping and tie downs so no problem there. Luckily, the battery I'm using has a wire just long enough to reach the bars so it should work.

Now as to the switch mounting itself: my set-up is a little different from yours as my Rapidfire levers look a little different....still should be able to trim a piece of Velcro stripping so that it holds the base of the switch and yet doesn't appear so obtrusive. Sure would be nice if I get mine by next Saturday ( which should be a bit warmer if you believe those extended forecasts. ). Is it here yet, is it here yet.... :D ( ** In all honesty, I really am in no hurry. I have lots of lights and the weather where I live is crap right now. ( snowed last night ) Need I say, cold winter weather is not my forte. )
 
#425 ·
I received my X2. The small package is nice. The remote is a plus now that the light head adjustment will not get knocked out of place as compare to other lightheaded that has the On/off switch on the light. The programming selection is easy to figure out. No problem swapping lens to make it spot/spot.

Intitial power up indoor got me skeptical of the claim 1200 lumens. It was slightly brighter than my Gen2 Xera and almost identical to my BR IV. First thing I notice when compare side by side with the Xera and BR IV was the tint. The X2 had more green tint while the BR IV and Xera is white. It may be the tint that make my eyes perceive the brightness less. So then I decided to get out my light meter and did some lux test. My room is small so the overall lux reading is slightly higher than MTBR value. However it is all relative reading in term of each light unit I tested. Here are the values:

X2 IN BOOST: 129
XERA HIGH: 85
BR IV HIGH: 98
TITAN P7 : 55
MS 808 P7: 46
MS XML: 75

It seem the X2 does produce the claim lumens. The beam is more of a flood even with the spot/spot lens. Personally I also prefer a more white tint since I do more road than trail, but this tint probably works better on trail than road. I also wish an Allen wrench was included with the light. Not that I don't have one, but I'm sure someone else may not.
 
#426 ·
Hey,

Well its great to hear all the feedback.

Just to confirm, we will be including a hex tool with the next production run - quite possibly in Gloworm green!

Also, as stated previously we will also plan to include adhesive velrco spots in the future.

Lastly, a big apology for the optics not being shipped as planned - well not to everyone. We'll get those sorted and out to you...asap.

Cheers

Bruce and Vag
Gloworm
 
#666 ·
Gloworm X2 v1 Longevity

Anyone had theirs fail yet?
As you may all know, I purchased two.
One set as double spot and one double elliptical.

The double spot went dim on me the other night, wiggling the cable where it comes out of the case brought it back to full brightness... Hmmm... dodgy, I thought

sure enough, it died on me. Complete failure.

Gloworm were excellently quick to respond, even though I am overseas, they honor a free return post international... NOW THAT'S SERVICE.

What's more, they'll replace the failed V1 with a V2! Sent with my next purchase...

Way to go Gloworm!
That's the benefit of dealing with a quality manufacturer. they stand by their products, even on the other side of the world!
 
#675 ·
Some people... sheesh.

Anyone had theirs fail yet?
As you may all know, I purchased two.
One set as double spot and one double elliptical.

The double spot went dim on me the other night, wiggling the cable where it comes out of the case brought it back to full brightness... Hmmm... dodgy, I thought

sure enough, it died on me. Complete failure.

Gloworm were excellently quick to respond, even though I am overseas, they honor a free return post international... NOW THAT'S SERVICE.

What's more, they'll replace the failed V1 with a V2! Sent with my next purchase...

Way to go Gloworm!
That's the benefit of dealing with a quality manufacturer. they stand by their products, even on the other side of the world!
RANT

I've got negative reputation on this post? Why was I downvoted?

I made a point that they are quality manufacturer and some wisearse sends me:

"Quality manufacturer LOL... Hope your V2 lasts longer than the V1!"

Anonymously, of course...

I don't care how much I get down voted, I still thank that Gloworm have done the right thing in sending me a free V2 replacement (free post) for a failed unit without any questions, RMA numbers or crap like that: They just gave me a China address. I put the light head in a bag and send it COD.

sheesh.... Doesn't this idiot know that products fail, even good ones... ESPECIALLY PRE-RELEASE V1 products...

Still, we all knew what we were getting into when we paid for an unreleased, unproven, untested light: Fun and excitement along with the risk!

OK, so I'm just cheesed off at being negatively repped....

/RANT
 
#1,073 ·
Glowworm X2 minor quibbles

If my previous post came across as a rather gushing endorsement of the product? It should, the X2 is a bloody marvel!

But since nothing is perfect, it is only fair to state the little quibbles I've had with the V2 in the nine months I've owned it.

* O-Rings... O-Rings are one of those things guaranteed to bring up debate. love'em or hate'em, they are a common method for mounting lights.

Now, My lights sit firm... No grip tape, no putty or blu-tac. they just sit firm. The issue is not that the lights move during my ride, it's just that I have to take my lights off at least once a night when I arrive at my destination... So far I have lost 3 o-rings. Poiiiing! Gone, just like that... If they were captive, like those of the magicshine, they'd be better. As they are, they're more like a bloody Snitch from a Quidditch match!

(Their new QR mount should solve this)

* Battery... There is no questioning the quality of the cells. My lights last seemingly twice as long with the Gloworm 4 cell pack than with the MS 4400mAh pack!

The problem is the power wire holding grommet used to pull out repeatedly without any undue force applied. This exposed the rather disconcertingly thin wires within!

I had to apply a generous blob of superglue to fix this issue. It's now three moths without incident

(I have been told that later packs do not suffer this issue.)

* Battery indicator... Grrr... There are 4 minuscule, yet blindingly bright LEDs on the top face of my 4 cell battery. (100, 75, 50 and 25%) Look directly at them at arm's length, at night and you'll be seeing stars for minutes. Too bright... And being that they are all green (Although I've never seen the last 25% LED lit - Did i mention it uses great cells?), and the %age scale is not illuminated by them, it's impossible to tell just how much juice is remaining without close inspection... Just a simple green/yellow/orange/red LED would solve this.

Seriously, I use the fuel gauge LED to illuminate my Cat-eye Velo at night when shoulder-mount the helmet X2's battery on my backpack strap!

* Button Velcro... Yuck, just yuck... sticky patches left behind where the velcro spots used to be! yet the velcro itself no longer sticks to it's other half!

(Apparently, this been fixed?)

* X2 Cable "Y" junction between lighthead and power plug / remote button.

The wiring is easy to damage. I have the remote button mounted on one side of the light near where my thumb sits, while the power cable is pulled back towards to handlebar stem where the battery terminal is located.

As such, the cable becomes more of a T than a Y in natural use and the remote wire has gradually pulled out of the little palstic tab that sits at the centre of the "Y".

I have bound the two cables together with electrical tape, but I fear it's just a matter of time before the cable breaks or short circuits.

I have the same issue with my helmet mounted X2. the remote button sits at right angles to the natural direction the cable runs along the vent of my helmet. as such, the remote wire's external sheath has pulled out of the little plastic junction tab.

Except for the final issue, these are minor niggles, to be expected from a new product on the market less than a year. Moreover, it appeares that they have been addressed by Gloworm. This last issue, however, may lead to an extinction-level event if the cable finally gives way.

I presume it has something to do with me having to remove my lights every night...

Anyway. I hope this gives you a good, balanced view of the X2!

Right, I'm off for a quick jaunt.
 
#2 ·
Hey Vag, it's been a while,(hopefully the same Vag). Your X-2 looks like a slightly bigger and brighter version of the Piko. Your 1200 lumen claim, is this a claim that will be supported in the real world, as opposed to say, 850 true lumens after losses? The piko is limited due to it's size, but looks like your design will allow the Xm-L's to be driven a little harder. Do you have the output settings figured out yet? Anyway, looks good!!! Cheers!!!
 
#3 ·
Hello,

Yes the same Vag, but with few more lumen on my brains ;)

The 1200 Lumen is a claim of real Lumen. We have not used yet an integrating sphere but knowing every single aspect of our light production and spec makes us confident of this number. We have been working hard designing and testing for some time in order to accommodate heat and to achieve high optical efficiency. We drive both LEDs at 2A.

Your guess is right. Slightly bigger than the Piko with the LEDs driven harder.

To give you some idea about the beam: The combination of two optics (narrow and less narrow) gives an all around bright and smooth beam which we did like and do feel proud of. We just hope you'll agree with us once the beamshots are here(and you won't have to wait for long). If you can't wait few hours you can see them in our FB page.

On behalf of the Gloworm Manufacturing Team
Vag

P.s.: InDept, I believe I owe you a hard case waterproof battery since last year. Please PM me with your address. You will receive it with our first batch of lights at around New Year.
 
#4 ·
Looks to be another real contender Vag. Nice to hear were talking honest lumens as MTBR members know their stuff lol. Guess it will come with a four cell battery as you wont get much run time on two? Thanx for the battery offer, but i can't double dip here. Chris and i sorted things out and he sent me one already. Thanx again. Cheers!!!
 
#6 ·
Hello

@Indept
Indeed the default battery will be a 4 pack with high capacity Japanese cells.
It could also work great with a 6 cell battery which we are going to launch before February 2012. It will be compatible with battery packs from other vendors as we use the same connectors.

We are also proud to introduce the Intelligent Mode Technology (IMT)
IMT allows the user to select the programme which is suitable for their application. IMT features 4 programmes - each refined for their use. The 4 programmes are Adventure, Trail, Commuter and Bush. Each programme's settings are different and therefore have different runtimes. The user can easily select the programme on the run with a simple sequence of clicks. For example the trail mode is refined for Mountain Biking and features Low-High-Boost settings, plus super dim for when you are stopped or at the car etc. Now here's the catch - when you are riding you don't want to cycle through off or into super dim mode. With IMT these functions are accessed with long presses of the button.

To give you an example on runtimes in our Boost setting 1200 lumen a 4 cell battery will last for 2.5 hours.
In the High setting 800 lumen a 4 cell battery will run for 4 hours.

@ Chromagftw

IP ratings.
We have not yet had the light officially tested, however we are 99% confident that the light will satisfy the test for IP67 (we've tried it) and we are 100% sure it will be IP66.

For those who don't know IP ratings are as follows: IP65 Protected against low pressure jets of water from all directions - limited ingress. IP66 Protected against temporary flooding of water, e.g. for use on ship decks - limited immersion permitted.IP67 Protected against the effect of immersion between 15 cm and 1 m

On behalf of the Gloworm Manufacturing Team,
Vag
 
#12 · (Edited)
Gloworm are offering pre-order specials on this thing at $199 (retail will be around $239)

From On Your Bike - Day 2 | Spoke Magazine
Hello

@Batas - It gets even better, what you have pointed out there is actually NZD, this works out at about USD$150-155. Our website (which will be launched on Friday) is based in NZD so remember to change the currency at the bottom left of the page to ensure you are working in what is right for you.

@Cat-man-do We'll have some beam shots up for everyone very soon. All I can say at the moment is that the beam is very smooth with no hot spot, its about 23deg with very nice colour temperature.

@Colleen C - Glad all is well with you to. :)

@matthewmuppet and Cat-man-do - I have attached some 3D CAD drawings of the X2 with both the bar and helmet mount options. A lot of testing was done to ensure each option was simple, effective and most of all - secure. The bar mount (CNC machined and attached using an o-ring) is designed to sit over the stem and can be rotated forward for a lower profile (please excuse the missing screws!). The helmet mount (also CNC machined) is attached using velcro or cable ties, simple but effective. Finally the mounts are atttached to the lamp head using a specially designed screw (not pictured) and an o-ring bearing surface (an o-ring either side of the mount where the screw goes through), which allows the light to be swiveled without loosening the screw. Additionally the light head does not move about when riding over even the roughest terrain (bar or helmet mounted).

Real photos of mounst will also be posted soon :thumbsup:




Greets

On behalf of the Gloworm Manufacturing Team,
Vag
 
#11 ·
looks really good - several people on the DIY forum have similar form factor lights and they work well. The lumen claim sounds reasonable too, given that the theoretical output for 2 XM-Ls at 2A is ~1500lm. That'll make for a perfect helmet light - my 2 XM-Ls at 1.5A is great, 2A would be even better :)

What are the mounting options?
 
#15 ·
Hello,

The beamshots will be up very soon, however we don't have a Piko to do any comparisons with.....yet. Initially we'll compare with our Gloworm Lite (Gemini Titan - P7 D bin version) this should give you a good idea of how bright the X2 really is. Size wise the X2 is a little larger and slightly heavier than the Piko.

We'll get those shots up soon and some of the prototype mounted.

On behalf of the Gloworm Manufacturing Team,
Vag
 
#14 ·
It's good.

I've held the prototype light in my hand. I was out last night helping take beam shot comparisons and I was pretty darned impressed with the light. Really good mix of spill and throw. No noticeable hotspot. Nice warm color. Good thermal management, so the light can handle the amps. I've seen the mounts too and they are pretty trick. I think you guys are gonna like this light.

I have no comercial connection with Gloworm. I got involved because I was buying some batteries off them and we got talking about my Revolver light, which some may remember from the DIY forum about a year ago. I had planned to put it into production but was finding it all a bit too difficult, and it was really expensive to produce. A single barrel Revolver (running a LuxRC board at 1.1amp) is a theoretical 1100 lumens and the X2 is noticeably brighter with more spill, so I reckon the 1200 lumen claim is bang on.

A lot of bang for your buck right here folks!

b.
 
#16 ·
This all sounds really great . . . my concerns are related to reliability and service if something breaks.

Also interested in seeing the battery . . . is this going to be a feasible helmet light with the battery mounted on the helmet?
 
#17 ·
Hello 007

Regarding service and warranty, we have a great reputation in New Zealand for service and honoring warranty repair/replacement. You can see our facebook page for evidence of this. Having our manufacturing based is Asia means we can deal with service/warranties from 2 locations plus we are currently working on Distributors in Australia and the US.

Our warranty is based around getting you back riding as soon as possible. Any obvious manufacturing defects are honored immediately without question. Other defects that occur will be dealt with swiftly.

With reliability you can be assured that all products are manufactured with the highest standards in mind and tested well before send to market. Our circuitry and housing/mount is designed in New Zealand (not China) - I can vouch for the hours Bruce has spent in front of the computer! Both the housing and mounts are made from a 6061 Aluminium Alloy for strength and longetivity.

Batteries will be a hard case, soft feel, IP65 (min) 4 cell battery - with power indicator. It will be moulded to fit naturally around a bicycle frame or stem. (pics to follow soon). It will be possible to mount to the helmet using the supplied velcro however it will be heavier than the Piko's 2 cell battery. We are considering a 2 cell battery version, however at max power of 2A you would be looking at a runtime of 1.25 - 1.5hrs depending on cells. It is not totally out of the question.

@ 007 I hope that answers your question?

On behalf of the Gloworm Manufacturing Team,
Vag
 
#20 ·
14+ watts in a package only "slightly" bigger than the Piko. Ouch.

I'd say "working hard to accommodate the heat" is an understatement.

The shops that are building/assembling these have to be working for pennies on the hour. It just boggles the mind.
Thermal management is the most difficult aspect of any small light build, but I think some of the big companies under-drive their lights in their heat related paranoia. These XML leds can be driven up to 3amps (with a lot of heat being generated at the driver) and the prototype does go up to that, but curiously the output is not noticeably better than running them at 2 amps. I was holding this in my hand at 2 amps in still air for quite some time and it never got close to being too hot to touch. If I tried that with my Revolver it would burn my hand, and yet, in real world usage on the bike my lights never get more than warm to the touch. Bruce tells me the production light has considerably more fin area, so more surface area, and better cooling.

So seriously, heat isn't going to be any sort of problem whatsoever.

b.
 
#22 ·
Hello,

Nice to see all the comments coming.
I would like to make some clarifications when it comes to thermal management:

1. Our surface area is more than 1 square inch per watt. According to our design engineer this is enough for thermal management. This is a fact that has been also confirmed during our tests.

2. The whole build is Aluminum and there is no high thermal resistance inside the light. We would never do this as it is obvious to everybody how bad excessive heat is for the life of the light.

On Behalf of the Gloworm Manufacturing Team,
Vag
 
#26 ·
1. Our surface area is more than 1 square inch per watt. According to our design engineer this is enough for thermal management. This is a fact that has been also confirmed during our tests.
I am a big fan of small and lightweight helmet lights as my 50+ year old neck has a hard enough time just keeping the old noggin up near the end of a ride. My experience shows that 1 sq. in. per Watt is sufficient as long as you have a moderate flow of fairly cool air. To my memory my microlights are among the smallest, lightest builds posted on MTBR. My latest is <27 grams with mount for dual XPGs with Regina reflectors. It has ~6 sq. in. area and ~6W of heat to deal with. It gets hot. In my garage at 11C air temp it levels off at 64C in ~20 minutes. I did not chart the temp rise over time, but it did most of the gain in the first few minutes. For me this is acceptable. If I am stopped for any amount of time I turn it to low. For a more casual user this might not be a good setup. IMO lights like this gloworm or other small high power lights are like light XC race wheels. Not everyone can or should use them. They might need a bit more care and they may not last as long as something bigger and heavier.
 
#24 · (Edited)
Hello again,

Here come some beamshots on boost mode. The photos are taken following the mtbr settings so you can have an apples to apples comparison with similar photos posted on this site.

As mentioned before comparison photos are soon to come.
Here you can see an "open space" photo and a trail photo.
Please pay attention to the tiny white tin on the ground (present in both photos). We use it as a distance marker.

In the open space photo:
Tin is at 25 meters distance. Trees in background is at 60 meters distance.

In the trail photo:
Tin is at 15 meters distance.

Enjoy!
On behalf of the Gloworm Manufacturing Team
Vag



 
#27 ·
Please pay attention to the tiny white tin on the ground (present in both photos). We use it as a distance marker.

In the open space photo:
Tin is at 25 meters distance. Trees in background is at 60 meters distance.

In the trail photo:
Tin is at 15 meters distance.



Thanks for the photos but I see nothing that I can clearly ID as a white tin. A bigger marker would have been better. A 16oz soda bottle works well as distance markers. I've used the 16oz Pepsi bottles with silver labels that show up real well. Leave a little water in the bottle to give the bottle more weight. Really helps if there is some wind. It also looks as though you didn't use a tripod which really would have helped to make the photos clearer.

I really did want to comment more about the photos but since I can't say for certain where the tin is there is no point.
 
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