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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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#129 ·
Waterproof? I think so!

Hi Everyone,

I do hope everyone had a great Xmas and a happy and safe NY!

I thought I'd give you all a wee treat and show you just how waterproof the X2 really is!

Also (@Leethal) the standard light config is spot/flood - when ordering you can order either another spot or flood lens, complimentary :thumbsup:

For commuting, I personally like the flood/flood setup at lower power. Still great throw for the road but also good flood thus allowing greater visibility of you and for you.

@Matchpoint - Yes the only battery inidcation built into this light is on the battery itself.

So here we go - underwater photos................



Thanks

Bruce
Gloworm
NZ
 
#130 ·
....

....@Matchpoint - Yes the only battery indication built into this light is on the battery itself.

So here we go - underwater photos................

Thanks

Bruce
Gloworm
NZ
Hummm...guess that one got by me. I didn't know there were no on-board battery indicators. My other remote light has the indicators on the remote. Not a deal breaker as I see it since I really don't like voltage monitors per say anyway. Once the temperatures begin to drop they never really seem to work right anyway. Still, most people seem to want them. So far in all the discussions about the X2, this is the only negative I've seen so far. For the die-hards that insist on voltage feedback you can always order with the battery or purchase another battery that includes a built in voltage led feedback array. Personally I should be fine without it.

This does preclude another related question though.. Does the X2 have a flash or strobe warning when the voltage is very low? If so is this circuitry in the battery or in the light head?

Now about the underwater test: How long did you run the light underwater?
 
#134 ·
Thanks Bruce @ Glowworm for doing this test and giving info on the low battery. Also thanks to cat and others for coming up with great questions that are important. Not having a battery indicator on the lighthead is not an issue for me. I hope this proves to be as perfect a helmet light as it sounds to me.
 
#137 ·
I'd love to order one, but I have a few questions....what does this look like on the headstrap mount?? How is the remote switch positioned?? I'd be switching from bar mounts to a headstrap several times a week. I'm in Alaska and skijor with my husky or my fatbike on the trails....and it's always dark and cold this time of year. Additionally, the website crashes when I choose the headstrap option...can I PM my info??
 
#138 · (Edited)
I'd like to preorder but an important question.

NZ GST is 15% and by NZ law the advertised price of goods and services include GST. Its not clear on your page (changing the currency on the gloworm website does not result in removing the GST), when someone pre-orders from overseas do we get the GST back as required by law? Foreign orders don't pay GST and you cannot pocket GST as profit.

E-commerce and GST (E-commerce and tax)

goods are sold over the internet and physically supplied to customers overseas the sales can be zero-rated for GST purposes.
 
#145 ·
Crikey now what do I do? I've been looking at designshine's (pethelman) #2 build of the DS-1300 with interest over the last six weeks or so and have watched his "does it blend" water submersion test with a wry smile. I had practically set my mind on buying two. But now I see just how well the X2 is coming along I have to wonder. Plus, when I consider the price differential and the fact that a wired remote comes as standard and the necessity of new 6 cell batteries to get the most from the light (due to the treble LED in series design) I'm starting to wonder if a couple of X2s is all I'd need... As a commuter, primarily, I see the only disadvantage with the X2 cf the DS-1300 (or indeed almost any light compared with designshine DS-1300) is the side-on illumination.

Moreover, there hasn't been nearly as much activity on the designshine thread as this one... I don't think he's set the final price yet. I bird in the hand, and all...
 
#146 ·
not to dig the gloworm in any way (it looks like a really cool light), but you shouldn't underestimate the importance of side visibility in a bar mounted commuter light. I had to switch my commuter light from the bar to my helmet as I was getting a lot of problems at junctions. Now I just wave my helmet light back and forth across their screen and they usually stop. A DS1300 on the bar and one of these on the helmet with spot/spot reflectors would be an awesome combination..
 
#152 · (Edited)
Any chance of a video showing the different modes? I can't seem to find anything online that shows what "Flash (2Hz)" looks like. I'm used to the strobe mode which worked pretty well, at least for me, during daytime.

Edit: Found out that 2Hz is 120 bpm so it blinks twice per second. Is that the same as the MagicShine Tailight that I have? It Blinks then Strobes. I need to film it then play it back....
 
#153 ·
Good news folks, gloworm have told me that the elliptical lens 'will definitely fit but have not tested it yet.'

Elliptical are good for commuters because they lower the forward intensity but widen the lateral intensity. Turning a 10 degree cone of light into a horizontal 30 degree cone. Very wide and good for angle-on visibility. I use them with my MJ-816 every night.

@gloworm. I'm sure you're busy, but any chance of getting one in and giving a few beam shots for us roadies?
 
#155 ·
Weird... My post is gone or never got posted, so I'll write it again.

The more I hear about these gloworms, the more I feel like splashing out on a set.

I am also considering a couple of DS-1300s because, build wise, they seem to be the Range Rover of homemade lights. But for less than 20,000 yen, I'm definitely going to consider two of these, also, one with an extra spot lens and one with an extra elliptical lens since the introductory price is so flipping keen!

I'll run the elliptical on the bar and the double spot on my helmet; on flash in the city and full time in the dark/offroad.

I have two questions.

1) What is the current drain (wattage) of the system at the various power levels (including flash and super dim?) and thus what the run time can I expect from a well kept Magicshine 4400 battery pack.

2) Since the cable is only 10cm long, if I purchase two light heads only, can I get two extension cords thrown in?

thx.
 
#157 ·
Hey,

I have attached below the X2 programme chart which details lumens and runtime.



The X2 comes pre-loaded with four programmes that are refined for the specific adventure. Each programme features 'Normal Operation Modes' (NOM) and one 'Special Mode' (SM). The SM is accessed with a 2 second pressof the remote switch from any NOM. A simple CLICK of the remote switch will return the X2 to NOM. Cycling through NOM is achieved by a CLICK. Switching the unit off is acheived by holding the switch down for about 4 seconds. The TRAIL Programme has been optimised for mountain biking.

The Gloworm Battery is a 5800 mAh li-Ion battery, packed with 4 Panasonic Cells. If you intend to use a lower capacity battery the runtime will obviously be lower. For example you will get about 75% of the runtime using a 4400mAhr.

@GraXXor - Yes an extension cable will be included!

@NitroRC Ed - We did not want to release a pic of the battery pack until we had the final production version. Our battery pack is unique to the industry. It is a hard case battery similar to gemini/lupine. It has a voltage inidicator on the battery and is waterproof. The uniquness comes in the 'feel'. it has the 'sticky/tactile' feel of rubber, but is hard and protective like plastic. Additionally is had a square loop to hold the velcro strap.

The battery has just finished being manufactrured and looks great! Photos to come very soon!

Cheers

Bruce
Gloworm
NZ
 
#161 · (Edited)
This seems like a pretty versatile light that I can also use for camping/hiking, etc....gonna order a 2nd one for helmet/redunduncy or to let a friend borrow in case of emergency.

Is it possible to edit the modes? Like say for COMMUTER if I wanted STROBE as the special mode and 1200-1300 Lumens for BOOST mode. I would want the brightest possible for my commutes at night in the city and really like the strobe for day time (brighter and less energy consumption on this model). It seems the light has all the modes I would want and need except they're not in the same category and switching to them would be time consuming.

Strobe - Dim - Boost is all I really see myself using regularly day in day out. So having those in one Category would be ideal for me. Other modes would be handy for times when I need them and wouldn't care if it took a while to get to them.

That would make it perfect in my books....minus the mount issue still which I can somehow manage....
 
#164 ·
From the Gloworm site:

Trail - Low>High>Boost. Special mode>Super Dim (Boost 2 Amps)
Commute - Low>High>Boost. Special mode>Flash (2Hz) (Boost 1.7 Amps)
Adventure - Super Dim>Low>High. Special mode>Strobe (High 1.5 Amps)
Bush - High>Boost. Special mode>Super Dim (High 2.2 Amps - designed to be used periodically for long distance spotting)
 
#165 ·
Going to be interesting to watch...

and see what effect Chinese New Year has on the shipping of these presale orders that are supposed to start shipping on Jan 20th (Fri). Chinese New Year this year is Jan 23 (Mon)

The X2 is a product of Microchina (TA Gloworm Manufacturing) and as such will be shipped direct from Hong Kong during the presale phase and for a few weeks thereafter.
That whole part of the world pretty much shuts down for a week or two for the new year.

***
 
#166 ·
and see what effect Chinese New Year has on the shipping of these presale orders that are supposed to start shipping on Jan 20th (Fri). Chinese New Year this year is Jan 23 (Mon)

The X2 is a product of Microchina (TA Gloworm Manufacturing) and as such will be shipped direct from Hong Kong during the presale phase and for a few weeks thereafter.
That whole part of the world pretty much shuts down for a week or two for the new year.

***
Now why'd you have to go and say that. :nono:.....:sad:.....:cryin:........;)
 
#167 ·
@Cmd

Chinese New year usually hovers around the beginning of February... but this year, the year of the Dragon, I believe it's January 23rd, one of the "earliest" -from a western point of view- Chinese News years for quite some time and some to come. So if the factories observe a traditional shutdown around that time, then there may well be some disruption, seeing as shipping is set for the 20th.

@Matchpoint

From the Gloworm site:
Trail - Low>High>Boost. Special mode>Super Dim (Boost 2 Amps)
Commute - Low>High>Boost. Special mode>Flash (2Hz) (Boost 1.7 Amps)
Adventure - Super Dim>Low>High. Special mode>Strobe (High 1.5 Amps)
Bush - High>Boost. Special mode>Super Dim (High 2.2 Amps - designed to be used periodically for long distance spotting)

Thanks for the fish, but IINM that is listing the LED drive current per XM-L which has already been discussed earlier in this forum. However, you'll notice that I'm talking about the system current, as driven from a 2SxP LiO/LiPO battery ala. Magicshine / Geoman ad-nauseum.

If you can find *that* page on their website then I will be impressed!

;-)
 
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