Two small lights for handlebar

[jesperjes]

I'm looking for some small lights for the handlebars. I would like to have two lights with approx 400 lumens each.

Right now I have two torches on the handlebars, but I would rather have two small lights and a battery pack attached to the frame.

I have found this MagicShine MJ-858



This is exactly what I was looking for, but I was hoping for something cheaper. Does anyone know if there are similar products and preferably cheaper than the MagicShine?

[varider]

Just get a Magicshine 808 clone that is sold for around $25 - $35 on ebay and amazon. Much brighter than this light. Do a search for "xml bike light" and you will get a huge number of hits. Also read this thread:
Review of Ebay: 1800 Lumen CREE XML T6 LED Bicycle HeadLight Lamp

[jesperjes]

Just get a Magicshine 808 clone that is sold for around $25 - $35 on ebay and amazon. Much brighter than this light. Do a search for "xml bike light" and you will get a huge number of hits. Also read this thread:
Review of Ebay: 1800 Lumen CREE XML T6 LED Bicycle HeadLight Lamp

I have thought about that. I have one of those lights on my helmet, so I just need something to light up right in front of me and thought these small ones could be found cheaper and that I could use one battery for both lights on the handlebar

[varider]

They come with a smaller battery pack, probably can't power two of them from one small battery.
Action-LED-Lights — Magicshine MJ-858 400* lumen light set

It probably comes out to be more expensive to buy two of these than to buy one Magichine 808. They are pretty small also.

If you get two lights for the bar you will have to change the brightness of both lights independently. That would drive me nuts.

You can get the 808 with a remote. It's a pretty nice setup. It is very spotty however.
If you do get the 858, maybe you could put of some beamshots. I am curious about it.

[znomit]

Small?
XL-023 Cree XM-L U2 350lm 3-Mode Memory White Bicycle Light - Grey + Black (2 x 18650) - Free Shipping - DealExtreme

[Kir]

Aliexpress.com : Buy Sale New CREE XML T6 LED Bike Light Accessories Rechargeable Bicycle Front Lamp Set 6000mah 4 Modes for Camping Fishing Hunting from Reliable bicycle light suppliers on Shenzhen Tomtop Technology Co., Ltd.
Or these, they're the smallest lights from everything that I have. Good 5000mAh batteries too.

[varider]

Aliexpress.com : Buy Sale New CREE XML T6 LED Bike Light Accessories Rechargeable Bicycle Front Lamp Set 6000mah 4 Modes for Camping Fishing Hunting from Reliable bicycle light suppliers on Shenzhen Tomtop Technology Co., Ltd.
Or these, they're the smallest lights from everything that I have. Good 5000mAh batteries too.

$23.47 wow that's cheap.

[jesperjes]

Small?
XL-023 Cree XM-L U2 350lm 3-Mode Memory White Bicycle Light - Grey + Black (2 x 18650) - Free Shipping - DealExtreme

That looks interesting. But I can see I might as well buy two T6 lights because it is almost the same price

[fightnut]

Kir, do you have photos of these next to other lights for size reference?

[Cat-man-do]

I'm looking for some small lights for the handlebars. I would like to have two lights with approx 400 lumens each.

Right now I have two torches on the handlebars, but I would rather have two small lights and a battery pack attached to the frame.

I have found this MagicShine MJ-858



This is exactly what I was looking for, but I was hoping for something cheaper. Does anyone know if there are similar products and preferably cheaper than the MagicShine?

Since your join date is 2008 and you only have 14 posts I'm going to assume you don't look at these forums much. That being the case, times have changed. You don't need to run two "separate" lamps on the bars to get decent output. There are a number of websites that now sell the inexpensive Chinese duel emitter lamps. There are so many it is hard to name them all but the most popular right now is probably the Solarstorm X2. No reason to run two separate lamps on the bars when one will do the same thing, operate with one battery and take up about the same amount of space on the bars.

Now if you still insist on running two smaller lamps ( ea.with low 400 lumen outputs ) you will likely end up spending a little more money and not get near the same amount of potential output.

[fightnut]

A little cheaper then the dx ones, Free shipping! Securitylng 1200 Lumens Super Mini CREE U2 LED Bicycle Light + 4400mAh Battery Pack-in Bicycle Light from Sports & Entertainment on Aliexpress.com

[Ridnparadise]

Ay Up Lights - the best Bike Lighting System available - Lights

[androgen]

Ixon IQ Speed ...

except its ridiculously expensive, but it's two small lights for the handlebar though

okay maybe not that small either ...

but there's 2 of them that plug into one battery.

[scar]

I would prefer ONE really small light (with 2 LEDs) that puts out ~800 lumens





****

[jesperjes]

Thank you for all the suggestions

Since your join date is 2008 and you only have 14 posts I'm going to assume you don't look at these forums much. That being the case, times have changed. You don't need to run two "separate" lamps on the bars to get decent output. There are a number of websites that now sell the inexpensive Chinese duel emitter lamps. There are so many it is hard to name them all but the most popular right now is probably the Solarstorm X2. No reason to run two separate lamps on the bars when one will do the same thing, operate with one battery and take up about the same amount of space on the bars.

Now if you still insist on running two smaller lamps ( ea.with low 400 lumen outputs ) you will likely end up spending a little more money and not get near the same amount of potential output.

What I'm looking for is something that will light up right in front of me and I thought that two small lights would be the answer. Are you saying that a lamp like the Solarstorm X2 will give the same amount of flood as two single lamps?

[androgen]

Since your join date is 2008 and you only have 14 posts I'm going to assume you don't look at these forums much. That being the case, times have changed. You don't need to run two "separate" lamps on the bars to get decent output.

damn Cat ! are you secretly Sherlock Holmes ? do you read minds ? i thought the guy is just a fetishist and likes to have two small lamps because he thinks that looks sexy.

[pucked up]

Are you saying that a lamp like the Solarstorm X2 will give the same amount of flood as two single lamps?

Yes. But if you still want 2 lamps on your handle bars then buy two Solarstorm X2's! You'll have twice the amount of light!

[jesperjes]

damn Cat ! are you secretly Sherlock Holmes ? do you read minds ? i thought the guy is just a fetishist and likes to have two small lamps because he thinks that looks sexy.

Androgen, you must be the real Sherlock! I was going for the sexy look!

[androgen]

Yes. But if you still want 2 lamps on your handle bars then buy two Solarstorm X2's! You'll have twice the amount of light!

why not buy 7 Solarstorm X2's ? or maybe 11 ?

on a more serious note i would prefer a single multi-LED center-mounted light on the bar. for example a NiteRider Pro, or Baja Double Stryk.

although obviously it would depend on application ...

did mister 2 small lights even mention what his application is ?

[pucked up]

why not buy 7 Solarstorm X2's ? or maybe 11 ?

That will depend on how wide his handle bars are!

[jesperjes]

did mister 2 small lights even mention what his application is ?

All I want is a decent (cheap) light on the handlebar with a wide beam pattern to light up right in front of me when I hit the singletracks in the woods. I thought that two small lights was the simple solution, but I can see that I might be wrong

[androgen]

That will depend on how wide his handle bars are!

hehe, i actually run two lights on my helmet, but i think a single good light is better than two OK lights.

is SolarStorm that special that you would rather use two of them than a single bigger light ?

[androgen]

All I want is a decent (cheap) light on the handlebar with a wide beam pattern to light up right in front of me when I hit the singletracks in the woods. I thought that two small lights was the simple cheap solution, but I can see that I might be wrong

you have to realize that for a beam that is 2X as wide you need 4X as much light output for it to be equally bright. in other words area is proportional to width squared. this is why low powered lights tend to have a narrow beam.

the widest beam of any light i know of is NiteRider Pro 3600, it is also the most powerful light currently on the market - and that's not a coincidence at all.

just something for you to keep in mind ...

by the way for the woods, if you can afford NiteRider Pro ( Not just 3600 ) i think you will be very happy with it. for the road there are better lights.

[scar]

***

[androgen]

2 XPG

scar don't you think your product would be more popular if it was a tail light ? designshine tail light has been sold out ever since i learned about it and i doubt that will ever change.

i would be very interested in a DS-500 alternative, and i'm sure many people would pay as much as $300 for it. on the other hand NOBODY will ever pay $300 for a comparable headlight when you can just get a Lupine Piko.

i would be interested in a ~ 1,000 lumen red tail light with a beam pattern somewhere between a Dinotte 400R and Red Zone 8.

aside from the fact that DS-500 is always sold out what puts me away from trying to source one is a hotspot it has in the middle, which prevents you from being able to use it at maximum setting at night.

an ideal tail light for me would be DS-500 minus that hotspot in the center, and with perhaps double the lumens and even wider, more RZ8-like spill.

i think if you make a light like that you won't need to promote it in every thread - it is going to be sold out the moment you make it.

[scar]

My miniature 2 LED light with battery mounted to the helmet was the first like it at the time (over 5 years ago!). It was the time of "light wars" when everyone was trying to build/sell monster lights. Lupine came out with the Piko a few years later I have lights being used all over the world by commuters, mtn bikers, and endurance racers. Don't need to advertise other than word of mouth and posting up here on MTBR. Please give me a break, I am not even close to trying to push my lights in every thread. I am simply picking the threads that I think are appropriate and trying to show people there are other options than disposable Chinese lights. How about a product produced with "personal pride", you ever hear about one of those nowadays?

That is what is so great about getting a "custom" built light from me. You can choose bar mounted, helmet mounted, or a tailight. What LED's do you want - XP-G2's or XM-L2's? What color of LED's to you want - 5000K or 6500K? You want a tail light? What color - red or amber?

Here, check out all my previous posts - http://forums.mtbr.com/search.php?searchid=84216. This is not the only forum I post in


***

[androgen]

My miniature 2 LED light with battery mounted to the helmet was the first like it at the time (over 5 years ago!).

well that's what you have to do when you're a little guy going up against the big boys - you have to out-innovate them - not once, but all the time.

even Lupine can barely sell the Pikos any more because there are so many clones out there.

5 years is LOOOOONG time in LED business.

today there are bar and helmet lights for every budget and taste - made in China, US, Germany or Britain - whichever pleases the customer. my helmet light for example is designed and assembled in US.

there just aren't any niches left in headlight market IMO.

on the other hand in the tail light market there is only Dinotte, NiteFlux, DesignShine and that's it. all 3 have severe shortcomings:

Dinotte - no usable spill.
NiteFlux - not bright enough to stand out against car tail lights.
DesignShine - sold out. always.

in other words, the field is still open.

the field is even more open for spoke lights. the only contenders here are MonkeyLectric and Bike After Dark ( i own both ). and again, both have serious shortcomings:

MonkeyLectric - expensive, heavy, cumbersome, looks reta4ded.
Bike After Dark - fragile, no color options, no possibility of dimming etc.

that field is WIDE open.

what i'm saying is that as a little guy ( as opposed to something like NiteRider, Lupine, or Light & Motion ) you should focus on innovating, and there are only certain areas in which one can still meaningfully innovate.

i just gave you two.

a third area even more neglected is a helmet mounted tail light. here there is only ONE contender altogether ! and that is of course Red Zone 8.

in the end its up to you. if you want to be squeezed on one side by big companies and on the other by chinese slave labor then don't innovate.

[fightnut]

If you can't come close to staying on topic, don't post!

Anyway, back to the OP's question. If you want a wide beam pattern that will light up right in front of you maybe consider something like this: FandyFire YR-01 CREE XP-G R5 1000 LM 3 Mode Bike Light - Grey (6x18650)

It should be a pretty floody/wide pattern. And it should be pretty bright, and it's fairly cheap. There are really tons of options, that's just one.