lunes, noviembre 21, 2011

c´mon baby, light my trail


Exposure Lights 2012 technical comparison

Exposure Light No. LEDs LED Output Hours (High)Hours (Med)Hours (Low)Weight (gms)SRP from
Spark CR123A .... 1..... 255 ..... 2.5... 8 ...... 15 ..... 72 ...... £80
Spark RCR123A...1..... 255..... 1.5... 4 ...... 10 ..... 72 ...... £80
Joystick................1..... 325..... 3 ..... 10 ...... 24 ..... 98 ..... £165
Diablo..................3..... 975..... 1 ..... 3 ...... 10 ..... 110 ..... £200
Race ................. 2..... 645..... 3 ..... 10 ..... 24 ..... 214 ..... £225
Strada ................2..... 645...... 3 ..... 10 ...... 24 ..... 228 ....£245
Toro....................3..... 975..... 3 ..... 10 ...... 24 ..... 276 ..... £275
MaXx-D ..............4..... 1285.... 3 ..... 10 .......24 ..... 320 ....£325
Six Pack ............6...... 1925.... 3 ..... 10 ...... 24 ..... 490 ....£450

Exposure Lights Eurobike 2011


The new 2012 Exposure Lights range, presented at the Eurobike Show 2011. Relax and enjoy riding during the night.
Vorstellung der Produktpalette von Exposure Lights aus England auf der Eurobike 2011,
http://www.supermario-sports.de


http://www.exposurelights.com/

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Lezyne Super Drive – 2012 Mtbr Lights Shootout

By Francis November 12, 2011

Ahh Lezyne… they’re a fairly new company that quickly revolutionized tools and pumps. Early this spring, they held a press camp to announce their entry into the lights arena. At first, I didn’t give it a second look as it seemed like small commuter lights. But the more I looked at them and now that I’m using them, the more I find their products very compelling.

The Super Drive is a self-contained light that claims 450 lumens. It uses a Cree XML emitter that is housed in an all aluminum case for heat dissipation. The battery is a standard lithium cell that can be replaced on the trail. The rear of the light unscrews easily much like a traditional flashlight and the battery can be replaced with a fresh one for longer run time.

Although this is Lezyne’s first effort in lights, they have invested significant time and money to research the competition and their own lights. They’ve purchased their own integrating sphere to measure actual lumens output. With advanced tools, they’re able to control and publish how their lights behave over the whole battery cycle. They’re also able to analyze losses in lens and reflector designs.

The Super Drive is the top of the line of a family of three lights from Lezyne. It retails for $110 and puts out a claimed 450 lumens. The other lights in the family are:

Power Drive – $90 at 300 lumens claimed output
Mini Drive – $70 at 150 lumens claimed output.

These lights are charged via USB and there is no USB charger included. It is assumed that you have a charger or computer somewhere in the household. If you need one, a separate charger is available for $20.

Something interesting about the Super Drive and other Lezyne lights is there is no tiny indicator lamp for charging status or light switch illumination. It uses the actual LED as an indicator by flashing it very faintly to indicate that the light is charging. This shows Lezyne’s focus on keeping the light as simple as possible and hitting the $110 retail price point.

The light head itself has a lip on the top rim and that’s actually useful to keep the bright light away from the rider’s eyes during out of the saddle efforts. We love light’s with wide beam patterns but a downside is when you climb out of the saddle, you get way up front and the light can shine on your eyes a bit. The lip found on this light blocks some of that light spill at the top.

Quirky Light Switch:

The light switch is a bit quirky and non-intuitive. We all know how to turn a flashlight on and off. Some companies have deviced in protection for accidental turn-ons for self-contained lights (in the bike bag) by implementing a double-click on or 2-second button press to turn on. Lezyne has gone further by putting more light logic feedback on it. When you press the button, it will turn low instantly. After one second of button press, it will turn to medium indicating it’s ready to be released. When you release the button, it turns to high. When turning off, a similar logic is applied. It doesn’t make sense to the newbie until someone explains it to them. After that, it’s easy enough to do but it does our brains process what’s going on every time we turned the light on and off. We believe that’s overkill and non-intuitive. But, it’s a pretty minor complaint as the switch action and quality is excellent. At the end of the day, one has to hold the light switch for two seconds to turn on and off.

Specifications:

Price: $110.00
Claimed Lumens: 450 Lumens
Light Head Weight: 128 grams
Installed Weight: 128 grams
Run Time: 1.5 hours
Measured MTBR Lux: 44 Lux
Measured Lumens: 421 Lumens

Mounting:

The mount is pretty simple hoop style with a plastic tightening knob for tool less mounting on to the handlebar. The light can be aimed left to right with indexed positions on the mount positions.

Helmet mounting is not available at this point but with any helmet mount from other manufacturers that simulates a handlebar pipe on to the helmet, the Lezyne mount will work for helmet use.

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Dinotte XML-3 – 2012 Mtbr Lights Shootout

By Francis November 17, 2011

Rob from Dinotte encouraged us to spend some time riding with the new Dinotte lights and we were smart enough to listen to his advice. This XML-3 shines on the photos, mtbr lux meter, integrating sphere and most importantly, on the trail. It is a light that could sell for $500 but Dinotte is offering it at $259.

The head is small and light at 102 grams. This includes the mounting system that is probably the easiest to use and the most secure. Three Cree XMLs are integrated in this light head and there are deep cooling fins to keep temperatures under control.

Battery and charging is provided by the existing four-cell battery and charger systems. So existing customers with these batteries can just buy the new XML-3 light head to experience the latest in Dinotte engineering.

As you will see in the photos and measurements, this light is a just a breakaway hit. It just continued to surprise us in performance so we had to re-check everything twice. It was brighter and had a better beam pattern than many lights that cost almost twice the XML-3′s $259 price.

Couple that with Dinotte’s safety, quality and customer service and this package almost seems too good to be true. Dinotte uses good batteries and charges them properly. Everything is UN and UL tested. And the lights are never over-driven. They are designed and manufactured so the small Dinotte headquarters can spend time producing lights instead of answering problem/failure phonecalls.

Specifications:

Price: $259.00
Claimed Lumens: 1200 Lumens
Light Head Weight: 102 grams
Installed Weight: 340 grams
Run Time: n/a Hours
Measured MTBR Lux: 105 Lux
Measured Lumens: 1034 Lumens

Mounting:

Handlebar mounting is one of the best in the business. It’s not a fancy CNC mount but this rubber strap will allow you to install the light on the bar in seconds. Pull up on the strap and lock it down. The light head can be aimed left to right easily.

A helmet mount is included for the standard price so that’s a great deal. The mount simulates a handlebar pipe so the same strap action is used to secure the light on the helmet.

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Light & Motion Urban 500, Urban 300 and Urban 180 – 2012 Mtbr Lights Shootout

By Francis October 18, 2011

The Light and Motion Urban 500 doesn’t look like much but pick it up and turn it on and you will be amazed. It is bright and it’s got an excellent beam pattern. Light and Motion made such a great commuting light that many will want to use it for mountain biking and other purposes.

But alas, there are side visibility lights that can not be turned off and this can be annoying when mountain biking. Also, the mount can’t be taken off easily and that hinders the use of this light as a handy flashlight around the house.

But we think users will not be deterred. This is a good light for many purposes.

Urban line:

Urban 180 – $100 with 180 lumens of output, 2 hours

Urban 300 – $130 with 300 lumens of output, 2 hours

Urban 500 – $160 with 500 lumens of output, 1.5 hours (this is the model reviewed here)

Specifications for the Urban 500:

Price: $160.00
Claimed Lumens: 500 Lumens
Light Head Weight: 110 grams
Installed Weight: 110 grams
Run Time: 1.5 Hours
Measured MTBR Lux: 53 Lux
Measured Lumens: 466 Lumens

Mounting:

Handlebar mounting is done with very slick strap that can be tightened based on the rider’s preference. The same strap is used for standard and oversized handlebars. At first we found the strap too long and found the excess bothersome but we realized we can loop the strap back in the pin and tuck it neatly. It can be aimed left to right. There is an included helmet mount and it works very well. The light can be aimed up/down and left/right. The light is 110 grams so it’s hardly noticeable on the helmet.

Charging:

Charging is done with a USB port so any USB charger or computer USB outlet from a computer can will charge this light in 5 hours. It’s assumed that you’ll have a USB outlet available so only a USB wire is included int he package. If you need the actual wall adapter, it will be an extra cost at about $20. The USB port on the light itself is a micro port that is flatter than the most common standard unfortunately. Thus most wires around the house will not work and you’ll have to use the one shipped with this light.


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light comparison

http://reviews.mtbr.com/2012-bike-lights-shootout-trail-beam-pattern-photos

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