dragoonO1

While not a light in itself, you may purchase 18650 battery boxes with a 5V USB output to power any USB taillight you choose, so long as it's capable of illumination while charging. I plan to purchase a couple of these along with more Panasonic/NCR batteries to power my knock-off MagicShines as well as extend the duration of my USB taillights. Here's an example of a 4-cell battery box.

https://www.ebay.com/p/4x-18650-Wate...-4v/2222278130

tunavic

Do you have a link to this front light you refer to here?

fietsbob

18650 at 3.7v, maybe you can make up a dummy battery ,
and use 1 in a 2AA battery light + the dummy ..

alkaline bring 1.5v, x 2= 3v, so you are .7v over that.

with 8 of them in series is 29,6v,

a series-parallel
can double the A/hr capacity
and give you 14.8v .



....

01 CAt Man Do

I know I already addressed this issue with you but I wanted to give you some more feedback since I just bought one of the Zebralights with XPH35 emitter. Zebralight is recommending that these lamps be used with the so call, "High Drain" batteries. My LG-MJ1's actually do pretty well as they are rated for 10A continuous. ZL however is recommending more. With that in mind I bought a set of Sony VTC6 3120mAh 18650 cells from Orbtonic. These are rated for 30A continuous. I did compare the output using both and the Sony's are a little brighter when on start up although I'm sure that won't make too much of a difference once the lamp heats up and the thermal control throttles back the output.

Actually I'm not really impressed with the Zebralight I have. Since the beam pattern is so wide I feel it is really only useful on the higher modes ( H1 and H2 ) when mountain biking. I have yet to do any rides using mine simply because of the bad weather in my area. I'm sure when I get the chance to use on a ride, the batteries are going to drain much more faster than the typical torches and cells I generally use. That's because I'm sure that any lamp using an XHP35, 50 or 70 emitter is going to have to include a voltage step up converter in order to power the emitter with just one 18650. Because of that I'm not really too worried about run time as I'm sure the lamp will throttle the output once the lamp heats up. Almost sorry I bought the Sony's because they really won't make that much of a difference in output and will likely drain faster than the LG's.

I will say that the 90° ( angled version, Mark IV with XHP35 ) is the smallest, lightest 18650 torch I own. I just wish the beam pattern wasn't as wide. I also wish it had included a 650 lumen mode. It has a 500 lumen mode but so far that mode is not bright enough to be real useful ( except on turns ). Works well on the high modes but if I'm running high all the time it is really going to drain the battery really fast.

Sal Bandini

Zebralight headlamps come in 3 different beam patterns. It sounds like you need the 80 degree, 12 degree spot version.

01 CAt Man Do

That was what I bought. There are two versions, All Flood and the 12 degree spot / 80 degree spill version. Not really much of a hot spot when in use. It works but I have to run the higher modes if I really want to see. As a senior MTB'er I tend to poke along at times. This little torch will heat up fast. When it does it will throttle back the output. If I'm running the 875 lumen H2 mode after about ten minutes I expect the output will likely drop down to somewhere around 700-750 lumen, depending on how hot it gets and how fast the battery drains. If I can get an hour and 20 minutes from one battery and still be able to see well I'll be fine.

What's ticking me off right now is that I really can't give it a decent test run because where I live ( after three days of rain ) my area is about to be hit with the remains of hurricane Florence. This might end up being one of the worse hurricanes to ever hit the east coast as it looks to be a slow mover. Might be weeks before any trails dry out and when they do there will likely be downed trees all over the place.

Sal Bandini

Which model did you get?

You stated in your OP that you bought the 90 degree. That comes with frosted lens. The 12 degree spot does not have that lens. Then there is also the flood version, so there are actually 3 models.

Cyclist0108

18,650 is sure a lot of batteries.










































Sorry, somebody had to post that.

sknhgy 

I thought vaping gadgets used 18650 batteries. That would make them common.

01 CAt Man Do

I have the H600w Mk IV. Yes, there are three versions of the NW model I have that use the same XHP35 emitter. One is said to be "Flood" ( 120° beam spread ) , another is said to be "Floody" ( 90° beam spread with frosted lens ) and the last is said to have , " 12° spot with 80° of spill ". I ordered the last thinking that hopefully it would have decent throw since it mentioned having a spot. Yeah, it has a spot. You can see that when shining it on a wall but in actual use the spot seems to disappear. This might just be because I'm using it in lousy weather. Hoping that it will work much better in drier weather with less humidity.

I just now compared wall beam patterns with my BLF-A6. To me it looks like both are using the same size / type of reflector. The main difference I see in the A6's spot is that it is a bit more intense ( A6 using XP-L NW emitter ) The Mk IV has almost the same size spot but slightly wider spill than the A6. Damn, wish like hell the A6 was using the XP-L HI as the HI version would have even more throw. Looks like I might have to order me an XP-L HI NW. The emitter on the A6 looks like it would be real easy to switch out.

( edit; Sorry, I did say something about having the 90° version....sorry, my bad. I do have the one with a so call spot )

01 CAt Man Do

Apples to oranges. Just because an orange isn't exactly like an apple doesn't make it odd, it's just different....You need to remember that most AA cells sold are usually non-rechargeable alkaline. You use them till they are dead and then you trash them. A single 18650 cell can be recharged up to 500 times and yes there are also rechargeable versions of AA cells both in NiMh and Li-ion versions. Now you could multiply that 660 million quote ( for 18650's ) times 500 and make an argument that those 18650's would be around a lot longer and end up costing a lot less but....Why argue over something so stupid. If these cells are available either in the millions or billions I think it fair to say that both are quite common. Down side on 18650's is that you can't buy them at your local drug store. You can however buy them on-line very easily or from a local Vape or battery store. Yes, 18650's used to be "Odd"....that was 10yrs ago. They ain't odd no more.

noglider 

They are also in laptops and cars. They are common, but consumers don't see them often, as they are embedded.

angerdan

18650 cells are used in notebook batteries and other devices since about 24 years.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/scienc...67273894904111
https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc...=rep1&type=pdf

tcs

Single 18650 red LED flashlight, generic bike mount, perhaps a diffuser cap for side illumination. Various suppliers.

This would work - but I don't know how well.

tcs

Much to the detriment of bicycle light customers. Many manufacturers 'embed' 18650s in proprietary holders & charge 4x for replacements.

noglider 

It's a rational choice which some of us might disagree with. Soldered in connections are more reliable. And quality control means that cells that appear to be identical to consumers are different, as shown in rigorous testing.

tcs

Uh, yeah. I know you're not suggesting riders carry a soldering iron with them to swap out batteries, and I'm guessing you didn't mean the light manufacturers are adding anything to Panasonic's 18650 quality control. Wanna take another shot at making your point?

KraneXL

Walk into any 7 Eleven and ask for AAs and be directed to their location. Now do the same with 18650 and tell us what you get. I'm betting a vacant stare. If these are "common" you should have no trouble purchasing them in any store and with virtually universal recognition and understanding of what they are. Now stop it. I grow weary of debating these irrational posts.

01 CAt Man Do

Irrational....(?)....I see nothing said here in this thread that sounds irrational. Irritating ?....perhaps that would have been the better word to use. I'm guessing now that when you first said that AA's were more common that perhaps it would have been better to say that AA's were more conveniently found. Let's be fair though. I don't think I would choose 7-11 as my litmus test to judge commonality. If I go into a 7-11 and ask for any variety of common foods there is a good chance they won't have what I want. That wouldn't make the food I was asking for uncommon but rather not as conveniently found. Commonality is a relative term so it can be argumentative. Yes, AA's are generally easier to find and are commonly found in almost any convenience or drug store. On the other hand, most manufacturers of bike lights use Li-ion 18650 cells to power their newer lights. In the world of bike lighting, it is the AA cell that is now to be considered the "odd or unexpected" battery of choice for a bike light. ...Anyway, sorry if any of this upsets you. When I buy things I just go to the place where I know they are sold. If I can't find what I want then I might consider the item "uncommon" or perhaps I'm just looking in the wrong place. Twenty years ago you would of been hard pressed to find a car USB charger anywhere except on the internet or a phone store. Now just go into any 7-11 and they are the first things you see.

Sal Bandini

Just ride with 18650 flashlights then, and enjoy the best of both worlds.

Convoys are crazy cheap.

noglider 

I mean knowing which cells are likely to give long service without catching fire is a job the consumer shouldn't take on, so paying more for them can be worthwhile. To ensure the consumer doesn't do that, the maker might solder the cells in. That also makes the contacts more reliable. You may disagree with this decision, but it is, at least, rational. I've repaired a lot of Apple products, such as iphones and computers. Over the years, they've gone from very difficult to repair to exceedingly difficult. I'm not happy that I'm no longer able to do the repairs, but I am happy that they are more reliable than before. I still buy Apple products, even though I'm not entirely happy.

noglider 

Quite right. I don't even know how to pronounce it. In my mind, it's "one eight six five oh" but maybe people say "eighteen six-fifty."

01 CAt Man Do

There are still a few choices for bike lights that use replaceable AA cells. Most of those are designed for road use where output is generally lowered in order to accommodate the lower capacity of the batteries and to extend run times. I too find it annoying that many of the newer bike lights with self-contained Li-ion batteries are not designed for easy battery switch out. There are a few exceptions like the Wiz-1, Wiz-20 and Fenix BC30 that do allow for easy battery switch out. I own both types and yes the ones that you can't switch out the battery will in a few years lose so much capacity that they will become redundant. Real shame to have to toss a good bike light simply because the battery is half dead and can't be replaced. Of course if you go with one of the cheap Chinese versions than not having replaceable batteries isn't really a big deal. Just buy another one for $20 and you're good to go for the next few years. I own a couple of these myself and some are half decent.

Someone mentioned using a simple 18650 torch like a Convoy. Nothing wrong with doing that. Works for me.

noglider 

@01 CAt Man Do, which are the decent cheap tail lights? I don't like most of the cheap lights I've tried, but @DWMkee turned me onto a cheap headlight that is surprisingly good.

01 CAt Man Do

I think we have discussed this before. I see lots of decent cheap ( < $20 ) tail lights on the web...Amazon, ebay...Gearbest...or any of the other cheap Chinese websites. Almost anything with a COB LED panel should be bright enough to get you seen. I tend to favor rear lamps that can be aimed but I've used both kinds and both can get you seen. All you have to do is do some shopping on Amazon or ebay and start looking at the selections. Read the reviews and check for videos. The straight COB panel rear lights are quite common and pretty bright. I think what surprises me is that as common as these are to find on the websites I rarely see anyone using them. Then there are the cheap Chinese clones of brand name rear lamps like Cateye, Cygolite, Planet bike...etc. While not as bright as the brand name some of those make for decent rear lamps as well. ( * Generally speaking when I say something makes for a "decent tail light" my litmus test is that I am able to see that light ( very well ) from 500 ft. away at dusk ) An excellent tail light should get you seen from almost a quarter mile away ( assuming clear line of sight ).