NUTNDUN

I don't know if I would spend so much on the Dinotte 800 when the magic shine is basically the same type of setup for less then 1/4 the price. I know the magic shine setup is a newer system and hasn't totally proven itself.

bautieri

Just curious but how hot do those lights get? Is there any concern with leaving them on for too long and buring out the LED or board?

cyccommute 

Those lights aren't LED. They are overvolted halogen. Their output is much higher than any LED currently available and even higher than HID. Yes, they do get hot but they are housed in a metal housing made for car headlights. Follow the link

Riverside_Guy

Curious, owning them, would you consider mounting them on typical bike helmets?

funrover 

Heck yeah, I love night rides. There is a certian peace that the day just doesn't have

love2pedal.com

I second the $90 Magicshine from Geomangear.com
Excellent company to deal with


It is significantly brighter than my $300 Cygolite Trion

Dan

cyccommute 

Yes.




The lamp doesn't get that hot. Lots of people put the same lamp in PVC fittings without problems but it does get warm. It really doesn't stick up more than many other lights I've used and I have a lower form light (made from a track light) that works too.



Here's what a P7 flashlight looks like in comparison

gapwedge

Can't argue that point.

CliftonGK1

When you start getting into the $450 price range and up, I don't see any benefit in sticking with a battery powered system. A wheel built around a 3N80 hub driving a Supernova E3 or Schmidt Edelux lamp will cost about the same amount and you'd never have to worry about running out of charge.
Sure, the argument can be made that for the same price you're getting 600 - 1000 lumens of output vs. the 60 - 80 lux (not really comparable measurements, I know) from the generator lights. But the output on a single E3 or Edelux is plenty of light for a nighttime 40mph descent.

gapwedge

The main thing we are all talking about regardless of our lighting systems and costs for such systems is enjoying our bike riding even in the dark hours. Never in my wildest dreams a year ago I would have entertained even the thought of riding in the dark much less riding period. To me that puts it all in perspective. I have learned sooooo much in my first year of riding and never thought I would enjoy it so.

CliftonGK1

True.
I've always enjoyed getting out and riding around the neighbourhood after dark, but it wasn't until I started commuting year-round and riding LD with the Seattle Randonneurs that I really appreciated the differences between day/night riding.
Spending 4 or 5 hours on a lightless road through the middle of farm country during the day can get boring: Corn corn corn corn tractor corn corn corn corn. The same area in the middle of the night becomes a surprise a minute: Corn, mouse, owl, corn, something rustling in the corn and you can't see what it is better ride faster, more corn, a snake...

Riverside_Guy

Fabulous... thanks so much for the effort of puting up the images.

Looks like some extra wire to the switch to be dressed?? 2 feet to the power pack seems short for mounting that on a belt... or do you emply a different way??

Saw the flashlight, but I really don't need it as a flashlight, I have a bunch of small LED ones that throw more than enough light in flashlight situations. I jiggered one to my bars and it was fairly dim at 30 feet, but it did kinda open it a bit as it was pitch black without it.

Did my first night ride 3 week ago, it really was quite wonderful (in Central Park, big green area in the middle of a big urban environment). The typically frenetic pace of the daylight hours very much transmogrifies to tranquility. Then again, the main road is pretty well lit, so lights aren't THAT necessary. There's another potential ride right down by the Hudson River that probably isn't all that well lit, but it's been nasty windy there and poured rain on a night group ride that was scheduled.

cyccommute 

There is wire coiled behind the light on the back of the helmet (you can just see it). That's about 2 feet of wire and my battery has a long lead on it too. I put it in a Camelbak so I don't need too long a lead. The power cord is just speaker cord from Radio Shack so you can make it any length you like. I also have some extension cords made of the same material if I do need a longer lead.

kenseth03

Greeeaatttt!!!! Now I really want to ride in the dark! LOL

b_young

Night riding is the best. And I believe is safer than the day. With proper lighting people see you sooner than in the day and they think your nuts for riding at night so they give you more room when they pass. I commute a lot. I work 6am to 6pm or 6pm to 6am. depending on the rotation. Usually half of my commute is in the dark especially this time of the year. I have also been known to not be able to sleep and go for a ride somewhere between midnight and 2am. I prefer it. Traffic is lighter, which is not too bad even in the day. I do get more not so supportive comments at night, but when someone passes by and yells something at me I choose to think they are complementing my bike.

lonegunman88240

i ride at night usually, i simply used a old innertube cut it into heavy duty rubber bands, and use them to strap my led tactical light on the handle bars, and i usually dont ride so much in town, because of intoxicated cagers, and a-holes in general that think its funny to run bikers into bar ditches, we have 2 jogging trails at the very north edge of town, the entrances to both are about 300 yards from each other, and in the same area theres a old army airbase with runways and old roads everywhere, we usually ride armed out there, just because one night a herd of javelina kinda spooked and ran out in front of us, my friend hit one, we got to see just how fast and far we could ride that night, i dont think any of them ever gave chase, but we wanted as much time and distance between us and them as possible, they can get dame vicious when they want,

CliftonGK1

Watch the Spanish horror flick "Eskalofrio" and then go for a midnight ride through a sparsely populated wooded route.

chipcom 

If I didn't ride in the dark I wouldn't be able to do much riding/commuting from fall through spring. Riding in the dark is a blast and I think it's actually safer than riding in the day because you can not only see the other vehicles coming better, but if you are decently lit and reflective, they can see you better too. You'll get over the 'creepy' part fast with a good headlight. The cheap P7 flashlights throw off a lot of light...I combine mine with my old Vega as an additional/backup, or with my Stella if I need more than a couple hours of runtime.

Best stay home then.

kwduffy02

I ride in the dark, usually 2 times a week, home from night classes at the University. It is about 4-5 miles one way. The route I take varies depending on what I am feeling like and which bike I am riding, usually down side streets or bike paths that are pitch black, sometimes down the main road through town which is pretty busy at night still. I have a 4 LED blinky on the back and a single LED light out front. The front could be a little bit lighter and after reading everyone's suggestions I might look into a new front light =).

Mazama

I ride in the dark, but not necessarily at night. 5AM. Very peaceful.

I get by with the Cateye HL-EL500 LED. Not real bright, as I have run into a few potholes, but some other options are just way too expensive.

chipcom 

You could get a P7 flashlight, charger, couple of batteries and a handlebar mount for the price of that light you have...but would have about 10 times more light. The days of decent lights being way expensive have been over for like a year already.

Riverside_Guy

Did some poking around yesterday, here's the most interesting stuff I came across:

https://nobmob.com/node/9475

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/....php?p=2960073

https://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=526474

Thermal paste looks like the one necessary mod, replacing the wiring seems a tad overboard. In one of the threads, the AYUP CREE image kinda looks similar to my e-cheapo LED lights.

BTW, they all say it's an LED, not an overdriven halogen. BUT, halogens do get hot while LEDs don't...

NB: Sorry, I worded the following poorly. The above refers to the 85 buck Magicshine P7 variant, the following to another comment about ultra expensive lighting.

Sorry, but the "way expensive/overpriced" will seems to apply. When I went looking at lights, I found whole websites devoted to lights that started at 400 and ran up to 700.

chipcom 

Hey, if you want to spend that kind of money when you can spend 50-70 bucks on a P7, charger, batteries, and mount...go for it...but don't use those prices as an excuse why you can't have plenty of light for riding at night.

FYI, LEDs don't get hot, but the circuitry that drives them can.

neilfein

My Dinotte 200L only gets hot if you run it while not moving - it's cooled by the wind.

I gotta agree with Nutdun - the 800L is porbably waaay overkill, unless you do a lot of night riding with long descents.

Peter White has a couple of very good pages up about lights - a general article and another about headlight beams.

gotls1

I've got a fancy-pants, bike specific, $250 light on one bike and a P7 with a $4 mount on another. The difference in lighting is negligible - both are excelent. If I had it to do over again I'd have two P7s and two $4 mounts.