idiq

I remember reading an article, maybe on here, about a year ago... It was a company that sold a DIY HID light kit, and competed with Night Rider. It involved you assemblying the kit which allowed for it to be less than expensive than an out of the box kit. One feature that sticks out in my mind is a silver aluminum heatsink.

I'm posting in Mountain Biking because I know the large percentage of mountain bikers that use Night Riders, and hopefully someone knows the kit I'm talking about!

ed 

How much you wanna spend? HID is dead. LED system is brighter, lighter, more efficient.

idiq

Man do I feel like a neophyte... I guess I didn't want to go above $100... I can order at cost through QBP, so NiteRider isn't quite as expensive. Then the DIY kit found it's way to the front of my brain. It might have been a LED system, but HID sticks out in my mind.

ed 

You won't find a better or brighter light for a bill than the $90 Magicshine.

samburger

You should've just PMed chelboed. I don't think anyone here knows more about lights than this guy.

idiq

Didn't know that sam... And thanks for the tip ed

matttheknife

check out geomangear.com. I just pulled the trigger on the magicshine 2300 package. Seemed like a pretty good deal from what I can tell

ed 

The 2300 package isn't terrible, but it looks like a stinkin' Studebaker to me. An acquired taste. If you figure that the 900 lumen light puts out an actual ~650...and the little 2x 250 lumen R2's on the side are actually putting out approx 150 each...then you got around 1600 OTF lumens for 214.99.

If I were to build you something comparable, I'd charge you at least $350. Mine would be 1800 lumens, much better beam pattern, and probably 1/4 the size and weight...but you need to ask yourself what's important.

-Do I want the brightest thing I can find in the smallest package possible...no matter the cost?
-Would I rather get the MS 2300 and save the extra $135 for brews and bike parts?

Most of the time, I'd recommend option "B" and not sell you my setup. Compare it to a $750 or $1000 Lupine. Why the crap do those Germans think they can charge so much for something that's so big with marginal performance gain? Attn to detail. They have CNC...so it's probably a tad purdier

Matt has a good point, but IMO...don't get the 1400...just get two standard MS's...they'll blow your mind if you haven't experienced really high end stuff.



One other option is the Troutlight or troutie's 7up. Beastly lights for the coin.

matttheknife

Ed, I actually like the 1400's looks for some strange reason. I thought about going with 2 900's but I decided on buying the most lumens I can afford. My price limit was 200 and although I went over it by 15$, I am hoping that it will be worth it. I'll post more once they arrive and I've gotten a chance to try them out...