trailangel

That looks like hard plastic. Mine are soft rubber.

pbass

Have always had good luck with Lezyne stuff. Currently a 1300 Macro Drive on the front and a Zecto max rear light. The 1300 is plenty bright, but next for me is definitely to add a helmet light - my schedule now has me riding at the end of the day and I hit singletrack after the sun sets. I can see no downside to having a light that shines where I look!

CargoDane

I have a Trelock 760 headlight. But thinking about getting a Lezyne Or BUMM Ixon. Can you charge the Lezyne while it is on? Or does it shut down and default to a charging state?
I'm quite happy with the 760 as to how much light it gives, but I'd like something physically smaller.

pbass

Y'know, I had no idea, so I just tried it--it shuts down into charging mode as soon as you plug in the USB.
It does last quite a while, and is darn bright for sure. The form factor is nice, compact. Easy on/off the bars. I'll use it as a handheld flashlight when camping. And I was mistaken, mine is the 800, not the 1300--don't know where I got that. Plenty bright for my needs. With a helmet light I'd be in really good shape in the woods.

CargoDane

Ah, bummer! I really would have like a Lezyne. My 760 works even when plugged in, meaning I can go on as long as I wish with a battery pack attached. In fact, I also think it works as a battery bank itself to charge say, a pair of headphones or something. Haven't tried that, though.

Thank you very much for testing that for me!

pbass

That would be a feature I'd definitely want next time I'm light shopping!

CargoDane

The "working while charging" was something I very much wanted in a rear light. After having looked for years, I gave up. Then a couple of weeks ago I lost my Niterider Solas tail light (think I forgot it while repairing a flat somewhere), so I ordered a cheap tail light: The Trelock 740 Vector (it has a sort of brake light). It was cheap, so I figure it would carry me over till I could afford a good one. Turns out that that light also can be powered/charged by a battery bank while working as usual. That was a pleasant surprise.

What I'm trying to say is that those features seem to spread - I don't think Trelock are the only manufacturer which does it (I just bought the rear light because it was cheap and not blinking).
I know the BUMM Ixon Space at least has the "can-be-used-as-a-power-bank" working, but not sure if it will actually work while being charged.

Koyote

Most lights don't allow this. Is suspect it is because they would get too hot: running a light makes some heat, and charging a battery makes some heat, so doing both at the same time might be too much.

You could consider something like this, which can be reloaded with fresh batteries. If you bought two sets of rechargeable AA batteries, you could run the light for a long time.

CargoDane

Thanks, but I already have the Trelock. I don't want lights with rechargeable AAs. Those lights are no good to actually see with (as opposed to "be-seen" lights). I haven't used AAs - rechargeable or not for 15 years. I can't even remember when I last had lights with AA batteries. I believe it was 20 years ago, maybe.

As for charging while using it, it would be a simple of matter of having a controlller that would shut down the charging (or step down the light) if it gets too warm. Such protective circuitry are just about standard on modern, high-powered lights - although not all allows it be charged at the same time.
My taillight (also a Trelock by chance) can also charge while being used. The extra heat from charging will probably help in cold weather, to be honest. It doesn't take much power.

No, what I was looking for was a smaller light (still probably making use of a 18650 battery as the Ixon Core and the Trelock), but that would allow me to use my powerbank to charge it for the rare occassion where I'd be running for many hours, or simply forgot to charge it.

I used to have an Ixon Core, but when it broke, I bought a Trelock LS760. I was shocked how large the Trelock was (feels empty, so not that heavy) compared to the Ixon Core. But it has other things I like - not least that I can use the powerbank to extend the running time while riding. Especially if it's running at full power.

Koyote

CargoDane : You need a dyno light setup!

CargoDane

Nope. I don't want to deal with neither the drag, nor having a generator in a hub. I like my hubs to be hubs - and strong ones as such. Especially when the bike we're talking about is a cargo bike, often used to carry 40-50kg (my daughter) on the front, me on the back, and whatever else I might carry. I feel that is inviting trouble. And a dynohub doesn't produce much power anyway - when you're riding - and nothing at all when you're stopped.

Because of this, I have a Solbian Energy Flyer 12W panel for touring. Much better than a dynohub - especially as I have a cargo platform to place it on top of the duffle.

Storage-wise, I have a couple of 18650 batteries (and USB chargers (Nitecore Ui1 and the bank/charger F1) for it so they can be charged from the solar panel) and a Nitecore NB10000 battery bank.

My camp lantern is a Nitecore LR12 which also doubles as a headlight when touring (I have made a CF sleeve so it doesn't blind people with holes in the side, so I can been from the sides too. I tried to mimick the shape (cutoff) of a modern STVZO approved light. The LR12 uses an 18650 battery, and is of course both a camp lantern and a torch.

stanion

Outbound Lighting makes lights in a different league. Most lights are fancy flashlights. The only exception I could find is outboundlighting.com, which uses automotive technology for beam formation and generation. I got their road light which has vertical cutoff (like a car, and which conforms to StVZO) and has a really nice beam pattern that made my night commutes so much easier and more enjoyable (it is stressful when you don't see well).

dur4ce

Just got an Outbound Lighting Road light and it is great! I'm a bit of a lighting nerd in other hobbies (did a full projector swap HID upgrade on a past vehicle) and I agree that, at these brightness levels that LED headlights run at now, a cutoff is essential for road riding. Mounted the light unit under my garmin on a outfront mount, and placed the battery in a top tube bag. Very clean setup!