pastafagioli

I am researching the purchase of a headlight. I plan on beginning to commute to work a few days
a week, approximately 29 miles. Naturally, at this time of the year most of my ride will be in the
dark. I am looking at the Lupine Wilma 6 and the Dinotte 600L. The ride will be suburban, central to western Suffolk County, Long Island.
What are your thoughts regarding which light will best serve my needs?

ggg300

I may not know a whole lot, but I can see patterns in recommendations. For the most part, it seems that most prefer to have one bar mounted light and one helmet mounted one.

The Lupine is, wow, 830 lumens of light...but the price seems to be around 650-700 bucks.

The 600L is still wow @ 600 lumens of light...and the price of 400 bucks or so...

Then there is the USE Exposure enduro maxx, 720 lumens for about 450 bucks..

Based on what I am coming to understand about LEDs, the price on these units will be coming down soon. Given this, and the recommendation for a helmet light, I would rule out the Lupine.

dekindy

When you say suburban do you mean well lit or a significant amount of total darkness?

Will you be on streets with automobile traffic or paths?

The commuter section is the best place to post this question.

ViperZ

I'll say bang for buck, 600L

operator

If it's on streetlighted roads, you'll need some serious firepower to see your way through the dark patches in between street lights. A light that would be fine on a completely unlit road will be inadequate to near useless on a streetlighted one, especially when it starts to rain.

The 200L would definitley not be enough for the above case.

Edit: I know you said 600L but just giving you a frame of reference.

dekindy

Good advice.

markenduro

I would say go for the lupine if you can afford it, I have the wilma6 and it allows near daylight speeds off-road, can be set to dim (3 settings, 100%, 60% and 12% brightness) and lasts for ages on the 2 lower settings and comes complete with everything you need including mains and car charger adapters. Close second would be the USE, they have a fantastic after-sales service should you need it.

acroy

+1 from what I've read.

Lupine is hella pricey... x-change rate doesn't help. Dinotte has an excellent rep for customer support as well, and as new LED's come out they'll upgrade you.

Cyclist0383

They both upgrade to new LEDs and they both charge for it.

ViperZ

I'm very happy with my system, however I also look forward to any future +cost upgrades

paulrad9

I wanted to like the Dinotte as its specifications are about the same as the Lupine's, but the Lupine is a bit more refined.

• It uses less handlebar real estate and the cable isn't intrusive or in the way
• It has a remote on/off switch which comes in handy when you need to flash an oncoming car
• The mounting system is very simple and can be mounted/removed completely very quickly
• Its small size (light and battery) makes it less noticeable when on the bike, which comes in handy when you only need it for a short time in the early AM before a day in the saddle
• Lupine has a solid reputation

Dinotte threw in the extra battery, which makes little sense to me when you consider a Lithium Ion is good for about 300 cycles or ~3 years before it reaches its end of life. So, unless you're going to be riding 14 hours / week in the dark (or charging each battery 2 times / week) having two batteries is just wasteful.

2manybikes

29 miles per what? Week? Day? One way?

More light power is always safer. The Dinotte is a great light, but if you can afford more light always go for it. It helps in rain and glare and high to low changing ambient light conditions. If you read the on line insructions for the Lupine you can see a lot of hidden features like resetable battery protection, programable charger, and other things.

In both cases you get what you pay for.

ViperZ

Valid Points, however here is my take on it....

• Having the remote switch takes up just as much bar real estate, and is another thing to install. Thus running the cable along the bar does become more intrusive. Besides, I can't see me flashing a driver, but you never know
• The mounting system on the 600L is just as quick if not quicker to remove the head, plus it is totally removable like a quick release, and it allows vertical and horizontal aiming of the beam.
• The Wilma is actually bigger than the 600L in dimensions I think.
• No contest on Lupines rep.
• Nearly $200 more for the Wilma vs 600L

Extra batteries make little sense...?!?

My night rides often run for +3 hours. It's nice to have the extra battery and know I will not be stranded should a mechanical or other occur.


The Wilma is a nice light, no doubt, it represents the state of the art lighting on the market, unfortunately, the costs are also representative. ... YMMV

ViperZ

True enough... I love the Lupine Charger!

Additionally I think Betty is one wicked looking light!

2manybikes

If you consider the price, the size, the power, the run time, the features, the quality, what ever the price of a particular light it kind of fits into some kind of range above or below lights that are more or less $$. In my mind a light with less light that is less money can be an equal value to more light for more money. You get what you pay for more often than not. Leftovers and overstock prices can change this around but that's not apples to apples.
Dinotte is building a good reputation very quickly.
Having two lights is great if one is damaged or just quits.
It also gives you lots of power settings.
It's a good price for 1200 lumens.
You can also have one aimed close and one far, or one to each side a little.
You can loan out one for a friend. You can save a friend who has his light quit on a ride.
They look cool.
There are plenty of benefits and disadavantages to them all. I wish the head for the Betty was smaller diameter too.
The Lupine switch can be even with the head for no more handlebar space, or on the stem. Not having a seperate bracket and a fast mounting system is great when you have 15 bikes (or 14 and a trike).

How did you make out with the empty Lupine battery case?

paulrad9

True. It's rare that I'll need more than 2-3 hours of light on a given night but I can see the need.

I saw the extra battery as a way to entice people to buy the light, perhaps making up for something that is lacking (not saying anything is); had Dinotte decided to sell the unit with just one battery but made the unit smaller, I would have bought it.


Really? I don't remember how long a 600 is but the Wilma is ~` 1.5 inches deep which I thought was less than the 600

ViperZ

We haven't finalized the battery case.. Todd's been pretty busy, so I can understand that. I have been scouting for a soft bag alternative as well that would fit in the bottle cage.

15 Bikes, you really do live up to your name buddy

I just finished putting the Continental Spike Claws on the Wedge, it's full on Winter riding now for a few months



I find I may not use the spare battery, but like a spare tube, it feels good knowing you have it. I carry a spare battery for my commuting HID. Although I seldom have needed to use it to get home, I just put it in the rotation now and then when required to help keep it fresh.

The Lupine's are an awesome light, and if it would have been about $150 cheaper and included an extra battery, I would have considered 1 or 2 Wilma 6's instead.

2manybikes

It's not hard to make a nylon or leather case just the way you want. You could sew it or just rivet it. I've made a few things like that. With a little practice it's easy. Someone who makes leather goods may do nylon too.
I find that the camera case area in some stores have good small bags. If you have Circuit City, or Target stores up there, try them. You can buy one that is close and just take it in where needed too. That works great and is probably the easiest and fastest.

dbs

I know this is off target but I'm looking that the Busch and Muller Ionix IQ speed or the straight Ionix IQ. They put out 50 and 40 lux respective. These are based on some new lense technogy. I don't understand the conversion between lux and lumen but according to Peter White of Peter White Cycles, the current Ionix (before the new lense), rated at about 20 lux, is plenty for anyone commuting at normal speeds (15-20 mph). The cost is way, way below what you guys are talking. If I decide to buy one of these I'll report on what I find.

ViperZ

I was planning on visiting a camera shop or outdoor store

Cyclist0383

My old 10w Sigma Sport halogen spot, which was very tight, was 60 LUX. 40 LUX isn't nearly enough light to ride safely at the speeds you describe.

acroy

For the price of the Lupine:
How bout DUAL 600l's? 1200 lumen babay!
https://store.dinottelighting.com/sha...unt2=709083199

looking into this for myself. I like dual setups, mo' respect!

dekindy

USE Exposure enduro maxx, 720 lumens for about 450 bucks

Very good price and high quality if you need this bright a light. Piggyback battery option for longer run times.

diesel_dad

Your commute, 29 miles, will likely take about 2 hours total. I have the Dinotte 600L and I would highly recommend it as a handlebar light, esp. if you are using the same bike all the time.

For a helmet light, the Dinotte 600L is too big and heavy (having tried it for a few days). I am very happy with the Fenix L2D CE Q5 on my helmet with a BikeBlock mount. It's a good compromise between weight, brightness and runtime. The beam pattern is also pretty good on a helmet with lots of spill.

The Dinotte 600L will last for > 3 hours -- so it will make one full commute on a charge and maybe two. And the batteries are small enough that one can take a charged spare without too much weight.

The Fenix should last for the two hours with high capacity NiMH batteries. The Sanyo 2700 Mah are the highest measure capacity on the market at the moment. I keep two extra charged batteries in my pannier so I can switch if I really need to. Alternatively, you could leave a charger at work and pop the batteries in while you are working.

I have a PB Superflash blinkie and a Dinotte 200L. The PB is more practical for commuting since it's easy to remove when locking up the bike. Not as bright, but still very bright.

dbs

Ziemas,

Interesting comment. Sigma claims their 5 watt (20 lux) systems should be enough to commute as does Peter White who is the primary importer of B&M lights. As we've read several times everyone's night vision is different but 60lux versus 20 lux is a huge difference. Did you mean to say 'tight' above or did you mean 'bright'? If you meant 'tight' what do you mean by 'tight'?