Then don't. Pretty simple solution.

Some of us disagree with you and it's great to have options. And it's crazy stupid to have weak lights on rural roads if you want to live to a ripe old age.

Being that a cyclist is more vulnerable than a car, then it's even more appropriate to have lighting equivalent to other vehicles. So far, I have had nothing but positive comments from drivers and law enforcement officers about my lights.





J.

Seriously doubt this. Please post a link to your light.

J.

not joking .... this light is bright. I only use it on the low setting, and even on low, it's bright. I have had it for a while, and commute on very dark back roads 5 times a week. So far so good (for the £16 that I paid) ... if it packs up, I will buy another of these

6200LM 3x CREE T6 LED Bicycle Bike Light Headlight Flashlight+Battery+Charger UK | eBay

http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTAwMFgxMD...Wxvhc/$_57.JPG


Dimensions: 49mm: L: ×74mm: W: × 41mm(H)
Weight: 130 g (Without battery pack)
LED: 3×CREE XM-L T6 extra white LED
Output 3 x XM-L T6 white LED bright can come to 6600 lumens
Battery: 4×18650 battery pack
Circuit: Digital CC circuit, power indicator system, Low-voltage alarming system.
4 Mode: Low-Mid-High, hidden Strobe
Dimming: Electronic pushbutton switch
Lumens: 6600Lums
Runtime: (8400mah) 1h40min -2h40min
Material: Aluminum alloy
Lens: Impact-resistant optical lens with AR coating
Reflector: Metal reflector
Waterproof: IPX-7, unable to support dive use.
Head & Tail: Aluminum alloy bezel ring
Mark: LED and mode are optional on your preference.
Internal wiring applies the high efficient booster circuit, working voltage is wide and can utilize the batteries in the largest extent.
Waterproofing design.
Aluminum alloy structure with wear-resistant anodized finish, deep heat sink finish.
High-performance electronic switch
Slightly click the switch to turn ON/Off the light.
Slightly click the switch to change the brightness modes, Low-Mid-high.
Long-press the switch for more than one second to access strobe mode.
Power indicator system:
Power > 80%.. three indicating LED on.
50%< Power < 80% , two indicating LED on.
100v-240v Battery Charger. ( LED indication for Power On / Charging / Full charge )
Model of Battery required: 1 x 8.4v 8400mAh Battery Pack


Package Content:
1 x Bicycle Light Black color
2 x Spare O-ring
1 x 8400mah Battery Pack
1 x Charger (EU plug), UK plug adaptor will be sent for free
1 x HeadBand as showed in picture

Remark:Please kindly do the battery charge for 3-5 hours at first time use. The power of battery may auto eliminated after long time delivered.Please do not run the strong mode for the whole time, the light overheat may eliminate the lifespan of light.

Looking at the Cree XML datasheet, I think you'd be very lucky to be getting 1800 lumens out of the LEDs at full bright not including losses in the lens and reflector (substantially less) or less than ideal performance by the LEDs due to electronics (if there even are any). The only way they get to 6200 lumens is by driving the LED way out of spec.

Also, there have been warnings about the battery packs that Solarstorm has used on some of their lights. So you might want to take precautions when charging the battery.

This from your description above is telling:
That tells me that almost certainly there is no thermal control of the light. Run this thing too hot and it's going to burn out - or worse - run it on bright for any length of time and it's going to burn out. You can run it too hot running by running it on full bright or if you were using it in other modes and it was hot out and you were not moving (airflow). This thing is probably just direct connected to the battery. All of these things are bad (awful) for reliability.

Pretty classic Chinese light spec game playing and reliability issues. As always, you get what you pay for. In this case, they have taken out any thermal management, use cut rate (maybe factory reject) Li-ion cells in non-protected packs and charge them with a cut rate charger that may not have any protection whatsoever. All of those things would take cost out of the device and reduce the long and short term reliability and safety.

J.

One can have plenty of light for any on road condition without going overboard with lights not designed for on road use, or function like headlights. One person may have the choice, but everyone else facing them doesn't.

well, it has lasted most of winter.... so, job done

a few more days and it will still be light at 10pm here so I won't be needing a light. It cost pennies, and has served me very well. If it packs up, I will just buy another next year, but I won't be paying hundreds of pounds though, and most probably will buy another Solar Storm

back light is a different story though.... I opted for a Cygolite Hotshot which I'm very happy with ... I looked at the Dinotte but was not prepared to pay the high price as the Cygolite Hotshot does the job fine. That with a Proviz Reflect 360 Hi-Viz jacket is all that is needed IMHO

YMMV. If you don't like me riding with my lights, then write your legislator.

I think if you rode where I do you'd have an entirely different opinion.

J.

Point here is that it isn't what it's claimed to be. You can't compare this Solarstorm light to the Lupine lights that are noted for accurate specifications, high reliability and safety. All of those things cost money. What you bought is not a 5000 lumen light for 20 pounds.

I would also be concerned about the relative safety of their battery packs. There are other brand name cheap lots that don't have that sort of a reputation. Do note too, that Magicshine - one of the first Chinese lights - put a US online retailer/distributor (Geoman) out of business over safety issues with batteries that caught fire. Magic shine then pulled back to Chinese protection and forced the retailer to do the safety recall, which put them out of business.

J.

well, like I said, it is super bright on the low setting, and has lasted me through winter (and I use it daily for 5 days running per week) .... it has not burnt my house down or melted in my pocket and has switched on every time.

battery lasts me 3 days before I need to re-charge. (approx 2hrs 10 min ride time)... it still has charge after 3 days, but I re-charge the battery. I use it on the headband and it has not fried my brain

so, if it does blow up next year, I will just buy another Solar Storm.... it's a bargain at £16 and I have not seen any head light with this power for the same price. People who have bought this Solar Storm off ebay give positive remarks/feedback

I live in a rural area, and have see a 5000 lumen lupine flashlight in action. Anything above its 3rd or 4th power level is far brighter than any vehicle headlight, and IMO negligence to use above that in the presence of other road users. Fortunately I only encounter people with such poor judgment maybe once a year.

Well, then we see it differently.

You probably don't want to ride here at night because you'll just be offended by my light that everyone else tells me is great and how well they could see me. There are enough car/bike collisions around here already and I don't plan on being part of that statistic.

Unfortunately, I encounter quite frequently cyclists with poor judgment who don't have sufficient lighting.

J.

Except those same laws restrict maximum brightness. I've tried some German lights, and though the beam pattern is nice, they're not bright enough for my rides. For the few days I used them before returning them, I had to ride the brakes all the way down the hills with rough road that are on my route. With cheap eBay lights (600 or so lumens) I can bomb them full speed.

I use a circular pattern light, but it's very spotty, then fix a beam widening lens on it. The result is a moderate cutoff when I aim it properly, and a ton of light on the road.

I live in a rural area so I know people I see driving on the road, and I've asked a few of them later if my light bothered them, and nobody was bothered.

The EU laws don't restrict maximum output, just output above of a specific focal plain. The new B&M IQ-X dyno light is about the equivalent of better 500 lumen battery lights, and matches the usable light of my 1200 lumen battery light at 150' and beyond.
Now that the new EU standards allow battery lights, I suspect we will see significantly brighter battery lights that function like true headlights.

I too desire bicycle lights that can stand with other vehicle lights on the road, I'm just not willing to do that at the expense of others ability to see the road. Fortunately with a combined output equivalent of 1700 lumen between the IQ-X, and Specialized flux expert I have all the light I could possibly need for any condition, and do it responsibly.

Yes, I see poor judgment at both ends of the spectrum, especially at the inadequate end.

Thankfully, with some thought and effort its possible to not be either "that guy".

There are no laws restricting maximum brightness.

StVZO only requires that when the middle of the beam is aimed to reach half the mounting height 5 meters from the bike, at 10 meters 3.4 degrees above the brightest spot must not measure over 2.0 lux.

E-code HID projection headlamps in cars are astonishingly bright in spite of a being allowed only 1.0 lux at that inclination and 25 meters.

Which ones? Newer ones with better reflectors put twice the light on the road with longer run times.

Oh come on, doesn't that effectively restrict output?

Well there are, depending on where you live. However most are worded such as to not apply.

In the UK a law in the 1980s addressed it...but those limits are stated in electrical wattage and not lumenosity or flux....which well a 55W incandescent headlight from the 80s is magnitudes less bright than a 55W LED array or HID.

No.

Replacing my 1998 Audi A4 US DOT headlights with 1999 E-code European parts satisfying those restrictions subjectively put at least 3X more light on the road in spite of the sharp cut-off and using the same bulbs.

It does mandate larger reflectors and housings (~2 inches in diameter not walnut sized) to provide both brightness and beam control.

Well, in any case, I've sunk several hundred dollars in the last 12 years into trying out various "wonder lights" from Germany and other EU sources, and my favorite light remains a $30 eBay special over all of them. Either the light was too dim or the runtimes were too low (I won't ride with anything that doesn't put the equivalent of 500 lumens on the road and run for at least 3 hours with that output).

At this point I'm really not inclined to waste any more money trying to replace a light that I love and that doesn't bother other road users.

I used to have the light that dim posted in #53 for quite a while. One day it suddenly shut off during the ride. It didn't break, just the charge was running out. After recharging, it's on again, but I didn't want to risk it shutting off without warning. It didn't go dimmer and dimmer first, just went from normal bright to completely off. The light itself was great, and very lightweight. Now I just use super bright flashlight that runs on 18650s, so that I can replace the batteries easily. By the way, wonder if anyone want to try this for 88 bucks: (let us know how bright it is if you do :))

http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/ODAwWDgwMA...cAAOSw8lBTn5gx

Great 6 Cell Battery Pack for your T-6 or Dinotte lights.

Heavy Duty Cable Connector

4-6 Weeks to arrive. I now have 4 of them. Planning for century nite rides.

http://www.gearbest.com/chargers/pp_180249.html

Can it be used for the Chinese light that runs on 4x18650? If so, brighter or lasts longer or both?

No,

LED light circuits are designed to produce maximum brightness at the design voltage. They get dimmer if the voltage is dropped, but excess voltage not only doesn't help, it can overload and damage the circuit.

It's sort of like playing blackjack. 21 wins the hand, and getting close below that is OK but not as good. However 22 is bust.

I see you puny little battery pack and raise you with one thats 3x the capacity...
http://www.kaidomain.com/product/details.S024616

Yes, its the same voltage as a 4x18650, so will run just as bright for longer. The typical 4 cell packs are 2s2p (2 series 2 parallel), but you can get 2s, 2s3p, and 2s,4p packs that will have relative capacities of half, one and a half, double. Factor in the fact that often the cells that come with the cheaper lights are only half the rated capacities and you might end up with 4x the runtime from the battery pack below.
http://www.kaidomain.com/product/details.S024616