don't really know anything about batteries other than what i have read on the forum. if you go with the lithium ion ones they should be the (protected type). if i understood it correctly this will keep them from exploding during recharging. here is the link to the ones that were recommended from another post. http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.5790

these batteries need to be charged with a charger designed for lithium ion batteries. here is the link to the charger that was recommended in that same post. http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.1251

Edit: the 18650 are not interchangeable with AAs

That light has a longer runtime than the L2D because it uses more batteries, stuffed into an external battery pack. This is not an elegant solution. Furthermore, you cannot use it as a regular flashlight when it's off the bike.

It also uses a P4 LED emitter, which is not a current generation emitter. It is most likely an extremely poorly constructed product. It will likely have poor optics, poor water resistance, and poor durablity for commuting use. The Fenix is vastly superior.

The Fenix L2D is not the brightest flashlight on the market. A Q5 emitter powered by an 18650 battery will be brighter. A P7 emitter will be brighter still.

Can anyone say anything about the strobe on the MTE SSC P7 C-Bin 900-Lumen 8-Mode or the 5- mode?I would prefer fewer modes but I would also like to avoid giving/getting headaches. 1hz should not give headaches but I do not know the strobe frequency for the 5 mode version, which is in stock- making it more appealing.

fall is approaching and my rides don't start until 6-6:30. These are also 30 mile rides and I am not exactly fast.

I have the 8-mode MTE P7 light. The 1Hz strobe is too slow for cycling use. The 3Hz is great. The rapid strobe, which is too fast to count, is seizure inducing.

The MTE P7 has a rather diffused beam. I have it mounted to the bars, on the 3Hz setting.
At night, I have a second Q5 light mounted on my helmet. I use its very concentrated beam to light up distant objects.

I was thinking of that! I don't think that I could find the perfect light but it would beeasyto find the best 2 lights. The diffuse beam would be good for trail riding when I want to be sure of the perimeter and also in the city when I want cars to be able to see me. I was thinking of a light with more throw/ narrow beam for when I want to see farther ahead. I can't decide between the deal extreme super thrower or a fenix l2d

I like the convenience of AA's though myself. :)

Until I got the 18650, I would of agreed with this based on - oh I could get it from local convenient store if it runs out - but now it doesn't make sense.

I think most of us uses rechargeable - and most of us carry spares (me, bunch of spares). I think we also buy these items in advance or via mail order, which also negate "get it from convenient store"

As for my riding condition - I'm never that far from home when commuting or when I go for a long ride (on weekends), there's no stores anywhere on these remote locales.

I love these lithium based batteries. They hold better charges and hold more capacity. And they last longer than Nimh/Nicd.

Am I missing something?

At this point I'd need to invest more on another charger. Maybe eventually. I've put enough into all this already.

Another thing is we have a lot of items around the house that run on AA and AAA so the convenience deal again.

I ride with that setup (2 SSC on handle, 1 fenix on the helmet) and I found fenix bit wanting when I needed to look in the distant. There's definitely a cutoff point and its always shorter than what I want to look at.

I may try one of those long thrower, but I am also going to try SSC on the helmet also. I think it may be bit too bright - but its wide beam is just too good.

One thing - the MTE SSC's beam is very white, while Fenix's beam shows much more yellow.

I went riding on some bad roads today and noticed a problem with my MTE P7 light. Every time I hit a large bump, the light cycles to the next mode.

Does anyone else have this issue?

I see some suggestions that I might purchase in this thread, but what about weather resistance? I'm in Florida, where rain shows up out of nowhere, and the humidity tends to be a bit high on occasions (94% this morning). The lights I would use are mainly for daytime, or perhaps dusk and dawn when the time changes, so the lights I choose are more for the "to be seen" category.

So are pretty much all of these water resistant, or should I be looking for some specific types?

Water resistant, you ask?

General demo

Darn, can't view youtube, I'll have to check it out tonight when I get home.

Suffice to say, the Fenix is water resistant. :)

I know from personal experience too.

This is a concern. I have one on order that I plan to use for off-road riding.

if you really want the light, then the 2 mode version sounds like it would be better.

Thanks for the heads-up. I bought that light, 5 of the Rayovac batteries, and the charger for under 50 bucks shipped, and it came in 3 days. I am quite satisfied with it's performance.

It sounds like your mount isn't stable enough. Either tighten that or use duct tape to secure the light to the mount and bars.

I'm using a Twofish Lockblock. The mount is fine.

If the problem persists, I'm going to have to mount the light on my helmet.

Sounds like the batteries are loose and momentarily loosing contact, switching modes.

I went with the MTE SSC P7 flashlight. I am not sure if it is the best one for my use and the quality of the flashlight but we will see! There is another 900 lumen flashlight by Aurora that sounds like it has better throw. I might get that one next to augment the MTE, or I might buy one that is called the Super Thrower. I would just like to see who the set up works initially before I go out and spend over a $100 in flashlights. I think I am going to pick up a front rack before I buy a second light. That way I will have something to strap both flashlights to and my light will be lower and further ahead, spacing them apart and reducing shadows. With or without the second flashlight, the MTE will be better than my sigma bikelight.

I plan to use this light mainly for trail riding and some limited street riding.

This probably won't apply to this thread because the price exceeds the original question, but since I got one of these at a pretty good discount and am getting the flashlight either way, I'm probably going to give it a go as a bike light (at least to test it).

In any case, the specs on this light make it an awesome consideration several types of use. Whether it's got enough spill as a bike light, I don't know...but it could always be coupled with another light for spill, because this would certainly deliver the throw at less than $100 (I got one for right at $71, a few lucky people on the CandlePower Forums got one for less than $50). Supposedly incredible runtime and will take several battery types (2xCR123A, 2xRCR123A, 2x16340, 1x18650, or 1x17670). And with the Olights, you're getting something that I associate with Fenix, too, and that's outstanding quality (for those with concerns about that sort of thing . . . ;)).

Olight M20 Warrior PREMIUM Tactical LEDFlashlight w. Cree R2 - 250 Lumens

Couple of modes and runtime specs:

7 lumens, 150 hours
90 lumens, 12 hours
250 lumens, 4 hours
Strobe

Pre-orders are being taking at 4sevens.com and batteryjunction.com. Check it out if for nothing more than to see what the new technology is bringing us. :thumb:

I've bought one too -- should arrive in a week. I see DX is selling the bare emitter units The new listing has a note --

570 lumens is still OK with me!

http://www.shiningbeam.com/servlet/t...CREE-Q5/Detail
ENTER CPFuser TO GET 6% OFF

Holy crud!!!

My 2 Romisen RC-N3 Q5's from Shiningbeam.com just came in. These babies are bright. I work in Law Enforcement and we often sit around comparing flashlights rated around 50-70k candle power. I can not tell you how high these rate because I am not an engineer. However I know for sure that when I get to work tonight I will be bragging about my flashlight that is just a hair less bright that cost 1/4 of the other guys lights.

The only con was that the beam can not be focused. However at 3pm when it was 100* out I could see the spot light on the ground from 4 feet away in direct sunlight. I would highly recommend these. I have 2 Duracell Rechargeables 2400mAh-AA/HR6/DC1500 NiMH/1,2V in them. I would highly recommend these flashlights even if you dont use them on your bike. I will use these at work. They will blind someone for sure.

http://www.shiningbeam.com/servlet/t...50-Cree/Detail

I bought this light from Shiningbeam. Great thrower, good quality.

Update on the MTE P7 switch problem: I unscrewed the tailcap slightly and the problem goes away.

I just received my Romisen RC-N3 Q5's last week and I admit they are bright. Haven't had a chance to try them on the bike under nighttime or twilight conditions, but maybe tomorrow (I have the day off) I'll go for an early morning ride and see how they perform.

OK, now that I have been using that light for a dark am commute for a while, I have to say I am impressed and pleased with my purchase. It is bright enough for me to commute to work on an unlit bike path at 17-20 mph. I mounted it with a twofish lock-block on the handle-bars, and am more than pleased. I am going to get another one for when it is winter and dark on the way home as well, and mount it on my helmet.

:thumb:

These MTE P7s sound great, but their battery life seems to only be around 65-70 minutes? Our morning rides are usually 90-110 minutes and will soon be all in the dark, and we ride on some really dark roads so I need something seriously brighter than the dinky 7 LED Cat-Eye that I have now.

Are there other similarly bright lamps (P7 I guess?) that might have a longer battery life?

Thanks!

They start to dim after an hour on 500 lumens, but you can always pop in a second battery. If you use it at medium mode (about 250 lumens), they should last for at least three hours on full brightness before starting to dim. That said, I think there's someone on the candlepower forums who sells P7s that take two 18650s, which would result in 2h at 500 lumens...

Yeah, there are several on Deal Extreme that take two 18650s, I actually ordered one yesterday then cancelled when I realized the thing was 9.5 inches long! That'd look a little funny on the bars.

When are we going to see the CygoLites, Dinottes, or NiteRiders with these technologies?