NiteRider MiNewtX2 "upgrade"
 

I currently have a single MiNewt. I've been eyeballing the X2 headlamp "upgrade" NiteRider" offers on their site for $49.99. Not that I'm having issues, just that I find the idea of more output for a minimal investment appealing. Just more to fill in some of the shadows on the road, so to speak. Has anyone actually gotten the "upgrade" and (pardon the pun) seen a noticiable difference between the old & new? Is it a reasonalbe investment - enough to relegate the old one to the "bike stuff" box? :twitchy:

i dont have the MiNewt but i made a similar lumen's upgrade from Luxeon (<100) to SSC P4 (150 lumens) on my Princeton Tec Apex headlamp . The P4 uses less power and produces more light with more flood. Is it worth $50? i dunno. I paid $5 for the LED and did the swap myself.

Im considering buying the MiNewt myself, and cant decide between the USB, X2, or Twin MiNewt.

I didn't see an offer for an upgrade. Where is it?

You buy a new X2 lighthead, 42.50 at AEBike. Its a good deal if you have the light already and just want a little more from a single light. Getting the USB model for 78 might be better.

Or you can just throw a new led (SSC P4 U2 bin) into your old one. Even better than the X2 and 10$.

You will be using the same battery so run time will be cut in half. My buddy has been disappointed with his because he does not even get the advertised run time.

Hmm. This sounds VERY interesting. Is a new LED literally drop-in or is there soldering involved?

I have been trying to figure out how to do that,.... but have never found instructions.... can I beg and perhaps pay you to tell me how???

My 2 cents - I bought the X2 - great light - but if I had it to do over I'd get the USB version. The charger for the 'regular' X2 is kinda bulky and most of my gadgets already charge with USB. Would have been nice to be able to use a single charger rather than have to carry that bulky AC adaptor.

Theres a brief post here or on candlepowerforums about changing the LED. Seems you undo the bolts and it just pulls apart(quite tight though). I assume the LED is soldered. The MinewtX2 has a T bin SSC so upgrading to U2 bin will be a nice boost. The X2 is a nice light as is(but a little more light is always good).

dkindy I got the advertised runtimes on my x2. I was really happy with it.

edit... disassembly here.

I took mine appart and did a bunch of seraching on candleforums (their lingo is way above my head).... and it appears this model is a direct drop in replacement:
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.2026

The leads and the size look identical to what is in the original Minewt.

What I want to know, what is that white goo under the LED? Is it that heat paste they sell on DX? Its still grease-like on my 3 year old Minewt and so I am guessing I can re-use but don't want to assume.

I plan on doing this mod to my Minewt but want to batch up my order from DX.

Thanks all for pointing me in this direction, can't wait to double my output to an already great light.

Hiroshima,

Pictures of the MiNewt disassembled, please? Also, no heat sink in the MiNewt?

That emitter is a U bin, not a U2 bin. How much difference will that be?

Yeah, pics please Hirohsima. Yes the white stuff is heat conducting grease.
U bin goes from 90-120lm @350mA, a big range. SSC split it into U1 and U2 so the U2 will be 15% brighter than a U1. See the sticky here. X2 is T bin. I would buy from someone other than DX, I get a bit of stuff from them but for the LEDs you don't know what bin they really are.

The grease is heat conducting paste, like the stuff under a CPU. Must have enough to span the interface completely.

I will take pics soon. I had it all apart on my office desk and my boss came by (also a cyclist now that I convted him) and asked what the heck I was doing.

All the guts are in the battery which explains why replacements are so much. The head is held on by 4 2.5mm screws which have a thread locker on them. To remove, you twist just slightly and pull apart. No clips or tabs hold anything together. The front element is glass, the reflector is plastic and floating (no attachment other than friction).

The LED is soldered to a small circut board with (now that I know, thanks prev posters) heat paste sandwiched between the LED and the board. There were two phillips screws in there, but I did not have the proper stuff to undo those.

From what I can see, the job of desoldering and re-soldering a new LED should be straightforward. I plan on doing it in the next month or so before it gets dark. I don't want to mess with it until I have a new light (this is going to be my backup/helmet light). I don't see a heat-sink unless the board is shaped like a doughnut and the aluminum mates to the back of the LED. Looks to me more like the LED is pasted to the board, and the board rests against the back of the housing.... but once I disect and re-do I will be sure to take more pics....

Any suggestions on who to buy from other than DX? I am new to this whole lighting thing..... I have always liked bright lights, but previously just shelled out $ rather than tinkering on my own.

There's a thread on the MTBR forums about upgrading a MiNewt, though not a USB one. It should still apply to our MiNewt USBs.

Looks like it was a pretty easy upgrade.

Edit: I looked more closely at my MiNewt USB and it appears that the head is glued together, not bolted as described above for the regular MiNewt and X2. I've ordered the new emitter already; now I'll have to figure out how to get this thing apart.