znomit

Excluding cost...

P7 offers

• Makes a fantastic flashlight when you're not riding

The 800l offers

• Reliability
• Brighter (no those p7s are not 900lumen!)
• Customer service/warranty
• Upgradability
• One is enough

AEO

one disadvantage of the dinotte is the really small and unspecialized reflector. it really is just a flash light with a separate battery pack.

P7 flashlights and dinottes throw light everywhere. lumens can be rated every which way, the important part is where it goes with it's beam pattern.

if you want a really dedicated bike light, go with a light and motion.

PaulRivers

But if you want a cheap really dedicated bike light with a beam shaped and designed for bike use, you should also consider a Lumotec / Busch and Mueller.

daredevil

All those things are nice, yes, but not for $400+. Plus my P7 has been plenty reliable, has provided plenty of light, and one is enough. I put a Fenix on my helmet but that would be there no matter what I had on the handlebars.

The biggest drawback to the P7's is the run time.

daven1986

Looking at the Busch and Muller lights I have to agree with PaulRivers, they look the best in terms of where they throw the light.

Not the Slowest

I got hooked into the thrill of the Fenix for my road bike, think it was the premium
185 lumens
Nice light, affordable for lighting up the road, being seen (strobe) and AA availability. Great as a flashlight to read maps, fix a flat at night or put on my helmet. I bought the eneloops, sanyo, charger and now have tons of AA batteries some we use around the home.
As life goes so did my Fenix. It was lost when I was doored in November.

I bought a Romisen and ESE from Shining Beam to replace the Fenix, a mistake in hind sight. I wanted to still use the AA batteries.

Maybe I should of replaced the Fenix with a P7, who knows.
The Romisen is "okay", but I prefer it had a strobe or flash also.
The ESE worked okay for 3 months and then the solder of the spring in the cap fell apart. I fixed the solder myself and then the unit stopped a month later. Shining Beam would not support the repair.

The end result is:
I will buy new lights ONLY from a company that will support the unit with a real warranty.
I will not deal with HK or Chinese companies for the light because I already deal with Chinese Vendors and understand the reality of the margin they are making.
I will buy a Dinnotte 200 beacuse at $99.00 it is reliable and lasts over 2 hours on High.
I will buy the Dinnotte, because I can put on my helmet and it will not weigh me down. Ever ride 4 hours with an extra weight on your head. Your neck will ache, trust me.
I will buy the Dinnotte because if technology changes and it will I can sell the sucker and get 75% of what I paid or more.
I will buy the Dinnotte because if stuck on the road, it will take AA's sold in almost any store.
I will buy the dinnotte because I have banged into my flashlights several times when I stand out of the saddle.

Perhaps if I never bought the Fenix I would have started with a P7.

Oh yeah, why did I not buy another Fenix? I thought I was getting 2 for the price of one. I loved my Fenix and for sure would have bought a 2nd for christmas.

Rob

GTALuigi

P7 is good for lighting up 180 degree
Fenix is good for Distance throw straight ahead

is good to use them in combination.

basically Fenix on your helmet, so it shoots where you see, and P7 on the bike handlebar

The Big Wheel

Where is the best place to buy the P7 and Fenix? I really like the 600L but don't feel like paying $400!

lutz

Well, the P7's are so cheap by now - the service/warranty argument falls pretty flat for me.
The flashlights are pretty reliable anyhow - the underlying technology is the same as for the dinottes.
Very likely merely the shipping costs of having my real-good-bike-specific light fixed on warranty would be around the same as the ones for a new P7 light (incl. shipping).
My biggest concern is however, whatever lights one buys - they will be working just fine in 2 or 3 years, but they will be outdated. LED technology is progressing so fast - and hopefully reflector design will soon, too.
Unfortunately I will want to have the next technology perhaps two generations from now. Thus, bike lights are too short lived for me in this aspect to spend the big bucks.

lutz

fenix - 4sevens.com

P7 & others - dealextreme.com, shiningbeam.com, ebay

znomit

Read the OP. Cost is not an issue.

daredevil

and after the OP gets all the facts, let's see if that remains the same, ok?

socalrider

If cost is not an issue then get a Lupine..

https://gretnabikes.com/lupine_lights.asp

goldfishin

actually, cost was an issue. and still is. but so is my life. after riding in a heavy down pour the other morning i'm glad i got these things. i nearly got killed without them.

when i have the 800l on high and put my hand in front of it... and look at my hand, i'm damn near blinded by the reflection off my hand. same with the 400r rear light but not quite to the same degree.

and if you look at the light and motion (which is too expensive) beam shots, they're about the same or worse than the dinotte.

https://www.gearreview.com/LEDs09_800L_images.php

https://www.gearreview.com/LEDs09_seca-700_images.php

dinotte stays best bang for the buck out of dedicated bike lights.

i just couldn't trust the p7.

The Big Wheel

Can someone please confirm that the "P7" flashlight talked about in this thread is in fact the


MTE SSC P7-C LED 900 lumens Tactical Flashlight?

Cue

It seems a new LED is going to come out soon. I'm gonna hold off my DX flashlight purchase until the end of this year when this LED goes mainstream.

This is going to seriously piss off Dinotte and the like, their LEDs are currently obsolete.

https://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=514891

uke

P7, easy. I'm still using the one I bought back in September, along with the same pair of batteries, charger, and mounts.

PaulRivers

I thought the same thing looking at the shots. Actually, I always thought the Light and Motion light looked kind of pathetic. It just doesn't look as bright as the Dinotte.

But having used similar lights on my bike, my perception has changed from experience. The fact that the Dinotte is really bright in the center? It makes it look really bright in pictures. In practice, my eyes are always struggling to see outside the center of the beam - it's so bright, if you actually aim it like that your eyes adjust to the bright light in the middle and they struggle to deal with the lower light level outside the beam.

Honestly I understand why people think it's brighter - it's only personal experience that's changed my mind. The more even light distribution of the Light and Motion light doesn't look as cool in pictures. But the fact that it's light output is more "even" is less "oh, cool" in pics but more "oh, I can just see stuff whether it's immediately in front of me or ahead and to the side".

Hopefully, one of these days I'll get my hands on a camera with manual controls and I'll be able to post pics of how it actually looks to my eyes...I mean, I was pretty surprised myself (not about either of these two lights in particular, but about the shaped beam vs unshaped beam).

steveknight

when the new technology gets going and dinotte works it out they usually have upgrade options that are decent.

Cyclist0383

Fredness? What's the giant plastic thing on the front of your bike with the wood fender?

joshsc

DiNotte. I've done the flashlights taped to my bars in the past, and won't ever look back. But I don't blame anyone for not wanting to drop $500+ on lights for a bike. From a cost perspective the P7's are a great deal.

goldfishin

yeah, i still need to try it out when it's really dark out. so far they're just keeping me safer in storms. lots of storms... like the one that's apparently coming for my tomorrow morning commute.

socalrider

I have tried many of the P7 lights and just love them.. The best part is that the battery technology is evolving so now, I use 3000mah batteries that give me between 80-100 minutes of runtime.. I carry a couple extra cells with me just in case I go for longer rides.. When the batteries are shot, I have to pay just 9.00 each to get more.. Twice I have been burned by Niterider when my battery stop holding it's charge. 150.00 to 200.00 for a new battery, no thanks I will stick with a P7.. Between my P7's I have about 80 hours of useage with no issues.. I had one that would switch modes but was an easy fix with some Rare Earth magnets..

leamcorp

I commute at night (Leave my shop around midnight) and been using P7 lights for about 1 1/2 years.

If you want a reliable light for occasional or coming home bit late from your club ride, both will do a good job. The brand I use is MTE and haven't given me any trouble - including so many rain/dust, disassembly for battery and later, modification.

However if you are looking to commute at night like I do, you need to think about multiple light setup and cost will become a big issue. I can spend quite a bit of money but spending $800 for 2 light is bit too much or more for 3 lights.

I travel both suburb with street lighting and dark country road. My current setup includes 2 front always on P7 + pheonix 200 lumen helmet light and 2 P7 additional/backup lights.

When you're traveling at 22-25mph, there's no such thing as too much light - you want to see even a pebble on that road or that little pebble could throw you off. For rear - get something powerful also, either dinott or like me, 5 PBSF mounted all over the back basket + 2 recent purchase of red flashlight that is discussed on another thread here. I'm lit up like a Xmas tree at midnight and people on cars avoid me like a plaque (most actually get fully over to the other lane and then more).

Someone mentioned about Dinotte being bit more tidy - well, when you're dealing with multiple lights, that becomes less of an issue. And it doesn't cost lot of money to convert the P7 to use a single battery source. For all my light, I made a custome battery case that holds 4 to 9 18650 batteries. For the light itself, I made a simple dummy cell for all P7 and viola! I got something better than dinott.

steveknight

hey it's a bent I can get away with it.
but I just took it off I really like the bike without it. but the wooden fenders are cool I get a lot of compliments on them.