If you want to waste a few hours on eBay then looking at cheap bike lights is one way to go about it. This year we bit the bullet and bought a CREE XM-L to feature in our big road.cc lights test. It's not perfect, and there's a few bits that need attention for the British climate, but for the money it's pretty hard to fault.
Our CREE XM-L unit cost us shy of £20, including postage. For that you'd normally expect to be getting a battery-powered blinky or a cheap torch but this is a fully fledged rechargeable high-output bike lamp. It came with a UK charger and a helemt mount as well as the bar fixing, an O-ring. The battery attaches with a Velcro strap, either to the underside of your stem or the front of your main triangle.
Charging and fitting is a doddle, and once it's dark and you hit the button for the first time the amount of light on offer, for the money, is fantastic. Okay, it's not the 1,000 lumens the listing claims '' or anywhere even remotely near '' but it's fine for charging along unlit roads. The beam is narrow, with a dimmer outer beam that's fairly wide. I found it a touch too narrow at times, but on the other hand it spills very little light above the beam, so it's quite other-traffic friendly.
A diffuser is available as an option; we tried one, but it made the beam too wide. Fine for off roading but I preferred the narrow beam for tarmac. The O-ring was too big to keep the light in place properly so I swapped it out for a much smaller one from the parts drawer and now everything's fine.
The light has three modes: high, low and flashing. On high beam the battery lasts just under two and a half hours, and the illuminated switch does a decent job of keeping you up to date with the battery level, running from blue to amber to red to flashing red as the juice runs out. An overnight charge gets you back to full power.
The battery isn't well waterproofed – even though the lamp and the connectors are – so it's worth sealing it inside a sandwich bag or similar if you intend to go out in the rain. Through town the flashing mode is useful for day running and the light is visible from a pretty wide angle, even though there's no side illumination. It's not the best here but then there are plenty of lights I've used that are worse.
All in all you can't really expect much more for twenty quid. With a few hacks this is a great light for general use and is powerful enough to keep you out of the ditches on unlit lanes. It probably won't last for ever, but then you only paid £18 for it, and by the time you come to get a new one there'll be even brighter, even cheaper ones to choose from. Probably.
Verdict
Not the best light I've used, but by far the best value.
The light comparator
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road.cc test report
Make and model: CREE XM-L LED front light
Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?
* Can be used as Headlamp or Bicycie Light
* Model of LED: CREE XM-L T6
* Output bright can come to max 1600 lumens [lm]
* 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 casing
* Aluminum alloy reflector
* 3 switch Mode: Strong Brightness / Normal Brightness / Flashing
* 100v-240v Battery Charger ( LED indication for Power On / Charging / Full charge )
* Model of Battery required: 1 x 8.4v 6400mAh Battery Pack
* Colour : Black
* Dimension : 43mm
Rate the product for quality of construction:
7/10
Considering the price, pretty good.
Rate the product for performance:
7/10
Rate the product for durability:
7/10
No issues so far although the battery isn't well protected.
Rate the product for weight, if applicable:
7/10
Decent weight for a 2-pack light.
Rate the product for value:
10/10
Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose
It did well. A useful light with a decent beam.
Tell us what you particularly liked about the product
It was very, very cheap.
Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product
Battery is vulnerable to water.
Did you enjoy using the product? Yes.
Would you consider buying the product? Yes.
Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes.
Anything further to say about the bike in conclusion?
If the battery were waterproof it'd be a 9/10, but don't let put you off - a freezer bag fixes it smartly.
Age: 40 Height: 190cm Weight: 102kg
I usually ride: whatever I'm testing... My best bike is: Genesis Equilibrium 853
I've been riding for: 10-20 years I ride: Every day I would class myself as: Experienced
I regularly do the following types of riding: commuting, club rides, sportives, general fitness riding, fixed/singlespeed, mtb, Mountain Bike Bog Snorkelling, track
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37 comments
i feel like such a curmudgeon, continually getting irate about being blinded by other lights in and around town.
i guess it's a combination of changing light design a bit or doing whatever they do in germany or something, or possibly hoping that the douchebag with the helmet light shining in my face might listen when i shout at him to turn his light the fuck away from my eyeballs.
cross this article with the railway path one and you've got a regular angst mash-up angry cyclist on cyclist party.
I went for the C&B Seen version which seems to have better quality connectors and better quality cells in the battery pack, 5 hours on full beam for every full charge so far. I didn't think the Magic Shine version was worth £80 but then again I did not want to chance an ebay version direct from China in case of a failure or one of the battery charger horror story's I have heard. £40 is about right and the build quality seems better than an original Magicshine of a friends that burned out. I will be shelling out for the new mount rather than making something Heath Robinson to replace the silicone ring mount. http://www.candb-seen.co.uk/accessories/cables-o-rings-and-helmet.html
Beam pattern is a tad brute force as others have said but handily I have some polished stainless steel off cuts to fabricate a cowl from.
I purchased higher powered version, supposed to be over 5000 lumens for about 30 pounds from eBay. I ride it side by side with a exposure light which is about 2000 lumens. The cree is a little brighter but not much and runs for about 2 hrs with extended battery I bought. Amazing value for money and surprisingly well built I think. Can't fault it really.
***BEWARE***
I bought these after reading this review. Yes brightness is fantastic but they are not worth the risk.
We could have lost our house last night when the battery was charging in our kitchen.
Firstly one cell 'popped' and the unit fell off the worktop behind our rubbish bins. It burst into flame, then a second cell expoloded with a loud bang, sending black debris over the kitchen. One piece was stuck to the ceiling.
'Luckily' this explosion put the fire out but red hot parts were still around and we were able to deal with them.
Yes bright, but do you want your house lit up?
Battery explodes vsm_0.jpg
I've had similar case, the battery got on fire when I pulled the cable out a bit too strong. I'm happy it didn't happen when the battery was in my backpack...
This is why you don't leave (any, not just cheap) lithium cells charging unattended anywhere flammable. Best to put them in something that won't burn, like an old steel saucepan, and outside if you want to be really sure.
Holy resurrected thread Batman! There must be a statute of limitations on replying.
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