Best MTB Front light set up

[Candellara]

As title, doing a bit more mountain biking of late and i'm out when it's getting dark.

What's the best front light set up for downhill / trails through woods etc. I've got RaceFace bars which are quite think in diameter so my old set up wouldn't fit.

[Johnnybee]

If you’re happy to blow the budget have a look at exposure lights. I have one on my bars and one on my helmet and it’s like daytime.

[Fas1975]

Take a look at this

https://www.tredz.co.uk/bike-front-lights?q=moon+m...

Just picked one up myself. It mounts to the stem

[take-good-care-of-the-forest-dewey]

Magicshine monteer 6500. Best value for money. You'd need to triple the price to better lumen output. Like a sun strapped to your bars.

Back this up with an exposure helmet light.

[river_rat]

Fas1975 said:

Take a look at this

https://www.tredz.co.uk/bike-front-lights?q=moon+m...

Just picked one up myself. It mounts to the stem

Not sure I'd be wanting to ride downhill trails through woods with a 400 lumen light!

I've got one of these:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Nestling%C2%AE-Cree-X2-Fl...

I only bought it as an emergency replacement for a £100 front light that had broken, but I've not bothered to 'upgrade' from it as it is so bright (easily as good as the £100 light it replaced). I've ridden Epping Forest single track in the dark on unfamiliar trails no problem.

[Candellara]

river_rat said:

Not sure I'd be wanting to ride downhill trails through woods with a 400 lumen light!

I've got one of these:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Nestling%C2%AE-Cree-X2-Fl...

I only bought it as an emergency replacement for a £100 front light that had broken, but I've not bothered to 'upgrade' from it as it is so bright (easily as good as the £100 light it replaced). I've ridden Epping Forest single track in the dark on unfamiliar trails no problem.

This is more like it. I had one similar on my old bike but the bars on the new bike are a thicker diameter and the curvature of the light doesn't fit around the new bars. Bars are Race Face SixC 35, 820mm

Any ideas?

[river_rat]

Not sure if the curve of the light unit will fit a really thick bar, but an option might be to move it left/right a bit to a thinner part of the bar? It uses a flexible rubber type strap to hold it tight which is quite adjustable (you get two different sizes).

I've got 3 mountain bikes with different bars on all 3 and have used this light on all of them with no issues, just need to change position on the bar on the thicker bars.

I guess for £20 it's worth just getting one and trying it!

EDIT - just looked at your RaceFace bar and it is thick.....moving light to thinner part of bar would probably be only option for this particular light.

Edited by river_rat on Friday 17th July 09:48

[Fluffsri]

Exposure all the way, not cheap but you get what you pay for. I've done the buy cheap buy 4 times lol. I have the MaxD for the handle bars and the Diablo for my helmet, cracking set up and been running faultless now for 3 years.

[itsnotarace]

Have an Exposure joystick that can either mount on the bars with the metal mount (the rubber mount is st offroad) or on helmet. Works very well for cross country. For downhill riding you probably want both bar and helmet mounted lights

[Justin S]

river_rat said:

Fas1975 said:

Take a look at this

https://www.tredz.co.uk/bike-front-lights?q=moon+m...

Just picked one up myself. It mounts to the stem

Not sure I'd be wanting to ride downhill trails through woods with a 400 lumen light!

I've got one of these:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Nestling%C2%AE-Cree-X2-Fl...

I only bought it as an emergency replacement for a £100 front light that had broken, but I've not bothered to 'upgrade' from it as it is so bright (easily as good as the £100 light it replaced). I've ridden Epping Forest single track in the dark on unfamiliar trails no problem.

Know of riders who have bought similar ( loads of versions of the same light on ebay) and have been happy with output and light time. Most have rubbish batteries , but when the battery does go wrong get a decent one from Mr Torchy or buy one of his lights. Good backup and uses panasonic batteries
https://www.torchy.co.uk/

[Gilhooligan]

I use a cheap cree LED light (4 LEDs) from Amazon for mtb. I’d definitely recommend mounting the light on your helmet. Bar mounted lights on mtb trails is pretty terrible on tighter turns as the bars never seem to be pointing where you are looking.

[take-good-care-of-the-forest-dewey]

Skip to 6mins...magicshine footage.

All 6500 Lumens.

https://youtu.be/nKQtlpVLO58

[Gareth79]

river_rat said:

Fas1975 said:

Take a look at this

https://www.tredz.co.uk/bike-front-lights?q=moon+m...

Just picked one up myself. It mounts to the stem

Not sure I'd be wanting to ride downhill trails through woods with a 400 lumen light!

I've got one of these:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Nestling%C2%AE-Cree-X2-Fl...

I only bought it as an emergency replacement for a £100 front light that had broken, but I've not bothered to 'upgrade' from it as it is so bright (easily as good as the £100 light it replaced). I've ridden Epping Forest single track in the dark on unfamiliar trails no problem.

I have one similar, it's pretty good and the batteries that have come with mine do in fact last really well, although they are just shrink-wrapped cells in a nylon pouch. I do always carry a spare pack, and a spare lamp unit (I have a similar single-lamp version too, bought for £15 I think).

[Candellara]

Thanks Guys

As a first port of call i might get at my current one with a dremel to see if i can successfully elongate the curve as the Race Face bars are thick and you can't just move the light to a thinner part of the bar.

FWIW, i was always impressed with this set up which i purchased from Ebay for just £15

[Hoonigan]

I’ve got the £18 Amazon one, give it a try tomorrow, I reckon it will fit.
Def bright enough and way better than your cateye one.

[MarkJS]

Fluffsri said:

Exposure all the way, not cheap but you get what you pay for. I've done the buy cheap buy 4 times lol. I have the MaxD for the handle bars and the Diablo for my helmet, cracking set up and been running faultless now for 3 years.

This. You might find cheaper, but you won’t find better. Anything that kicks out more light for longer generally has a big, daft battery pack that you have to attach to your frame. If you’re doing proper winter mountain biking, you don’t want anything strapped to you frame as it will simply damage it over time.

I have a Maxx-D on the bar and a Joystick on my helmet - it’s not just about extra light, it’s also about having perspective. If you’re on a rocky descent at 10pm on a January night, you want all the help you can get!

Exposure’s customer service is also excellent.

[take-good-care-of-the-forest-dewey]

MarkJS said:

Fluffsri said:

Exposure all the way, not cheap but you get what you pay for. I've done the buy cheap buy 4 times lol. I have the MaxD for the handle bars and the Diablo for my helmet, cracking set up and been running faultless now for 3 years.

This. You might find cheaper, but you won’t find better. Anything that kicks out more light for longer generally has a big, daft battery pack that you have to attach to your frame. If you’re doing proper winter mountain biking, you don’t want anything strapped to you frame as it will simply damage it over time.

I have a Maxx-D on the bar and a Joystick on my helmet - it’s not just about extra light, it’s also about having perspective. If you’re on a rocky descent at 10pm on a January night, you want all the help you can get!

Exposure’s customer service is also excellent.

It's a good xc light, but just noy bright enough for fast DH. You need to run it with a helmet light, which adds another 100 quid to the set up cost... Brilliant though the joystick is. I supplement my magic shine set-up with one.

The magic shine blows the Mxx-D out the water for price... 80 quid cheaper, is nearly 3 times as bright, and importantly offers better peripheral lighting too, so you can eschew the head torch if you wish.

Another option is the cateye volt if the OP genuinely wants the best available... But it's eye wateringly expensive.

[Candellara]

I got the Dremel on my Ebay / Amazon one and managed to get a nice tight fit on the bars.

Can this really be bettered for £15 off of Ebay? Extremely bright