Ultra Bright Metal Halide Arc Lamp with a perfect 13 degree beam spread for off road riding or 6 degree beam for road riding.
New outstanding aluminum lamp housing in choice of black or silver anodised.
Features new Q/R camlock bracket.
4 hours bright white light mounted on your handlebars and aimed right where you need it. Combined with a 4 hour Fast two-stage charger and our 13.2v NiMH battery pack available in choice of frame or bottle cage mount.
Price: £299.99 Including VAT at 17.5% Mtbr Bike Lights Shootout - over 50 bike lights reviewed, photographed and measured here.
I appreciate the team spirit of Unlimitedgb.com , for assisting me to solve my each and every problem. You have always assisted me with meaningful and attractive way. However some times your technical experts rang me up to provided help to solve the issue.
Submitted by
Big Bad Wolf
a Cross Country Rider
from Woods
Date Reviewed: December 1, 2004
Strengths: White light, very bright, quick release so is easily switched from bike to bike. Smart loading system , just plug in and forget until the next time you need it
Weaknesses: None really
Bottom Line:
This is a great light, compact yet bright beam. 10W Halide has 40W of WHITE light output in a 13 degree beam . 10W input means you can run it for 4 hours before the battery is drained. White light means there is no difference between daylight so my average speeds are almost as high as during the day. 13 degree beam angle is ideal for offroad conditions. Ideally suited for long nightrides. I use this light practically every day in the Winter months. Occasional nightriders shouldn't bother, there are a lot of cheaper systems, but for people who really bike a lot at night, this is your ticket.
Strengths: Review for the Lumicycle HID lithium Ion system with an extra halogen lamp as a back up/short ride light. Light weight simple design (just over 700 g with 2 lamps + battery). You can change the bulb yourself - no need to return to the factory for replacement. Choice of beam pattern to suit your riding. I use the 6 degree for road riding. Choice of battery type NiMh will run for 4 hours or the Li-Ion (smaller + lighter) which will run for just over 5 hours. Also you can choose between a bottle battery or a frame bag. Best to go for the frame bag as you can then adapt an old bottle if you ever need to bottle mount it. The light output is awsome with street signs over 500 metres away reflecting back light. Great service and spares backup from Lumicycle they aheve always been very helpful if I have ever needed any advice.
Weaknesses: None
Bottom Line:
If you want a good value simple, robust and well made HID system then go for it. There is a marked difference in how other road users treat you (much more caution + space).
Strengths: Bright, simple design which works well. 5W, 12W, 20W, 35W, spot, mid & wide beam combine to make a very versatile system to suit all needs, on and off road. Smart charger has never been off all winter, totally reliable. Cars dip their lights as soon as I come into view. It’s broadly believed that simple designs work best and are the most reliable, and these lights prove this theory to be correct. New QR brackets are superb. They are not brittle like some others which means they won't snap.
Weaknesses: Airport security very suspicious of water bottle with cable sticking out. Didn’t realise it was just a battery pack, beware!
Split pin socket on lamp, should be solid connection for better grip of battery plug.
Bottom Line:
Yet another hassle free winter training in the dark almost over, that’s three now with my trusty Lumicycle lights which performed flawlessly. Two batteries and two 35W spots light up the road nicely, enough to descend at daylight speeds. 35W lamps do get very hot very quickly when stationary, take care not to allow over heating. Ceramic lamp holders and slightly longer lamps to dissipate heat would fix this minor flaw.
Took mine to France where I was working. French airport security spent 20+ minutes trying to decide what was inside the water bottle with the protruding cable. I should have carried a lamp in my hand luggage to prove it was just a battery pack.
Please e-mail any questions as I’ll be glad to answer these
Strengths: very bright customisable excellent service simple construction little to go wrong cable ties are simple and seem good
Weaknesses: look like they are mad in primary school workshop but hey get 35W gets realy hot
Bottom Line:
the lights are excellent, very bright short charge time 5 hours with fast charger and the lights actaully last as long as they say on their website and slightly longer. the "spot lights" give a very wide beam plenty for offroad. I chose 35mid and 12spot but would suggest to get all lights with spot beam.
The glow ring idea is quite good at lighting up handle bars for side visibility but blinds the bike rider so i covered the very top with black tape, the glow ring is also good if you find that you cant see your speedometer
dont get any other lites the service is very good and all spares are available
Submitted by
scott Lennie
a Cross Country Rider
from Kent
Date Reviewed: October 25, 2003
Strengths: Made in Great Britain Reasonable light weight 4 hor run time Cost
Weaknesses: not as bright as other HID systems. electric leads have tendancy to ejct from lamp... Switch is easily knocked to 'off' position
Bottom Line:
These lights are not worth the £280, I paid. First fewrides were great but then I started getting used to it and it's shortcomings became clearer. it's not as bright as my mates Cateye Stadium lights and not as robust. Crashed on night ride last week and lamp shut off. Took a few tries to get it working again. will have to replace the battery because it looks like a few cells have been damaged in the crash.
Overall I'm just not happy that I spent £280 on this system and the Cateye Stadium on my mates bike is £20 cheaper and much much better. Also the home made look does nothing for me
Similar Products Used: Lumicycles NiMH 2000 halogen system, Cateye Stadium
Bike Setup: Orange P7, Hope Mini Brakes, SRAM 9.0SL shifters and mech, Deore frontmech, USE seat post, bars and Stem, Hope Cane Creek headset,eggbeater pedals
Strengths: Simple design, bright light and durability. Fast charger is excellent and I have no problems whatsoever with this. Plug and forget chargers are by far the best way to go. Quality batteries used in production. These guys care about cyclists.
Weaknesses: Rough road surfaces tend encourage the jack plug to work it's way out of the lamp socket. My solution to this is to hook a small rubber band over the cable and the point it enters the lamp socket and then over the lamp housing to come to rest against the screw located between the lamp housing and bracket. The cable has never worked loose after adopting this small modification.
Bottom Line:
Great lights. Two seasons now and no problems to cause me any concern. The model I purchased was the bottle battery with two lamps, non Halide. The bottle battery is 13.2 volts and very adequate, but my greed for more light encouraged me to rig up an additional 14.4v battery. This worked fine all winter and I now use two 35W spots, one @13.2V and one @ 14.4V. Awesome. The extra light the 14.4V battery throws out over the 13.2 volt version is whiter and a good deal brighter, but I do believe this will do bulb life no favours as a result, perhaps bringing it down to about 10% of it's nominal value. I should still get about 200+ hours worth though. Buy these lights, there great.
Favorite Trail: If I'm on my bike, I'm happy anywhere.
Duration Product Used: 2 Years
Price Paid:
$265.00
Purchased At: Direct from Lumicycle
Similar Products Used: VistaLite, not in the same class.
Bike Setup: Bog standard winter training road bike
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Ben Saunders
a Cross Country Rider
from Berkshire
Date Reviewed: April 23, 2003
Strengths: Bright, compact, battery life
Weaknesses: Cable comes loose occassionally and I have managed to knock the power switch off a couple of times
Bottom Line:
I have used a pair of Lumicycle's older halogen lights (20W flood, 12W spot) for a while (and still do), and this Halide light is very impressive. It doesn't quite give the spread of the Halogen flood but the overall brightness compensates for this.
I ride road and MTB and no longer try and use the Halide light for the road. Because the light is so bright you are tempted to aim them a long way ahead, and the net result is you end up blinding motorists and will get flashed regularly. It seems a waste to have such brightness focussed a short way ahead. Offroad the light does work extremely well. I'm not sure that the Halide v Halogen power factor is quite correct, but the light is definitely brighter than the combined 32W output from the Halogens and batteries last much longer.
Added to this, Lumicycle have finally come up with a decent cam lock type quick release fitting, and this works really well. With no permanent attachments to the bike you can detach the whole lot in seconds (particularly handy for swapping bikes or when you don't want to leave £300 worth of kit attached to your bike outside the pub!)
It does seem like a lot of money for a light but if you really want to see rather than just be seen these do the job.
Submitted by
spangelsaregreat
a Weekend Warrior
from edinburgh, scotland
Date Reviewed: January 2, 2003
Strengths: Robust and simple design, easy to get spare parts, long burn time, bright lights, fast charging
Weaknesses: Zip ties (see below), leads pull out of lights sometimes, becareful not to leave 20w on at rest (see below)
Bottom Line:
These are great lights as is testified here and in most bike mag reviews. There design is simple and well manufactured. The 12w spot is bright enough for most single track but the 20w really lights up the trail at higher speeds. Burn time is good and the batteries are reliable (so far).The battery bag fits well under the bars and stem. If you can afford it get the fast charger.
The zip ties are crap, basically. I have binned them in favour of their new quick release clamps which should now be standard issue (ditch the ties guys!!). As observed by other users the battery cables can pull out of the lamp at times which is a pain but a minor one. I used my light as a torch last week and forgot about the heat. It melted the innards of my 20w. My own stupid fault but they sent out new innards by return post and they are easy to fit.
Not cheap lights but they are very good and I can't see me ever needing anything else. If you buy them now get the QR clamps, you won't regret it. Great backup support from a true cottage industry taking on (and beating) the big companies.
Similar Products Used: Smart 2,4/10w Halogen Nicad
Bike Setup: Giant NRS, SRAM 9.0, RaceFace Turbine etc etc
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Andy Smale
a Cross Country Rider
from UK
Date Reviewed: December 6, 2002
Strengths: This is a review of the new Lumicycle Halide HID lamp unit, not the halogen system. 13 deg beam, which in real life is a 10 deg spot with a dimmer halo around three times that. Looks well made, decent clamp (at last!), and it is of course more efficient than a halogen light.
Weaknesses: (Some of the following also applies to most HIDs on sale:) This simply does not put out the equivalent of 40W halogen - 20-25W is a much more realistic estimate (and Lumicycle admitted to me their claims are way off the mark). I think the bluish colour fools you into thinking it is brighter than it is. The spot is only fractionally brighter than Lumi's own 12W halogen spot, although it does kick out more light sideways. If you ride it on the road you have to keep it pointed down (drivers will full-beam you otherwise, something that never happens with my 12W halogen), and this limits what you can see in the distance - not a problem off-road of course! Distinctly blue light, no closer to "daylight" than halogen. If you're thinking about using this in conjunction with a halogen bulb on your existing Lumi battery, my battery (in good nick) won't handle 35W and HID together, and I have doubts as to how long even new batteries would stay the course with this treatment.
Bottom Line:
If you intend to use this off-road as a stand-alone light, provided you accept it only puts out 20-25W equivalent for 12W input, then you may well be happy with this. I'm not sure I would recommend the HID/Halogen 'PLUS' system for fear it wouldn't last too long, and for riding on-road, a 12W/35W spot halogen setup is far more suitable - 35W is just way too handy for flashing people and fast downhills, and the HID doesn't offer much advantage over the 12W halogen.
Similar Products Used: Lumicycle NiMH2000 halogen system.
Bike Setup: MTB used on-road
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Howard
a Weekend Warrior
from The North of England
Date Reviewed: October 11, 2002
Strengths: Small, lightweight, burntime beats pretty-much anything else out there (watt for watt)
Weaknesses: Beam not as "white" as they say, Cateye ABS has better beam pattern but lasts for half as long. Zip ties mean that the lamps move when you switch them on, due to lack of remote switches. Needs remote switches!!! Battery pack needs decent straps & leads vibrate out of the lamp units quite easily.
Bottom Line:
Buy'em, cuz they last for ages and thats all that matters really.
Similar Products Used: Cateye ABS25 & 30, Cateye Stadium
Bike Setup: Kona hardtail, but does it really matter?
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
uncle nick
a Cross Country Rider
from the north of england
Date Reviewed: September 6, 2002
Strengths: burn time, light weight, simplicity, zip tie mounts (really, i like it!), cables don't look like the sort to wear thru' and blow the fuse (damn you blt)
Weaknesses: straps on frame mounted battery a little too short to go round aluminium frames - and i'm not on a 'dale. plugs can come undone a little too easily. specialized use a rubber cap to seal the socket from water when disconnected that also does a good job of holding the plug in.
Favorite Trail: the uk has great trails everywhere
Duration Product Used: 3 months
Price Paid:
$200.00
Purchased At: from the supplier - they were race support
Similar Products Used: blt, vistalite, cateye, nite rider, stadium lights, specialized; night riding for over 10 years now so burnt out my fair share of lighting rigs.
Bike Setup: singlespeed xc jeyboy. full-suss geared rig for day rides
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Ian Humphreys
a Cross Country Rider
from Salisbury
Date Reviewed: September 5, 2002
Strengths: Compact (much smaller than my Nightsuns), light weight, bright white light
Weaknesses: Zip ties
Bottom Line:
Update on my last post. The zip ties are just a pain to take them on and off the bike easily. The Nightsun modification did not work so bought the Vistalight quick releases (sick squid £6 form www.chainreactioncycles.co.uk - excellent web based mail order with free delivery, excellent prices and always turns up the next day)which work perfectly. Now it is September I have recently started using the lights again. They charged up without a problem and work as new. 5 chilis even though the zip ties are a pain because it is cheap to sort out.
Bike Setup: Proflex 757 upgraded with Risse Astro 5 and Genesis air shocks
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Ian Humphreys
a Cross Country Rider
from Salisbury
Date Reviewed: April 12, 2002
Strengths: Compact (much smaller than my Nightsuns), light weight, bright white light
Weaknesses: Zip ties. My Nightsuns had a great quick release that I am loooking to modify.
Bottom Line:
Compared with my Nightsuns the light is much whiter, has a much better burn time, the Nightsuns where old, and is much lighter. I bought the rapid charger so that I did not need to worry about charge times. The information with the products is brief but to the point. I opted for the frame bag rather than the water bottle battery. The first couple of times I was not getting it attached properly so therefore I had it rattling around a bit. This has now been sorted and I have no problems. The zip ties... no real problems with the system just not as good as the Nightsuns. Use cut pieces of old inner tube to pad the handlebars to get a good grip. I do not see the value of having one switch. The switching on the back of each lamp works just fine. I have labelled them up so that I know which lamp is which.
I am using the standard 12 spot 20 flood but will look to try a 20 mid instead of the flood. Overall these are just FAB. They are light, very bright and look to be engineered to provide many years of service.
Strengths: No nonsense, excellent night time illumination attainable without any of the high tech gadgetry found on other more expensive systems, just pure bright white light which is what most of us crave on night time rides. Lumicycle have got it right by supplying all their light systems with a quality 13.2 Volt Nimh battery which provides excellent run times, and lets face it, the battery is the main driving force behind any light set. The small neat lamp units are simple in design and function and work well. All of this should be an asset when it comes to long term reliability. Lumicycle have available a wide range of upgrades which can be ordered directly from their web page. Not all light suppliers provide this kind of support.
Weaknesses: None yet.
Bottom Line:
I opted for the £149 two lamp system with bottle battery and standard charger (I couldn't stretch to the extra cash required for the smart charger - two kids and a wife to support). The 20W & 35W spot bulbs I use are best suited to my needs and choice of use is determined by the duration of my ride on the night. This system is way more impressive than the VistaLite package I used to own and if long term reliability matches my initial impression then I won't be disappointed. Nothing wrong with zip ties by the way.
