Gonna start saving to upgrade my Lumenator soon enough. But don't really fancy an Exposure (various reasons). Is there anything that might be as or more reliable without going double in price. Preferably lower priced but somewhere in a similar ballpark with warranty which I'm hoping I'd never need (like my Lumenator).

Prefer something that stands along and last well. Will be using on my commutes to work and back as well as mtbing

Complicated question I know but surely the whole world doesn't just use Exposure as it'd be a tedious thing sending back for warranty claims or for them to just be nice and repair faults (just saying)...

One by one, everyone I know is going over to Exposure lights.

They really are very good Shaf. I had to return a joystick and the entire process was fast and painless - the only problem I've encountered was a reluctance to do anything about a dynamo hub*.

in summary, I've yet to see anything that doesn't carry a greater degree of compromise somewhere.



*re-branded SP, so I can partly understand.

Oh... ok then. My Nitecores are about £200 invested in em but I suppose you're right. Will get saving and sell off one of the Nitecores I guess. Like Smudge said to my mate when he went to collect the Lumenators for us... "you can't have too much light"

Yinding.
It's basically a clone of the Lupine Piko, yet with a simpler chip inside.

We have two in our household and they've been working with no issues for many years. Like 7 or so.
Good focus on the beam.
I use it with Magicshine batteries.

Downside, it's output (not the same as amount of light) is about 800 lumen, which is a lot but may not be enough for some specific types of riding.
For this I use an old Magicshine with 1600 lumen. Doesn't see the same amount of use like the Yinding, but has been in use for more than 10 years.

Both, Yinding and Magicshine get you lots and lots of performance for a little price.

History of my lights

Bare in mind these were used daily up until last Christmas

BLT - poor light but these were 15 or so years ago. Battery lasted two winters before giving up

Topeak HIDs - ahead of their time in my opinion, battery gave up the ghost by the third winter and are now useless

Hope - cable eventually gave up but battery performance on the third winter was shocking. Gave up on them!

Moon - brilliant lights at a good price. Got past that magical third winter but battery performance massively dipped in winter #4

Bontrager- love their products but they can’t make lights. The tears are temperamental at best and the front battery didn’t have a decent burn time. Was given them free by Trek, so can’t complain (too much!)

Exposure x2 - (mk 7 joystick) gift that keeps on giving! Lasted several years and the batteries are still lasting. Now moved to my helmet light as treated myself to an Exposure Toro this year as I wanted more light and more run time.

Not once have I regretted Exposure lights Moon would be a good second place for me.

I've been using Fluxient lights from Torchy for quite a few years and they've been great however I recently indulged myself and bought an Exposure Toro (cosmetic second in their sale so saved a few quid but still has a full warranty). I have to say it's really very good. Last weekend me and my mate (LBS owner) did a gravel ride overnighter after he closed his shop, setting off around 6pm and riding until about 10pm before setting up camp. I set the program on the Toro to give me 4, 12 or 36 hours and used mostly the low power 36 hour setting while riding in on forest roads then just left the light on as a floodlight while we pitched up and cooked dinner. It still had 26 hours runtime left when I got home the next day after a further couple of hours on flash mode while we did a road section. On Thursday I'll be night riding our local technical trails and will swap the program for a shorter runtime/brighter light setting for that. It's great to be able to customise the settings according what type of ride you're doing (especially if you ride different types of bike which have different lighting demands). Sorry Shaf but it's another vote for Exposure from me.......

Alpinum wrote: ↑Tue Oct 20, 2020 4:47 pm Yinding.
It's basically a clone of the Lupine Piko, yet with a simpler chip inside.

Both, Yinding and Magicshine get you lots and lots of performance for a little price.

I had a Lupine Piko years ago ... I mean YEARS ago, must have been 2004 or so. I just looked at their website and it's come a long way since then. I really liked mine, but it got nicked with the bike it was attached to.

And I also rate Magicshine lights. Had a few of those too.

But ... yeah .... I'm all Exposure these days, a Joystick and a Diablo. Simply great products.

Exposure for the last 13 years or so. Literally have no interest in anything else. Early adopter, never looked back.

it'd be a tedious thing sending back for warranty claims or for them to just be nice and repair faults (just saying)...

well yes it would be its far worse for them to not care and not fix it and you are buying british
My mate has one of the early joysticks and still uses it and has never had a problem
Mine is 3 yr old and never had an issue
I dont know about the bigger lights but eventually the batteries will die so I would want something i could replace as i dont think LED lights will ever really need upgrading.

Sorry I can’t help in recommending alternatives Shaf. I’ve had a Strada for 5 years and it’s never failed and battery is still strong. I bought that second hand so it must be 6 years old at least. I had a joystick before Which failed and as mentioned, the return and repair was easy and painless. I would have no hesitation in buying another Exposure.

And I’ll just add that an Exposure TraceR makes a very good barend light shoved in the end of your drops

There seems to be a theme emerging here. Can't quite put my finger on it

BigdummySteve wrote: ↑Tue Oct 20, 2020 7:50 pm And I’ll just add that an Exposure TraceR makes a very good barend light shoved in the end of your drops

Must try that. I actually have a TraceR to hand (well the front cos the rear got lost when attempting the West Yorkshire cycle route start-of-Covid (I think)... I failed naturally

Have a look at https://www.four4th.co.uk/.

They're local to me and most of my mates and me use them. They're reliable, tough, and seem to be long lasting. In fact i don't know anyone who's replaced theirs in about 3 years.

Internal battery pack is a major benefit, along with all the other things that have been mentioned, about Exposures

I've made m e way to Exposure and now I'm using them think they are great. I do not need but keep toying with the idea of getting a Toro.

Cheeky Monkey wrote: ↑Wed Oct 21, 2020 1:18 pm I've made m e way to Exposure and now I'm using them think they are great. I do not need but keep toying with the idea of getting a Toro.

I reckon this might be the sweet spot for me. Not too heavy, large capacity, capable off road but should be ok on the road aswell without too much dazzling...

Knew it was an Exposure I should get but just wondered that maybe there's summat I'm missing...

I have no idea if there is such a thing; There will be companies making self-contained lighting systems, but I have not found a company that makes such a good package, from the accessories such as mounts, the innovation they offer with clever tech, and then you move onto the customer care side of your hard earnt money...... I have a Revo dynamo, MaxxD, Link+ and a lovely purple Diablo that goes in my pocket for every non biking adventure I go on.

I have a Toro and Joystick, both ages old (at least 8 years plus I think) and both still work well. I've had to send the Toro back due to a wiring fault once and it was fixed and returned quickly for free. I also cross threaded a few flash/flare commuter lights which the guys gave me some spare parts for with no charge when I collared them at an event. In short, Exposure are pricey but they work and I've found the firm good to deal with.

You obviously have your reasons to avoid them, but it's hard to recommend anything better.

This has been a really useful discussion - I have a shabby front light and can feel an upgrade coming on. I would like to keep around the £200 mark.

Toro here at £236 and the site has an extra £10 with their code, so £226 (I bought mine from here
https://sdjsports.com/products/exposure ... bike-light

redefined_cycles wrote: ↑Wed Oct 21, 2020 2:09 pm

Cheeky Monkey wrote: ↑Wed Oct 21, 2020 1:18 pm I've made m e way to Exposure and now I'm using them think they are great. I do not need but keep toying with the idea of getting a Toro.

I reckon this might be the sweet spot for me. Not too heavy, large capacity, capable off road but should be ok on the road aswell without too much dazzling...

Knew it was an Exposure I should get but just wondered that maybe there's summat I'm missing...

The Toro is at the spottier end of the off road lights but it's still too floody for any real road riding. Depends if you're using it for connecting up off road stuff or actual road riding.

I use mine for commuting (pre lockdown!) so I went for a Strada which is a much more considerate light on the road, still works fine off road. If I wanted to get a pure off road light as well I'd probably go with a Toro too

Euge wrote: ↑Wed Oct 21, 2020 4:21 pm This has been a really useful discussion - I have a shabby front light and can feel an upgrade coming on. I would like to keep around the £200 mark.

Euge. I have a Lumenator (will link my thread I started 3 years ago before I got that) and its amazing what a bit of quality lightcan do for your state of mind....

voodoo_simon wrote: ↑Wed Oct 21, 2020 4:23 pm Toro here at £236 and the site has an extra £10 with their code, so £226 (I bought mine from here
https://sdjsports.com/products/exposure ... bike-light

Thanks for this. Really very useful... Might take a look at the Strada too since Ben mentioned it above... obviously by the time I've saved up (front hubs on car and some other servicing bits coming first) that discount probably won't quote be the same