NiteRider Lumina - lock mode

[Karthick Gururaj]

My Lumina stopped working after my daughter was done playing with it - trying to switch on only resulted in a red light indicator even after full charge. While searching for the battery part number inside, I saw this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mjVlU_y-xM

Looks like Lumina has a "lock" mode to prevent it from accidentally turning on. The video saved me some trouble.

- Karthick

[Ali Poonawala]

Just out of curiosity...which is most robust front light for road riding ? 

Bang for the bucks point of view..

Is there a forum of night riders in Bengaluru ?? (bicyclists!)

Warm regards

Ali Poonawala 

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[db]

Karthick -- Many 'expensive' lights :) have the lock feature... it is an imp feature, since a light battery draining out when kept in the bag, can be a serious issue when one needs the light.

Doc -- I have used a lot of front light, since I do lot of night rides.  Have used lights upto ~12K MRP (bought in discount sales, ofcourse  :) ).  Had bought from wizbiker.in, IIRC.  Will see if I can post those links.  They are good lights, but for the expensive ones (more than ~Rs2K) , I'd rather each one review for themselves, as per their needs.

For general night rides overall, I would suggest this very reasonably priced one from AmiciVision -- 
https://www.amazon.in/dp/B07NTQ9J2H   ## this is the torch-only option (Rs549); no AAA batteries.

It can take a Li-ion 18650 battery (#), or 3x AAA batteries.  For night use, I would suggest using  a Li-ion 18650 (rechargeable) battery, ofcourse.  Higher mAh capacity, the better.  I have purchased a few of these from Robu -- 

https://robu.in/product/panasonic-ncr-18650b-3400-mah-li-ion-battery/  ## due to safety concern of Li-ion batteries, better to go for a known brand, even if it involves some price premium.

Note:  Li-ion 18650 is the "cell" in the 3/4/6/... cell laptop batteries of yester-years.  Also, any Li-ion power bank (not Li-ion polymer), will likely have 18650 Li-ion batteries.  So if you have any old laptop batteries or power banks, you can open them up (carefully) and see if any of the Li-ion 18650 batteries still have good life. :)

This torch has 5-modes -- 3 steady (high-medium-low), 1 strobe, and 1 SOS.  (Would be great if it had a steady flash mode, and (ideally) a pulse mode.)  It has an adjustable zoom, so you can control the beam focus... very useful for night riding, vs basic daytime "make me visible to others" use.

The build it petty solid... I have bought 5-6 so far.  One light had a battery contact issue, which can cause the light mode to change... having a light go from strobe/SOS to steady, during a day ride, is annoying at best; it can actually be dangerous, since strobe/SOS is effective for "make me visible to others"; steady light during daytime, is not very effective.

Another big reason to prefer this light -- removable battery.  Just feels more sustainable; though it impacts the water resistance aspect, and can make the light susceptible to failures in rain etc.  So it can be a serious issue.

One clear downside -- the lens is made of plastic, and simply wiping it when it has dust on it, can get it scratched, and lose some transparency.  :(  So light brightness is immediately impacted.  So need to careful while cleaning dust off the lens.  (I should send a note to them to see if they can have a model with a good glass lens.  Even if it increases the price significantly, it will be well worth it. :) )

# --  I had spent time looking for torches with the bigger Li-ion 26650 batteries... had bought one torch too from DX, but a friend mentioned that due to the safety aspect of Li-ion batteries, handling 26650 will be difficult.   Probably also why getting them online is difficult, though various sites did list them.  I tried purchasing them couple of times, but they never arrived, and I was just given a refund later.  So my friend suggested sticking to the popular 18650 one.  Would be good to have a torch that can take 2x 18650 batteries. :)

As for mounting this torch... there are some generic ones you can choose from -- 
https://www.amazon.in/s?k=torch+mount+for+cycle&sprefix=torch+mount%2Caps%2C309&ref=nb_sb_ss_softlines-tsdoa-joint-contextual-iss_4_11

I have used this type; worked reasonably well -- https://www.amazon.in/dp/B07F3X6F3P

But longer term, I decided to use a bar extender -- 
https://www.amazon.in/dp/B07TQT83M1  ## The torch can be supported on the handlebar and bar extender, and held in place with a good thick rubberband.  Worked best for me.

I also have cycle setups where I have a simple carrier on the front, and I mount the light near/on the front of the carrier... that keeps the light forward and lower -- it helps with brighter beam on the road, plus can also reduce the glare to oncoming traffic.  Will try to send some pics of these setups.

Let me know if anything; I tend to be on the lookout for new lights/setups, so I can try to look for more info as well. :)

-{db}.

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[db]

Forgot to mention :) ... I have couple of chargers for 18650 Li-ion batteries.  Would suggest getting one like this -- 

https://robu.in/product/tomo-v6-2-dual-usb-2-slots-battery-intelligent-charger-for-aa-aaa-18650-17650-16340-14500-10500-batteries-black/  ## I have one like this, bought from Robu.  Might be a different brand.  It seems to act up at times, after few hours / overnight use.  Then has to be left unused for few hours... really weird.  I wonder if something in the circuits ends up holding some charge, and then has to be left to drain. :(  Also, the micro-USB socket is a bit iffy on the one I bought.  But those might be specific to my unit.  Overall, I would recommend one like this.

I also have this, bought again from Robu -- 

https://robu.in/product/supfire-portable-double-groove-battery-charger/  ## I use it when the previous one is acting up... :)  But this too seems to have some circuit issue, and one slot does_not seem to work very consistently; this again might be specific to my unit.  But this model also has an "attached" USB charging cable; I prefer units where the cable is completely independent.  Also, this supports few battery variants, but not very clear if it supports AA/AAA.  (It lists 14550 10440, which might imply AA/AAA... need to check.)

-{db}.

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[db]

And one more thing :) ... 

Carrying AA/AAA (and by implication, 18650...) batteries can be an issue in carry-on/cabin baggage, in airplanes.  Since they look like bullets. :|  Security might allow a pair, but that too might depend on the security personnel.  AA/AAA are non Li-ion, so you can put them in check-in baggage, AFAIK.  (They might open your check-in bag for inspection. before it is put on the plane.)  But you can't do that with 18650 Li-ion batteries... they cannot be put in check-in baggage.  So consider 18650 Li-ion batteries as non plane-trip friendly.  You probably need to arrange for the 18650 Li-ion batteries separately at your destination, if you are carrying such torches on a plane. :o

-{db}.

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[Praveen M / ಪ್ರವೀಣ್]

my niterider lumina 850 does not turn off after I connect it to charge and disconnect after charging, here in India . The button does not work at all and the light will be on for many days until the battery is fully discharged. Strange issue. May be mine is defective. But it works fine outside where I live. I had contacted the company and they immediately sent me new one without asking any question.

@DB: by the way I sent you DM, may be it went to your spam folder..

-Praveen

[db]

Wow... weird problem, Praveen.  Could it be some voltage/power level thing, specific to India?

Re: refs of premium lights -- 

* Had bought a pair of "Light & Motion Urban 500 Citraveza" lights from wizbiker.com; similar to this (similar ~Rs8K MRP / ~40% discount) -- 

** https://www.wizbiker.com/bike-lights/head-lights/light-and-motion-rando-500-bike-headlight-black-tan

** Review -- https://bike-review.co.uk/light-and-motion-urban-500-citravea-front-light-review/  

** Initially, one of them seemed to have noticeably less battery life than the other... but later, the difference seemed to reduce.  (the one with lower battery life, seemed to start running for longer.)  Nice beam, and side visibility lights.  For 3-4 hours of battery life, I think it's the medium setting that one needs to use; still quite good illumination.  This has pulse mode, so use for "make me visible to incoming traffic" at night, is probably the safest (though arguably less effective than flash/strobe).

* Had bought a "Xeccon Zeta 1300 R" light as well from wizbiker.com; no longer listed there.  ~Rs13K MRP / ~Rs8K discount price.

** Review -- https://off.road.cc/content/review/lights-front/xeccon-zeta-1300r-front-light-1144-review

** Good brightness; medium setting is enough, and gives ~3hrs battery life, IIRC.  Has some pulse etc. settings too, but I just use other lights for that.
** I wanted to try a light with external battery pack, to see how it fits my use.  This has been a good purchase, though as the review says, the wide beam can be an issue.

** I finally mounted this on the front of my front carrier, which positioned the light further ahead, and lower, than when mounted on the handlebar.  With that, it's been really good.  Otherwise, fair amount of the wide beam seemed to get wasted, coming from the handlebar... lot of it fell on the front wheel, plus the brightness it lost in more diffusion, coming from handlebar height, to the ground.

* Recently purchased this Slognac 900--lumens torch from Decathlon (RS3500 MRP / Rs2500 discount prices perhaps; shows Rs3K now) -- 

** https://www.decathlon.in/p/8501305

** Good brightness, but beam is wide, so I will need to mount it similar to the Xeccon, to get best results.  Plan to use it with medium setting; should be good enough.

Light + horn combo -- 

* Was planning to get this at one point -- 
** https://www.amazon.in/dp/B09BLSQW57

** Looks like it has a horn option, which also extends to an anti-theft alarm.

** Solid looking design, and good light features.  Probably a good buy.

* Have used couple of these -- 

** https://www.amazon.in/dp/B07GQRT5P3

** Decent beam and good horn.  Good saving on handlebar space, instead of just having a horn.  If one is using 2-3 different lights, and also a horn, this makes a lot of sense.  Overall quality is bit of an issue... depending of level of use, you might need to buy a new one, every 1-2yrs.  These have a Li-ion 18650 battery (probably 1200-2000mAh).  If you are discarding the light incase it stops working, look to take out and keep the battery for re-use.

** Seemed to have some variants, which also mentioned anti-theft alarm.

I also have a helmet mounted light, which is just for "make me visible"... usually a good 3x AAA or 2x AA battery light, with various flash settings.  Have one which is surprisingly good for a AA battery light (even as a steady beam light, for illumination).. don't recall the brand name.   Something like this can be a good multipurpose light, including for helmet mounting (for visibility); have used an older version, in the past -- 
* https://www.decathlon.in/p/8640234

-{db}.

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[Praveen M / ಪ್ರವೀಣ್]

could be related to voltage thing or a defective light. Dunno.