Portable Power Solutions Tel: 07895038777 Email: mark@mtbbatteries.co.uk
Portable Power SolutionsTel: 07895038777Email: mark@mtbbatteries.co.uk

Just a selection of reviews from the previous versions of lights that we stocked and sold. We no longer supply lights to magazines for reviews as we were finding the reviews  were being copied and used for similar looking imitation lights on various websites at a far inferior price.   -Aug 2023 

What MTB Value Light Award Winner Oct 2015 4/5

MBUK Lumentator Review Oct 2013

V2 MBUK Review 2012

"All the lighting power and features most riders need with full UK support at a bargain price"

The new V2 XML from MTB Batteries is as much light as you need at a bargain price. The latest XM-L LED used in the V2 is a claimed 20 percent more efficient than previous XP-G LEDs. It’s easily enough for confident singletrack riding. 

There’s an outer edge twin halo at the highest power setting but otherwise the textured reflector gives a good balance of long-distance reach and peripheral vision. Three well-graded power outputs and a flashing option massage battery life from 2.5 hours to a week’s worth of commutes.

The single back switch gives basic low-battery indication, and the ribbed alloy case reduces the chance of overheating and auto dimming.

The simple Lupine-alike O-ring mount is secure and reasonably stable and the cable is long enough to use with the included helmet strap. The four-cell 4.4Ah Li Ion battery is small enough to stem mount, and the whole unit is usefully light at 387g. 

The price is higher than buying a similar light direct from China, but MTB Batteries provide a UK charger and full product support, and there’s no inter-continental delivery lag either.

Singletrack Magazine Dec 2011

From: MTB Batteries, www.mtbbatteries.co.uk

With a Cree T6 XM-L single LED offering a claimed 1000 lumens for less than £70 including postage, this light screams out bargain. Combined with the supplied 7.5V 4.4mAh Li-Ion battery, it offers between three hours burn time on high and 30 hours on low. Battery condition is easily assessed via the illuminated rear button which offers a green and red indicator; once it hits red you should be able to squeeze 30 minutes of light to get back home. A flash mode is available for commuting purposes. The light body attaches to the bars via a rubber ring and a lengthy cable allows for plenty of choice in battery placement.


In use, we found the light offered a concentrated bright spot with a halo of dimmer illumination. The medium setting was fine for easier trails but high was required for more technical sections. Swapping between the two settings allowed a burn time of around four hours to be obtained, although leaving the light on high will still allow a decent three hour ride length.

Overall:

Not the best light spread out there, but it delivers great value lumens with a decent burn time too. If you’re on a budget look no further.



Campbell Coaching Nov 2011

We got our new 1LED 1,000Lumen XML light’s from Mark at MTB Batteries this week and after a quick charge out the box we met up with the guys from Cotswold Outdoors Chester shop to test them out on a bleak, foggy and wet Wed night ride at Coed Llandegla in North Wales.

 

Out the box the lights look pretty robust with an Alloy case, good wiring and sturdy mounts.



Everything assembles pretty straightforward as you would expect, there is a rubber ‘O’ ring that hold the light unit to the helmet mount or bars, the ample cables from the batterie and light join with a good push fit that is defiantly waterproof enough for winter use. The batterie is not too heavy and can be bike mounted or pops in the pocket of your bag nicely.

 

After a few years working at OPA at Coed Llandegla I have seen and ridden with lots of light from Hope 1LED’s right up to the flagship £250+ 4LED and the excellent Exposure Diablo’s £170+ so for £67 inc shipping I was not expect too much from them to be that honest, we even packed a couple of head-torches just in case!

 

We met the Stu (store manager)  Rick & Andy and set off in the wind and rain and had a play with the lights!

The lights have 4 modes of output High, Med, Low and a handy ‘strobe’ Emergency setting too that all toggle from a large soft illuminated button on the back of the light unit that is easy to use while riding with winter gloves.

 

We climbed with the lights on the lowest setting which it totally fine and had a play with the strobe party setting trying to surprise ‘ambush’ Rich on the way but we forgot about the Green glow from the back of the lights that showed where we all were ‘hiding’ in the woods, Duh! (Handy feature though)

Anyway the adjustable power settings are really good and when on the hight 1,000 Lumen setting it throws an impressive amount of light on to the trail that is not as focused as allot of 1LED systems I have seen.

The conditions were as hard for lights as you will get with a fine mist drizzle, low cloud and wind so there was allot of reflection back from the highest setting as we found on on the descents. The Mid setting was really fine for riding at a good trail pace in the front of the group so there is defiantly light to spare with these units.  

We obviously did not really get to push the battery life so I can’t really comment apart from saying that with lots of playing on full power and strobe after a 2.5hr ‘rainbow’ route ride it was still fine.
We will get them out on a long cold exposed ride and see if we can drain them soon!

Overall then, a really nice surprise, £67 well spent! If you were out on longer more technical natural trails then having a second set mounted on the bars would be really good but for everyday recreational riding and blasting round a trail centre or your local trail they are totally ace!

 

if your up for a set of light then defiantly count these in your compare list they really are good and for the price I have not seen anything as good! For twice the money you won’t get twice the light! Also I think over Christmas the guys are throwing in a small Red back light too!

 

Bob & Ally

 

P.S. if you only have one light try and put it on your helmet that way you will look down the trail and not at things as you go over them! Night riding is great training for summer riding too as riding like this will make you get used to looking further down the trail!

 

Campbell Coaching

Cotswold Outdoor Nov 2011

Now that the long dark evenings are upon us, it's time to break out the nightriding gear. We're fortunate in that we have the forest trails of http://www.coedllandegla.com/ within a short drive of the store, which is open till 9pm on wednesday evenings, so thats where you'll find the likes of myself, Rich, Andy K and Ally from the store, along with our friends from a local MTB skills company http://www.campbellcoaching.eu

This season, i've invested in a new set of lights - http://www.mtbbatteries.co.uk/4.html an exceptionally nice company to deal with, very eager to help and run by real enthusiasts, like ourselves.

Riding at night brings a further dimension to the trails, it's very easy to find yourself riding above your comfort zone on trails you hardly recognise from the day time. Bags of fun! 

We've been very impressed by the lights, three power settings and a high powered strobe, on the climbs and easier sections, even the low power mode is sufficient and would give around 30 hours of light, whereas high power is 1000 lumens, yet will still last 3 hours, more than enough time to get back for a cheeky coffee before home!

Sturdy and very well put together, the pack comes with a great helmet mount.

 

Cotswold Outdoor

 

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