Cheap AliExpress Bike Lights Vs $375 MTB Lights

[@gmbntech]

Do you go night-riding? Let us know 👇

[@Titot182]

Shameless plug for #FoDNightriders lol - We've used everything and anything under the moon, but know that when we started off with Amazon lights, we would be completely undergunned when riding Rubber Duck trails.

[@CJ-xv2cw]

Night riding is awesome! I enjoy every minute of it

[@That_Stealth_Guy]

I live in Texas, night riding is the best way to avoid the summer heat when you can find trails that allow it.

[@ex3dy813]

@@gmbntech I ride 3am every morning through my local woods with the dogs. I bought a light of Amazon £25 or something like that and it does a really good job only downside is it didn't come with an helmet mount so I was using hair ties to mount it to my helmet 🤣

[@OwenBikeNerd]

Heck yeah!

[@cup_and_cone]

Lights are one of those things that modern riders have no idea how good they have it. It was only 25 years ago that premium lights from NiteRider or Light&Motion were just 10 watt halogen bulbs with NiCad batteries the size of a water bottle...that took half a day to charge.

[@OwenBikeNerd]

Agreed - I've been night riding since those old school bottle batteries and well by modern standards dull lighting - lighting has come a long long way! Cheers Owen

[@cup_and_cone]

@@OwenBikeNerd Have you found night riding to not be as popular as it once was? Here in the states it is nowhere near as popular as it used to be. Our club had monthly organized night rides and now no one hardly rides at night. I wonder if modern extra bright lights have removed some of the fun/adventure from night riding? 🤔

[@dc1553]

Pienso automáticamente en la salida nocturna ochentosa en bmx tipo E.T phone home!😊

[@cusuk366]

I have "Ali" bought bar lights and a helmet light and they work great! Absolutely solid mounting, never ran out of battery on a ride even at full power. Cost less than £40 for both. I'd love the "Premium" lights, but I really cannot see a £200+ ADVANTAGE in them. I guess it comes down to riding style. If you're throwing yourself down mountains at warp factor 100 in the pitch black, then absolutely every photon of light helps. Riding up & down trails...not so much.

[@paweldziubka]

me to 😀

[@treimar]

Same, had good luck with Newboler and Gaciron branded lights.

[@JohnChristopher-k7u]

The fact remains that there are good mid range lights on AliExpress which Owen totally ignored and that bothered me.

[@tconnolly9820]

I'm not an mtb'er, I'm just a regular commuter cyclist who rides mostly completely dark and unlit narrow but very busy rural roads. I've bought different relatively cheap front and back lights from Amazon and AliExpress and been very happy with them. I've also bought some disappointing ones too but they were very cheap so my disappointment was minimal. I bought some of them more out of curiosity than need. But I have learnt that it's always best to buy lights and any other cycling products from established Chinese brand names like Newboler or Shuster for examples. And there's many more I can't think of right now. The ads for no name products claiming 10,000 lumens for €20 are obviously going to be bull sh1t. 10,000 lumens would probably need an internal fan to stop it from overheating in long term use. And it would need a huge battery. 10,000 lumens would be a very bright full beam car headlight. The cheap handlebar mounted light in this video is probably around 1,500 lumens or less. Pretty decent light for less than 20 bucks but I'd still seal the ends and all joints with a little waterproof tape just to be on the safe side for when it rains. I recently bought a Newboler max 1200 lumens light at a €15 deal price with supposedly 10,000 mah batteries and so far it seems to be reasonably accurate. The same with rear lights. I bought several different types at between €2.50-€3.50 all with really great lights but even different types at the same price had vastly different battery longevity from less than an hour to over 10 hours in flashing mode. Again, the best were brands. I always run front and rear flashers day AND night for safety plus an additional front full beam headlight at night.

[@TheJoblesMagnificent]

My Ali bar light is a absolute monster and I love it, paired with a cheap multi led head torch the woods look like day light, no chance I'd spend anything close to what MTB company's are charging they must be mad!

[@FAMOLS1]

What Ali-brand are u running?

[@TheJoblesMagnificent]

@@FAMOLS1 VAstfire, 8 led bar light for main, shame the thumbnail was my light but the one they tested only a 6 led and the 8 adds the middle ground focus as well as the really wide light projection

[@bl8danjil]

@@TheJoblesMagnificent Vast*fire*? Man that name reminds me of all the warning posts in flashlight forums that bought 18650 batteries where they caught fire or stopped working. There was a running joke to stay away from batteries with fire in the name or fire as part of it's symbol.

[@TheJoblesMagnificent]

@@bl8danjil there seems to be a few under different branding bud similar shells, I can't fault it yet been amazing so far, holds it's stated charge every time, type c so can change it on the go, super bright, really heavy duty built so sand batteries found 😂

[@paradox963]

I've been running the Outbound Lights for years now, and they have been fantastic, the beam pattern is so much better than any other light I've used. I love not having any wires for normal riding and if I want to do some epic ride you can plug any battery pack into them. I also like supporting what really is a small company, and it's a testament to how good they are that they have become so well known. Also because they are both engineered and built at the company in Michigan they can fix them should anything happen to one of your lights.

[@rustychain9518]

I ride at night all winter long, my Outbound lights are absolutely stellar(as they should be for the money.

[@TheBrokenMountainBiker]

I used to use a couple of £30 Amazon LED lights and to b fair they worked great. Then I decided to splash out on a Magicshine 3500 and the difference was incredible! Not just the light output, but the colour temperature was just much more warm and natural. I don't even bother with a helmet light anymore.

[@cookster322002]

@@TheBrokenMountainBiker I did exactly the same. 2 £30 Amazon Cree led lights for many years. But I got fed up with the battery pack and the untidiness of the cabling. So got a magic shine 3500 plus an 1800 as a helmet mount and it’s great and I much prefer the neatness. But really not much different in light output that I’ve noticed so far

[@bl8danjil]

The irony is that Magicshine used to be that cheap light manufacturer and then they stepped out of that segment. They now put out lights comparable in price to many other bike light companies.

[@Timthecommenter]

My cheap amazon light bar had a kinda lumpy beam pattern, but I sanded the front lens with 200 grit and now it’s perfect.

[@miket17uk]

@@Timthecommenter this guy speaks my language

[@gmbntech]

Did that effect the light output at all?

[@bl8danjil]

@@gmbntech Probably loses some light that would normally be focused in the center for the throw of a light to be diffused like a flood light. You can get a similar effect by putting Scotch Magic Tape, the tape that looks like a matte surface, over the lens. That's what I did with a headlamp that used 2 LEDs for a flood light mode and had no matte finish to the lens (frosted lens) to diffuse the light. The bright, distinct center of the beam was now an even dispersion of light for up close work of reading maps. Not recommended for lights that get hot enough to melt the tape though.

[@knhcarpentryhomeimprovemen8946]

Been using the outbound lights for 3 years and they are great. I actually left the hangover light in a coat pocket 2 weeks ago that was socked over night. I took it appart dried it out and then just used on a 30 hour race with no problems.

[@gmbntech]

Amazing that it still works! It's good to know they're accident-proof 🤘

[@ChrisWilmshurst]

I almost purchased those lights from outbound riding, but the shipping + tax they applied was astronomical (which I can understand) I really hope they can get a UK distributor as I can't justify almost £400 for lights with battery life thats only a couple of hours. I used to run a cheap £20 amazon special on my bars and a chilli-technology helmet light. It was a great combo or £80 all in with mounts and a spare battery for the helmet one. And more recently I ended up picking up the 4000 Lumen Chilli-Technology light with a new head lamp, a battery pack that lasts 5 1/2 hours on full power and all the mounting gear I could need for under £200. Then I donated the old lights to a friend and now I've got more powerful lights + someone else to ride with at night.

[@SixGunTodd]

The difference in lighting really effects exactly how you ride....good lights permit you to ride at or near a normal pace where poor lights force you to ride slower. Night riding is awesome...but only if you aren`t riding beyond your lighting limits.

[@OwenBikeNerd]

Great shout! Cheers Owen

[@TiagoMorbusSa]

10 thousand lumens is equivalent to 5 roadside floodlights. Those are absolute lies in the marketing of those lights. The briefest of glances at the footage shows they're at MOST one thousand lumens. Likely around 600 to 800.

[@gmbntech]

We did some research into commercial floodlights to see what lumen ratings they claim and it's upwards of 70k lumens which is fairly high. Lumens are measured by how much light is emitted from the light source rather than the beam emitted (in this case they are LEDs). So we imagine the LED would be measured as a singular and then added together based on how many are in the light. For example, if one LED measures 1000 lumens and there are ten LEDs in the light, the light would be rated at 10,000 lumens. Hope this helps 👍

[@dylan-5287]

It's ironic how the lower the lumens, especially around 1-2k, the better the light probably is. The amount of Amazon headlamps around $20 that advertise 100k and even 900k-1M lumens is nuts.

[@rowanlord8470]

@@gmbntechcommercial lighting is 70k Lumens?? Please show us this data because, based on 15 years in the lighting industry, that's crazy - every year we have to suffer these ridiculous output claims from both chinese "Cree" (don't get me started on that terminology) and "credible" manufactures. To give you some context, the floodlight lighting the chimneys at battesy is 6700lm - I know, we made them - they use 64 LEDS running at 2.3w - but sure, a bike light is over 10x that?? When are you and the industry just going to wake up to the fact that you're talking rubbish - terrible journalism

[@RCiler]

@@rowanlord8470 great reply....

[@zixinxia194]

@@rowanlord8470 I'm not working under the lighting sector, but as a hobby photographer who spent like a few k on studio lighting, I would say most great lights are rated with watts. There are 50watts, 100 watts, 200watts leds.

[@ctquadracing]

Been using CatEye 800 on helmet and 1700 on the bars for 2 winter seasons night rides and can’t fault them, Batteries normally last 2hrs or so but I will put them on low settings while climbing fire roads to top of the trails and put them on full beam on trails. Cost me about £120 for the set

[@daxolivares6939]

My outbound lights are 5 yrs old, so you get what you pay for. Also outbound just release the portal, bigger and denser capcity bat than the hangover

[@gmbntech]

That's great to hear you lights have lasted you so long! 🔦

[@daxolivares6939]

@@gmbntech my first outbound light with the external battery is 7 yrs old, still flawless.

[@teemu3370]

This could have quite easily been a more comprehensive guide and comparison of multiple price categories of lights. And if published earlier given people time to purchase and wait for delivery of the lights. Too bad there was no section on rear lighting, ever only considered for commuting, since this gives better heads-up for someone coming up behind that there is someone and where the rider actually is. Even in the daylight

[@WorkLessRideMore]

Outbound lights are great.

[@letsgoletsgoletsgoletsgoletsgo]

I have the outbound downhill set . Its enough light , the bar light is smooth and wide . The helmet one is narrower and punchy , the lumen power isnt fantastic. But i feel what sets it apart is the lack of a battery pack and the simple operation

[@j.l1732]

You should look at the new one that they just put out, the portal is brighter and longer runtime than the hangover almost the same size, I'll get one soon to complement my trail evo

[@letsgoletsgoletsgoletsgoletsgo]

@@j.l1732 ITS OUT?! OK IM GON GET IT

[@j.l1732]

@@letsgoletsgoletsgoletsgoletsgo been waiting too, I think it just came out last week.

[@daxolivares6939]

Yea already got mine,bigger denser bat than the hangover

[@Durwood71]

Also, the quality of Outbound's lights is outstanding.

[@Looking_4_downhill1]

This is very biased. You can't be disappointed when you don't pay much, but it works great for the majority of riders. On the other hand the high end is more of a status symbol look at how much I spend on my lights. I'm pretty sure there's something in the middle without having to go to both extremes of the spectrum.

[@bl8danjil]

@@Looking_4_downhill1 I disagree, I am almost always disappointed when buying cheap junk and it doesn't last a year. It means I just bought and added to the waste problem. It is even worse when it is electronic waste.

[@richardchwazik2543]

Maybe you can do a rating of lights at different price points. there has to be a sweet spot for performance vs cost

[@SteveKimbo]

As I was getting back on my MTB journey, I bought cheap lights. They were ok but barely. Then I upgraded to some Magicshine lights, they were a leap forward but I was out-riding them pretty quickly and they failed completely on the edge of Dartmoor. I stepped up to a Gemini set, massive improvement and then I finally took the plunge and bought an Exposure Six-Pack and Diablo. I will never, ever go back to a cheaper set of lights. The power, colour, spread, throw and the general ease of use are off the charts. Reflex mode is all I ever use. The build quality is such that they'll probably be passed down to my children. Plus they're made here, in the UK. Not in some Chinese tat-factory and bound for landfill.

[@Natuh21]

Sily video, of course its gonna be crap if you buy the cheapest ones! But if u get the branded ones like rockbross its gonna smash other brands when its about cost per performance

[@ReneNieuwenhuis]

I use the Magicshine 6500 on the bike and a Ali lamp on my helmet. The Magicshine is overkill on the highest setting, more than powerful enough with a external batterypack.

[@PerformanceProjects]

Those outbound lights are fantastic. Yes, they are more money however, they are built and designed by a small group in-house in Chicago, IL and also offer a lifetime warranty. I love companies like this, I9, Hope Tech, Tune, Trickstuff etc.. where its a group of passionate individuals making a fantastic product that they love and not some massive faceless corp in China somewhere that's just ripping off other's designs and selling it for cheap. I just wish I could afford it all haha.

[@rethridermtb3262]

I, along with several others I with on a regular basis, are serious fans of Outbound Lighting. Recently, they released, after a long delay, a new improved helmet light, called the Portal. Several of us jumped on this and ordered the day of the release. Outbound Lightning out performs the rest of the "name brand" lights that our friends are using. Are they more expensive? Yes. Are they worth the extra cost? My answer is Hell, Yes!!!

[@_mgiles]

I didn't buy the cheapest lights on amazon but didn't spend a crazy amount. Less than $100 cdn and I have no complaints. I do want to try out some high end lights eventually though.

[@Durwood71]

Cheap lights often rate output based on the theoretical maximum possible from the LED without taking into account the loss from the reflector, lens, heat buildup, and a number of other factors which can significantly reduce the actual output. They often don't take any care in shaping the beam, either, which also impacts perceived brightness. The guys from Outbound got their start designing automotive headlights, so their bike lights are essentially miniature automobile headlights with a wide, smooth beam. They also thoroughly heat sink their lights to protect the LEDs and to maintain a stable output rather than have a light that starts out bright as the sun but quickly dims to a fraction of that after a few minutes. And the build quality is rock solid. In short, you get what you pay for.

[@gmbntech]

Yes spot on! Although there are some great lights that cost less but you may loose some features and brightness 👍

[@andyarchitect]

Some known brand mid priced lights from your local bike shop are probably the best bet for most people, but do avoid cheap junk. I have a Moon light still going strong on the original battery that must now be at least 12 years old and also frequently used as a torch for diy use. For a mid priced light that's fantastic value given its service life.

[@Kingsoupturbo]

I've had at least 6 different Aliexpress lights, and 4-6-8 cell packs. I pulled them apart, most of the cells were around 600mah, but good enough for longer rides. I ended up getting a 45$ (Cdn) amazon light bar fed by a car booster pack, (and powers the 12v heated grips) and its quite powerful, more then my friends outbound\trek\Titan (but much harder to setup using truck camper bed clamps to the bar). The outbound and other 300$ mega lights are very nice and compact, however at the many -15c or so rides we do, a single cell is not enough as you loose like 50% of the capacity with temp. Also, they are so so expensive, there doesn't seem to be something in between 45$ and 300$ for lights, I power my headlamp China light with a R/C car 6000mah battery pack now (wrap the plastic mount in hockey tape so it doesn't slide) which is good. Beam pattern really differs across lights between spot\flood.

[@bl8danjil]

The self contained Outbound lights that don't require an external pack have pass through charging. So you're friend could just buy an external battery pack and do the same thing you did.

[@Kingsoupturbo]

@@bl8danjil You could! but then it sort of defeats the purpose of all all in one contained unit you just easily clip on and off, but whats the point if the battery only gives you an hour of light, its a tradeoff for sure, ideally you'd want around 7000mah of capacity, but then its probably pretty heavy for a head mounted light.

[@PatJuhNL]

For what it's worth, the Ali Lightbar has various editions with also various mounting options. This is a weird one. The are others with two clamps and that should be way more secure. I use a Newboler 4000mAh 3000Lumen version as my daily driver on my work bike. Works fine for what I need it to do.

[@JohnChristopher-k7u]

Snap! I have three Neewer LED light bars. One I use on my main commuter bike as a main light, which came with two locking bolts, The other two are used on my full suss, one as a back up to my main light (which came with a single locking bolt but one that worked way better than Owen’s example) while the other is a head light which is secured inside the lid of my helmet. Works like a dream!

[@steffanrobbins1615]

I have a 6000 lumen (in reality maybe between 3-4000 lumen) Newboler light bar and for the money, it's fantastic. Gets used more than my 3500 lumen magicshine due to simplicity / no cable design. Solid mounting too

[@troylaughlin3672]

Lights are a sefty device, going cheap is simply not smart. I also very much agree, beam pattern is more important that lumens although keep in mind that alot of cheap lights have false lumen claims. I invested in Light and Motion Seca's for my night riding and they are so worth it. My night time race speed is around 98% of my speed on the same trail during the day, that's how good lights should be.

[@garthbosworth8090]

If you ordered the model above that cheap bar light it is chalk and cheese. Totally different mounting setup using a mount each end, and ALOT more light everywhere. Plenty of distance to do 40kmh offroad at night on mtb trails. The one you ordered is the one listed as 5000mah, the model above with 2 rows of leds is the one they claim 10,000lumens

[@trailrunnah8886]

I run the Hangover, and it's fantastic. I really don't find any more light necessary. Most in our group run a handlebar mount, but more so as a backup in case the helmet light fails. I'm looking to pick up a 1200 lumen NiteRider or equivalent for a bar light. I know the Evo is fantastic, but it's a little spendy.

[@MichaelRobibaro]

Depends on the cheap and the expensive light. Ive tested an absurd amount of lights. I focus on beam beam pattern Infun GT200 $65, wide with adequate throw Novsight 1600 $24 , excellent throw, to compliment it, King Kong 6 series ray 1500 $35 High /low beam good spread/spill and throw Moving up in price Outbound portal $170? Outbound trail EVO $249 Moving up in price Full on Lighting MB6 $400 Anything .more than 400 isn't worth it

[@NeilDethml]

I have the RN3000 by Magicshine for the trails. & for the road I use the Knog Blinder. The Magicshine is a great light & will illuminate an entire road.

[@bitumen83]

I have Cateye ampp800on my helmet, and it is fine for trail and city riding.

[@pwn3d_d1rt]

I run 3 lights... 2 Amazon light bars on my handlebars and a dive light that uses a GoPro mount on my helmet and that combo is as good as my buddies who run $400 lights. The only difference is longevity... I can get about an hour and a half to 2 hours max at full brightness where they get up to 3 hours. Night riding is tons of fun but I'm usually satisfied after an hour ride.

[@MichaelRobibaro]

That's because almost the whole bike light industry uses the same round beam pattern with center hot spot.. Fortunately you can get "shaped" lifhts inexpensively now ( or pony up for outbound trail Evo or full on lighting MB6) I'd rather have a wide beam with even diffusion vs round and lacking peripheral illumination.

[@matthewalexander-brown3900]

Wow! Outbound Lighting are the best lights iIve ever used for premium lights on single track. Get them, I'm not kidding.

[@HansHuysmans69]

Riding in the dark makes a teack more interesting, even the ones you know really goid. Have a Hope R4 for several years. I use it on my helmet, i don't use a second one on my bars.

[@jasonwells9976]

Love night riding great fun as trails change and adds a bit more fun.. I use Four4th helmet light and a Moon Rigal Power which both work ace.. The Four4th helmet light I had that for a good 10 years now I would say. Plus that there made local to me back is 1st class.

[@MrakIWolf]

I'm using an Ali bar flashlight with 2 LEDs and external battery. Customized. I've changed LEDs to original CREE XML-2 and one of TIR-lenses to 20x60 degrees cone light pattern. And I use L-Shaped flashlight on my helmet. With custom made GoPro adapter for it. In this way I get pretty light and low-prifile construction, where all lights are strapped with rubber bands and detach in case of impact, but never move because of vibration. Headlight is IPX8 waterproof, barlight - IPX6.

[@georgim2741]

If you do not go for the cheapest chinese stuff you may find out that those Outbound lights are way too overpriced.

[@Ferrari255GTO]

I paid 24 bucks for mine and it's amazing

[@martinbourgault816]

Well I have owned cheap amazon light prior and have been riding outbound for 4 years now. Couldn't be happier...

[@fifthcircle1]

I have three outbound lights, and will happily buy more if needed. LOVE them!!!!

[@bl8danjil]

@@georgim2741 I'll stick with a product that has good mounting that is stable through a bumpy trail and uses the light output effectively. I hate buying questionable junk that has several knock offs of its own because there is no way to tell if I bought one that lasts, especially the mounts. I'll stick with quality priced lights like Outbound Lighting. At least their product description and specs are easier to decipher.

[@skellener]

Outbound is the way. I bought the cheap Chinese lights awhile back. Too dim, beam wasn’t wide enough, and didn’t last anywhere close to claims. Absolute crap. Outbound FTW!👍

[@jonm7272]

Magicshine do some great lights in the £100 - £150 range.

[@Randomguy-ld7rr]

@@jonm7272 evo 1700 beast

[@darrenelbrow5144]

The first helmet light, had the battery of one of those catch fire in my jacket pocket. Was quite scary

[@AlbertoZucca-ev8dt]

I usually ride a very short trail near home at night. It consists of a 15 minutes climb and 2-3 minutes descend. I only ride in the first dark hours of the evening in winter. I don't feel confident enough to go further or stay out longer because I wouldn't want to be in need of being preserved from wildlife 😅 Trails at night feel completely different. The sound, the chill, the dark. It's cool, it's eerie and feels dangerous. The light coming from a different angle tricks your brain while hitting jumps or going over rocks and bumps. Generally speaking I find myself riding slower and very defensively at night. It's not the best, but it's the only way to go biking after work when days get short. About setup, I tried both cheap and expensive stuff. I started with one of those round aluminum lights from china but the battery degraded very fast and became unusable in no time. Then I bought a Ravemen PR2400 to mount on the handlebar and a 2000 lumen Wasaga for the helmet. I have to say that this combination works perfectly. Nevertheless spending €180 only for the Ravemen seems a bit too much for what is a glorified version of a handtorch. It's a great product don't get me wrong but, just like anything bicycle-related, is quite overpriced.

[@ollimustonen]

I have Ravemen LR1000 and LR500. They are more than enough for me and costed 110€ altogether.

[@elononoras1902]

auxiliary car bar light, cheap (mine was 13€), bright (18W, 2250lm), runs off 9-32V, IP67, genuine OSRAM LEDs, proper warranty, available at a local car parts store, has two settings ON and OFF. downside... I can see that people are really really really annoyed by it, but c'mon, at least I CAN see you, and your dog, on the trail from a faraway. for reference, cars high beams are 1200 lumens.

[@Jarymut]

To me, the worst part of all lights I checked is no easy way to switch between high and low modes and back. I do not have trail center near me, only woods and sometimes someone in climbing up (or jogging, or walking a dog) on the same path I'm going down. I feel much better after lowering brightness for a moment.

[@andyeunson270]

I started night riding in the mid 80s. We had the best lights. Union globes with a Union sidewall generator mounted to the fork. Because if you locked up the back wheel and the generator was there no light. Bulbs were 1.5 watt. Over the years lights just got better and better. Someone set up a small motorcycle lead acid battery which killed off generators. Then NiCad batteries, halogen bulbs, lithium cells, metal halide arc bulbs and ultimately where we are today with small light lithium battery and powerful led lights. Even the best lights today are cheaper than some lights we used that were heavier and less bright. Having gone through all that and having had all sorts of light failures, alone, in the dark I favour reputable brands that may cost more but give me peace of mind out there. And always two lights. One must have a backup.

[@gmbntech]

Wow that's incredible, if you have any pictures of the old bike you should send them in to us 👉 gmbn.com/uploader What lights are you using at the moment?

[@sjanzeir]

I've velcroed a 5000mah battery to my helmet to power a Polaroid Cube for four hours at a time. It took my neck about 30 seconds to acclimate to the extra 300 grams of weight added on top of my head.

[@cookster322002]

If you are going to do an article like this then you need to be careful. Some of the comments made in the video on the cheap lights do not reflect most of the experiences of people that use them everyday in the comments. Some of it falls perilously close to scaremongering. “You’re not going to have to worry about things catching on fire” etc. has never happened to me or anyone else I know that uses these lights. I think the annoyance I am getting here is there is not one comment from the presenter about the absolute rip off price of most premium brand lights. Have some balance next time and I may be less annoyed.

[@tconnolly9820]

This was an advertising feature pretending to be a comparison deliberately picking the absolute cheapest lights they could get on AliExpress to make the expensive ones look better.

[@bl8danjil]

"has never happened to me or anyone else I know" I hear and read experiences like that too and it is usually the user advising others to stay away from some battery brand because the safety failed during charging or some other occurrence that started a fire. Usually it will contain the word "fire" in its name or as its symbol. I'll stick with the more expensive products because I am not going to babysit a flashlight to ensure it doesn't catch fire risking my house.

[@gmbntech]

This video wasn't an advert for Outbound Lighting, it was more to show the differences in integration, ease of use and features between the lights from a non cycling company's lights and a MTB specific light company.

[@andyarchitect]

In fairness they did describe them as expensive lights, and they looked at products at opposite ends of the market to help highlight what your money gets you when you spend more. I disagree that premium lights are a rip off... some people appreciate quality materials, value which country a product is made in, warranties and customer support and outright performance above cost. There is clearly a market for fancy lights for those with expensive bikes, nice cars and expensive watches. Sadly like most people I am not rich 😂 so the best option for most people is something in the middle, a respectable brand of lights with decent performance. They are right to highlight the risks of cheap unbranded lights... fire risk is real, water resistance is questionable, production ethics and who your money if funding is concerning, and performance plus usability has a strong chance of being disappointing. As they say buy cheap buy twice. But the middle ground on sale in your local bike shop is probably the best option.

[@AliasHSW]

What serendipity! I just going down this rabbit hole 🕳️ a few days ago.

[@philiphawkins4684]

Bought the knog blinder x1800 and x2300, wasn't cheap bht the quality seems good.

[@p.c.9714]

Most cyclists only swear by outpout power. This is wrong. The beam is one of the most important aspect. All is about compromise between beam, power and light time. I do mostly gravel in darkness and I have to use a light that won't blind motorists on the road but that have enough power to ride safely on the trails. I realized that I "only" need 800 lumens most of the time on trails and 1100/1200 on tricky spots. That is why I use the SIGMA Buster 1100. Dual beam, 2 to 3 hours endurance between 800 and 1100, no overheating and it is fairly priced at €60. I do not use helmets light as I found it very dangerous if you get caught by an unseen branch or ivy .

[@gunshipanropace2gunshipand119]

Cateye lights work for me just the right price and performance

[@gmbntech]

Cateye makes some great lights!

[@TheScottRambler]

yess the video i was needingg

[@gmbntech]

Yep, we’ve been watching over your shoulder!

[@TheWebstaff]

Ali light (some standard some modded for better optics and power) my mount, my battery. 💪

[@TeeSCee]

It really sucks when your going down a trail and a branch rips the cord off of your helmet light and everything suddenly goes dark.. I learned my lesson while looking for the cord in the dark forest... always 2 lights. I use a nitecore br35 on my handlebars and a nitecore hc60 on my helmet. I have tried the more expensive and bigger lights, but I think the lighter and wireless setup is way superior when riding trails here in Finland aka. the republic of darkness.

[@OwenBikeNerd]

Greetings to you in Finland! Randomly I lived in Lahti for 6months - so I've got a window into republic of darkness vibe - although thankfully I've also enjoyed the flip side of zero darkness in the summer up in Levi! Yep I've had the branch light removal combo - its really not stellar - but I've had worse where the light didn't self ejected so I wrenched my neck... Cheers Owen

[@tconnolly9820]

I'm not an mtb'er, I'm just a regular commuter cyclist who rides mostly completely dark and unlit narrow but very busy rural roads. I've bought different relatively cheap front and back lights from Amazon and AliExpress and been very happy with them. I've also bought some disappointing ones too but they were very cheap so my disappointment was minimal. I bought some of them more out of curiosity than need. But I have learnt that it's always best to buy lights and any other cycling products from established Chinese brand names like Newboler or Shuster for examples. And there's many more I can't think of right now. The ads for no name products claiming 10,000 lumens for €20 are obviously going to be bull sh1t. 10,000 lumens would probably need an internal fan to stop it from overheating in long term use. And it would need a huge battery. 10,000 lumens would be a very bright full beam car headlight. The cheap handlebar mounted light in this video is probably around 1,500 lumens or less. Pretty decent light for less than 20 bucks but I'd still seal the ends and all joints with a little waterproof tape just to be on the safe side for when it rains. I recently bought a Newboler max 1200 lumens light at a €15 deal price with supposedly 10,000 mah batteries and so far it seems to be reasonably accurate. The same with rear lights. I bought several different types at between €2.50-€3.50 all with really great lights but even different types at the same price had vastly different battery longevity from less than an hour to over 10 hours in flashing mode. Again, the best were brands. I always run front and rear flashers day AND night for safety plus an additional front full beam headlight at night. And for this review GMBN definitely wanted to make the uber expensive lights look good by buying the cheapest no name rubbish from AliExpress. If they had doubled their spend and got some really good quality and good value lights from AliExpress they would have made the expensive lights in this promotional advertising feature look a lot less worth the money.

[@bl8danjil]

@@tconnolly9820 Take those lights on a bumpy trail like in the video and you will know why they are avoided. It gets worse the higher the speed and the more shaking there is. The constant adjusting to position the beam because of the mount is a nuisance, but it gets scary when it happens on a steep descent where you need both hands on the handlebar.

[@tconnolly9820]

@@bl8danjil As I said in my comment, I am not an mtb'er. I'm an everyday utilitarian cyclist. Although I do ride on some pretty rough and holey rural back roads that are almost technical assault courses but that's a different story. Yes, really good mounts would be necessary for mountain biking. That's a very valid point. But even though GMBN left me a reply to a different comment I left saying this absolutely was not an advertising feature for those very expensive lights (I forget their name) and was intended only as a comparison, if they had upped their spend on AliExpress to €50-100 for their "cheap" lights, they would have got very comparable (or maybe even better) quality for about a quarter of the price. The handlebar lights seem pretty good for someone like me commuting if I need any more. At night I always have one strong constant beam and another strong flasher. Safety first, second and last especially on busy unlit roads .

[@tconnolly9820]

@@bl8danjil The €15 light I bought from AliExpress just over two months ago can be fixed very securely to my handlebars using a screw tightening clamp. But as I said, I'm not an mtb'er so I don't have to worry about tearing down mountain trails at breakneck speeds in the dark. Rough country laneways are as bad as it gets for me at 25+ kmh. Two of those lights on your handlebars on full power would be pretty darned good on any mountain though.

[@Emtbtoday]

VASTFIRE is the brand of that light its their new model their previous model was a replica of that magicshine n trail evo but both brilliant i use ones similar to that flood light Chinese model perfect light lasts ages hours! Mine has a cool daylight running led like the audis headlamps! I went for the 3 LeD version smaller one to test and its also incredible and made to fit your Mtb in middle of your stem! That paired with seemee 300 is a brilliant set up! Look for the other ones similar to the long led design they are much brighter they match my magicshine

[@sersolo3112]

I Have a full temu bar and helmet setup that cost me 60bucks and its super reliable heavy duty bar clamp and 3 hour run time on high mode. And night turns to day they are super bright lights 5000 Lumens altogether. I seen video of outbound lighting and my lights are definitely brighter

[@ajfc27]

Offbondage or newboler are great lights, last forever. Mine are 2yrs old and live outside

[@СулдеСенди-б8е]

So, they're showing 8 led version of the cheap light on the thumbnail, but use 6 led one in comparison, wow

[@hskov]

Those cheap lamps are not 2000 and 10000 lumens. You did not get what was promised.

[@jenibond]

My aliexpress lights are milles brighter than your posh ones ! and were less money and came with amazinging instructions and great mount ! but if you say the expensive stuff isn't better you not get more free 10k bikes !

[@jocelenilsonnunesfeitosa816]

You could build a trail bike with components purchased from Ali, it would be very interesting, especially the frameset.

[@benjaminlann]

@@jocelenilsonnunesfeitosa816 I know someone that has and it turned out great. He was very happy with the build.

[@Durwood71]

Yes, you could call it the Suicide Machine.

[@jocelenilsonnunesfeitosa816]

@@Durwood71 🤣🤣🤣

[@thevapingpolisher9717]

Out bound lights for the win

[@ollimustonen]

Ravemen LR1000 to the bike and LR500 to the helmet. All included 110€.

[@user-yv2cz8oj1k]

pretty sure he will find the worst cheap Chinese examples possible, because they aren't likely to be future sponsors.

[@ry22]

Exactly. It just comes across as xenophobic and racist. Whenever they compare Chinese brands it's always cheap shitty stuff. Why didn't they buy something like a gaciron I'm guessing they're going to try and get outbound as a sponsor which is why they praised them so much.

[@MichaelRobibaro]

He did use cheap crap and not cheap good He needs to test the Infun GT200 Novsight 1600(compliments the GT200 King Kong 6 series ray Those are Chinese lights that work better than majority of name brands

[@danielcobb8886]

The cheap lights I've had fail where the cable joins into the body of the light housing. I'm careful but this happens. Mostly the beam patterns aren't even enough - too much of a bright spot in the middle, with a notable cut off on the periphery. I've had 2 battery packs not last that long - dead and done. And yeah some of the mounting kits on the cheap ones are a bit sh*t. You get what you pay for. BTW Owen is now my favourite GMBN presenter, nice work on this one especially.

[@OwenBikeNerd]

Thank you!

[@danielcobb8886]

I outta add these failed light sets weren't the cheapest you can buy - low to mid-price lesser "brands", one set was purchased from a bike shop.

[@GarthFlint-nc2vj]

Buying from Ali is always a gamble. You are never sure of the quality of what you are going to get. Some of their stuff is just fine while others are like in the video, sketchy junk. Look how many commenters got the Ali light to work with some modifications. Good quality gear just bolts on and goes.

[@Saxtoo]

At £290 they've got no fuppin chance mate. Try MagicShine CBL1600 or Lezyne 1800i or X-Tiger. Be more realistic, and less sponsored. We can tell here.

[@ARPost-kn2jl]

In many places off-roading at night is prohibited to protect en not disturb the nocturnal animals. So they have at least one part of the day for themselves. Thats why I stay out of the woods after sunset. On the road is another story.

[@bl8danjil]

@@ARPost-kn2jl I just tell people that spiders build their webs at night and across paths. That's also the reason I choose not to be the first rider down the trail in the morning. The webs are still up. Nope!

[@p.c.9714]

This is silly... Where do you live??

[@ARPost-kn2jl]

@@p.c.9714 in a world where we respect all living things

[@Titot182]

Owen, did Old Bob come out to greet you and say hi. We're going to name the boar that lingers around the overflow at FoD Bob. Bob is like a honey badger, he simply does not give a shit. Better lights mean that you'd see Bob sooner. Biggest difference with me going to exposure vs those amazon dropship lights is that you can guarantee them to work when you're dropping into the steeps around FoD and not drop out. Splashed out on some exposure kit; Maxx D and Diablo combo (on C2W - made sense since I would have needed to splash out on new batteries), having made do with Chilltech and moon. Also tried out Lezyene and Gloworm 1200 Lumen all in one variants. Definitely feel that you'd want a combined 2000 lumens minimum spread between bar and helmet. However, I just feel the optics on establishecd aforementioned brands make for better depth perception and spread. Amazon worked well if you're not the sole rider in a night train. It's also the tech that you're investing in - the adaptive brighteness means less fumbling around for the switch when you realise you need more brightness. Bling nights make for a good investment and people will have their preferences and budgets.

[@snowman22ism]

You should have measured the lumens because there is no way that light was 10000. I doubt it was even 2000...

[@elononoras1902]

you can have thousands of lumens, but if the lenses are shit, those lumens will be wasted and produce no lux. in germany bike light specification must show LUX, no lumens, lumens don't tell much about the end result.

[@davidmarinov8412]

I'm usually doing night rides with a Cheep 20-30$ Light bough from AliExpress it is super bright and also very reliable I have used it for almost 1.5 year in both thru out the winter and summer and never had an issue. I have recorded one video on my profile using a Insta 360 X4 I don't believe anyone needs a better light then this and all of the mainstream light brands are just way too expensive to justify. I really belive that this style of videos where you try to promote an expensive advertisement will just have a negative impact in the community instead of trying to get more people into night rides with a viable and cheep solution you are selling the narrative that you must have a very expensive light to enjoy it witch will push out the people that may wanna give it a go in a already very expensive sport.

[@SHWELL11]

That cheap light miunt is pure rubbish. I have 3of them and the bolt to lock on the mount have failed on all 3.. Light is brilliant, but the mount kills its usefulness.

[@brianrivasoconer5543]

I have a Newboler 10000 light with a diferent mount really bright

[@flybyguy1450]

You should have turned one of the outbound lights off to fairly compare to the ali. Tbh, I didnt see much of a difference when both were on

[@rock_machine01]

That’s one thing I’ve never done ride at dark in the trails

[@gmbntech]

It's very fun, you should try it!

[@Mike22313]

6:13 at this point we all knew it was just advertisement. Or correspondent too dumb to buy mountain bike version of same light, or mount it on bike properly.

[@gmbntech]

Hi Mike, this video was not an advert. The cheaper lights did not come as an MTB version. Our main takeaway from comparing the two lights was that when you buy from an established MTB light brand you tend to get better integration/ease of use and MTB-specific features 👍

[@Mike22313]

@@gmbntech why not make some research on cheap bike light from china before you buy it for comparisons? You don't aren't you? Now it's look, as you buy wrong product to give brand light edvantage.

[@gmbntech]

We aren't saying that all bike lights from AliExpress and other similar retailers are bad. But as you've said it take time to research when buying from these sites. We did what most people would do when looking for a cheap set of bike lights (sort by cheapest and check the star rating of the seller). The issue of buying from non mountain bike specific brand is they lack the R&D for the issues raised in this video and it's usually down to the consumer to come up with a solution, there is also the lack of warranty support and safety regulations that the bigger companies have to provide 👍 Hope this clears things up.

[@Mike22313]

@@gmbntech stop this. You can buy wrong expensive bike light or crappy bike light from brand. You need make your research any way. You just have no money incentives for do it, cheep chinas brand dont sponsor influensers. So you skip on this. It's not a honest journalism. Do your reserch, show us best you can finde, not random crap, and then make your comparison.

[@Ampedmountainbiking]

#askGMBNtech Does riding at night actually make me faster, or does it just feel that way? I notice I’m more relaxed and loose, focusing more on the pool of light ahead rather than right in front of my tire. Could this change in focus be boosting my flow and speed?”

[@gazza70cr]

AliExpress or Temu lights are better value. Just get the right ones.

[@JeffMTBinVA]

Does the UK have a lot of parks or trails open at night? Where I live in the U.S. there is no trail riding allowed after dusk.

[@GarthFlint-nc2vj]

All my US (northwest) riding areas are in National Forest or BLM lands. No time restrictions. Privately owned parks have to close at night, insurance issue I imagine.

[@JeffMTBinVA]

@@GarthFlint-nc2vj Makes sense

[@matthiaslee1650]

There’s better Ali express light bars and let me tell you that they’re just as good as exposure six pack £500 lights I know this because I ride with big groups at night and they’ve been very reliable would happily purchase again and you don’t need warranty when they’re £15😂

[@AmvC]

The night belongs to the animals living on the trails. And blue light is warmer than yellow/red light 🤷‍♂️

[@bradley3549]

Hot take, my Ali express light has been really great for $30. Battery lasts forever. Buying some more to helmet mount and for second bike. Can't just buy whichever one though, that's the difference I reckon. Some are junk. Some aren't. Need to do a little homework and use some common sense.

[@P17NGS]

You get what you pay for, if u buy cheap generic stuff from ali, then it be a case of lower your expectations, if u buying some known expensive branded lights, then your expectations should be higher, for me i run magicshine lights the big boy monteer 12000 lumen

[@treimar]

Ali lights can be easily opened and have the battery cells changed. That's what makes them even better in my eyes.(Cheap and repairable) The expensive brand ones are usually molded plastic with no way of getting in without destroying the thing so in a few years time you need to toss it and buy another.

[@bl8danjil]

I've had my "expensive" Niterider lights for over a decade. For me I would rather not spend money for an expensive replacement battery when I should have used that money on a product with better quality that lasts longer and probably came with dirt and water resistance rating.

[@treimar]

@@bl8danjil Batteries degrade period

[@bl8danjil]

@@treimar Well, duh batteries degrade, but they don't go bad after a few years, not the quality ones anyway.

[@reefbloke]

Bit of a daft comparison to be fair and far to polar. Cheap old Ali lights against expensive premium ones . Should have purchased some mid range lesser brands to make up the mid ground as this was just going through the motions to achieve an inevitable outcome . Maybe some sponsor sales pressure going on .

[@redsnappa7338]

Influencer reports that a product made by a company that sponsors the channel is better than a product by a company that does not sponsors the channel . Shock Surprise!!

[@gmbntech]

Hi Red, Outbound Lighting do not sponsor us. We're just showing the differences of the two lights 👍

[@rottieshepcalibre9156]

How did u scuff up ya head tube Owen? Looks like u took sandpaper to it. Or maybe it was the lighting

[@maucina12]

cheapest one from ali is not good but just a bit more expensive one can be very very good and still cost like 10 times cheaper than branded one.

[@rottieshepcalibre9156]

Practical test 👌 no desk

[@amtberproducts]

The difference is $224

[@anthonylloyd6094]

What trail are you riding?

[@friendlypete10]

I’m my experience the cheap unbranded lights have poorer quality control over led output meaning you can get darker spots which makes seeing undulations in the trail harder to see. Also I’ve been behind a friend with 2000 lumen light and my 700 lumen lupine was making him have a shadow. His light seems very bright but the light is less directed to wear it needs to be

[@krisschmitt4146]

Ebay cree lights , perfect and as bright as others expensive lights. Hum ... wonder if hes been paid to say all that 😆 🤣 🤔

[@noControl556]

Just buy a nice headlamp and strap it to your helmet. The best ones are less than $100 You can buy another one and strap it to your bike.

[@peterharrington8709]

WOW an Allen Key!! 😄

[@Hippie-lee]

parabolics

[@ro63rto]

I bought the top model bar light from Ali, SHIZIWANGRI branded. Much better handlebar clamps. The way the tester mounted his was upside down hence why there was no distance.

[@gmbntech]

Interesting, how much is the top model?

[@ro63rto]

​@@gmbntech Sorry, YT notifications are rubbish. I paid £28 delivered for their most powerful one.