Lighting Equipment:
- Trail Tech X2 Halogen Headlight for the bike
- Trail Tech Dual LED Helmet Light Kit
My review of the lights is great. The X2 is nothing to take to Baja, but at a price point under $100, it exceeded my expectations. It has two bulbs, kind of a spot & flood combo. I can cruise around problem free, but these are more for auxiliary/ backup while I rely on the helmet lights. The X2 was easy to wire and includes everything you need. I really like the fact that you don't need to upgrade the stator to run it. That was the biggest turnoff for the larger race lights and HID's.
The helmet lights were a HUGE surprise. I've been digging around for more info on the Dual LED's, but couldn't find much real world experience. I finally decided to just take the plunge and give them a try. The price was good, and if they work I'm in fat city. If not, eBay them and take the HID plunge. And I'm very glad I did. I think they'll be perfect for the night riding/ racing that I'm looking to do. I chose this setup mostly for battery life. I was afraid to try the higher output lights and then burn through too batteries in one night. At $100 per battery, this isn't an option! The LED's have three settings, and should be able to run both lights for about 3 hours on the highest setting. This way, I should only need 3 total batteries for an entire night, which I'm comfortable with. The kit came with one, and I can steadily order the other two as the money is available. It's a lot less of a sucker punch to spend one bill at a time than several!
All that aside, the color of the lights is bright, clear, and crisp. The weight isn't enough to be concerned with, and their "toughness factor" is there. I don't feel like I run the risk of tearing them up. The throw isn't very far. I found myself really outrunning this setup somewhere on the upper end of third and into fourth gear on my 300. Luckily, my night rides will be in tighter woods where this isn't a problem. The kit included everything you need, as well as the wire to connect the lights directly to the battery. I'm going to set this up as a precaution, just in case it becomes necessary.
Riding with the lights:
The helmet lights completely trump the headlight. Once they're on, the headlight doesn't really matter. I opted with the jaw mount and a "boob" focus where both spots are side by side like a nice pair. I may try running them high/ low at some point just to see what it's like.
I was nervous about this first run since I'd never run lights before. My plan all along was to get used to them on the mtb, then graduate to the slower pit bike, then steadily try slow slow laps on the big bike. Nope. Straight on the 300 and full pace by the second corner! My trail is tight and has awkward corners that can be pretty tricky. It's a potent mix of tight woods with quick run outs, hard turns, and then more woods with creek crossings, rocks, etc. It blew me away how comfortable the riding really was. The helmet lights were amazing and gave me so much confidence. I could see the ground, through the turns, and the low branches just fine. It was only the high speed sections that left me wanting more light!
The only problem I can really foresee is the same as any other ride: eating it. Point fixation is much more intense, so you have to really pay attention and look where you want to go. I came out of the creek, tangled up the front end on a tree, and went over the bars pretty good. It took one of the helmet mounts right off. I'll be doing something about this soon. The mounts are strong, but I definitely want some safeguards (and probably extra mounts) for race day.
Overall, I love it. I can only imagine what kind of output the HID's and race lights can do. But for me, this setup should work great!
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