# ACEBEAM BK10 Bike Headlight [Rechargeable]



## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

In keeping with the "self-contained" theme, which seems to be very popular right now, I thought I'd start a post on the ACEBEAM BK10. ( saw this on Amazon ).

This looks interesting although I hate the U.I. ( they should have left out the S.O.S. function which is so torch like. Nevertheless if you can over-look the U.I. there are some interesting features. In a nut shell; uses the _*Cree XHP70.2 emitter_ ( output 2000 lumen ) and is using a ( claimed ) 5100mAh 21700 Li-ion cell to power this torch like bike light. Although it's not mentioned I think this means you can replace the battery ( looks like the back might come off  ) but I'm not sure.

In addition there is a very interesting_ rippled_ front lens design. The rippled lens is designed to widen the beam pattern and to create a type of cut-off beam pattern. Price ( once again ) is a bit high but considering the use of a replaceable 21700 battery and all the mounts it includes, this might indeed make for an interesting road / commuting option assuming of course that the beam pattern is as wide and far throwing as the ad photo would indicate. I'd love to try one of these out but my Star Trek Enterprise Credit Card has raised it's shields to prevent me from buying another bike light. ( Spock, Spock...help me Spock! ) 



> ( *Edited correction: Sorry, don't know how I got this wrong. I guess wishful thinking on my part rolleyes: ) This lamp uses the Cree XHP-35 LED not the Cree XHP-70. Thanks to whoever it was that pointed this out )


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## znomit (Dec 27, 2007)

Cat-man-do said:


> my Star Trek Enterprise Credit Card has raised it's shields


They don't have any need for money in the 24th century.
https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Money

I think you need one of these:









But hopefully they still have bicycles in the 24th century, and maybe they are still using 21700s.

That uses an XHP35, max lumens 1700, not the 2000 quoted. Looks nice though.


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## 127.0.0.1 (Nov 19, 2013)

after the oled display of the fenix bc30r I'll never use another light w/o such display 

just too damn addicted to the hours/mins counter which is a huge stress reducer on trail wondering on batt status with simpler red/yellow/green indicators


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

127.0.0.1 said:


> after the oled display of the fenix bc30r I'll never use another light w/o such display
> 
> just too damn addicted to the hours/mins counter which is a huge stress reducer on trail wondering on batt status with simpler red/yellow/green indicators


When it comes to bike lights with self-contained ( non-serviceable ) batteries I have to agree with you 100%. This is one of the reasons I love the Raveman CR-900 and PR-1200 ( both with digital displays giving the user a number regarding "run time left" )

If, on the other hand, the Acebeam lamp has a removable battery, that in and of itself allows the user to carry a back up battery thus removing any fear of running out of battery juice.

Now the draw back of the Acebeam is that they really screwed the U.I. They should have just limited the highest output to 1200 lumen ( 1.5 hrs ) and then had lower modes more like; 800 lumen ( 2hrs ) 600 lumen (2.5 hrs )...350 lumen...etc. Then add a remote control and make sure there is no SOS mode in the user interface ( U.I. ) ( note; my time est. are just that, ballpark estimates )



znomit said:


> They don't have any need for money in the 24th century.
> https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Money
> 
> But hopefully they still have bicycles in the 24th century, and maybe they are still using 21700s.
> ...


:lol: Great come back. Ah, _I could talk for hours_ on what our world would look like without a form of currency ( but I won't ). I'll just say that without some form of currency the highest form of motivation then becomes the point of a gun.


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## arc (Sep 9, 2004)

Apparently the cell is easily removable.

It's probably a 6000k emitter, hopefully its not glued together too badly as there is a good selection of xhp35 emitters available. If the sense resistor can be changed to get high down to 800 lumens the mode spacing would look better. That would also put the xhp35 in a more efficient range cutting down on heat and helping runtime.

A 21700 cell is 70 grams, this might make a decent helmet light.

Now that xhp50's are readily available in 3v and the Luminous sst-40 can finally be found in 5000k I wonder if we can home brew a light that suits us better. 21700 cells are plentiful and hold a higher voltage during discharge compared to the 18650's.

Convoy has been releasing new lights and are now a good source of batteries drivers and emitters. They have 21700 versions of the S2+ and C8, I'm hoping for an M1 or s2 equivalent. Then we just need to find a family of optics so we can change the beam angle and find someone to make a suitable spacer to make it fit.

https://convoy.aliexpress.com/store/330416?spm=2114.12010612.0.0.64cd3cf1aV8jY9


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

arc said:


> Apparently the cell is easily removable.
> 
> It's probably a 6000k emitter, hopefully its not glued together too badly as there is a good selection of xhp35 emitters available. If the sense resistor can be changed to get high down to 800 lumens the mode spacing would look better. That would also put the xhp35 in a more efficient range cutting down on heat and helping runtime.
> 
> ...


Thank you for your informative post. Nice to hear the Acebeam 21700 cell is easily removable. Do you have a link for the Convoy S2 with 21700. I did see a C8 version on Banggood. I'm a big Convoy fan. I also agree a 20/21700 version of the Convoy M1 would be sweet. The M1 continues to be my favorite helmet torch. Fantastic throw and great over-all beam pattern for a single emitter torch. The S2 I use on my MTB bars as a back up. Not a big deal for me to own a 21700 version of the S2 because I don't use it that much but a 21700 M1 would be fantastic. Still, likely it would add some extra weight on the lid.._.which_...all things considered I might find unacceptable.

Edit** Sorry, forgot you already included a link. Still not easy finding stuff on Aliexpress.


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## herbs (Aug 22, 2019)

Hi,
coz i use it now for ~2 months some infos.



arc said:


> It's probably a 6000k emitter, hopefully its not glued together too badly as there is a good selection of xhp35 emitters available.


Acebeam offers itself a 6000K and a 5000K Version of the Light.

6000K= typical low CRI ,Cool White LED, What makes the Typical White/Blueish Light in Front of you.
about the Blue peaks itself, its looks typical unreal/not natural, have high Selfblinding Effekt and destroys the Night Vision from Your Eyes.
About The Low CRI of Cool LEDs you have no Kontrasts from Objekts on Your Way.
So overall a bad decision vor a Street Light.

5000K= Pur White light, looks mor Natural light.
about the higher CRI Value and lower Blue spikes, it gives you better night vision, more contrast more visibilyty over all.

coz Acebeam not offers warmer light , Skylumen decide to offers a better option.

4000K= near no blue Peak much higher CRI value and the Cooler Temperatur looks absolut natural like on a Sunny day, gives the best Performance for a pur Street Light.

Skylumen offers the 2 Basic lights or the 4000K Version on that he only Swap the LED.



arc said:


> A 21700 cell is 70 grams, this might make a decent helmet light.


18650 cell have ~45 grams and ~3000mah of usable capacity
21700 cell have ~64 grams and ~5000mah of usable capacity

You can use both in the Acebeam, for 18650 you need only a sleeve.



arc said:


> Now that xhp50's are readily available in 3v and the Luminous sst-40 can finally be found in 5000k I wonder if we can home brew a light that suits us better.


The efficiency of an XHP50 is much better the XHP35 HI but for this light ist to big.
bigger size and the Dome will be a problem, the Lens from the Acebeam is optimized for an XHP35 HI.

an Example on High mode:
the Acebeam draws 2,3 Amps from the battery to put out in the front 1060 Lumen"light sphere measured"

Thats ~ 8 Watt Power consumption to give you 1060 Lumen in the Front.

An XHP50 will draw 1,8 Amps from a Battery to give same Lumen output, that will be ~6,5 Watts,
but it not fits in the light.

An XM-L2 LED for example draws 3,5 Amps"13 Watts" from a battery to deliver same Real lumen in front of you, then XHP LED types.

XHP35 Hi was in this light a good decision, i think.

the overall performance is fantastic, if you compare it to other ~1000 Lumen street lights!

example:
Lupine SL have very Low effciency LED build in with far below 100umen/W and need a 4x18650 battery pack do give you ~2,5 Hours ~1000 Lumens.
it Draws ~18 Watts for the ~1000 Lumens thats the reason!

The Acebeam need for the same Performance 1060 Lumen for over 2 Hours 1 Cell!!!!!
The Acebeam is small enouht to fets in any Pocket.

an here some Stats, fakts and measurements:

The light itself gives you a tight and long beam with a nice Cut-off line.
The Beam itself ist ~4 meter width and runs very long. 
I Like the beam profile very much.

Its a Street light only!!!!

It have 3 Steps in the main mode:
180 Lumen=0,36 Amps drawing
400 Lumen=0,67Amps draw
1060 Lumen=2,3 Amps draw

an mode memory for them.
Switch of in 400 Lumen= next time turn on will be 400 Lumen.

Ultra Low and Turbo are direkt access modes.
Stay on the Button= Ultra Low, dopple click= Turbo from any point.

aboutr that you came very fast to any wish brightness and thats the BK10 is not overloaded with usless brightnessstemps is a nice + to.

the driver have a good efficieny value, not perfekt but ok, you see it on Lumen vs Currents.

The driver is Brightness regulated:
That means, the Voltage goes down the Amps go up to give you on your ride a 100% constant light level.

The high and Turbo a Temp regulated with a Step-Down Point for cooling at ~65°C.
The high mode not need that with air cooling but the Turbo with ~2000 Lumen and 19 Watt energy consumption need that.

at moment the only Street light with a very nice beam profile and a high eff LED typ what gives you heavy runtimes.

i Use the Light most in 400 Lumen"~2 Watt energy consumption" setting and have with it ~7-8 Hours runtime.



127.0.0.1 said:


> just too damn addicted to the hours/mins counter which is a huge stress reducer on trail wondering on batt status with simpler red/yellow/green indicators


 on this light not needet coz it not limits you.

If the Battery ist near empty the Light itself make a step-down, what indicates the Battery is near empty.

To change a empy Cell for a Ful cost you 5 seconds of your lifetime.
i never look on the color indicator.
That says take a 18650 or 21700 cell with you gives you unlimited rumtime.

but for you explaind the Driver:
if the battery indicator switch from Green to Red ist means Voltage under 3,6 Volts, what says ~30-40%.

if the Red light indicator starts to blink what is on a Voltage at ~3,1 Volt the light makes a Step-Down to Low mode.

the low you can use to 2,8 Volts than the First Battery safty Protection or LVP kicks in and shut off the light.depending on the Battery Voltage te Runtime Results are different.

If you not have a replacement Battery with you, you can restart the light in Ultra Low with ~40 Lumen down to 2,7 Volt as an emergency light use.

That also says for the BK10 are no Protected Batterys needet, coz the light itselfs does the job.

Coz the light have no Natural enemies at moment ist sad that no infos shared.


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## scar (Jun 2, 2005)

Weird - _herbs_ post reads exactly the same as _lostplaces_ post in the OutBound thread. Both are first time posts and include information about AceBeam lights? You sound very intelligent, why try to hide behind two different screen names??

****


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## herbs (Aug 22, 2019)

scar said:


> You sound very intelligent, why try to hide behind two different screen names??


Why someone have to hide, behind some specs or measurments?

I have try 3 days ago to register but one day later still nothing work, so i try again to register coz i think i do it wrong.

now at once 1 get bouth unlocked, and try if bouth work.

Thats the secret.:thumbsup:

coz i see it now another importend info:
i read here that a user says Acebeam make a rippled lens to widen the beam.

Thats wrong!

with a simple Lens you can create an typ of beam, long wide whatever.

then why they do it?

its simple answer:

If you check out different cheap streetlight stuff you will notice alot of discoloations , bluish,Yellowish, whiteish from one LED in this Light!!

or visible Light fields with dark Holes an other Artifacts in the beam itself.
And in Street Lights this is absolutly Ugly stuff.

Acebeam simply decide to smooth the beam a little out"like with a diffuser" to give you a homogeneously, clean light field.
an with this type of Ripple you dont effekt to much the Cut-off Line.

Thats a very Professional decision, what i have missed on alot of street lights the last years.

I asked Acebeam to Remove the 6000K Version coz its remebers to much on cheap chinese stuff.
we will see if they do it in the future.

I recommend to only decide between the 5000K or 4000K.

White light lovers take the 5000K
wo likes more natural light takes the 4000K

to offer 6000K ist not very professionally i find.


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## biking_tg (Dec 27, 2018)

scar said:


> Weird - _herbs_ post reads exactly the same as _lostplaces_ post in the OutBound thread. Both are first time posts and include information about AceBeam lights? You sound very intelligent, why try to hide behind two different screen names??


I have a feeling that i know the user behind that names from a different forum. This user has some knowledge on some topics, on others he is just convinced to have knowledge without having it. Furthermore he thinks that any other manufacturer than acebeam, zebralight or nextorch is an idiot who doesn't know what they do (but of course he knows everything). Also he is convinced that any other LED than a cree XHP is a bad idea in a outdoor lamp. Furthermore he cannot read data sheets properly and cannot understand that an XHP might not be reliable or useful for certain applications.

Best to ignore these posts, as he is not really accessible to arguments and mostly chooses himself to ignore arguments that do not fit to his knowledge...


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

...^...Well at least he claims to have one of the lamps. I'd love to see some "user" beam pattern photos....on high, mid-level and low, all steady.


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## biking_tg (Dec 27, 2018)

Cat-man-do said:


> ...^...Well at least he claims to have one of the lamps. I'd love to see some "user" beam pattern photos....on high, mid-level and low, all steady.


He has posted pictures (wallshots and on a bike, see here https://www.mtb-news.de/forum/t/bike-lampe-mit-modernen-leds.867962/page-22#post-16047211). imho the lamp has a horrible light distribution. it gives you a bright blob directly in front of the bike and another bright blob a few meters in the front.
Edit: [blob is of course heavily exaggerated, but for a road/street bike lamp there is imho way too much light in front of the bike, which makes adaption to distance harder] 
However i might be not be a neutral judge on that matter: I consider the OL focal road as a bit too bright close to the bike and that lamp has a very nice light distribution.
Edit: This wallshot (https://forums.mtbr.com/lights-nigh...ussion-1055278-post14045685.html#post14045685) - albeit a bit overexposed to get the right impression - or this wallshot (https://forums.mtbr.com/lights-nigh...ussion-1055278-post13722577.html#post13722577) of the road shows the differnce to the Acebeam BK10. the OL road has much higher intensity closer to the cutoff and relatively little lumens at the bottom of the wall shot, compared to BK10 where there is much more light at the lower half of the wallshot.


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## herbs (Aug 22, 2019)

biking_tg said:


> it gives you a bright blob directly in front of the bike and another bright blob a few meters in the front.


I see only an overexposed unlucky cam setting, and Different Light fields.

What is blob?

Google search give me this.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094761/

human eating monsters.

Can you make details screenshots from your Blob?

My BK10 makes a Great design Street shape with the Lens.



biking_tg said:


> However as i found that spot infront of the bike with the pretty good OL focal road already to bright, i might be not be a neutral judge...


It looks so that you have both, can you make from both a Screenshot with same cam setting?


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## biking_tg (Dec 27, 2018)

herbs said:


> ...
> What is blob?
> ...
> It looks so that you have both, can you make from both a Screenshot with same cam setting?


I don't have both (i only have the Outbound Road) and since i don't like the presented wall shots and the beam shots from the manufacturer (acebeam) why should i buy a lamp (BK10) for which i see no use ?? Should i see or get to know someone with that light, i'll promise to make a comparison photo.
I edited my last post and included a link to post with a wall shot, albeit a bit overexposed.

regarding blob: there are enough online dictionary available which might help you more than google translate. I am shure there is one giving you translation from english to your native language.


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## herbs (Aug 22, 2019)

biking_tg said:


> why should i buy a lamp for which i see no use ??


If you not see any use for Light with a otimized Light Profile for Road use that is ok.

I waste 70% of my Bike time on Roads and need exactly that.

Flashlights are no Option on Roads for me same like bulky and heavy lights.

They only real alternative at moment on the World market is the Fenix BC35R.

The Older Version BC30R have a Flashlight beam.
The New BC35R geht now a more Street Beam Profile.

The BC35R have Street Profile, but lower runtimes, near double weight, not changeable 2x18650 Batterys.
so if they run empty you stay in the darkness.
so no alternative for the BK10 in all therms.

If you looking for the best Street light on the market......compact, lightweight, High Output and great Runtimes.....


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## biking_tg (Dec 27, 2018)

herbs said:


> If you not see any use for Light with a otimized Light Profile for Road use that is ok.
> I waste 70% of my Bike time on Roads and need exactly that.
> ....
> They only real alternative at moment on the World market is the Fenix BC35R.


i agree that flash lights on a road are a disaster, especially for oncoming traffic or pedestrians. Since i spent also quite some time on roads, a cut-off light design was important to me.
However since (for me) the most important property of a light is the light distribution (to my taste), i don't care so much about weight or self-contained batteries. Wether a bike light (incl batteries) weighs 100 or 450 grams, it's still below 1% of the average male bikers weight. Of course the light must have a suitable mounting device for the bike, which stops the lamp from moving during riding.

As a self contained road bike light the B&M Ixon Space (sphere measured 500 lm, data from a bike magazin) is a proper alternative as well (have tested it), however i don't know how how available that lamp is outside europe and the usa. Internet shops however should ship anywhere. Another alternative would be the Lumintop B01, as it has a better light design (with respect to cut-off, due to LED position and useage of a reflector) than the acebeam, however only delivering 450 lm as constant output, but this could be for many situations enough. (Again i have my informations only from only pictures available online)

For my liking the BK10 wastes way too much light in front of the bike. One could reduce this effect by adjusting the beam higher but then one countermands the cut-off design. Therefore i like my Outbound Road edition much more, at least most of the light goes into the distance. The Fenix BC35R seems like a solid lamp, but since i hadn't seen enough convincing beam shots or videos at the time when i bought my light, i looked somewhere else. Should i ever encounter someone with that lamp, i am gonna stop that person to have a look on it.

Should someone sent my a BC35R, a BK10 and B01, i am gonna test them, but most probably i'll stick to my lights that i already have.


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## lostplaces (Aug 21, 2019)

biking_tg said:


> As a self contained road bike light the B&M Ixon Space (sphere measured 500 lm, data from a bike magazin) is a proper alternative as well (have tested it),


50 grams more weight and 3x lower Runtime you call a alternative?

The BK10 give at ~ 400 Lumen* 7 Hours* Runtime.
The Space at near same Lumens *2 Hours*.

The Space Consumes ~*8 Watts* for ~500 Lumens
The BK10 Consumes ~*2 Watt* for 400 Lumen.

I have to carry with me 3x Ixon Space to replace 1xBK10.
That says 750 gram to carry with me.

If the Space run empty after 2 Hour,......... 5 Hours charge time .......i have no light......
The BK10 have about he option to change battery with a handle infinity Runtime.

I have measured the Space for 2 days befor i give it back to the Shop where i buy it.

i measured ~480 Lumens in the first 30 secounds so 500 Lumen will be ok.

but the Light have no constant current driver, the light drops down over time with not warmed up Body, its any type of cheap chinese drivers.

or the light have problems with Heat emission from the LED to the Body.
but its not possible to disassemble it without loosing warranty, so i dont do it complete, to check all details.

That i will not call a Alternative.:thumbsup:

On Aliexpress you will find alot 20$ Street lights what perform at same or better Level then the Space on a lower product weight.

Thats the Place of the Space.


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## biking_tg (Dec 27, 2018)

lostplaces said:


> The BK10 give at ~ 400 Lumen* 7 Hours* Runtime ~*2 Watt* for 400 Lumen.
> The Space at near same Lumens *2 Hours* and consumes ~*8 Watts* for ~500 Lumens


400 lm at 2W would be an efficiency of 200 lm/W. Since you argued in the hangover thread that datasheets claims are never reached in reality, could you explain then why the BK10 with an XHP35HI overperforms in reality the datasheet? Remember both LEDs (and datasheets) are from the same manufacturer...

_for all other users who are accessible to arguments:_
The highest binning of the XHP35 HI is rated at max 139 lm/W at binning conditions. Since the lamp is driven at 2W below binning conditions, we assume the lamp and the junction temperature is cooler, which gives us roughly 5% performance increase (data sheet XHP35 HI p15). If we take the best binning for 6000 K and 70 CRI one gets 550 lm @350 mA and 11.3V (4W). If we take the lowest binning from the datasheet (which is more realistic for the acebeam) we get 475 lm @350 mA/11.3V (current vs voltage see datasheet page 16). Now at roughly 2W the XHP gives according to datasheet 55% of the output at binning conditions (see p16 of the datasheet). If we multiply all these numbers we end up with
550 *1.05*0.55 = 318 Lm (for the unrealistic highest binning)
475 *1.05*0.55 = 274 lm (for a lower binning)

So at 2 W the acebeam can deliver max 274-318 lm and this does not consider the optics (which results in lumen loss as you wrote in the hangover thread, let's assume a loss of 20%)._ So most probably the Acebeam BK10 delivers at 2W around 220-250 lm output after the lens_, which is roughly half of the Ixon space at full power. The space at 250 lm needs probably 3-3.5W, which more than doubles the rountime compared to the highest mode.



lostplaces said:


> 50 grams more weight and 3x lower Runtime you call a alternative?
> I have to carry with me 3x Ixon Space to replace 1xBK10.
> That says 750 gram to carry with me.
> If the Space run empty after 2 Hour,......... 5 Hours charge time .......i have no light...... The BK10 have about he option to change battery with a handle infinity Runtime.
> .


Probably less than 2% of all bikers ride their bikes at night longer than 2 hours in one piece. Therefore you do not need 3 Ixon spaces, that's a complete unreasonable argument. So charging after 2 hours biking time is not a issue for 99% of all bikers. Also electricity is available everywhere and at any time in modern (first) world, recharging a battery is also not an issue at all, since the next night (or morning in winter) is more than 5 hours away. And a Space operated at 250 lm gives 4 hrs runtime, which is enough for 99.5% of all bikers in one night.

It's ok if its relevant for you and it's ok if you like the acebeam, you may buy and like whatever you wish, but stop giving complete bullshit arguments.:eekster:


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## herbs (Aug 22, 2019)

biking_tg said:


> 400 lm at 2W would be an efficiency of 200 lm/W. .....
> 
> _for all other users who are accessible to arguments:_
> The highest binning of the XHP35 HI is rated at max 139 lm/W at binning conditions.


You know what says Real World measure?
i See no.

Here 3 Years ago an old E2 bin.
That is made to get references.

To Reach with 2 Watt or better for you 2,2 Watt 400 Lumen out of the Front says me the BK10 have a fantastic eff in medium mode.

to Reach with 8 Watt 1060 lumens ot of the front still looks good.

The exactly bin from the BK10 i dont know, but if i take the old E2 so its looks all good.

for an E4 bin the performance will be only ok , not so good.

If Acebeam have Access to higher bins the Performance will be bad.

So i only take an old bin as reference to be fair.

Fast checking stuff what you have at home is very easy:
1. mesaure Amp and Volt on the Battery side.

On the BK10 ist easy coz access to Battery.

0,61 Amps Load have 3,73 Volts under Load so 3,73x0,61=2,2 Wats of Power the Light uses.
if i put now the Light into a lightsphere i get 400 Lumens readet.

so i have 2 Statts measured by myself, 2,2 Watt vs 400 Lumen Output.
if i check now a table i see the Performance looks good, not much looses in the Driver.



biking_tg said:


> datasheets claims are never reached


thats why you get alot of real Performance tabels of many LEDs from Users created in BLF.:thumbsup:

Feel free to check it out, BLF is for everyone.
there are many companys what create Lights to active and create with this community alot of Lights.
you get help in Driverdesign, Programming, measure parts.......anythink you need.

They will help you to create a Cheap DIY lightsphere to check for yourself stuff.
IF you have no money a cheap DIY lightphere cost you ~30$ so not a big problem to make that.

Here you get the table of the LED used in the Fenix BC35R or my Zebralight helmet light.


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## biking_tg (Dec 27, 2018)

herbs said:


> They will help you to create a Cheap DIY lightsphere to check for yourself stuff.
> IF you have no money a cheap DIY lightphere cost you ~30$ so not a big problem to make that.


If i see a documentation where a cheap DIY lightsphere was made and then verified with a (NIST) standard reference to see the deviations and offset, i might be convinced.
Having worked in science for a few years i have enough understanding of measurements that i fairly can state that a cheaph DIY lightsphere will most probably have a significant offset and deviations from the "true" value. i only trust these numbers with an error of 25-30% and would assume an offset between 40-100 lm.
--> A trustful and highly accurate measurement needs expensive equipment. It cannot be done with DIY stuff or cheaper stuff (unless you are lucky, but without measuring a calibrated light source (expensiv, you won't find out)

(at the MTB News forum there is a thread were a guy working at university measured lights with a calibrated expensive sphere, these are trustful numbers. He did this to countermand the bullshit lumen numbers of many manufacturers, amongst them Lupine at that time (7-10 years ago))



herbs said:


> You know what says Real World measure?
> i See no.
> Here 3 Years ago an old E2 bin.
> That is made to get references.


Why would Cree, who have the proper expensive equipment, rate their LEDs lower than they actually perform? So i'd say datasheet values are the best ones you can obtain with an LED.

Anyway, it is a useful link with a solid made measurement. Thanks for the link! However since i don't know what sphere the guy used and whether it was calibrated, i take the values with a grain of salt.

But as they write there in BLF:
1) measurement done with very active cooling (TJ 25°C) --> does not apply to acebeam BK10
2) one of the two e2 bins performed only as an D4 bin(550 -590 lm)
3) seems that e2 bins are not available in bigger quantities, so this seems unrealistic to be incoporated in the BK10. (These E Bins are still not listed in the main section of the data sheet, and the data sheet was last updated Nov 2018). But we then can probably assume a D4 bin.



herbs said:


> 0,61 Amps Load have 3,73 Volts under Load so 3,73x0,61=2,2 Wats of Power the Light uses.
> if i put now the Light into a lightsphere i get 400 Lumens readet.
> ...
> so i have 2 Statts measured by myself, 2,2 Watt vs 400 Lumen Output.


Now if we assume an E2 bin is in the lamp, 400 lm output after optics is not possible:
E2 binning is rated at 590-635 lm (min-max) acc to data seet (hidden there on p20). If we do the same calculation as before we get at 2W
a) before optics: 340 to 366 lm
b) After optics: 270 to 290 lm

Regarding the accuracy of your measurement values, see my arguments above. Now if we assume that your sphere has the above stated uncertainities and offset, you could measure 400 lms, albeit the true value is lower. There is a nice german idiom: Wer misst, misst Mist. (Roughly translates to: If you measure, you measure manure). And unfortunately that is very true idiom, which any scientist will confirm, unless you are pretty careful.

The Acebeam has advantages like it's form and size, and it's ability to quickly change the battery in the field. If that is important for the user, it's a reason to buy it. But it's not the miraculous lamp as you describe it.


----------



## herbs (Aug 22, 2019)

biking_tg said:


> If i see a documentation where a cheap DIY lightsphere was made and then verified with a (NIST) standard reference to see the deviations and offset, i might be convinced.


There 3 different types of cheap to made Lightspheres for your home use.
If you calibrate it right you will get ~90%+Acc from a 20000$ sphere.

Thats more then enough to check for yourself or others Products.

And coz you never measure whatever what is the point of your talk?
i checked the BK10 if it is in the Promised ANSI FL1 Rating and it is some % over it.
So good for users.

You sayed the BK10 is no light for you and thats ok.

i give only some Product measurments here, what i do with anythink what i buy.

If your Lightsphere have a better Acc then my, show it.:thumbsup:


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## biking_tg (Dec 27, 2018)

herbs said:


> There 3 different types of cheap to made Lightspheres for your home use.
> If you calibrate it right you will get ~90%+Acc from a 20000$ sphere.


Where is your calibration measurement/curve for your sphere (measured lumens vs calibrated supplied lumens?) You still evade to provide information on _your_ calibration source, where you obtained it and whether the calibration of the light was still valid. Without this information, your provided measurements have to be treated with care.
You only state _one_ could reach ~90 accuracy of a professional sphere.



herbs said:


> And coz you never measure whatever what is the point of your talk?


What weak and unreasonable argument.... Just because i haven't measured lumens it doesn't mean i lack the knowledge of understanding the general concept of measurements, accuracy and calibration...

What is the point of your measurements and talk if you don't prove that your numbers are accurate or state the accuracy level?:bluefrown:

I find it disturbing that you think you are the best expert in the field, and even more disturbing that you never heard of the concept of knowledge transfer....



herbs said:


> i give only some Product measurments here, what i do with anythink what i buy.


The issue is that you claim your measurements show the absolut "true" numbers, while all other numbers provided by other people are wrong. And exactly that is my point of critism. And as long as you do this, you gonna get critisized.

Btw, there are still some question from me, which you could answer, i. e.: Why would cree provide much lower lumen numbers for their products than achivable in reality?


----------



## herbs (Aug 22, 2019)

biking_tg said:


> You still evade to provide information on _your_ calibration source,


Ok,

1. You need an Light source from that you 100% know the exact Lumen output for calibration!
2. And it must be a 100% exactly regulatet Output without any movements.

Thats most importend part!

I use a 5 Year old zebralight for that job most times.
Its here only job in here life.

If you have more than one Light from that you have the 100% lumen Output values you can to it more exactly.
or if your first measurement looks wrong you can check it with reference light number two.

you get with that a Light Multiplier what you use in future for Lumen measurments on this Lightsphere.

On youtube some BLF members make videos for the first quick build of a lightsphere, feel free to watch it.

My 3 Lights whats able to calibrate any Lightsphere not will help you, i am 100% sure you not own one of them.

and pls BK10 here only.
Its not a post about biking_tg do his first lightsphere expiriments.:thumbsup:



biking_tg said:


> You only state _one could reach ~90 accuracy of a professional sphere. _


no i write 90%+.
That means from 90-100%

If you have done it and know some problems with Light sources you optimize your doing by yourself.



biking_tg said:


> Why would cree provide much lower lumen numbers for their products than achivable in reality?


Cree does nothing other then any other LED Producer.
I think they design an LED on a paper theoretically and make an imaginary paper for that.

Near all LEDs have nothing to do with this imaginary paper.
Thats why only measurments shows me what i Really have.

Some LEDs far over paper stuff some LEDs far below paper stuff.
Thats the fun on it, and i can not explain it why they to it so.


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## biking_tg (Dec 27, 2018)

herbs said:


> Ok,
> 1. You need an Light source from that you 100% know the exact Lumen output for calibration!
> 2. And it must be a 100% exactly regulatet Output without any movements.
> ....
> ...


I did not ask to explain what a calibration source is, i was well aware of the concept... Well, at least you made my day, had great fun reading this! :eekster: You just proved that you do not understand the idea behind a proper, trustworthy calibration source... And we know now why to accept your values only with a certain caution.

With some commercial flashlights as calibration source your measurements are most probably done with at least 20% error compared to the "true" value. Even if you used 3 three commercial flashlights. Your values can only be referenced to the flashlights you used as calibration source, but cannot be considered "true" lumen numbers. A proper calibration source costs a few hundred dollars and is checked against NIST standards before it is sold and is something different than some flashlight.. 
Of course, no one needs a professional calibration of his sphere if it's used for leisure, but then one shouldn't be so adamant that the measured values represent "true" lumen numbers without error...



herbs said:


> On youtube some BLF members make videos for the first quick build of a lightsphere, feel free to watch it.
> ...
> Its not a post about biking_tg do his first lightsphere


No, it's should be about explaining herbs what the concept of a proper, calibrated measurement means. But since there are enough books on this topic, we don't need to do this. You just need to read one...

Thanks for the hint with the video, i am gonna watch this at some point to check how reliable and trustworthy that is.

So let's get back to the Acebeam BK10 and see what other users think of this light, it doesn't seem to be much in use so far.


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## herbs (Aug 22, 2019)

biking_tg said:


> With some commercial flashlights as calibration source your measurements are most probably done with at least 20% error compared to the "true" value.


20% error 



biking_tg said:


> Even if you used 3 three commercial flashlights. Your values can only be referenced to the flashlights you used as calibration source, but cannot be considered "true" lumen numbers.


you understand it wrong.

If you only own 1 Light scoure from that you know 100% the Lumens and you use it for calibrate your first Lightsphere.

You will not know the Acc of your sphere for other beam types.

If i take now another light source with other beam profile and check what i get now.
and if it not match light source 1, i have a geometric light deflektion problem on my sphere, and about that i can optimize or change it complete.

My actual Lightsphere for example give me on all 3 Light sources the same multipliere, so i have in total calculated near ~96% Acc.

If u have more light scources with a 100% known Lumen output you get higher Acc coz on that way its possible to find geometric or other construction problems on a DIY and fix it.

On my first DIY lightsphere some years ago i have done the Wrong to only use 1 source, what endet in low Accs.

For first trys simple make the Ball design, with one reference light source.
or pocket sized Ball.
not Pipe designs.

If you want to talk about *lightspheres*, designs of them, Accs of them, and anythink other go into BLF there are hundrets of people what make them and give you all infos you will get!!!!

good luck with your first sphere.

*here is a Discussion for the BK10*!


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## biking_tg (Dec 27, 2018)

There is a review on the BK10 from a japanese blog (translated to english)



herbs said:


> 20% error
> ....
> If you only own 1 Light scoure from that you know 100% the Lumens and you use it for calibrate your first Lightsphere.
> ...
> ...


I am sorry to say this, but you still missunderstand the concept of a proper calibration source. Furthermore a proper professional sphere can work with any beam type.

Since you obviously think someone in the BLF has more knowledge than me, check this Node/Thread, read the first Post there, at the bottom the issue with commercial flashlights is explained. It states exaktly the same things that i stated.
If you want to verify your sphere, you can even get a relatively trustworthy calibration source from this user for 64 EUR, which is dirt cheap for that purpose. Once you have calibrated your sphere with this light, re-measure your lights again. But if you want to calculate lm/W values, don't forget to use a suitable device for measuring current and voltage. Suitable means it should have less than 5% uncertainity on the measured values and have no 0 point offset

This is about the BK10, but you tend to state wrong lumen numbers and efficiencies on the LED used in this lamp


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## SlartiB (Apr 17, 2020)

Warning: I've just bought a spare battery for this light, and it is TOO LONG, preventing the housing of the light from making a contact with the inner edge of the end cap - the light simply does not turn on.
The battery is the Acebeam 21700 5100mAh 20A IMR, with a USB port on it. It is VERY similar to the battery that came with the light - same specs, except the original doesn't have the USB port. Unfortunately, the new battery is 76mm long though - the original is 75mm.
Awaiting a response from both the supplier, and Acebeam.
I WAS liking this light a lot before this problem - very good run times! I'm actually using the Low setting most of the time, which has a specified run time of 16 hours!


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## SlartiB (Apr 17, 2020)

Acebeam simply said to use the standard (non-USB) battery.
Supplier tried to make out it was my fault, for choosing the wrong battery. (they said that the USB version is for lights that don't have any inbuilt charger). I pointed out to them that there is no information about this in the product description of EITHER the light, or the battery. I think it was quite reasonable for me to choose the Acebeam battery for my Acebeam light! In any case, they have allowed me to exchange. (interestingly, they are sending me a Klarus 5000mAh cell - *not* an Acebeam non-USB cell - I don't even think they sell the non-USB Acebeam cell by itself, which made my task of choosing the right battery even more difficult)

BK10 will shortly be tested on a week long mountain bike trip in the Snowy Mountains (Australia).


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

SlartiB said:


> Warning: I've just bought a spare battery for this light, and it is TOO LONG, preventing the housing of the light from making a contact with the inner edge of the end cap - the light simply does not turn on.
> The battery is the Acebeam 21700 5100mAh 20A IMR, with a USB port on it. It is VERY similar to the battery that came with the light - same specs, except the original doesn't have the USB port. Unfortunately, t*he new battery is 76mm long though - the original is 75mm.*
> Awaiting a response from both the supplier, and Acebeam.
> I WAS liking this light a lot before this problem - very good run times! I'm actually using the Low setting most of the time, which has a specified run time of 16 hours!


Very interesting. I didn't know anyone made a 21700 cell with a built in USB port. I've seen them on 18650's and other smaller type cells but not on 21700's. Usually when they do this it limits the capacity of the cell in order to accommodate the port and the circuitry to make it work. That said I'm surprise to see that the cell you bought is still rated at a very high capacity. Wouldn't think 1-mm would make that much difference but I've had flashlights that required button-top cells and wouldn't work with flat top cells. Most of those thankfully are all outdated and since I only buy flat top cells now everything I currently own and use works fine.

Just measured my current stock of 21700's most of mine are ~68mm long. The Samsung cells I have which have the largest capacity are slightly longer at about ~69mm. If you have non-protective 21700 cells over 70mm in length those are some damn long cells.


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## SlartiB (Apr 17, 2020)

All three cells (the two Acebeams, and the Klarus) are PROTECTED. And no, the USB port has not reduced capacity I don't think - I measure about 5000mAh. Just FYI, the Klarus measures 75mm (phew!) and does work in the BK10. 
Unfortunately I have a much more serious problem now - a mechanical problem with my bike, and I'm running out of time fast. ☹


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

SlartiB said:


> All three cells (the two Acebeams, and the Klarus) are PROTECTED. And no, the USB port has not reduced capacity I don't think - I measure about 5000mAh. Just FYI, the Klarus measures 75mm (phew!) and does work in the BK10.
> Unfortunately I have a much more serious problem now - a mechanical problem with my bike, and I'm running out of time fast. ☹


I just did a little investigating online, checking out the sizes of some of these 21700 batteries. Seems you are correct. The original Acebeam battery you received with your light is ~75mm in length and is indeed a protected battery. ( Protected cells are almost always longer ) The other Acebeam battery you bought with built in USB charger I did find listed but on the one website I saw that had it listed they said the battery was no longer available. They did not list the length, however I did find a Fenix 21700 cell with built-in USB charger ( same capacity 5000mAh ) and that battery listed as ~ 1mm longer then the original Acebeam cell. Sad that the 1mm made that much of a difference.

I don't use protected 21700 cells in my torches designed to use that size. The torches I use have circuitry built in the driver that is designed to protect the battery. Looking at the cost of some of those protected cells I can buy two unprotected Samsung 50T's ( 5000mAh ) for less then the price of one protected Acebeam high-drain 5100mah cell.

Now I would think that the BK-10 would have the circuitry to protect the battery since is is built to also charge the battery via a built in USB port but possible I could be wrong about that. Of course that begs the question: "Can the BK-10 be used with the shorter non-protective cells"? .

( changing subject ) Being the person who started the thread I found out a few days ago that the BK-10 actually uses the XHP-35 LED. In my original post I listed the emitter as being a XHP-70. When someone pointed out the mistake it had me scratching my head as to how I could of made that mistake. Well, turns out I'm not losing my mind. I found the original link on Amazon that had the BK-10 listed and listed as using an XHP-70 LED. When I hit that link now it now says that version is "no longer available". My thought on this is that the original Amazon post was just a type error. Probably never was a XHP-70 version because the product description is the exact same as the one with XHP-35. Anyway, thought worth mentioning and happy I''m not losing my mind.  ( I did add a correction to the original post so as to not mislead anyone )


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## poopoo (Apr 22, 2013)

Hi, I'm thinking about getting one of these BK10 lights.

I usually do 2-3 1-1.5h rides a week on the evenings on poorly illuminated streets (Mosman, NSW, Australia) and sometimes I do cyclo-touring trips and longer gravel rides starting well before sunshine.

Currently I'm using a Fireflies E7 this way:
1. Flashlight 
2. Flashlight-to-2-prong-go-pro-style-mount
3. go-pro-style-3-prong-mount-to-garmin-mount
4. Garmin quarter-turn "female" mount (from an old garmin handlebar mount)
5. Garmin handlebar mount with a quarter-turn "male" on the bottom side
@ see pictures:




















The flashlight is great, best I've ever had by far and the mounting system is very convenient... but it has two big problems:

It's not a bike light and therefore the beam is round, meaning it's very annoying to other road users, so I end up having to tilt it up and down, constantly changing mode and under-using its power
The UI is very complicated and difficult to use from the handlebar. Although it has a bike-flasher mode, it's so inconvenient to get to it that I never use it

So, about the Acebeam BK10... Could it be used inverted? For that... Is it possible to disassemble the optic and assemble it back upside down?
Also, anybody knows if it has any kind of current protection? I mean, what is the maximum discharge rate of the battery it can use?


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## poopoo (Apr 22, 2013)

The other option would be to buy a Garmin Varia UT800, for the week rides and keep the Fireflies E07 for the longer gravel rides and cyclo-touring.

I'm actually amazed that the Garmin light is exactly the same price as the ACEBEAM BK10:








AceBeam BK10 2000 lumen rechargeable LED bike light


110 g, 2000 lumen: The AceBeam BK10 is a specially-designed professional rechargeable LED bike light. It utilises CREE XHP35 HI LED and runs on 1 x 21700 Li-ion rechargeable battery (included). It has 5 brightness output levels, SOS modes, battery status indicator and has helmet mounting...




www.liteshop.com.au












Garmin Varia UT800 Smart Headlight


Garmin Varia UT800 Smart Headlight - Garmin




www.bikebug.com




$200 (AUD)

EDIT:
The third option would be the Knog Power Road 700l with the gopro adapter:








Knog PWR Road 700L Front Light


Knog PWR Road 700L Front Light - Knog




www.bikebug.com












Knog PWR Helmet/GoPro Mount - Helmet Mount


Knog PWR Helmet/GoPro Mount - Helmet Mount - Knog




www.bikebug.com




which is also $50 (AUD) cheaper than the other two!

EDIT 2:
I've discarded the Knog, I've read some very bad reviews about it...
What about the Bontrager Ion Pro RT + the universal blendr light mount








Bontrager Blendr Universal Light Mount | Trek Bikes


Enhance your cycling experience with a Bontrager Blendr Universal Ion Mount. Shop now!




www.trekbikes.com












Bontrager Ion Pro RT Front Bike Light


Erina Bikeworx on the Central Coast and Hunter Bikeworx at Warners Bay sell a large range of bicycles and accessories, Trek, Santacruz, Tern, Redline, Yeti, Electra, Wethepeople, Bontrager, Garmin, GoPro and more!




www.bikeworx.com.au




Also around $200 (AUD)

What do you think?


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## biking_tg (Dec 27, 2018)

poopoo said:


> So, about the Acebeam BK10... Could it be used inverted? For that... Is it possible to disassemble the optic and assemble it back upside down?


Why don't you mount the acebeam the same way as your flashlight? But it seems it can be easily disassembled (see this post (#537) in a german forum). IMO the acebeam is overpriced for its beam quality... get a lumintop b01, 30 USD from aliexpress, can be used glarefree (while still having usable light distribution). If you really want glarefree lights, none of the above posted are sufficient, you need something "StVZO" compliant, i.e. something with a proper cut-off. For example the Busch Muller IQ-XE (can be mounted upside down) and attached to any battery with 7.2V - 48V voltage... Only advantage of the acebeam and the lumintops are warmer light colors.

other alternatives, which are not properly glarefree, but glare reduced: fenix bc25r oder 35r or Raveman PR and CR series ((@MRMOLE has given some nice reviews about Raveman lights).
Some of the mentioned lights can be compared on this website: BIKE LIGHT CHECKERS | Bike Light Comparison Web Site


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## poopoo (Apr 22, 2013)

Hi @biking_tg,
thank you very much for your post

Acebeam BK10
The acebeam is allegedly STVZO compliant according to their website. But you're right, first of all, although it looks like the bezel and optics can be mounted upside down, I won't be 100% sure that it will be possible and I might have to desolder/solder some wires, I doubt the warranty would stand... and I also think it is overpriced.
If I mount it inverted (under the GPS, like my current flashlight), the light would point upwards, that's the reason why I ask if the bezel/optics can be mounted upside down. If you mean using the flashlight adapter instead of it's own go-pro adapter, I don't think it would fit... and anyway, to be honest, although I put a stronger rubber band, it wiggles a lot, I would like to upgrade to a better mount!

Garmin varia
All the reviews say that the smart light functionality chews battery like crazy, totally defeating its purpose, so paying such a high price for a mediocre flashlight ... no no

Knog PWR Road 700l
Everybody agrees that the build quality is basically crap. A couple of friends told me they have had knog things in the past and they don't recommend them at all. Quite disappointing especially because they are Australian.

Busch Muller IQ-XE
It is not compatible with anything I have for mounting it to the quarter-turn under the GPS and it requires an external battery that I would have to attach somewhere else on the bicycle. The point is to use the quarter-turn under the GPS mount and that's it, I want something self-contained that takes 2" to mount/unmount

Lumintop B01
This is the closest thing I've found to what I want, it would be perfect if it was 21700, I stopped using 18650 batteries 3 years ago and don't want to go back...
EDIT>
It is actually compatible with 21700 batteries! Although it's a little low on power... only 850lumens in turbo mode... anyway, I'll take a look... promising!

Fenix and Ravemen PR series
Bulky, can't be mounted inverted, no proper adaptor, no 21700 replaceable batteries... I don't like them in general

Ravemen CR1000
Seems great! but... I'm not sure if the battery is (easily) replaceable, the optics can be inverted and if there's a way to mount it to the quarter-turn or go-pro mounts. I'll send them an email


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## poopoo (Apr 22, 2013)

More on the Ravemen CR1000
They do have a go-pro adapter which is called "upside down"!




__





Upside-down Bracket






www.ravemen.com




So I guess the bezel/lens/optics/whatever can be inverted too...
If you look at the picture, there's a notch on the bezel, so it looks like it might be that!









It also comes with a remote control, which is very cool, although it's another thing I'd have to attach to the bicycle, so it wouldn't be 2" to mount/unmount... hehehe

I've just send them an email asking all of this and if the battery can be replaced on the road, let's see what they say...


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## biking_tg (Dec 27, 2018)

poopoo said:


> The acebeam is allegedly STVZO compliant according to their website.


acebeam claims to be compliant and acebeam may claim a lot. But they have never undergone any certification, and when i look at the wallshots, i strongly doubt this light will pass StVZO certification. The light distribution is not as it must/should be. The Acebeam BK10 may actually not be sold in germany, as it is not certified and advertised as bike light.
IMO way to much light in the close range, and to little in the distance. Overpriced.



poopoo said:


> This is the closest thing I've found to what I want, it would be perfect if it was 21700


You can operate the B01 with a 21700 cell: B01 - Lumintop. It has similar issues as the BK10, but is far cheaper, and you can use your flashlight as high beam.

You might also look at the Cateye GVolt 70.1, designed for upside down mounting (But changing the battery could mean a bit of work)


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## MRMOLE (May 31, 2011)

poopoo said:


> Hi @biking_tg,
> 
> This is the closest thing I've found to what I want, it would be perfect if it was 21700, I stopped using 18650 batteries 3 years ago and don't want to go back...
> EDIT>
> ...


Lumintop B01 Bike Flashlight Review - ZeroAir Reviews

The above B01 review has output testing that shows turbo mode not really usable so if your expecting 850 lumens your not going to get it except for a couple of minutes at a time. Not sure if the light is programmed for a timed stepdown or thermal protection is activated but a steady 475 lumens is all your should expect.

Unfortunately the internal battery of the Ravemen CR1000 is not replaceable but it can be run with an external power source. Also underbar mounting is possible without removing the bezel to invert the optic or lens cover. Pictured below is a cheap Amazon flashlight Gopro adapter but Ravemen makes something similar. 
Mole


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## poopoo (Apr 22, 2013)

biking_tg said:


> acebeam claims to be compliant and acebeam may claim a lot


hahahaha such I guessed... that's why I said "allegedly" 

I looked into the Cateye GVolt series and I went straight to the top one, the GVolt 100.
I've had multiple lights over the 28 years I've been riding and I have to say Cateye products have always been spot on. They might not be the most fancy or sleek or cool or top quality but they just do what they are supposed to... basically: plastic stuff that works.
Right now I have the rear Wearable X and it is perfect. Super light, it lasts forever, it's super easy to attach (it has a rubber band and a clip) and most importantly it has the perfect amount of power so it doesn't disturb other people but everyone sees you with its ludicrous arcade patterns 

About the GVolt 100... it looks awful, but it's well thought, Cateye signature. You can mount it over or under the handlebar by just attaching the battery cartridge to the light unit one way or the other. It has a go-pro adapter, is compliant with the Reinheitsgebot, it has a 3600mAh battery and being as german as they are I guess when they say 300 discharge cycles that's the worst case scenario and in real life it will probably be something like 2523521 cycles.
About the "light-power" we are so used to the lumens that I don't really understand how much it is 100lux in real life, but luckily Cateye kindly provides with a visual comparison:









Compared to the most popular light on the market, the Cateye Volt800 (that is around 1000 chinese-lumens), I notice several things:

the 100lux light is around half the power of the 800 lumens one
the colour is more yellow (I prefer a whiter light, to be honest)
the beam pattern is way more restrictive and it feels like a bubble with even yellower borders and huge blob in the middle

I can see the volt800 is closer to carrying a flashlight like I do now and I understand the StVZO light will be way more friendly to other road users but I think this rule is way too biased against bicycles.
I want a light that is not so annoying to other people but still provides me with a good experience!
To be honest I don't see myself riding down one of the completely dark roads around at 60kmh with that light on a blue moon night, it looks perfect for commuting but I don't want it for commuting I want it for training at night during the week.

What I want is:

800 to 1000 lumens
at least 2 hours runtime with mixed power use: 20% low, 60% medium and 20% high
compatible with go-pro mount
that can be mounted under the handlebar
friendly to other road users (not necessarily StVZO compliant)
self contained
side switch and/or remote control
at least 3 modes + strobe
Desired: replaceable 21700 batteries <- if this is the case, I don't care if it can charge them or it needs a charger
Desired: bike flashing mode
Desired: < 180g with battery

Money is not a problem, but I don't want to pay a lot of money for a crappy light (Garmin, Knog...). Exposure lights are ridiculously expensive and in my opinion totally overrated, they are regular flashlights after all.

Another problem of the Cateye GVolt100 is the switch, it is on the tail cap of the light, so it will be impossible to use in the configuration I want to use it, the switch will be totally inaccessible.


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## poopoo (Apr 22, 2013)

MRMOLE said:


> Lumintop B01 Bike Flashlight Review - ZeroAir Reviews
> 
> The above B01 review has output testing that shows turbo mode not really usable so if your expecting 850 lumens your not going to get it except for a couple of minutes at a time. Not sure if the light is programmed for a timed stepdown or thermal protection is activated but a steady 475 lumens is all your should expect.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the feedback!
Are you happy with it?

It's a bummer that the battery is not replaceable... but I still have the AMAZING Fireflies E07, so having a replaceable battery is not decisive for this "weekdays light".

That's the same flashlight mount I have right now. I replaced the rubber band with one of the Garmin's which is stronger and smaller and added a piece of inner tube as liner but with my flashlight still wiggles. If you mount it that way you don't have to invert the lens, obviously, but if you want to use its own proper mount you'll have to. I guess you haven't tried to take it apart, have you?


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## poopoo (Apr 22, 2013)

I just got a response from Ravemen:

"
...
The battery of CR1000 is not replaceable. There is a notch on the fixing of the lens and can be used for rotating the lens.
...
Best regards,
Scott Zeng
RAVEMEN(HK) Electronics Co., Ltd
Tel: +86.755.2906.4166
www.ravemen.com
"
Great!

No answer from Acebeam, though. 
+2 for Ravemen


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

poopoo said:


> Hi, I'm thinking about getting one of these BK10 lights.
> 
> I usually do 2-3 1-1.5h rides a week on the evenings on poorly illuminated streets (Mosman, NSW, Australia) and sometimes I do cyclo-touring trips and longer gravel rides starting well before sunshine.
> 
> ...


Just wanted to comment on your post. I too have the Fireflies E07 and I find that it works very nicely when used on the road. No, it does not have a cutoff but if cutoff is not an issue of concern I think the E07 works very well as a bar light. Beam pattern wide enough to light up the shoulder and most of the road. Throws a bit of light to the right as well which can be very helpful if you need to watch out for deer. I do admit though you make a good point when you say that the UI is not the easiest to work with when riding since you have to press and hold the button to vary the output. However on the road I don't find it too tedious if you only intend to use one output or make few changes to the output. That said this is why it's not the best torch to use on something like an MUP since lowering the output takes a moment and forget it if you are making any kind of turn..😏 The fact that it doesn't have a cutoff doesn't worry me when on the road because the emitters I chose for my E07 are 4000K. This makes the output beam much more friendlier ( less harsh to the eyes ) to on-coming velicle traffic than say one with 6500K emitters. Of course I also ride with a Ravemen CR900 which I just turn on low and just let it run. When I hit the MUP's I let the Ravemen take over ( once again on low ) if I see any on coming pedestrian traffic. One quick push of the button on the FFlies E07 and off goes the light ( and vise-versa )

About your mounting issue. Well....if you're going to mount anything using one of those "Under the Garmin" mounts you're kind'a screwed if you want to change modes on a regular basis while riding. If I were to use that kind of mount I'd have no choice but to use one of the Ravemen CR series lamps, In which case I'd have the choice to use the wired remote so I can easily change modes. You can also flip the optic on the 700 and 900 if you wish to mount upside down although if you do that with the CR900 you wouldn't be able to view the digital runtime readout. Another down side is of course you can't switch out batteries with the Ravemen lamps. However if you can afford two you should have no issue with runtime unless you plan to ride half the night.


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## poopoo (Apr 22, 2013)

Hi @Cat-man-do, thanks for your post.

About the Fireflies E07, I've had and tested dozens of lights, bicycle specific, expensive, cheap, "tactic torches", you name it... and I still couldn't believe how good is this damned flashlight when I got it! But I have the 6500k, I love the white light... problem: it's totally unbearable for other people. Everyday I have a couple of cars or buses flicking the lights, honking or shouting at me.
I set up my flashlight on stepped mode so changing from high to medium or low is relatively easy (just push, hold for 1 or 2 seconds and release), even below the gps mount. I try to do so when I'm around other people but if I'm going downhill on a pitch black street and suddenly there's someone driving up... what can you do?

The idea is to have a "traffic friendly" light for these rides and keep the Fireflies E07 for trips or longer rides. Those are "exceptional occasions", so I don't give too many fucks about other people on those cases  Anyway, most cars out of the city in Australia will blind you, those bogans love humongous lights pointing upwards... well, to be fair, out of the city on dusk or dawn here you really want to see what's coming from the sides. Last year a friend of mine ran into a wallaby (like a small kangaroo) at 65kmh and she almost gets paralyzed, no joke. Luckily where I live there's only bushturkeys and they don't run that fast...









I like the Ravemen CR1000, I think it's almost perfect for what I want it for with the remote and all, but now it's impossible to find the damned go-pro mount here! 

I wish they sold those lenses for the fireflies (33mm diameter and 1.7mm thickness) but I've searched everywhere and I couldn't find them


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## MRMOLE (May 31, 2011)

poopoo said:


> Thanks for the feedback!
> Are you happy with it?
> 
> That's the same flashlight mount I have right now. I replaced the rubber band with one of the Garmin's which is stronger and smaller and added a piece of inner tube as liner but with my flashlight still wiggles. If you mount it that way you don't have to invert the lens, obviously, but if you want to use its own proper mount you'll have to. I guess you haven't tried to take it apart, have you?


Very happy! Beam pattern is definitely the standout feature for me. Having the most intense light at the top of the beam makes the light very efficient at producing the best visibility from its available lumen output. I typically run the CR1000 one mode level lower than similar powered lights (measured 375 lumen mode 3 equivalent visibility to 5-600 lumens in other lights) which extends the lights runtime + enhances its anti-dazzle effects. Other than that the light is pretty unspectacular + an awkward to operate mode button and single level UI program with 6 levels (4 forward + 2 flash) are things I don't like. Luckily the CR1000's wired remote switch functions well (minimizing the lights mode button function to just powering on/off) but without it having to navigate all those mode levels would be a giant PITA and I probably wouldn't enjoy using the light at all. In the end Pro's outweigh the con's (for me) so very happy with the CR1000.

About the mount, I agree the provided rubber retention bands are garbage. I use silicone (Gemini) bands and get no beam bounce (even on my rigid bikes) from the below pictured setup that is close to twice the weight of the CR1000.
Mole


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## biking_tg (Dec 27, 2018)

poopoo said:


> About the "light-power" we are so used to the lumens that I don't really understand how much it is 100lux in real life,


the lux number for stvzo lights tells you little to nothing. This values is measured at 10m distance at the brightest _(_tiny) s_pot_ of the beam...



poopoo said:


> I can see the volt800 is closer to carrying a flashlight like I do now and I understand the StVZO light will be way more friendly to other road users but I think this rule is way too biased against bicycles.
> I want a light that is not so annoying to other people but still provides me with a good experience!


imho a properly designed stvzo light outperforms on the road any flashlight with the same lumen numbers. This is not biased against bicycles (ok maybe a bit, since car headlights are allowed to have 3 times as much light above the cutoff than bike lights)



poopoo said:


> Money is not a problem, but I don't want to pay a lot of money for a crappy light (Garmin, Knog...). Exposure lights are ridiculously expensive and in my opinion totally overrated, they are regular flashlights after all.


If Money is not a problem: Outbound Focal Road (you can buy the light head separately), Supernova M99 Mini B54, Lupine SL AF or (better) Lupine SL AX 10. But all of them do not fit your weight requirements. But especially the SL AX allows you racing down a road with 60 km/h at night...


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## Outbound (Aug 23, 2017)

poopoo said:


> What I want is:
> 
> 800 to 1000 lumens
> at least 2 hours runtime with mixed power use: 20% low, 60% medium and 20% high
> ...


Mannnnnnnn you are going to love what we are working on then.  Late summer 2021!


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## poopoo (Apr 22, 2013)

Outbound said:


> Mannnnnnnn you are going to love what we are working on then.  Late summer 2021!


Really? Late summer for you will be late winter for me... I'll be more than happy to test it if you send me a prototype! hehehe


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## poopoo (Apr 22, 2013)

Outbound said:


> Mannnnnnnn you are going to love what we are working on then.  Late summer 2021!


Ok... 1st April...


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## Outbound (Aug 23, 2017)

poopoo said:


> Ok... 1st April...


We wouldn't joke about a new road light, ha.

We do joke about pandemic ending lights though. 


__
http://instagr.am/p/CNIyutuBATF/


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## poopoo (Apr 22, 2013)

Outbound said:


> We do joke about pandemic ending lights though.
> 
> __
> http://instagr.am/p/CNIyutuBATF/


hehehe that would be nice...



Outbound said:


> We wouldn't joke about a new road light, ha.


ok, then hurry up! we just finished the daylight savings in Australia... if you send me one of the prototypes I'm more than happy to pay for the shipping


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