# Moon Lights - made in Hong Kong. Opinions?



## OldAusDigger (Apr 8, 2008)

Haven't heard much about these. Anyone given them a try yet? The 500 lumen XML one looks like a good candidate for a "backup light". Also, the 60 lumen tail light could be worth a try.

http://www.moon-sport.com/product-cat.php?id=10

http://www.moon-sport.com/product-cat.php?id=20


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## nick d (May 25, 2007)

no U.S. distributors?


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## Azra (May 20, 2011)

Look interesting... on the web site. How much do they cost?

As for the allegedly 60 lumen taillight... if you are really serious about riding at night in traffic, do yourself a favor and get the DiNotte 300R, 400R, or DesignShine DS-500.


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## fightnut (Jul 5, 2007)

Found the 300 lumen model on the uk-ebay for about $98US (not including shipping, which is doesn't mention, and may not even be an option from that particular seller).


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## colleen c (May 28, 2011)

The triple XML looks interesting. There is two things that bother me. On one description, it mention the LED get very hot and the CNC machine heat sink is cover with plastic, I think I will prefer an all metal body. The other thing is that round thing on the cord near the back of the light head. Is that a Ferrite bead to cut down noise?


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## Aushiker (Sep 27, 2007)

Hi

The reference to "water resistant" as opposed to water proof does not sound to positive. Lot night riding n winter I suspect for most of us.

Andrew


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## znomit (Dec 27, 2007)

LBS has had some of the gem lights for a while.
Newer ones look interesting.


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## suba (Jun 25, 2009)

The whole line looks like a bunch of crap 

When will people stop spending money buying cheap junk from China and elsewhere. Out of a job yet ? Keep buying this junk and sooner or later you will be....unless you think working in the fast food industry is good employment.


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

I liked the 1000 lumen model. I like the idea of using one XM-L with two XP-G for added throw. This is somewhat like the MS "Mickey Mouse" only it looks like a L&M Seca clone. Should be perfect for the bars.... ( depending on what the beam pattern looks like of course )
Anyone know who has a price list for these lights?

**edit** Okay, answered my own question. The X1000 sells for about $219 AUD. Not bad if you don't mind ordering from Oz.


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## znomit (Dec 27, 2007)

colleen c said:


> The triple XML looks interesting. There is two things that bother me. On one description, it mention the LED get very hot and the CNC machine heat sink is cover with plastic,


See their one year warranty statement:
"_This warranty does not apply to damage due to heat..._" 

Also note these are made in mainland china.

Still reckon they are worth a look.


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## Vancbiker (May 25, 2005)

colleen c said:


> The other thing is that round thing on the cord near the back of the light head. Is that a Ferrite bead to cut down noise?


If it is a ferrite, that is not neccessarily a bad thing. Switching style drivers can easily radiate "noise" via the power cable. There have been a few instances where lights have caused issues with bike computers and heart rate monitors. IMO it may be a sign that some testing has taken place and a problem found and resolved.


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

colleen c said:


> The triple XML looks interesting. * There is two things that bother me. On one description, it mention the LED get very hot and the CNC machine heat sink is cover with plastic, I think I will prefer an all metal body. * The other thing is that round thing on the cord near the back of the light head. Is that a Ferrite bead to cut down noise?


Good points. At least the molded plastic is made with air vents and does make it look nice. L&M pretty much did the same thing with the Seca and so far I've not heard too many complaints about the Seca's. I figure as long as you power down when not moving you should be fine. I don't know if there is some kind of thermal monitoring but with a design like this it would almost be a necessity. The fact that the warranty does not cover damage due to heat would lead one to assume there is no thermal monitoring.

Prices on the X1500 vary with the highest being about $400 AUD to $280 AUD ( per E-bay AU ). Unfortunately the US dollar is not stacking up too well at the moment but if you find a low price ( under $300 AUD ) this is not a bad deal for a light using 3 x XML. Still, I would very much like to see some user reviews as well as some user beam shots.


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## Vancbiker (May 25, 2005)

A vented plastic cover is more body friendly in a crash than metal heatsink fins.


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## nitelights (Mar 16, 2010)

suba said:


> The whole line looks like a bunch of crap
> 
> When will people stop spending money buying cheap junk from China and elsewhere. Out of a job yet ? Keep buying this junk and sooner or later you will be....unless you think working in the fast food industry is good employment.


Do you guys not realize that the Chinese will take over, not if but when.


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## Azra (May 20, 2011)

nitelights said:


> Do you guys not realize that the Chinese will take over, not if but when.


So what's your solution? That I buy from *you* your third-rate Chinese crap for $129 when I can buy the same crap directly from the Chinese for $50?

Well, gee, thank you so much. I really don't know what I would have done without you.


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## mattthemuppet (Jul 16, 2004)

nitelights said:


> Do you guys not realize that the Chinese will take over, not if but when.


that's just priceless, from someone who's selling Chinese lights with a huge market :thumbsup:


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## colleen c (May 28, 2011)

Vancbiker said:


> If it is a ferrite, that is not neccessarily a bad thing. Switching style drivers can easily radiate "noise" via the power cable. There have been a few instances where lights have caused issues with bike computers and heart rate monitors. IMO it may be a sign that some testing has taken place and a problem found and resolved.


Very much so. I can imagine how much electrical interference noise 3 xml driven hard can create. I just a little worry that the extra weight of the bead can be an issue with the cord eventually breaking at the strain relief.

Edit: Looking at the plastic ccover with the vent on the 3 x XML, I just think to myself if there is a possibility of water getting into the vent trapping the water and eventually getting into the housing? It looks like they can hold water on the top.


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## Azra (May 20, 2011)

Their UK distributor is selling the XP1500 for £299.99. That's $490. :eekster:

Looks like somebody has not only copied L&M's design, but also their prices.


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

nitelights said:


> Do you guys not realize that the Chinese will take over, not if but when.


*OMG!* You don't say! Let me give this all the time and consideration it deserves....:skep:....

..:yawn:.....:bluefrown:....*DONE*....( elapsed time 2 sec. )....Now about those Moon lights...


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## snowcatsmiling (Mar 29, 2012)

I bought an xpower 1500 in January. For the first three charges it went off after around 20 minutes of use without showing the red warning LED. I emailed Moon about this and received no response at all.

Since yesterday, only enough power comes from the battery to faintly power the LED and the light won't switch on at all. This is after it worked fine on a weekly 1 1/2 hour ride on lowest beam and an overnight charge each time. It turns out that the battery seal looks like it couldn't handle 3km on smooth road in light-to-medium rain and the bike's quick rinse-down afterwards.

Also, just so you know, the rubber strap mount it comes with doesn't grip at all on my new black handlebars - it's only any good on shiny metal. I've had zero support from Moon. 

When it works it's amazing, but be careful because it will blind oncoming road users even on lowest beam, and the mount doesn't grip well enough to use off-road, but with shiny metal bars you'll do better.So, remote smooth roads only?!

Right now we feel like we've bought a very expensive dead weight and I'm looking for an alternative.

If all you care about is BRIGHT like daylight, then go for it, as long as it works.

Conclusion: great when it works, but overall not worth even half the RRP. A light needs to reliably switch on, and stay in place. This does neither.


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

snowcatsmiling said:


> I bought an xpower 1500 in January. For the first three charges it went off after around 20 minutes of use without showing the red warning LED. I emailed Moon about this and received no response at all.
> 
> Since yesterday, only enough power comes from the battery to faintly power the LED and the light won't switch on at all. This is after it worked fine on a weekly 1 1/2 hour ride on lowest beam and an overnight charge each time. It turns out that the battery seal looks like it couldn't handle 3km on smooth road in light-to-medium rain and the bike's quick rinse-down afterwards.
> 
> ...


I realize that you are new to the forum so I'll be direct but nice. You are not allowed to double post. You posted the same thing in another thread. You can still comment in different threads about the same subject but you have to change things up a bit if you catch my drift. No one wants to read a post and then say, "Hey, I already read that same thing ( word for word ) in that other thread....:nono:


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## MaximusHQ (Aug 6, 2007)

I just realized this is an old thread revived. From the discussion on self-contained tail lights we pretty much concluded that Moonlights equals Serfas.


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## Baja Designs (Aug 3, 2010)

Why? 

Why go through the hassle and risk of buying something directly from China? Who knows what color temp the LED is, who knows the waterproofing, reflector quality, actual light output, effectiveness of the beam pattern on the trail or road, battery quality, charger quality, tech support, racer support, warranty, etc. 

We have our Strykr II down at $220.00, the Strykr SL at $249.95, and the Double Stryk 20% off as well. These are all very effective on the trail, extremely reliable, fully waterproof, the cables are excellent, the connectors are well thought out and designed to last. We also attend as many major (and minor) 12 and 24hr races as we can get to to support the sport and racers with our lights. Not to mention, the fact that you can call Baja Designs, email Baja Designs, and even text me (as many Baja Designs owners do) on my personal phone - and you always get an answer and get an answer quickly for that matter. 

In other news...it seems as though once every week or so there will be a new light manufacturer posting and not necessarily advertising/financially supporting MTBR.com, it's one thing if a rider legitimately wants everyone's opinion on a light he/she has found on-line but that seems to be the exception these days. These companies are pretty blatant, you guys used to call them out on it, but I understand that when it gets to be too many of them there's only so much you can do, even MTBR.com is having hard time keeping up with them. Supporting other light companies marketing effort doesn't make much sense to me. 

Baja Designs is a solid, 20 year old American company. We produce excellent quality lights and other products for bicycles and off-road racing, we have excellent customer service and ALWAYS back the things that we sell. One of the neat things about our bicycle lights is that we very rarely HAVE to back our lights because they are a high quality (and fairly priced) piece of equipment. 

All that being said, I do understand that it is fun to chit chat about new stuff - no matter where it comes from - that much I definitely understand. What I do not understand is trusting your life to the lowest priced light you can possibly find. That's me, I also don't wear cheap helmets, that's just another one of those areas that I believe quality equals safety. 

Okay, enough of my rant:incazzato:. I hope you all have a great weekend.

Shannon


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## znomit (Dec 27, 2007)

BajaDesignsShannon said:


> In other news...it seems as though once every week or so there will be a new light manufacturer posting and not necessarily advertising/financially supporting MTBR.com, it's one thing if a rider legitimately wants everyone's opinion on a light he/she has found on-line but that seems to be the exception these days.


This forum is now filled with Spam, paid or unpaid. 
Every new poster gets jumped with "Buy my lights". :skep:


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