# Sofirn SP36 for bar light



## phantoj (Jul 7, 2009)

So, I have my cheapo light set and it's working OK.

I decided to pick up a Sofirn SC31 Pro for a helmet light after reading MR MOLE's positive review, and I suppose I'll get an extra battery so I can run it full blast without range anxiety.

I'd like to have another bar light to make a second set so that my son can go on night rides with me. Looking at the Sofirn SP36. Seems like there are a few different versions; I'm thinking of the BLF version with Samsung emitters. I would probably run on a lower lumen setting for longer life. I like to ride for about two hours at a time, wooded trails at mostly moderate speeds.

Questions on the Sofirn SP36: how to mount to handlebars? Which version? Good idea?


----------



## caRpetbomBer (Jul 13, 2013)

I have a flash light thread you can take a look for some ideas for a mount.








Flash light bike mounts


I picked up a Olight FB-1 mount last night to test out a Rofis mr70. I really liked how simple it was to attach a light with the rubber bands. To bad that the light shakes way to much from the rubber bands for trail riding. A custom bottom aluminum swing arm style clamp would be a real good...




www.mtbr.com


----------



## Paulg22 (Apr 21, 2021)

If you drill and tap an M6 hole in the side of the body (in line with and at 90 degrees to the button/charging port) you can screw in the cleat for an Exposure light and thus use the Exposure mounting system.


----------



## indypup (Mar 27, 2021)

I'm using a Sofirn SP36 as a helmet light and love it. It's heavy but I've gotten used to it. I use it on high (not turbo) and it lasts for at least 1.5 hours. I use a gopro mount and some rubber straps to hold the mount to the light. I can take some pics if you want...


----------



## MRMOLE (May 31, 2011)

indypup said:


> I'm using a Sofirn SP36 as a helmet light and love it. It's heavy but I've gotten used to it. I use it on high (not turbo) and it lasts for at least 1.5 hours. I use a gopro mount and some rubber straps to hold the mount to the light. I can take some pics if you want...


Of course we want pictures (please)!
Mole


----------



## indypup (Mar 27, 2021)

Ok, here are some pictures of my setup. I'm using the following mount from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CPJMCDX Which allows me to helmet mount or bar mount the Sofirn SP36 which I also got off Amazon for $50 bucks I think during a lightning deal. The mount was $15. I've also seen where you can get the SP36 directly from Sofirn or from Aliexpress for less. I was thinking of getting another one since I like it so much.


----------



## indypup (Mar 27, 2021)

Oh, and the rubber straps act as shock absorbers when you don't duck low enough and wack your light on a limb...lol Flops right back in place and saves your neck...lol


----------



## MRMOLE (May 31, 2011)

Thanks for the pictures! I love seeing other peoples setups. My preference would be for something lighter like the SC31 Pro but if the 36's weight isn't an issue more power to you (literally). Enjoy!
Mole


----------



## indypup (Mar 27, 2021)

I have the BLF version btw. It's the brightest light in my night group ride by far. Supposed to be over 5600LM. I get to ride in front thanks to the light...lol


----------



## Paulg22 (Apr 21, 2021)

I have the BLF version too. I think the pro is slightly brighter on turbo, but the BLF has a very high CRI, meaning it renders colours really naturally, imo better than having a few extra lumens. Worth bearing in mind that the 5600lm is only on turbo and it will only hold it for a few minutes before the thermal throttling steps it down. Also, if you haven't done it already, it's well worth doing the thermal calibration - both my SP36 and SC31 were miles out and thought the ambient temperature was way hotter than real life mean it will step down the brightness early because it thinks it's overheating. At a rough guess, I reckon it's happy holding somewhere in the region of 1500-2000lm for a couple of hours at least.

This is my bar mounted set up - I drilled and tapped a hole in the side and mounted an Exposure cleat for the bar mount. Exposure is a British premium mtb light manufacturer - not sure what their availability is elsewhere in the world, but the mounts are very slick and rock solid I've been using it for about four months.


----------



## zapotec (Jul 21, 2020)

Paulg22 said:


> I have the BLF version too. I think the pro is slightly brighter on turbo, but the BLF has a very high CRI, meaning it renders colours really naturally, imo better than having a few extra lumens. Worth bearing in mind that the 5600lm is only on turbo and it will only hold it for a few minutes before the thermal throttling steps it down. Also, if you haven't done it already, it's well worth doing the thermal calibration - both my SP36 and SC31 were miles out and thought the ambient temperature was way hotter than real life mean it will step down the brightness early because it thinks it's overheating. At a rough guess, I reckon it's happy holding somewhere in the region of 1500-2000lm for a couple of hours at least.
> 
> This is my bar mounted set up - I drilled and tapped a hole in the side and mounted an Exposure cleat for the bar mount. Exposure is a British premium mtb light manufacturer - not sure what their availability is elsewhere in the world, but the mounts are very slick and rock solid I've been using it for about four months.
> 
> ...


Nice ! Thanks for sharing information with informative photos.

I am not fond of any Exposure lights lineup, but I am pretty sold to their mounting ideas. Since their lights is mostly resemble flashlight, their mounting system is very suitable for generic typical soda can flashlight such as BLF Q8 or Sofirn SP36. I have thinking this idea before, but wondering if it works or not. With your proven setup above, it's seem possible to create my poorman Exposure SixPack / Starada.

Their mounting bracket and cleat is sell worldwide from Exposure website. Unfortunately, that's not cheap, but nevertheless a more suitable, more robust option is available for who want choose go to extra mile setup.


----------



## Paulg22 (Apr 21, 2021)

If you're looking for a big light in the six pack scale, then the Sofirn Q8 Pro is the bigger brother to the SP36 - it's a max of 11000 lumens but, just as with the SP36 it will only hold that for a few minutes until it steps down. Supposed to have better cooling though, so I'd imagine it will be a bit brighter and, with four 18650s instead of three will burn for longer. There does seem to be a consensus that that the SP36 is a good compromise though.

The Q8 has a camera tripod mount too, so you could just get a handlebar mount with a tripod adaptor on it, which would be cheaper and easier to do, if less elegant.

One of the big advantages of these lights is that you can sling some spare batteries in your pack in case you run out and, because the batteries are in parallel and the terminals connect to a copper ring, you can run the light on a single 18650 cell if you need to, albeit with shorter run times.

When I drilled through it was a bit of a guess and I tried to go where there was a bit of heatsink to get the maximum amount of metal to cut a thread into - there's not a huge amount, maybe three threads worth, but enough and I applied a load of stud and bearing fit to the thread and the base of the cleat before I screwed it all together.

I quite like the Exposure lights (I had an early joystick as a helmet light many years ago and it worked well), but they're very expensive and they're packed with loads of state of the art technology that I'd never use, as I rarely ride at night for much past three and a half hours. For a helmet light I paired the SP36 with a Sofirn SC31 pro - same Anduril interface (which is very intuitive and slick to use) and a similar colour temperature to the SP36.


----------



## indypup (Mar 27, 2021)

Paulg22 said:


> I have the BLF version too. I think the pro is slightly brighter on turbo, but the BLF has a very high CRI, meaning it renders colours really naturally, imo better than having a few extra lumens. Worth bearing in mind that the 5600lm is only on turbo and it will only hold it for a few minutes before the thermal throttling steps it down. Also, if you haven't done it already, it's well worth doing the thermal calibration - both my SP36 and SC31 were miles out and thought the ambient temperature was way hotter than real life mean it will step down the brightness early because it thinks it's overheating. At a rough guess, I reckon it's happy holding somewhere in the region of 1500-2000lm for a couple of hours at least.
> 
> This is my bar mounted set up - I drilled and tapped a hole in the side and mounted an Exposure cleat for the bar mount. Exposure is a British premium mtb light manufacturer - not sure what their availability is elsewhere in the world, but the mounts are very slick and rock solid I've been using it for about four months.
> 
> ...


Did you disassemble the flashlight somehow? I tried taking mine apart in order to try this but didn't have much luck...


----------



## Paulg22 (Apr 21, 2021)

indypup said:


> Did you disassemble the flashlight somehow? I tried taking mine apart in order to try this but didn't have much luck...


No, I just clamped it in a woodworking vice and used a battery drill to put a hole in and then tapped it. Should have taken some photos really, but forgot and as I used bearing fit don't really want to disassemble it. I did take the batteries out first though!


----------

