This week, we’ve taken the opportunity to do more of one of our favourite pastimes… browsing the internet for bargains! We’re night riding in the UK as the evenings draw in, so it’s time to find an appropriate set of lights. We’ve got some awesome lights from the established brand Outbound Lighting, which kept Rich powered for many hours as he raced the Old El Pueblo in the American desert. But, there are certainly some tempting deals (with some incredible boasted performance) on Ali-Express… how will they stack up? Let’s find out.
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⏱️ Timestamps ⏱️
00:00 – Intro
01:15 – Our Cheap Lights From AliExpress
03:38 – Example Established Lights From Outbound Lighting
05:42 – Setting Up The Lights
09:13 – Branded Vs Non-Branded Lights
11:37 – Trail Comparison
15:16 – Conclusions
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50 Comments
Do you go night-riding? Let us know 👇
Really??? Just look at the stupid c braket😂 would never purchase it…
The cheap lights I've had fail where the cable joins into the body of the light housing. I'm careful but this happens.
Mostly the beam patterns aren't even enough – too much of a bright spot in the middle, with a notable cut off on the periphery. I've had 2 battery packs not last that long – dead and done.
And yeah some of the mounting kits on the cheap ones are a bit sh*t.
You get what you pay for.
BTW Owen is now my favourite GMBN presenter, nice work on this one especially.
I bought the top model bar light from Ali, SHIZIWANGRI branded. Much better handlebar clamps.
The way the tester mounted his was upside down hence why there was no distance.
Most cyclists only swear by outpout power. This is wrong. The beam is one of the most important aspect. All is about compromise between beam, power and light time. I do mostly gravel in darkness and I have to use a light that won't blind motorists on the road but that have enough power to ride safely on the trails. I realized that I "only" need 800 lumens most of the time on trails and 1100/1200 on tricky spots. That is why I use the SIGMA Buster 1100. Dual beam, 2 to 3 hours endurance between 800 and 1100, no overheating and it is fairly priced at €60. I do not use helmets light as I found it very dangerous if you get caught by an unseen branch or ivy .
Those cheap lamps are not 2000 and 10000 lumens. You did not get what was promised.
Don't forget the actual cost of the Outbound package is over £400 by the time you add shipping and import duties.
Olight
The difference is $224
Been using the outbound lights for 3 years and they are great. I actually left the hangover light in a coat pocket 2 weeks ago that was socked over night. I took it appart dried it out and then just used on a 30 hour race with no problems.
Influencer reports that a product made by a company that sponsors the channel is better than a product by a company that does not sponsors the channel . Shock Surprise!!
Some known brand mid priced lights from your local bike shop are probably the best bet for most people, but do avoid cheap junk. I have a Moon light still going strong on the original battery that must now be at least 12 years old and also frequently used as a torch for diy use. For a mid priced light that's fantastic value given its service life.
7:31 I hate when my helmet feels a bit wallaby!
I have the RN3000 by Magicshine for the trails. & for the road I use the Knog Blinder. The Magicshine is a great light & will illuminate an entire road.
@gmbntech Whats the point in plugging outbound lighting when they have no uk / eu distribution. Chinese lights are fine for those on a budget , sure theres better but what isnt there in this game . Ive got @magicshine lights and very happy with them & have uk distribution & warranty .
Absolutely terrible video, lots of cheap integrated battery helmet lights on AliExpress and the other light mounts solidly if done correctly. Obviously a sponsored video.
I have a Newboler 10000 light with a diferent mount really bright
You should have measured the lumens because there is no way that light was 10000. I doubt it was even 2000…
At £290 they've got no fuppin chance mate. Try MagicShine CBL1600 or Lezyne 1800i or X-Tiger. Be more realistic, and less sponsored. We can tell here.
Depends on the cheap and the expensive light.
Ive tested an absurd amount of lights.
I focus on beam beam pattern
Infun GT200 $65, wide with adequate throw
Novsight 1600 $24 , excellent throw, to compliment it,
King Kong 6 series ray 1500 $35
High /low beam good spread/spill and throw
Moving up in price
Outbound portal $170?
Outbound trail EVO $249
Moving up in price
Full on Lighting MB6 $400
Anything .more than 400 isn't worth it
Cateye lights work for me just the right price and performance
VASTFIRE is the brand of that light its their new model their previous model was a replica of that magicshine n trail evo but both brilliant i use ones similar to that flood light Chinese model perfect light lasts ages hours! Mine has a cool daylight running led like the audis headlamps! I went for the 3 LeD version smaller one to test and its also incredible and made to fit your Mtb in middle of your stem! That paired with seemee 300 is a brilliant set up! Look for the other ones similar to the long led design they are much brighter they match my magicshine
I honestly didn’t expect a simple review to turn political, but here we are. This isn't just a "big brand vs. cheap brand" situation—it’s clearly more like "we’re paid by this brand" or, even better, "we have some investment in it." So what do they do? They put out a thinly veiled ad disguised as a review, giving nothing but praise to the big name and subtly trashing the smaller brand. It was pretty obvious what was happening the moment they started fussing over the manuals. This isn't a review or comparison; it's an ad, plain and simple. Really frustrating.
EXPOSURE lights. Save yourself some money and save for REAL MTB lights that can be used for basically everything. No cables, battery pack, none of this nonsense.
If you ordered the model above that cheap bar light it is chalk and cheese. Totally different mounting setup using a mount each end, and ALOT more light everywhere. Plenty of distance to do 40kmh offroad at night on mtb trails. The one you ordered is the one listed as 5000mah, the model above with 2 rows of leds is the one they claim 10,000lumens
Sorry, but this is the absolutely worst way to go after such a topic. As usual, comparing "top end vs bottom end" is worthless. The value is always in the middle, and it is always ignored – not sure if on purpose, to justify bike brand's outrageous prices, or because the media are oblivious. Most likely both.
You could hear in the tone of voice how fake these reactions were for the "cheap lights". Sounds like "we bought the wrong light, and now I have to pretend it is not our fault it doesn't sit well on the bar".
If you wanted to make a useful video on lights, you would do some research on the cheap, medium, expensive price brackets, buy whatever is best for the job from these (again AFTER RESEARCH) then do comparison. Either you're lazy or losing whatever is left of your integrity as media
Ebay cree lights , perfect and as bright as others expensive lights.
Hum … wonder if hes been paid to say all that 😆 🤣 🤔
Love night riding great fun as trails change and adds a bit more fun.. I use Four4th helmet light and a Moon Rigal Power which both work ace.. The Four4th helmet light I had that for a good 10 years now I would say. Plus that there made local to me back is 1st class.
What trail are you riding?
I have a £50 set of lights from AliExpress that are brilliant, are they as good a £350 branded pair, probably not, but are the branded pair £300 better? Definitely not! I've had a high end set of lights that didn't last and the difference in performance between those and the budget option was marginal unlike the price difference. I dare say that the majority of your audience can't even consider spending hundreds of pounds on lighting any it was painfully obvious that you set up the budget set to come loose and fall off mid ride. All in all this video was quite pathetic.
Riding in the dark makes a teack more interesting, even the ones you know really goid. Have a Hope R4 for several years. I use it on my helmet, i don't use a second one on my bars.
Maybe you can do a rating of lights at different price points. there has to be a sweet spot for performance vs cost
I don’t like like these mock/knock cheaper equipment vids while promoting your partners, vids, some of this is operator error. GMBN is better than this, some people may not be able to afford the best of best but this still gets them out
A biased video. Shocking. I have a newboler bar light on my mtb that i ride daily as a commuter and it's been fantastic. Do better, gmbn.
There’s better Ali express light bars and let me tell you that they’re just as good as exposure six pack £500 lights I know this because I ride with big groups at night and they’ve been very reliable would happily purchase again and you don’t need warranty when they’re £15😂
This video sponsored by Outbound 🙄
This video feels incredibly biased… I cant believe that the ONLY good thing about a Chinese light is just their price
Ali light (some standard some modded for better optics and power) my mount, my battery. 💪
I, along with several others I with on a regular basis, are serious fans of Outbound Lighting. Recently, they released, after a long delay, a new improved helmet light, called the Portal. Several of us jumped on this and ordered the day of the release. Outbound Lightning out performs the rest of the "name brand" lights that our friends are using. Are they more expensive? Yes. Are they worth the extra cost? My answer is Hell, Yes!!!
Sorry guys, as I am watching you quite often on your channels, this is not quality comparison. The level is not "Tech", but just "marketing". As a tech review, you should go much much deeper – In terms of light source/emitter: LED type (eg. SST-25, SFT25R, XM-L2, and so on), number of emmiters, cell type (eg. 18650, 21700), cell capacity (eg. 2x 3350mAh), CRI, beam pattern and optics, outer shell (plastic, magnesoum, aluminium), mouting. So using term as not a big battery means what??? China brands don´t have good combination of factors listed above? (hint – more expensive brands have, just don´t buy cheapest stuff). As well, some well known brands even dont list LED type or cell capacity…. So if you want some good comparison, ask some guy involved in electronics for comparison (just currently there is more than several tens of LEDs used in light manufacturing. Just check companies which are making emmiters – such as well known Cree, but also Nichia, Samsung, Luminus, Osram, Getian, San’an Optoelectronics, Philips Lumileds, LatticePower, Guangdong, NiteLab. There is even available chart of lm/W of emmiters (yea, not just the only factor, but one of many). Than you realize that you are able to go easy way and spend 1000 EUR on light or make some digging and have similar for 1/10-1/5 of the prize. Thumbs down on this, this doesn ´t belong to tech channel. EDIT: the waterproof – there is clearly stated IPX-5 – "protected against water jets. Water is directed through a 6.3 mm nozzle at all angles at a flow rate of 12.5 liters per minute at a pressure of 30 kN/m2 for 3 minutes from a distance of 3 meters". As a freediver as well I can state that there is huge difference in IPX levels because waterproof and water resistant has no exact meaning and if you need some really watterproof stuff, you need to meet ISO 6425/DIN 8306
auxiliary car bar light, cheap (mine was 13€), bright (18W, 2250lm), runs off 9-32V, IP67, genuine OSRAM LEDs, proper warranty, available at a local car parts store, has two settings ON and OFF.
downside… I can see that people are really really really annoyed by it, but c'mon, at least I CAN see you, and your dog, on the trail from a faraway.
for reference, cars high beams are 1200 lumens.
I did a lot of reasearch and bought Towild and Enfitnix lights from Aliexpress. Not much more than you paid, came with instructions and are excellent. They are for road use, though. Why is it that Aliexpress stuff is set up to fail in these videos?
As I was getting back on my MTB journey, I bought cheap lights. They were ok but barely. Then I upgraded to some Magicshine lights, they were a leap forward but I was out-riding them pretty quickly and they failed completely on the edge of Dartmoor. I stepped up to a Gemini set, massive improvement and then I finally took the plunge and bought an Exposure Six-Pack and Diablo. I will never, ever go back to a cheaper set of lights. The power, colour, spread, throw and the general ease of use are off the charts. Reflex mode is all I ever use. The build quality is such that they'll probably be passed down to my children. Plus they're made here, in the UK. Not in some Chinese tat-factory and bound for landfill.
#askGMBNtech
Does riding at night actually make me faster, or does it just feel that way? I notice I’m more relaxed and loose, focusing more on the pool of light ahead rather than right in front of my tire. Could this change in focus be boosting my flow and speed?”
I didn't buy the cheapest lights on amazon but didn't spend a crazy amount. Less than $100 cdn and I have no complaints. I do want to try out some high end lights eventually though.
GMBN tech is embarrassing itself with these videos
Hot take, my Ali express light has been really great for $30. Battery lasts forever. Buying some more to helmet mount and for second bike. Can't just buy whichever one though, that's the difference I reckon. Some are junk. Some aren't. Need to do a little homework and use some common sense.
Went to buy outbound bundle 4 options for delivery duties and taxes ranging from €174 – €334
So won't be buying them
This is really a shitty test. I know that you know how to mount that light the right way. So why play stupid.
I'm usually doing night rides with a Cheep 20-30$ Light bough from AliExpress it is super bright and also very reliable I have used it for almost 1.5 year in both thru out the winter and summer and never had an issue.
I have recorded one video on my profile using a Insta 360 X4 I don't believe anyone needs a better light then this and all of the mainstream light brands are just way too expensive to justify.
I really belive that this style of videos where you try to promote an expensive advertisement will just have a negative impact in the community instead of trying to get more people into night rides with a viable and cheep solution you are selling the narrative that you must have a very expensive light to enjoy it witch will push out the people that may wanna give it a go in a already very expensive sport.