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DH lights! BAJA Designs Stryker and Stryker pro

bullcrew

3 Dude Approved
OK winters here and Ive ridden all sorts of weather but now Socal has decent weather year round it was time to bring on a different element of a ride. DH Night rides, that and the days are getting shorter so it made sense.
I opted for the Baja Designs based on cost, output and RELIABILITY and DURABILITY.... They are military spec for field ops and after taking a look at the case hands on its damn near bullet proof so a good crash means nothing matched by the lifetime warranty on the housing and light.
Ive used there stuff on the prerunners and in the desert with great success and they are seen in the BAJA's as well as the other races (Night).

So on to the specs and pics, Ill have a review of a night ride with pics and action next week hopefully. Waiting for avy cart to come back with mid speed valve and new adjuster knobs...


I will be running a Stryker flood on the bars and a Stryker PRO on the helmet, if its really NASTY then Ill put both strykers on the bars and the pro on the helmet.

BAJA Designs
Stryker (173g)
Flood beam on one and spot on the other
both fit the helmet mount and bar mount as well as the Diving glove for underwater
Military spec.
Extreme rugged case that will take some serious abuse
3 hours on High
6 hours medium
12 hours low
30 hours emergency strobe if stranded
3 color battery indicator
- green = good
- Orange = 30%
- red = 10% left
700 lumens and actually was higher in tests
54 lux on flood and 52 lux on spot
waterproof to 33 feet both light and battery
Lifetime warranty on light and housing
total unit weight 553g

Stryker PRO (102g)
Spot only at this time
both fit the helmet mount and bar mount as well as the Diving glove for underwater
Military spec.
Extreme rugged case that will take some serious abuse
3 hours on High
6 hours medium
12 hours low
30 hours emergency strobe if stranded
3 color battery indicator
- green = good
- Orange = 30%
- red = 10% left
700 lumens and actually was higher in tests
54 lux on spot
waterproof to 33 feet both light and battery
Lifetime warranty on light and housing
total unit weight 470g

Heres the review on it: http://reviews.mtbr.com/blog/baja-designs-stryker-bike-light-pro-review/

http://www.bajadesigns.com/
the Stryker is $298 and the pro is $345

Heres the video from MTBR.com on there light review
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=<object width="640" height="390"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/MVWTflD8omE&rel=0&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/MVWTflD8omE&rel=0&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="640" height="390"></embed></object>















For diving


Here they are after being thrashed around in the water and sitting for 2 hours on


I also have a waterproof camera so I opted to snap a pic under the water. not much sea life but some good air bubbles LOL. (yes I cleaned the sink before letting them sit :D)


Little green dial around button is battery indicator Green/orange/red


Both strykers on bars and helmet one ready




Stryker flood/beam and Stryker pro beam Over 200 feet away and still could get more distance


stryker pro spot only 100 foot shot of my daughter


Stryker flood and Stryker pro beam Usuall set up


Stryker flood/beam and Stryker pro beam
 
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bullcrew

3 Dude Approved
night ride #1: I need a better camera or need to figure out how to work it for moving objects at night so sorry for the crapola shots..

First off Ill say waht a rush, ripping full speed aheaad at night is great... Drops at night are a total rush the ground dissappears and your off into the black or barely lit. Did 5 runs there and loved it. Nothing too hard but a good spot to dial in the lights... BTW doubles in the night are pretty wild, there was plenty of light at no time did I think it was under lit. I like going into a black berm full speed with just the bar light its a rush then WHAM a big rock...
It was a great time myself and 4 others went out and rode... I will be doing alot more night DH rides, these lights definently lighted the way, and its amazing how others behind you try and stay in the light or use it, their lights were bright but these were definently cracking a dent in the darkness....


Standing at the top of a series of 2 drops, 1 drop then rocks berm and drop.


Sorry for the crappy pic I have no camera skills...
Me doing the drop



Coming off another rock drop


A small rock into the chute and berms


1 of tha cazilion berms
 
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bullcrew

3 Dude Approved
Hopey! My brotha!


sorry,I don't know why that excited me so.
LOL I dont know why either! :D

Have a wrist that was compounded and fractured (2 compounds and 167 sparrow fractures) Wrist is good for the most part but it will end a hard ride in pain. The hopey helps out alot, keeps the ride going and the pain at bay....

Not the only time its been broken unfortunently.
 

bullcrew

3 Dude Approved
holy crap those look good. Where can you buy these and how much do they cost?
I got em local because I wanted them now $298 each on the Strykers and $349 on the PRO then the helmet mount and the diving gear. Saw the brochure at bikebling which started the curiousity and the search for lights that can take DH abuse while being BRIGHT and durable.
I dive so they will make a nice crossover, on the bike one day and underwater the next. Dont have to worry about them smashing into the ground like a typical light either. I looked at ALOT side by side and these are a DHrs light for sure..
They can be had on their site and a search brought them up at discountedcycling which would have saved me a few bucks...
 
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Kanye West

220# bag of hacktastic
Aug 31, 2006
3,740
470
Pricing? HID? User serviceable?

They really gotta slim down that mount for the helmet. A lot.
 

bullcrew

3 Dude Approved
Pricing? HID? User serviceable?

They really gotta slim down that mount for the helmet. A lot.
Threw a link to the first post for review, video and web site.

Apparently they are working on trimming it down, my picture makes it look bigger than it really is.
Its 10 wt LEDs, theres not much to service, they have auto heat sensing so they will dim if they over heat.
Lifetime warranty on the unit (battery 1 year), Im not joking when I say the light is damn near indestructable.

Its got great specs on it, they conservatively rated it 700 lumens which it was more and had a solid 54 lux wide pattern and 52 on the beam reflector.
Its used on the helmets for the bikes, atvs, utvs in the BAJA 1000, 500, vegas to reno and other night races.
Adam told me to check it out before buying a light and after watching then holding it side by side with regular lights I was sold on performance, the casings design and durablity, cost the waterproof was a huge bonus as well.
 
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bullcrew

3 Dude Approved
The BAJA designs set up is exactly what I stated DURABILITY, Reliability, Military spec, Actuall numbers are higher than manufactures claims, consistency, hand chosen emitters not Bstock, lifetime warranty, waterproof, Incredible beam pattern, 2 reflectors for situation, shockproof, tougher than nails and a more true DHrs light.

Not as high priced as alot of the top tier lights but a hell of alot beefier and durable at a light weight.

Basically worry free lighting system that can take being flung off into the rocks.

On that note I will not knock someone that buys a light as long as it works and they can go out and have fun then its worth it IMO.
 
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klunky

Turbo Monkey
Oct 17, 2003
1,078
6
Scotland
the helmet mount is neat but Im going to stick with exposure lights.
They look better made and the lumens utterly destroy what you got up there.
 

bullcrew

3 Dude Approved
the helmet mount is neat but Im going to stick with exposure lights.
They look better made and the lumens utterly destroy what you got up there.
Nice lights for sure, its not a pissing match and if it was then the Baja designs would as you put it Utterly destroy what you got there in terms of durability and ability to take a beating. Send me one Ill do a durability test, Ill lay them on the concrete and drop a big rock on them to see which survives to simulate a crash in DH in the rocks... :thumb:
Hell we can do it a few times to see how durable they realy are side by side. Theres an idea! :D

Just a thought, read the beginning post I wanted DURABILITY I want to have it survice a nasty crash in the rocks and NOT have to try and pedal seveal miles out injured in the darkness due to the light being compromised because the case wasnt up to par.

So to keep the pissing matches to a minimum there are brighter lights, there are lighter lights there are cheaper lights BUT this is based on all 3 and a proven extreme conditions use.
Strength, actual light out put, warranty, durability and so on. Its not based on 1 part, its based on a compiled list I find to be rather important. But thats just me.
 
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syadasti

i heart mac
Apr 15, 2002
12,690
290
VT
the helmet mount is neat but Im going to stick with exposure lights.
They look better made and the lumens utterly destroy what you got up there.
Exposure lights are nice but they don't come close to Baja in durability, not even in terms of waterproofing and internal batteries are more trouble than they are worth. Oversized flash lights are not ideal for vehicle lights.
 
Apr 24, 2010
78
0
On my laptop
We are carrying them but our server crashed last night lightning will do that to a perfectly good server we hope to have it up and running by tonight but we do carry the baja design lights
 

dump

Turbo Monkey
Oct 12, 2001
8,194
4,419
those lights look amazing... will definitely consider them if I'm ever in the market.
 

bullcrew

3 Dude Approved
I threw a couple of under the water pics up, no diving yet lobster season kicks off this week so Ill be using them to freedive some areas and traps.. Ill get some pics.

I did not buy them for diving, thats just a bonus to me. But if you MX, ATV, UTV, xc ski, xc, snowboard, snow mobile, enduro, or whatever they have a huge range of potential and are light but durable enough for all of them... Cold and heat have no bearing on them rain snow water etc...


Crohnsy you have a TON of stuff for sale lol... and a ROOTBEER bullit! :thumb:
 
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Gary

"S" is for "neo-luddite"
Aug 27, 2002
7,535
5,470
UK
a single 700ish lumen helmet mounted LED torch from Deal Extreme is enough for anything I'd ever ride at night but if I ever needed stupidly powerful biking lights I haven't seen anything better than these:

http://troutie.com/
 

bullcrew

3 Dude Approved
a single 700ish lumen helmet mounted LED torch from Deal Extreme is enough for anything I'd ever ride at night but if I ever needed stupidly powerful biking lights I haven't seen anything better than these:

http://troutie.com/



NOPE! Not a chance in hell thats going on my bike! Looks like a gay tetris block with a blinged out grill to make lil wayne jealous!


I had a long reply typed out but I think Ill let it ride for now.
 
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Gary

"S" is for "neo-luddite"
Aug 27, 2002
7,535
5,470
UK
:wtf: the lady doth protest too much, methinks. :brow:

also available without colourways BTW ;)

 

bullcrew

3 Dude Approved
:wtf: the lady doth protest too much, methinks. :brow:

also available without colourways BTW ;)

trying to make heads of what the first comment means, your a lady protesting or some lady named doth has an issue!

So Im glad you can rip down a mtn with a head mounted light at 700 lumens that means I chose a good output. Im glad your happy with your choice thats awesome..Im pretty content with mine so we are both happy at the end of the day. :thumb:
 
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yuroshek

Turbo Monkey
Jun 26, 2007
2,438
0
Arizona!
hey bullcrew, good find. question for ya! how can you mount this to an XC helmet?

im in the market for a light and this might just be it if i can mount it to my XC lid.
 

Gary

"S" is for "neo-luddite"
Aug 27, 2002
7,535
5,470
UK
you clearly hadn't even looked at specs of the lights I posted a link to before you wrote your ****ing little (now editted out) hissy fit!

once you work out the meaning of my little "William Shakespeare" quote via google are you going to re-edit it again?
 

syadasti

i heart mac
Apr 15, 2002
12,690
290
VT
hey bullcrew, good find. question for ya! how can you mount this to an XC helmet?

im in the market for a light and this might just be it if i can mount it to my XC lid.
If you do buy this light make sure you get the Stryker Pro as the standard model is too large for helmet use. The Pro was made for that reason.

Jetlites has a cheaper competing design at $200 with standard charger ($250 with deluxe smart charger). Its not quite as beefy but for the most LED lamps are all far better than older halogen and HID systems:

http://www.jetlites.com/complete-systems-a-51/
 
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syadasti

i heart mac
Apr 15, 2002
12,690
290
VT
you clearly hadn't even looked at specs of the lights I posted a link to before you wrote your ****ing little (now editted out) hissy fit!

once you work out the meaning of my little "William Shakespeare" quote via google are you going to re-edit it again?
He clearly doesn't not know the bike light scene as Troutie is a legend so what does it matter...
 

syadasti

i heart mac
Apr 15, 2002
12,690
290
VT
This should be helpful for anyone looking for a light this season. I posted it on another site yesterday:

All of them are brighter than the Magicshine (around 500 lumens actual) and are more honest with the advertised lumens:

Amoeba Dual XPGs $220
http://amoebalight.blogspot.com/

Lupine Piko Dual XPGs $310 (rip-off like most Lupine products - likely due to the euro/cost of living in Germany - you aren't getting anything extra over cheaper competing dual XPG products)
http://www.lupine.de/web/en/products/lightheads/piko/

Trail LED Dual XPGs $175
Trail LED 4X 4 XPGs $300
http://www.trailled.com

Quad Blaast 4 XPGs $339
Mini Blaast 3 XPGs $329
http://www.xcleds.com/page2.html

Jet Lites A51 unknown (MCE or P7?) quad emitter LED $199
http://www.jetlites.com/complete-systems-a-51/

Baja Designs Strykr/Pro MCE $269-345 As mentioned above very high quality system - much better designed than almost all other bike lights - military spec
http://www.bajadesigns.com/2009/articles/strykr/

All of these use TIR optics other than the Amoeba, A51, and Stryker which use reflectors.
 
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bullcrew

3 Dude Approved
And on, NO I am not familiar with lights. I had a a set of guides I was looking for and tough as well as can trust it in hte nastiest of situations was priority #1 along with true light and specs...


Gary:
As far as my hissy fit as you call it, I opted to retract it as I dont like pissing matches and it was a bit harsh and uncalled for. Which is not something I do. So think what you will this is not a drama site so I pulled it for hinting of that element... Id rather keep it real. :thumb:
 

syadasti

i heart mac
Apr 15, 2002
12,690
290
VT
Does that come with Borg action figures! :D

I have to buy it, resistance is futile....
BRlights use to make a boxy dual MCE w/integrated Lipo battery - kinda like the exposure lights but beefier/better engineered. The problem with these integrated lights is you can't drive the LEDs as hard with everything in the same box. You can run them over with your truck and its no problem though quite a few LED systems are nearly as durable:

http://reviews.mtbr.com/blog/br-lights-c2-k/

Trail LED's dual MCE Darkstar performs far better (one of the brightest lights MTBR tested in 2010 - only thing significantly bright is the Betty at more than double the money, $1019 and yet its not significantly brighter than of these two of these $420 lights):

 
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bullcrew

3 Dude Approved
BRlights use to make a boxy dual MCE w/integrated Lipo battery - kinda like the exposure lights but beefier/better engineered. The problem with these integrated lights is you can't drive the LEDs as hard with everything in the same box. You can run them over with your truck and its no problem though quite a few LED systems are nearly as durable:

http://reviews.mtbr.com/blog/br-lights-c2-k/
Theres a ton of DIYs and ones that look like DIYs out there as well as small production runs... I am floored by the amount of stuff.

Yeah it could get real easy to get tied up into a major light building habit...:eek:
 
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syadasti

i heart mac
Apr 15, 2002
12,690
290
VT
Theres a ton of DIYs and ones that look like DIYs out there as well as small production runs... I am floored by the amount of stuff.
BRlights was not DIY, just a smaller company. Most of these light companies are very small unless they do other sports like Baja or some of the brands that do dive lights too. These are not DIY kits - they are complete assembled light systems. It would be like saying a smaller bike company/frame builder is a DIY, its not the same thing. The companies I mentioned above have done numerous generations and have made hundreds, if not thousands of light kits (depending on brand)
 
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bullcrew

3 Dude Approved
BRlights was not DIY, just a smaller company. Most of these light companies are very small unless they do other sports like Baja or some of the brands that do dive lights too. These are not DIY kits - they are complete assembled light systems. It would be like saying a smaller bike company/frame builder is a DIY, its not the same thing. The companies I mentioned above have done numerous generations and have made hundreds, if not thousands of light kits (depending on brand)
Yeah I wasnt trying to imply they were all DIY, the ones that do small runs have the same style housings as the other guys do and it was a generalized assesment made on the CNCd parts..

That darkstar kicked some serious LED butt!!!
Yeah I know till you get to the upper tier or start mass production in China its hard to get a mold or go through all that and make it profitable right off the bat.. Been in manufacturing long enough as well to see it from all sides MOM and POP to Sapa corp...

And thanks for bearing with me, the LED thing is a bit overwhelming. I stand by my choice of the baja designs 110% but taking the time to learn a bit more about all the different stuff was alot more than I planned...

And yes do a stryker pro for a head mount its only 102g and BRIGHT...
 
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bullcrew

3 Dude Approved
Another infomercial brought to you by....





.....Bullcrew!!!!! :rolleyes: ;)



Ever heard of Lupine? Check out how bright it is. ;)

http://reviews.mtbr.com/blog/2010-mtbr-lights-shootout/


Not true I didnt do a video personally....;)

I have and was impressed at the output.....

Yeah appararently magicshine copied them, nice units for sure put out a LOT of light. I looked at so many different ones but cost was also a factor and tha ability to take some bad line choices and be slammed to the ground end over end... There are brighter lights that I liked and casings that were great but a good ol rough and tough unit that I can beat on won out as well as the diving factor was an added bonus too. I ride in snow, mud, rain, and dive and ocean kayak too so it was based on a few items.

Theres a few I really liked but lacked and the price on one was too much for a single unit for me to justify. I am happy with my purchase! :thumb:
 

syadasti

i heart mac
Apr 15, 2002
12,690
290
VT
Ever heard of Lupine? Check out how bright it is. ;)

http://reviews.mtbr.com/blog/2010-mtbr-lights-shootout/
The Lupine Telsa (the competing single LED, quad emitter - P7 lightset) has the same performance but cost 40% more if comparing on the bars (standard model which even includes dual optics) or 35% more if comparing on the helmet (Pro). As with all Lupine products, its overpriced with no significant advantage and it comes with less accessories.
 

iRider

Turbo Monkey
Apr 5, 2008
5,648
3,089
The Lupine Telsa (the competing single LED, quad emitter - P7 lightset) has the same performance but cost 40% more if comparing on the bars (standard model which even includes dual optics) or 35% more if comparing on the helmet (Pro). As with all Lupine products, its overpriced with no significant advantage and it comes with less accessories.
It has moar than triple the Lux output!