Article from the June 2014 issue of Ride Magazine.
Seeing and being seen has come a long way in recent years. Spend some time on the roads in the early morning and you are sure to be partially blinded by one of the new-generation LED light sets, which are becoming increasingly affordable. As winter grips, we take a look at some (not all – the market is, ahem, flooded at the moment) of the options available.
See or be seen?
This used to be a choice we were forced to make. No more. There is no sane reason not to have super-visibility both front and rear, in the form of flashing lights, and a bar-mounted option that can be switched between flashing, when you are in risky areas, and solid-beam, when you need to pick up the nuances of the trail.
What to look for in a rear light? Three things: visibility (both brightness and spread of light), simplicity of fit and ease of charging/battery changing. Burntime is relatively unimportant – nearly all will offer a fortnight’s worth of heavy training, and you should be able to remember to remove your light and charge it overnight once a week. This is where the ease of fit comes in – screwdrivers and Allen keys are never where you need them, so a tool-less quick-release system is a must.
The same applies to front lights – kinda. If you are merely looking to be seen, mostly squeezing riding around dawn or dusk rather than full-tilt night riding, then the same three priorities apply. However, if you are riding in dark situations proper – on-road or off – then burn-time becomes the top need. A couple of hundred lumens is good enough to see where you are going, for most of us, so check out how long your longest ride time is likely to be, and make sure you have enough oomph.
For hard-core night riders, the parameters are a bit more technical than for those of us who just want to extend our riding into winter, a little, and stay fit. They will confuse you with beam patterns, light warmth, just the right amount of yellow light for depth perception and more, but that is too highbrow for most; we need a bright light that fixes to our bars (helmet-mounted options are arguably better off-road, at the extreme end of things), stays pointing where we need it to, and has a flashing mode for riding when we need to share the road.
Ryder Orion 800
www.omnico.co.za
The little light that can: compact, lightweight and simple to use, the Orion is typical of the Ryder brand’s value-for-money ethos. The waterproof single Cree LED unit puts out a claimed 800 lumens and mounts to the bars using lumo-green elasticated bands (sounds silly, but when you lose the normal black ones for the third time in as many early-morning false starts, you will get it), while the tiny battery pack snuggles comfortably under most stems, or under the top tube.
The light comes in a neoprene box that houses it, the charger and a helmet mount, so the whole shebang should be all in one place when you next need it. So, it is small and powerful – what impact does that have on battery life? The li-ion unit is good for a claimed three hours at maximum power, with three more settings available, the weakest offering 30 hours but limited light. There is no flashing mode.
Extreme 2K
www.extremelights.co.za
The brashest light on our test. We loved the chunky, rugged Cree triple LED and its claimed 1 800-lumen output, especially when we ran it full bore on a two-and-a-half-hour ride. The manufacturer claims that there is another hour available on top of that, so you should be safe for some serious winter miles (the unit will warn you when you are running low and need to switch). Alternatively, you could run the low-intensity option (400-odd lumens) for something like 14 hours and see pretty much all you need for moderate riding. The flashing mode runs at full power and offers four hours of riding. The mount – a rubber band that clips front and rear in seconds – is superbly user-friendly. The relatively broad beam makes it a good performer off-road too, if that fancy takes you. The li-ion battery pack is housed in a neoprene pouch that attaches to the top tube (or under the stem if you are running one long enough) without scratching or rattling.
Lezyne Deca Drive Loaded
www.lezyne.com
Lezyne has gone for the “looks like a torch on steroids” angle with this light. No battery pack or miles of cable that you need to wind around the working bits of your bike. The internal battery pack charges on-board, via a USB cable, so you can charge off your computer. There are six different light functions: static 800, 700, 400 and 250 lumens, and flashing modes at 400 or 150 lumens. At max power (and it feels a whole lot brighter than many 800-lumen lights), expect an hour and a half of riding (there is a spare battery in the plastic hard-case packaging the unit arrives in, so you could call that three). Three hours at a bright 400 lumens is the sweet spot, as the triple-LED offers a happy mix of broad illumination and a great hotspot just where you need to see the startled rabbit on the path. The handlebar mount is fantastic – machined aluminium instead of the ubiquitous plastic – and is both simple and secure. The unit is waterproof. The funky-looking cooling fins are necessary – this light gets warm! But, thankfully, the clever folk at Lezyne have programmed in an override that drops light output if things get too hot.
Speed Master Mono-Light
www.omnico.co.za
A small, cheerful be-seen light that offers three modes: steady, flashing and strobe. The quick-release handlebar mount seems to be secure enough to hold the light fast through the bumpy stuff, but you will only be riding this one on the road, as the beam is seriously focused, there is no peripheral lighting to speak of, and it is not particularly bright. Its flashing and strobe modes make it an affordable option, if you need to be seen. It runs off four AAA batteries – we would buy rechargeables to save some cash in the long run.
Cateye Uno
www.cateye.com
The Uno is a good, compact commuter light. It is not much wider than the AA battery that’s used to power its single LED, it easily fits into a pocket or bag and, because you need to hold down the button to operate it, there’s not much danger of it accidentally turning on as you carry it around. It uses the same simple clamp – fitting both standard and oversized handlebars – that’s common to much of the CatEye range. With constant and flashing modes, it gives out a narrow but bright beam with good side-on visibility. You could ride without street lights at a push, but it’s in its element in the urban environment, as a be-seen light.
It’s also available in black or white and so might complement your components. Which could be very important at night.
Blackburn Super Flea Front
www.omnico.co.za
This, together with its equally good rear stablemate, has been our favourite safety light for a couple of years now. It is light (45g), simple to fit and much brighter than its tininess would suggest. Battery life is limited, but you won’t complain when you have cars dipping headlights for you. An hour and a bit on high or three hours on flashing makes this the perfect emergency light for when you get caught out late, but more than that you shouldn’t expect of it. Charging can be a challenge: it is a USB arrangement, off your computer, but not through a cable – magnetic contacts on a dongle match the underside of the light. It feels like trying to get fireflies to mate, the first time you try, but it gets better. Just don’t lose the dongle. The king of the micro lights.
Lezyne Super Drive XL
www.lezyne.com
Leyzne’s sleek-lined Super Drive XL has some tidy design features, but it’s ultimately destined as a be-seen city light rather than a trail blaster, even at its claimed maximum 575-lumen output. It’s lightweight, though, and well balanced for a secure fit on the quick-release bar mount. Charging is done via USB lead, but it’s worth investing in a proper USB charger plug, as refuelling from your computer takes a very long time. On the bike, there are four static modes and one flashing mode, offering between an hour and a half and 12 hours of runtime, but we found ourselves using it on flashing mode, mostly, and finding something a bit brighter if we wanted to head off-road or onto unlit roads.
Giant Numen HL1
www.giant-bicycles.com
The Numen HL1 2W headlight boasts a super-bright LED with a natural-white beam to light up the road. This multi-mode light features high and low beams as well as three different flashing modes. The three AAA batteries run to 25 flashing hours on a single set, or eight hours if you keep it on high beam, and the light has a low-battery indicator to give you a heads-up when it’s running out of juice. The tool-free handlebar mount attaches quickly and easily to all handlebars.
Cateye Nano Shot+
www.cateye.com
We could tell you that the Nano Shot+ boasts 600 lumens, but we’d rather tell you about its beam pattern and its performance in Real Life: it chucks out plenty of light. Go for the high setting on dark lanes, low where there’s a bit of ambient light and “hyperconstant” (that’s strobe to you and me) in traffic. Simple. The beam pattern is cleverly designed to illuminate practically everything forward of the light. Side visibility without being blinded. The bracket is CatEye’s tool-less universal mount, and we did find that, at times, the weight of the light would test the bracket’s ability to stay put, although when it did start to droop, it was easy enough to give the thumbwheel an extra half-turn. We found the stated battery performance to be pretty accurate: you get around one and a half hours on high, four hours on low and two hours on flashing. Commuting territory – the battery life isn’t long enough to be useful on longer rides or for anything but short off-road jaunts. Charging is done via USB cable. A commuter light that’s plenty bright, nicely lightweight and chucks out plenty of lumens for the money.
Giant Numen Mini W
www.giant-bicycles.com
They may be tiny, but these lights are surprisingly bright. Inside the flexible rubber housing, with an easy tool-free mounting system that will fit all handlebar/seatpost sizes and shapes, are two LEDs. Available in red or white, the light has three modes to choose between: steady, flash and chasing. Runtime with the included CR2032 batteries is a claimed 80 hours.
And you can match the lights to the colour scheme of your bike, with the six different colours available: black, white, red, green, purple and blue.
Cateye Econom Force 540RC
www.cateye.com
The CatEye Econom Force uses reverse offset lens (ROL) technology, which allows for 95% efficiency of the light emitted (10% more than conventional designs). Look closely and you’ll find that the LED is mounted facing backwards and towards the reflector, which projects the beam forwards. Don’t be fooled by the old-school looks and AA Ni-MH power source: cutting-edge technology squeezes every last ounce from the single LED, and it’s powerful enough for navigating unlit back roads. The batteries can be swapped for common or garden alkaline types, without impairing performance. It is a tad hefty, though, and consumes a fair bit of handlebar space. Peripheral visibility is deceptively good, with a crisp beam bleeding outward, as is the flashing mode, albeit in the be-seen rather than see-by sense, but it’s a godsend should the low-battery indicator start winking. A brilliant commuter lamp for town and around, if you’re not overly pressed for handlebar space.
Avalanche Front
www.avalanchebicycles.co.za
Cheap and cheerful – and surprisingly effective, if being seen is your goal. The steady mode is visible but not really good enough to see by, unless you want to use it to read Ride magazine under your duvet, in which case go right ahead. But using either of the two flashing options, you will certainly be visible.
It’s available in five different colour options, in both white and red, for matching sets.
Blackburn Super Flea Rear
www.omnico.co.za
Matched to the white Super Flea we looked at a page or so earlier, the rear model is a standard feature on all our bikes. It is easy to fit and hasn’t contrived to bounce off yet – even on our mountain-bike tests. The rear has a much longer battery life than the front one – 15 hours in steady mode – so you need only find the finicky charging dongle once a week. Both are waterproof, and warn you when you are getting low on charge.
Giant Numen Mini LT
www.giant-bicycles.com
Essentially with the same lighting options (three modes, red or white, multiple body colours) as the Mini W we looked at earlier, albeit with a chunkier design, these bright little things run off two CR2032 batteries and offer more than 100 hours of flashy performance. The stretchy rubber mounting system is easy to use and appears to be durable. A well-priced, bright stay-alive package.
Cateye Rapid 5
www.cateye.com
The thinking man’s rear light: with a high-power, centred LED, two 5mm LEDs and two more side-mounted high-power LEDs, the Rapid 5 provides excellent visibility from many angles. Instead of one concentrated beam, the unit offers visibility in a wide arc, for the motorist approaching you from somewhere other than directly behind you. It is a seriously bright package, offering four lighting modes – rapid, pulse, flashing and constant. We would have loved for it to be a USB-chargeable unit, but it runs off a pair of AAAs. The claimed 15-hour (static) and 100-hour (flashing) battery lives are not too bad, given how traffic stopping the overall package is.
Giant Numen Aero Plus TL
www.giant-bicycles.com
Fits securely to aero/ISP seatposts and offers excellent rear/side visibility from three ultra-bright LEDs. It runs off a USB rechargeable internal battery and offers tool-free mounting. There are three modes to choose from: static (two and a half hours), flashing (five hours) or patrol, which is the most visible and lasts for a good 10 hours. The light offered is by far the best side visibility we have seen in such a compact unit.
Ryder Redeye
www.omnico.co.za
Two super-bright LEDs running off two AAA batteries make this a great budget tail light. It offers three different modes (strobe, flash and steady) and the mount is tool-free and easy to use. It is water-resistant (perfect for the Cape winter) and robust.
We didn’t manage to run out of batteries before having to go to print on this, 15-odd hours in, so it offers value-for-volt too.
Cateye Nima
www.cateye.com
The Nima light is tough, simple and reliable. Small enough to be a back-up, powerful enough to really be noticed, and made by the leading light in bike illumination, they are robust and functional in the extreme. They are easy to fit to seatposts. handlebars (they do a white version too), bags, helmet and anywhere else you might fancy. Side visibility through the light-permeabie housing is excellent, and it is simple to toggle between the flashing and steady modes, without needing to climb off the bike. Expect 15 hours on static, or 80 on flashing, from a pair of CR2032 batteries.
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