Submitted by
Scotty
a Downhiller
from Gloucester Twp, NJ, USA
Date Reviewed: September 22, 2005
Strengths: Value, duration of charge, 2 lighting choices.
Weaknesses: None for me so far.
Bottom Line:
[Though this is an ATB site, it's the only good bike product consumer rating site that I've found.] I only use this light for commuting a few miles each night on a busy suburban road, and neighborhood streets. My main concern in this setting is to be seen, rather than to see (except on trash day when I scour the local neighborhood for stuff to scavenge--I use it like a flashlight). It has worked well in this regard. Because of all the street lights and traffic on the busy road, I haven't been seen at intersections by some negligent drivers when I'm using the 6 watt light; therefore, I switch on high beam when approaching intersections. No car driver wanting to turn in front of me has not seen me when both lights are on. Six watts on the low bulb doesn't sound like much when compared to household bulb wattage rating, but when I looked at this light from a distance (~30 yards), I was surprised at how bright it is, and surprised that some cars either didn't see me, or ignored me when only the low beam was on. I believe that this light would be plenty of light on dark country roads. Because I'm not riding for hours at once, I can't comment on the actual duration of charge for my light. I don't keep track of the hours I get from a charge. I don't seem to have to charge very frequently. For my purpose, this light was the best value. Sure, it'd be nice to have a light as bright as car lights, but not for as much or more money than my bike cost. Oh, and I haven't experienced any of the problems with the switches or anything else that others have complained about here.
Similar Products Used: Before this, I've only used cheap crap with standard consumer non-rechargable batteries. Never again. I carefully screened the reviews of lights on this site before making a decision to buy this.
Bike Setup: Trek road bike.
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Submitted by
Loren Gilmore
a Cross Country Rider
from Santa Rosa, CA, USA
Date Reviewed: January 27, 2005
Strengths: Really cheap
Weaknesses: Really cheaply made, bad switch mechanism, not particularly bright, prone to breaking.
Bottom Line:
This light was never particularly bright but it did the job. Then the switch broke and it would only turn on the high spot beam and not the wide beam. I opened it to fix it only to find the worst excuse for a switch that I have ever seen (i.e. two pieces of metal that slide back and forth, junior high physics class style.) The switch had managed to separate itself so i bent it back with a pair of needle nosed pliers. It worked for a little while until it was stolen with my CamelBak from my car, but they took only the light and not the battery.
I give props to CygoLite for sending me a new light minus the battery at a very low price, company was quick and easy to deal with. The new one worked for a little while but then had similar problems. Not that the light was particularly bright to begin with, but now it's akin to riding by candle light, as it flickers dimly. The high beam works most of the time, but with the high beam on all the time I don't get very much battery life (maybe 2.5 hours.) I would not recommend this light unless... no I just wouldn't recommend it.
If you're looking for a good starter light, I would suggest the CygoLite Hi-Flux 200 instead, it's an LED that actually puts out enough light to ride by, and it has a low beam mode that lasts for 50 hours, so you don't need to use a backup on the climbs. Also it feels more solid and has a push button switch design that won't break as easily and you don't have to look away from the trail and flail at the back of the light to turn it on as the switch is positionable.
Favorite Trail: Jackson State Forest in Mendocino, CA
Duration Product Used: 1 Year
Price Paid:
$60.00
Purchased At: LBS
Similar Products Used: JET Lites, CygoLite HiFlux
Bike Setup: '03 Access Alu frame, full XT setup, Thomson stem/post, Bontrager race wheels/bar, '99 RS Judy SL fork, Cane Creek C2 headset
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Submitted by
Steve Donahoe
a Weekend Warrior
from Fairfax, VA
Date Reviewed: June 29, 2004
Strengths: Bright lights, long lasting battery and great price!
Weaknesses: Charger and charging time is about the only downside.
Bottom Line:
This light is great for the price. It cost only twice what my Cat Eye EL 300 did, but put out at least 10 times the light. I went off road riding in the woods in the middle of the night and had plenty of light to ride at moderate to fast speeds. My friend was using handlebar mounted and helmet mounted older 10 and 15 watt Nite Rider lights, and mine was just as, or brighter than both of his. He was leading and even commented that he was using a lot of my light. I am very happy with the light. If I was much more serious and was riding at faster speeds, I may want a brighter light. For the average rider, this light is great. Can't be beat for the price.
Similar Products Used: Cat Eye Opti-Cube HL-EL 300
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Submitted by
Deadhead Archer
a Cross Country Rider
from Iowa, USA
Date Reviewed: February 19, 2004
Strengths: Long use period, bright, small.
Weaknesses: Connection between light and battery. Long recharge period.
Bottom Line:
I purchased this product because I wanted a bright riding light for jaunty night rides, and the lengthy usage was a significant plus!
My biggest complaint about this product is the weak connection between the battery and light! I have to wrap a rubber band around the light assembly to hold the connector in, else it doesn't get a good charge. Without the rubber band, I get a "low battery" indicator almost right away even with a freshly charged battery and the light flickers on/off if it even illuminates at all. That makes this light irritating and annoying to use.
When it works (after wrapping the connector and light together with a rubber band), this product functions well otherwise.
2 Flaming Chilis for the value due to the poor quality connection. A light that doesn't stay lit outside of comsumer modification isn't a great product, IMO.
Strengths: value for price, good light spread for nightime cruising, long run time.
Weaknesses: no smart timer, but took suggestion from other viewer and bought $6 timer at local hardware store, no problem. low bulb burnt out after 2nd ride. called cust. serv., faxed receipt. new bulb in a week. free. no problems since.
Bottom Line:
wasn't sure about riding at night so didn't want to shell out big bucks. glad i chose this product. opened up a new avenue to ride. i just cruise xc so this light is just right for me. i will buy a higher end lamp for my helmet now that i know how much fun riding at night is. replacement bulbs are around $11 so i plan on ordering up a few as backup and it will still be a value.
Bike Setup: 2002 fsr, avid disc, sun ufo rims, hopexc hubs, thompson seatpost, monkey lite, rocket shorteys, duke xc(soon to be psylo), light xc cruiser
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Submitted by
Sean
a Racer
from Costa Mesa, California
Date Reviewed: October 23, 2003
Strengths: Inexpensive, good commuting light, long run time
Weaknesses: Run time not as long as advertised, long charge time, no "smart charger", cheap bar mount, Not a good off-road light
Bottom Line:
I bought this light on sale for $50, and I've gotten what I've paid for and a little more. This light certainly isn't the brightest out there, but with both beams on, it provides adequate light. It says the burn time is 6 hours on 6W, though I've never gotten anything close to that. It seems I get between 1 to 3 hours running a combo of 6, 10, and 16W, with the 3 hours running the 6W primarely. The swivel on the bar mount always seems to come loose off road, despite tightening it pretty hard, so you'll need to carry a phillips screwdriver with you. Since day one, I've had to tape the connection of the battery cable to the light because it comes loose when you hit a bump causing the light to go out, and you'll hit plenty of bumps off road, which is why I'll recommend this light as a good commuter light, not an off-road light.
Submitted by
George Litwinski
a Cross Country Rider
from Midland, MI, USA
Date Reviewed: December 8, 2002
Strengths: Nicely made, tiny, pretty bright, side-swivels, easy mounting, wire retracts into bottle, looks to be well made.
Weaknesses: Long charge time, no smart charger, could be a touch brighter.
Bottom Line:
This replaced a Sigma Mirage that I ought and returned because of a flaky switch. The Sigma was same price as the Cygolite, but significantly lower quality.
Anyway, I bought the Cygo Night Explorer Extra on Bill Larson's recommendation (a great, very helpful guy - WLarson297@aol.com or wlarson@inetarena.com - to augment a couple of CatEye EL300's I already have and the combination (four lights) from Bill and it does a nice job on suburban night streets for me with my 50 year old eyes. That is not to say that they do a great job. I'd still like a little more light, but I guess there is only so much you can get out of a bike light and be practical. Anyway, the Night Explorer Extra is a very good light at a very fair price. I doubt if the $300 stuff does much better.
Purchased At: Bill Larson - WLarson297@aol.com or wlarson@inetarena.com
Similar Products Used: Sigma Mirage (actually, it was DOA)
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Submitted by
Stewie
a Weekend Warrior
from Hong Kong
Date Reviewed: November 25, 2002
Strengths: Good, strong, bright light, with even spread.
Weaknesses: battery is a bit big and heavy. adjustment on the bars is not the easiest (need a screwdriver to adjust)
Bottom Line:
The 6w bulb in this light broke after the first ride. Sent an email to Cygolite asking for them to ship out a replacement bulb, but they asked for me to send the defective bulb out first... Seems like the customer service may not be up to speed. (I would expect that consumable items like bulbs would be a standard ship out item... maybe not, eh?)
Apart from the above, i would reccomend the light to anyone. Overall a great product.
Submitted by
Jeff
a Cross Country Rider
from Baltimore, MD USA
Date Reviewed: October 3, 2002
Strengths: Unbeatable price for a quality dual-beam system; clear, focused beams are bright enough to light your way; durable and simple to mount and remove; helpful, personal customer service
Weaknesses: My burn times have been very disappointing; spare/replacement bulbs are expensive; long recharge time could be inconvenient for daily commuters
Bottom Line:
With a very limited budget, I ordered this light based only on the reviews from this site, and it really is an excellent light for the price; it's perfect for my short errands and commutes on mostly suburban streets. The bright 10w narrow beam is great for street riding, especially in bad weather or when going down hills, but I've been using the 6w wide beam exclusively and have had no problems seeing the road. The recharge time is 15-17 hours, so commuters will need an alternate light or battery if they can't reach the weekend on one charge. I would easily give a '5' rating if my burn times weren't so bad; the battery should last up to 6 hours with only the 6w beam (3 hours with the 10w and 2 hours with dual beams), but in my 4 completed charge cycles, I've gotten 3, 4, 2:15 and 2:10 hours of '6w time'. I haven't seen this complaint from anyone else, so if your battery is normal, you'll give this light 5 flamin' chilis; for me, I have a 6w light that lasts for 2 hours before needing a 16 hour recharge, so for someone who hoped to use this light for daily commutes, I can only give 3.5 'smoldering' chilis.
Strengths: Great burn times, good brightness for being only 16.3 watts total—very efficient. I use this as my helmet light, and its been a great deal for the money. Looks good on the helmet too. (Get the helmet mount kit.)
Weaknesses: Difficult to operate switches with gloves on, so I Krazy-glued onto each switch, a little rubber piece that I fashioned to extend each button out a little further...and now they work even better!
Bottom Line:
Great...get 'em!
I use my CygoLight on my helmet in addition to a pair of Fireball Comp flood lights on my handlebar. The combination is fantastic as I can peer almost anywhere ahead into the dark with the CygoLight narrow beam setting on my helmet.
This handlebar/helmet combo is ideal for my fast rides, but the CygoLight will work well on the handlebar for slower rides if it's going to be your only light. My friend uses this same CygoLight on his handlebar, and it was because of him that I got these for my helmet after comparing with other models and found these to be so darn economical and efficient.
Similar Products Used: Specialized FireBalls Sport, returned to purchase the higher powered FireBalls Comp.
Bike Setup: DiamondBack XR-8 Cross Country Racer, with XT & XTR components. Light weight full suspension bike, with the rear suspension set very tight.
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Submitted by
Harold
a Weekend Warrior
from Seattle, WA, USA
Date Reviewed: March 21, 2002
Strengths: Inexpensive; durable; long battery life; bright light; easy to mount onto different bicycles.
Weaknesses: Recharge time is waaaay too long when you plan to commute daily; NiCad batteries have a memory effect (i.e., you've got to run them down all the way before recharging).
Bottom Line:
This is a great light for the money. I commute daily 16 miles in Seattle (in winter, it's dark heading both ways), right along Lake Washington where there are no lights at all. I have absolutely no problems with visibility. Generally, the 6.3 watt beam is enough for even dark, dark nights. In the rain on unfamiliar terrain, I'll reach for the 10 watt beam. Very, very infrequently do I need to switch both beams on.
The one gripe (and there really is only one): 15 to 17 hours of recharge time. When you commute daily, this means there is really no way you fully charge your battery overnight. E.g., return home at 6:30 p.m., leave the next morning at 7:30 a.m.---at most, that's 13 hours lag time. The reason this light is so great is its long battery life, which mostly commuters care about; but then commuters don't have the time to recharge the battery. Not a good thing. My solution: I plopped down an extra $30 for another battery and I rotate them. That gives me as good a light as the $200+ jobs for much less money. Still, I wish CygoLite would upgrade to NiMH.
As another reviewer has mentioned, the best solution for the odd instruction to charge for 15 to 17 hrs., but no more than 24 hrs., is to spring $5 at the local hardware store for a timer.
Make no mistake, I LOVE this light. But what would make it perfect is a more sensible battery.
Similar Products Used: An inexpensive VistaLite (not particularly made for dark, dark conditions); VistaLite front flasher (white).
Bike Setup: Specialized Hardrock FS
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Submitted by
Rod Paille
a
from Mt. Carmel, IL 62863 USA
Date Reviewed: August 18, 2001
Strengths: Lots of light. Lots of burn time. Seems like a great company for customer service!
Weaknesses: Had to make a special mount for my bike. Conventional bikes would not have a problem
Bottom Line:
So far I'd recommend this light and this company. Most of my night riding is done on dark country roads and quite honestly the 6.3 watt is fine most of the time. It's bright enought that most cars dim their lights for me! I use the 10 watt bulb only occasioinally. It's nice to know I have a spare bulb. However the 10 watt bulb burned out after just a short time (probably no more than an hour or so total time on that bulb). I'd had the system for almost 3 months. I called the company and they informed me that it was still under warrantee. I faxed them the receipt from the bike shop and in less than 2 days I had a new bulb. No charge. No shipping charge. That's service!
Similar Products Used: Cheap 2.4 self contained lights
Bike Setup: I ride a recumbent, a Bike E. My bike dealer built a special mount for me. Took about 20 minutes.
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Submitted by
Skillet
a Cross Country Rider
from Huntsville,AL
Date Reviewed: July 31, 2001
Strengths: Inexpensive! Great lumination! Long Life! Easy to recharge! very convenient.
Weaknesses: Havin' to turn the light on with the switch behind the light instead of the switch bein' on the handlebar. That's all of my complaints.
Bottom Line:
I had a better ride up at Tsali at night than I did in the daytime. Cygolites kick! Never will change name brands, maybe models but that's it. If want good deals email this Kat and he will send you a list of items he has for sale. The cheapest prices in the US. From cranks to jerseys to rims to hubs and everything in between. This dude is the bomb. WLarson297@aol.com
Purchased At: My friend Bill Lawson "he's the man!"
Similar Products Used: Nightsun
Bike Setup: Rocky Mountain Race Element frame. Manitou SX fork. XTR shifters/brakes levers with XTR brakes. XTR hubs with Mavic 517 Ceramics. Syncros stem with carbon fiber handlebar. LX cranks with XT BB along with shimano pedals.
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Submitted by
Jon
a Weekend Warrior
from Fort Collins, CO, USA
Date Reviewed: May 25, 2001
Strengths: NiCad battery with extended run time LED indicator on head unit to show battery is low
Bottom Line:
This light has the basics you need to ride at night. I got the light because of the extended run time, 3-6 hours depending on the dual or single beam use. The NiCad battery fits in my water bottle cage and the LED indicator is helpful for extended rides. I reccommend this light to anyone since I haven't found a comparable light at such a great price.
Submitted by
Randy Beach
a Cross Country Rider
from Anchorage, Alaska
Date Reviewed: February 12, 2001
Strengths: price and the amount of battery life. 6 hours is hard to beet. You can buy a helmet mount that greatly increases the lights convenience.
Weaknesses: The plug into the light vibrates out over ruff terain but a small rubber band fixed that.
Bottom Line:
For the money you will be very hard pressed to find a light/ battery combination that is as bright and lasts as long as this one. I have tried a few other lights from the same company and they all seem to have the problem with the plug. I comute everyday about 6 miles from "ALL" weather conditions and it hasn't let me down yet. With Alaska's long winters you must have a light that is bright and reliable.......This is that one.
