Submitted by
jdcowboy
a Weekend Warrior
from Moorpark,CA
Date Reviewed: January 1, 2010
Strengths: Cable Free Design is great. Not too heavy. Flashing light really makes me visible to cars in the dark. Easy to switch from road to mountain bike.
Weaknesses: The button to turn it on and off is painful to use. Why does it have to be so hard? Difficult to turn on and switch between settings, and downright painful to try to turn off. Good luck turning if off while you are actually riding along. My Light & Motion light button is soft and much easier on the fingers.
Bottom Line:
Lights up road and trail very well. Great compliment to mtb riding in dark because it lights up trail while helmet headlight gives light where I look. On the street, the flashing light has gotten car drivers' attention at times when I know they would not have seen me if all I had was a steady light. Battery does not take too long to charge and run time is about as advertised--three hours at full power. Seems to interfere a little with computer when on low power, which is odd, and can block cadence on flash mode. Overall good light for non-HID light.
Bike Setup: I use the Enduro Max on the handle bars of road and mtb and Light & Motion Arc on helmet.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
smmcpherron
a Cross Country Rider
from
Date Reviewed: June 2, 2009
Strengths: Very cool looking and light weight, incredibly bright lights and very easy to control, super nice mounting bracket, no cables. Very popular with the 24 hour race crowd. It is less expensive and lighter than the other brands lights with comparable power or weight. Extremely well built.
Weaknesses: It is pricey, but, the other options were either too heavy, have crappy mounting brackets, or the cables make them a pain to use. They have no US retailers, so you have to order it directly from Exposure Lights in the US. But, I buy most of my bike stuff on the web anyway, so no big deal.
Bottom Line:
I bought mine and a friend saw it on a ride. At 1st he just begged me to turn the lights to low. But, after the ride, he went out and bought one for himself.
More than bright enough on the "low" (24 hour) setting.
Completely self contained (huge if you need that water bottle cage for water bottles).
Light (big if you're carrying it around all day)
Very strong, secure mount.
Optional external battery packs if you really need them, and they are small too.
It has an effective fuel gauge.
Charging is simple.
Weaknesses: Long charge time.
It ain't cheap.
Bottom Line:
I needed a light that could put out enough light for me to ride at road bike speeds ... and do it all night.
The bottom line? This light does it. With ease.
Brightness: The "max" setting is ridiculously bright. I expect to use it seldom, if at all. The "ride" setting is plenty bright, even riding on roads with approaching headlights compromising your vision. The "low" setting is more than bright enough on dark, lightly trafficked roads.
The Beam: Reasonably wide and no hotspots. As with all lights, you'll have gaps when going around curves, but that's what helmet mounted lights are for.
Life: Frankly, I dunno how long this thing will last. I rode a 400K brevet, and had the light on "ride" about 50% of the time and "low" the remainder of the time. It went on for 10 hours before the yellow LED illuminated, indicating it was about 50% discharged. I then took it home, set it on the table on low, and it burned for another 6 hours, and still had at least 25% of it's charge left(!) Yea, burn life like that will get it done.
Mount: The mount is a pleasant surprise. Instead of plastic, it is constructed of metal. It attaches via a bolt and once attached, remains absolutely in place. The light has a cleat that slides into the mount ... a metal to metal connection that is very, very secure. Once slid into the mount, a pin slides into the cleat to hold it in place. The light is removed by pulling the pin down and pulling the light back. It can be done with one hand. The light can also be finely adjusted for direction by loosening the cleat. You can't adjust it while riding, but that's not something I want to do.
Construction: First rate. Solid, laser etched, and sexy.
Charging: This is my only genuine criticism I have for the light. It's 9 hours to get a 90% charge and 12 to get 100% By today's standards, that's long. That's irrelevant to me, though. I just plug it in the day before the ride and forget about it.
Summary:
Yea, it's expensive, it's cheaper than physical therapy.
Similar Products Used: Niterider HID and Halogen systems, Light in Motion LED, Princeton Tec EOS, various Cateye lights.
Bike Setup: A road bike with drop bars.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
ridingisfun
a Cross Country Rider
from Seattle, WA
Date Reviewed: February 20, 2009
Strengths: Bright, compact and convenient package, good controls great customer service.
Weaknesses: Nowhere near as bright as advertised, maybe 2/3. Round beam. Fragile. Expensive. Takes forever to recharge.
Bottom Line:
The first one they sent fell apart in my hands. Customer service is great, they replaced it no charge. I have this and the Joystick MaXx and both are only about 2/3 the lumens they advertise. Nowhere near as bright as a DiNotte or Lupine on the "same" lumens setting. I love the "all in one" package, no wires no hassle. The mount is rigid -- only straight ahead, no steering. I made my own mount from a CatEye mount that allows me to steer the light. Much better, but the mount is not 100% secure and it fell off three times, my fault. On the third time, the light broke. Which is sorta understandable, but it was falling less than a metre, not thrown from the Space Needle or driven over by a DUKW. It took a long time to fix (send from U.S. back to England) but Ibex Sports offered me a loaner while it was repaired. The controls are easy to use, obvious, and the "fuel gauge" is very useful. Recharging is highly convenient -- when I roll in at night I just plug in. The Joystick MaXx is ready in the morning, BUT the Enduro MaXx takes 12 hours(!!!) to recharge and may not be full in the morning(!!!). The Enduro MaXx has 3x the battery and should come with a larger charger than the Joystick MaXx but it is the same charger. Lame for a $400 light. With the steerable mount it is the best light for my needs, but the dim output compared to advertised makes it a poor value and it seems lame it broke when dropped a few times. My Exposure MaXx and Joystick MaXx only got a little over 90% of the advertised run time when new, and it only gets worse with use. A friend had his Nite Rider run out sooner than advertised, Nite Rider said if it does not meet 100% of the advertised runtime it is defective. The U.S. service folks are fast and friendly. The round beam throws a lot of photons in the trees and at my feet instead of sending it ahead where it would be more useful. Elliptical optics would be a win. This is the best light for my needs, but is expensive, fragile, nowhere near as bright as advertised, and takes forever to recharge. I recommend Ibex sports highly, USE and the Exposure light it might be the light for you but think carefully before you leap.
Strengths: No wires, awesome penetrating light, easy to use and install and you eventually don't notice it. Machined case...and dissipates the heat well. In combo with a good quality helmet lamp and you can go anywhere. Burn time is supreme
Weaknesses: Probably the most expensive unit of it's kind...but damn it's good. Your buddies will want one, but will choke on the price.
Bottom Line:
If you want to play in the dark, w/o a full moon and under a tree canopy...you have to get one of these. If you want to play the 24 hour race game and you're one of the designated night leg riders..it's a must have. I now lead my group of riders into the dark, as their lights don't last as long as the Enduro. It illuminates the corneas of the wildlife from 100's of yards away..so the packs of coyotes just move on before we arrive.
If you outrun this light on a "new" unridden night trail..you're going too fast!! Easy to ride 25mph on a trail you know well. Provides a good color contrast between the dirt/clay and dry grasses...sometimes they blend under other lights. Always have a set of clear lenses for your nocturnal adventures
Favorite Trail: Shell Ridge Single tracks in the Dark
Duration Product Used: Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$310.00
Purchased At: IBEX
Similar Products Used: Niterider LEDs, Halogens, HIDs and a prior EVO model.
Bike Setup: Sc Blur LT2, XO w/Carb Triggers, Tala 140 RLC, Float RP23, RF Dues XC, WCS Ritchey Carbon stem/bars and wcs pedals, Easton Havoc AM, Juicy Carbs, Nevegals, Joplin remote with WTB Race V
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Iwan
a Weekend Warrior
from Cape Town, South Africa
Date Reviewed: September 27, 2008
Strengths: Bright
All in one package so no wires
Ease of mounting
Looong battery life
Light
Weaknesses: Buttons can be finicky
Expensive
Bottom Line:
Awesome light. Not too blue bright. Good enough spread to go as fast as your guts will allow. A bit expensive though. But for what you get I will buy them again. Great battery life.
Strengths: Clean and simple. Adjustable bar mount that works above or below the bar and secures with an allen bolt, easy on/off to remove the light, no wires!
Weaknesses: none
Bottom Line:
Bottom line - this is the big bertha of bike lights in terms of power.
The high beam melts plants on the trail and on the road I've had cars flash their high beams at me. I can't say enough about not having any wires on the bike as well as being able to mount the light underneath the handle bar. Burn time has been excellent and the colored LED on the back of the light gives me an indication of the remaining power so, if needed, you could swap to the mid or low beam setting to improve economy.
Its lighter than anything else out there, brighter than anything else out there, and did I mention...no wires?
Similar Products Used: Light and Motion, Nite Rider, etc
Bike Setup: townie, road and mtb bikes.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Andy Piggins
a Cross Country Rider
from Leicestershire, UK
Date Reviewed: April 27, 2008
Strengths: Incredibly bright, light and compact. Handlebar mount is secure and easy to use.
Weaknesses: The charging time is quite long, but you just need to be organised and set it to charge overnight. The status light on the unit lets you know when the battery's running low, so there's no risk of being caught out.
Bottom Line:
This is the brightest bike light that I've ever seen. On my commute home, I get loads of questions from other riders. They're usually a bit put off by the price, but what price can you put on being so visible? It's not a cheap light, but it's the best £260 I've spent recently.
Most of my commute is street-lit, so I can use the lower brightness settings to save a bit of battery life. Once I'm out of the city and on the back roads, I switch to the Maxx setting and the spread of light is as good (if not better) than the dipped beam headlights on my car.
I haven't tried any singletrack in the dark yet, but I've got no doubts that this light will be more than up to the job.
Hello,
Is there a way that I can securely mount an Exposure Enduro Maxx2 to a helmet and have it at least semi-adjustable? Cost isn't as much of an issue as being able to secure Read More »
