Marwi Nightpro Aurora ProThe Aurora Pro is a handlebar-mount lighting systemThat provides you with 80 lumens of light from a high-powered 3 watt bulb. High and low settings give you lighting variety and a longer burnTime, andTheThree smaller LEDs can be used in flash modeTo enhance your visibility.Features & Specs: 80 lumens High/Low on main LED, Flash/Steady onThree smaller LEDs BurnTime: 4 hours on high power setting using standard AA Alkaline batteries Aluminum alloy h Mtbr Bike Lights Shootout - over 50 bike lights reviewed, photographed and measured here.
Submitted by
Jason
a Cross Country Rider
from Marysville, Wa. USA
Date Reviewed: August 23, 2005
Strengths: Very bright, great customer service, not hard to mount or figure out how to use
Weaknesses: long charge time, easily stripped bracket, not charge indicator.
Bottom Line:
Great light for the price, some plumbers tape fixed the plastic threading problem on the bracket. fairly lightweight and adjustable. I think this would be a better commuter light (have used it mainly for commuting) as the plug has the potential for coming apart on uneven terrain.
Similar Products Used: Night rider trailrat, cateye commuter light
Bike Setup: K2 Disco Monkey FS XC
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Submitted by
Peter Nicholas
a Weekend Warrior
from Maryland
Date Reviewed: September 28, 2004
Strengths: Very reliable, especially compared with the multiple failures within the first few months of my NightRider. Also better value for money. Handlebar switch is well thought out, allowing one to quickly turn off the main beam to avoid blinding on-coming bikes -- the angle of the two beams can be adjusted separately, so one can have the equivalent of a car's high and low beam.
Weaknesses: Doesn't come with a rapid charger, but you can buy one separately.
Strengths: Low price for a dual beam system. Seems solidly built. Techno-Grouch - no wacky digital features to malfunction.
Weaknesses: Mediocre light dispersal pattern, long recharge time, hard to tighten bracket enough to keep light from slipping, heavy water bottle battery, metal lamp housing gets hot to the touch.
Bottom Line:
I bought this light at a steep discount from the shop that sold me my Niterider Digital Evolution, which had suffered a series of malfunctions and had proven undependable. The Marwi Nightpro Pro Elite has basically everything I need. I'd like to see a better light dispersal pattern so I could see better in unlit areas, but with both lights blazing, it is almost impossible for traffic ahead to miss seeing me! The 20W lamp is remote-controlled, the 15W lamp just has a pushbutton switch on the back of its head, so be careful when turning it off, as the metal housing gets hot. Recharge time is 20 hours to go from no charge to full charge, but I can top it off by plugging it in overnight and at work the next morning after an hour-long commute home in the dark. It would also be nice if the charger had some sort of status indicator. At least it's a smart charger, so it won't overcharge your battery if you forget about it and leave it charging for days at a time. The bracket holds the lamp on securely, but I haven't been able to get it tight enough against my Performance Space Bar to keep it from slipping when I mount/remove the lamp head, and it gradually slips upward as I ride. I've had this light for almost a year now, and have used it frequently, and have had no problems of any kind with it yet. (My Niterider malfunctioned for the first time when it was just a few months old.)
Just a quick note. I was having problems with this light until I recently bought a new digital camera...strange I know. But my batteries came with a charger that had a button that drained the battery to the bone after every use.
I began doing this with both of my nightrider lights. After every use, I leave the lights on down in my cellar. I come down and re-charge after the die out. My rides have been much better...much stronger light and much longer, much longer.
I bought the light about a year and a half ago and wasn't impressed with the flood beam so I left it off most of the time to conserve battery life on long night rides. My friend has a 12-watt Niterider light that is much brighter than my 15-watt spot and even both Marwi lights together. I bought another 15-watt hoping two spots would be brighter to no avail. Two months ago I noticed 20-watt spots for sale @ Performance and bought two hoping that I would now be able to ride down hills at a little more than a walking pace. at this point I finally realized something was really wrong with the light, the twenty-watt is no brighter than the 15-watt and the combined light of the two is less than either. After a few friendly e-mails to and from Chris @ Marwi I called and got an RA# and sent it in for an evaluation. I just got a call tonight and they could find nothing wrong with it but if I wanted to buy a new battery they would be happy to sell me one because it Might make it brighter. I have always kept the battery fully charged and have only used it twenty or thirty times. A new battery is $100.oo and in my opinion it's just not worth it for the possibility of a system that works as advertised. I'll just save my money for a new system from a different company next spring. At least they were kind enough not to charge me postage to return my light to me.
Great Light! I didn't understand the assembly and self recked the unit. They repaired it and sent it back for 10 bucks. I also had the screw on the mount just come off. Easy to replace.
The light is abundant, but not as white as my brother's nightrider, but he paid a heck of alot more than me.
Bike Setup: Giant XTC SE1 with various parts replaced.
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Submitted by
Lee Acosta
a Weekend Warrior
from Arvada, CO, USA
Date Reviewed: May 31, 2003
Strengths: Remote thumbswitch, low weight, burn time, 35 watts.
Weaknesses: Handlebar mount does not adjust well to bars, on technical downhill light to battery connector pulls apart...very bad. Customer service is lacking, they are rarely available on the phone and do not return calls. Crashed and broke plastic piece joining light to mount, Marwi repair department seems baffled as to how to fix.
Bottom Line:
Good light set, but spend the extra money and save yourself the hassle if you should ever wreck, go with a more reputable brand.
Bike Setup: Diomond Back XR1, XT group, SID fork/shock.
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Submitted by
Jack Daniels
a Cross Country Rider
from Boulder
Date Reviewed: November 29, 2002
Strengths: Lights are bright, burn time is long. Customer service rocks...i crashed and burned, broke my lights, and the Marwi folks replaced them at a minimal charge in no time. This might sounds strange, but the lights fit well in bottle cage. Other lights require straps to hold the battery in, and i've even used lights that didn't fit in a standard cage. These lights are a great deal for the money.
Weaknesses: 20 hour charge is pretty long.
Bottom Line:
These are sweet lights, great quality and a good price. If you have any problems, the customer service (unlike Niterider) is second to none.
Similar Products Used: Niterider Blowtorch, some other digital NR, Specialized Fireballs.
Bike Setup: Several.
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Submitted by
Steve
a Cross Country Rider
from Carlsbad, CA
Date Reviewed: November 27, 2002
Strengths: Price, adjustable mounting bracket, reliability, best bang for the buck in my opinion
Weaknesses: Bulky battery (even though it fits nicely in water bottle cage). Make sure the Cage is compressed a little before inserting battery. The battery almost launched itself outta my road bike one morning after hitting a bump a little too quickly. Could also say battery charging time at 20 hours for a full recharge, but at this price, I can't complain. Housing can get hot, just be careful while turning off while riding.
Bottom Line:
For $190, this was a great deal. The 15w light is what I use on the road, the 20w light on the trails. Both work great and the burn time is perfect at 2.4 hours @ 20w and 3.3 hours at 15w.
For ~$200 you cannot go wrong. Rarely will you want or need to use both lights at once for 35w. The payoff just isn't there, but having both gives you options. And if one light goes down, you have the other as a backup.
The NiMH battery is a little bulky as noted in the weaknesses section. A tie on strap might be anice addition but could easily be jury rigged at home. A nice change might be a compact cage mount battery like L+M has.
You should buy this if you are new to night riding and really want to extend your riding season. I was convinced I would be doing a lot of NR's but didn't want to spend $400. Great value for the $$.
Similar Products Used: Light and Motion Cabeza Logic (used as helmet mount for trail riding to have bars lights and helmet).
Bike Setup: Santa Cruz SL
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Submitted by
Damon Bennett
a Weekend Warrior
from Sydney Australia
Date Reviewed: June 7, 2002
Strengths: Excellent CNC machining, light, bright, and lightweight batteries
Weaknesses: none yet
Bottom Line:
Great product thus far, I have 2 battery packs for cyclic charge during 24h events which hasn't failed yet, The weight advantage over most other battery systems is a plus, so is the manufacturing detail, I might look for a tighter focus on my next bulb, and even up the wattage,as the current ones a little too broad for higher speed fire trails.
Similar Products Used: Vistalight Nightstix, Cygolight
Bike Setup: 2000 Zaskar,CK Hubs,etc new Hope mini's (the Formula's had to go, like the XT hub)
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Submitted by
Steve
a Weekend Warrior
from Ontario, Canada
Date Reviewed: May 22, 2002
Strengths: Very long burn time, low cost relative to comperable burn times from other vendors.
Weaknesses: Very long charge time (20 hrs!!) and *TERRIBLE* heat shielding.
Bottom Line:
After charging it up for the first time I wanted to cycle the battery through a few charges and also verify the burn time claims in anticipation of an upcoming 12 hr relay race. The light was on for 2 hours when I took the bike out for a ride. One button is on the back of a lamp while the other is on a remote. As I turned off the lamp using the button on its back, the plastic supports holding this button just melted and the button sank into the lamp housing. This button is now useless and the light can't be turned on.
I don't know if it's a lemon or just a bad product, but this is going back to the store ASAP and I have no intention of accepting a replacement unit. I say it's just junk construction.
Strengths: weight, brightness, duration, lowish price, single quick-release
Weaknesses: No burn time gauge
Bottom Line:
Good setup which works year round. I've had a problem with my head unit with the battery's connector not working properly (hence no charge or flickering), so I've yet to see how warranty will do. Nice microadjustments to have each light at a different angle and be able to rotate the whole unit. Individual switches make it easy to turn one off for power savings.
Bike Setup: SantaCruz Superlight, Sram and Raceface, Crossmax UST
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Submitted by
Josh
a Weekend Warrior
from Austin, TX, USA
Date Reviewed: January 3, 2002
Strengths: Independently aimable light heads, GREAT performance, PRICE, weight... the list goes on.
Weaknesses: #1 weakness: NO FAST CHARGER... Not even an upgrade option (yet). Marwi says they're working on one.
#2 weakness: It'd be nice if there were two remote switches (one for each lamp) instead of just one, so you could control the lights independently.
Bottom Line:
These lights may be the best value out there in the $150+ range of lights with NiMH batteries.
After mixed experiences with the Nite Rider Classic Plus (tried several systems) which cost me at a 24 hr race, I looked elsewhere and found this one. At under $200 street price these lights beat the Nite Rider duals hands-down.
The battery had a problem which is aparently common with some of the other Marwi-made systems (like the Performance Bike stuff) wherein a current-cut-out switch in the battery thinks the battery's shorted and turns it almost off when you turn on both lamps. Marwi promptly replaced the battery for me when this problem came up, but it was a hassle.
These lights are super bright, they run over 2 hours with a very bright 15W light and they're easy to adjust and set up. Light weight. Great value.
The lights have a necessary 20W flood for lighting up twisty singletrack (need a flood to see around corners) and the 15W intermediate spot is right on for most normal trail riding. If you need lots of light, you're value conscious and don't need a fast charger, then these lights are for you.
Similar Products Used: Nite Rider Classic Plus, Night Sun Team
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Submitted by
Reed Hughes
a Cross Country Rider
from Hamilton, Ohio
Date Reviewed: November 13, 2001
Strengths: This is for the Marwi Nightpro Single. Light and bright for a 12w. Simple setup for your helmet and long cord allows battery to sink to the bottom of your camelbak and still allows your head to move freely. Holds a charge extremely well. I get longer than the 2hr burn Marwi promises but I haven't timed it past that.
Weaknesses: Takes a little while to dial in the right projection angle but once you find it - it isn't moving on you.
Bottom Line:
Good light at a GREAT price. Check out bikerbob.com and compare prices. Best prices I've ever found and excellent service.
