Strengths: Light up quite good, cables are secure and all is working reliable, light weight, not to big.
Weaknesses: Battery time can always be better, it's ok but dont last as long as i would like to. Should be led lights then the batt would last longer, snapp on fastening me no like.
Bottom Line:
For the price this is a real good buy, you get a real good package for the money. Can always get a bigger batt or make one yourself, other then that it's a real good light for your bike.
I bought the Sigma Sport Mirage EVO X Pro, which has 1 Headlight 10W with High/Low setting and NiHM Battery Pack.
[10W High Beam]
1st Charge: 6 HR - Runtime of Headlight - 3 MIN
2nd Charge: 9 HR - Runtime of Headlight - 55 MIN
3rd Charge: 5 HR - Runtime of Headlight - 1 HR 20 MIN
Hopefully the 4th Charge will get 1 HR 30 MIN, probably the best that can be hoped for.
The 1 HR 30 MIN runtime is OK, 2 HR would be great.
I can see good enough to ride 10-15 MPH in complete
darkness. The beam pattern is acceptable, but could be
a little wider. Shines out to 60 feet - able to avoid
chuck holes/derbis.
The 5W Low setting would be OK in Urban (Lighted) areas.
The low weight of headlight and battery (2 lbs.) is great, the mounting options came in handy on my bike. I have the gear shifters mounted on handle bars, so I used the T-Bone mounting.
I liked it enough that I bought an 2nd one, so I could ride 3 HR @ 10W.
On Sale at http://www.spinlitecycling.com/specials.htm for $50.00 + $12.00 SH now, regular price is $95.
Weaknesses: Battery runs out of power in 1 hour, light pattern of the Evo is a joke
Bottom Line:
I have the pro-set w two Nipack Ni-MH batteries. The Evo X pro has a fair light ouput, my only complaint is that the beam could be wider. Most of the time I use it on the helmet, and unlike the heavy Nite Rider hids that keep pulling my helmet causing a headache, the Sigma light is very light, in a few minutes you get used to the minimal added weight on your helmet. The 5W Evo is a joke. It has a strange light pattern, totaly unusable. The batteries last for about an hour (on uphills I switch the Evo X Pro on the low output, and use the high output on the downhills), that is way too short for a good night ride. So I ended up using the Evo X Pro only, mounted on my helmet. One battery powers the light, the other goes to my backpack as a spare. This way I am able to ride 2 hours offroad. An old, tuned-up cateye is mounted on my bar to replace the poor Evo. If you still think the Sigmas are your way, I don't recommend the set, better buy the EvoX pro w a Nipack, and buy another for spare. However there are better systems on the market on just a bit higher cost. I am either going for the new PowerLed with the li-ion battery pack or look elsewhere.
Strengths: Price, excellent brightness, possibility of helmet mount, easy and quick installation, no tools required for installation, no stupid adapters on the bike after the lights are removed, lots of room on the handlebar even with the mounted lights, both lights can easily be turned off seperatly
Weaknesses: short battery life (4.5h on the EVO, 2.5h on the EVO-X, 1.75h when both are constantly on)
Bottom Line:
There are better lights but they also cost as much as an intermediate bicycle. For this price, this is about the best you can get. The mounting device is definitively a highlight and if you don't plan on riding for more than 2 hours before you take a 6h-break (to charge the battery), this is THE light.
Similar Products Used: Almost every other affordable bike-light out there.
Bike Setup: Canyon w/ Fox fork, XTR/Sram XO, Formula oro disc brakes Specialized Allez Elite w/ Ultegra
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Hazen
a Weekend Warrior
from Lexington, MA
Date Reviewed: January 10, 2008
Strengths: It seemed to be bright enough when it worked.
Weaknesses: I found it to be quite unreliable.
Bottom Line:
I bought this light for night time commuting from a LBS who said that it was the brightest that they had. It took me quite a bit of fiddling to get it to work even out of the box. There is a fuse inside the battery case that seemed to be a bit underrated as I blew 2-3 of them almost immediately before finally installing one with twice the rating. After that it worked well enough for about a month, though it had bad habit of turning off at inopportune times. Now, after not using the light for about a month, it does not work at all despite a full recharge. When carefully coaxed the light will turn on for about a minute before turning off again. In short, I have been pretty disappointed. My old $20 Cateye is much more reliable.
Similar Products Used: Cateye 4AA bar mount lights & equivalent.
Bike Setup: Trek 5200
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Gabor Kulcsar
a Cross Country Rider
from Budapest, Hungary
Date Reviewed: January 9, 2008
Strengths: Price/performance was not bad at the time, also the EvoX 10w spot is bright enough for cautious trail use. I liked the bar and helmet mounts.
Weaknesses: The EvoX circuit board died after a year's usage (I smoked a transistor, I don't know how), and since I'm not a techie I couldn't repair it properly - never mind, I just direct connected the battery input so now I can't turn it off (I have to unplug the battery cable). It is close to impossible to source 6V MR11 bulbs locally (12V types are dirt cheap and available), and this kills one of the biggest advantages of a halogen light...). The Evo (5W) light pattern is quite useless... the EvoX 10w used at half power is even worse. Battery life is poor (less than 1 hour with the lead-acid pack, less than 2 hours with the NiMh).
Bottom Line:
This has been a quite decent introductory product to night riding - the 10w EvoX is sufficient for riding forest trails when mounted on the helmet. The Evo is not up to the task though, the beam pattern is rubbish with a small hotspot, and the light spill is nowhere near enough. I wouldn't recommend these to anyone anymore because of the recent advances in LED technology, however it was a nice entry system a few years ago, and it was the one that got me hooked up on night riding.
Similar Products Used: 1 and 3 powerled systems (Dinotte), the EvoX 10w is almost as bright as the Dinotte 200L, but the yellow-red color of the halogen bulb makes it look like less bright.
Bike Setup: On-One 29er
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Tate Colbert
a Weekend Warrior
from Norwood, MA
Date Reviewed: October 12, 2007
Strengths: inexpensive
Weaknesses: a little bit short battery life, but you get what you pay for, i dont know what the others that had reviewed this product were smoking but it clearly states on the box the battery life of both lights, evo, or evo x. and they all must have deep discharged the battery, that would explain the battery death.
Bottom Line:
good for a trail rider that is only looking for an hour or two at most and arent gonna enter a 24 hour race, if you decide to upgrade go with the nipack and the helmet adapter for the evo x, and just ride hard
Submitted by
Dresden
a Cross Country Rider
from USA
Date Reviewed: October 11, 2007
Strengths: the light is bright
Weaknesses: Battery life/One didn't evenwork out of the box(I bought 2)
Bottom Line:
This would be a good light if the battery had some life to it...on high beam you get maybe 30 mins which sucks...the low is a bit longer but not by much...you might get 45 mins..maybe an hour...but thats pushing it...which sucks...I had bought 2 of them cause my first one stopped working...I dunno why...it doesnt come with a smart charger...so basically this thing sucks...do not buy it...if it was given to you...give it back...its just plain crap.
Submitted by
Dave Ferrari
a
from Canberra, Australia
Date Reviewed: September 13, 2007
Strengths: Great brightness. Two-unit setup give you lots of control over where they're pointing
Weaknesses: Short battery life. Cable joints come loose. Unreliable - one dead at less than six months old.
Bottom Line:
I bought these pretty cheap (A$140) off the net for commuting, so the short battery life (the factory quotes 2hrs, reality is just under 1hr at full power) wasn't a big problem.
The picture-based instructions are vague - I still don't quite know what the meaning of the LED indicators on the top of the units! - but good enough for the simple tool-free installation.
The cable connections are junk - I use tape to hold mine together after a few too many unfortunately-timed disconnections.
The set-up of two separate units (5W distibuted light, 10W spotlight) is a great idea that gives you plenty of control over the light going where you need it. I used the 5W on the handlebars and the spotlight on the helmet, which works a treat in the forest, although I still feel I could have used more light overall.
Now that I've discovered XC night riding I was already thinking of upgrading to something with a longer lasting battery, and then... at less than six months old the 10W unit has died on me!
Overall: - total output is ok, but not fantastic; - the battery life isn't long enough to get a decent off-road ride in (but good enough for the commuter); - I'm very unhappy that this thing's already dead; and - we'll have to wait and see how the warranty process goes. Sigma's a pretty reputable company, so I'm expecting this to go smoothly.
Certainly not the best gear on earth. We've all got 20-20 hindsight, and I'll probably choose an HID next time around.
Strengths: It works. Its the Sigma Endurance Kit, Mirage Evo - Evo X* pro.
Weaknesses: No loger rides than 6 hours
Bottom Line:
Sold in a case (incl. 2 NiMH !!!)
Light Weight: Two NiMH battery packs (350g ea.) can be mounted on your stem, top tube, down tube, or stored in your jersey pocket/hydration pack to provide you with 2-8 hours of burn time. Easy to Use: Tool Free installation/removal, low battery indicator lights, and a smart charger with battery status indicator. Also includes Cube rider LED tail light.
MIRAGE EVO + EVO X PRO Features
Tool-free click-mounting (Unifit 22-32mm) Horizontally adjustable Battery indicator Extra-long burn time, up to 4 h with NIPACK T-Bone inclusive Watertight Click button
Included are :
MIRAGE EVO + EVO X 2 NIPACK Charger T-Bone Y-Adapter Helmet bracket Extension cable Cube rider rear light
Bike Setup: Cube Reaction, XT, XT-DC, VDO C4 and Reba Race- U-turn.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Dresden
a Cross Country Rider
from USA
Date Reviewed: August 9, 2007
Strengths: The light was bright...when it worked.
Weaknesses: Lemme see where do I start at?....the battery sucks...it says 1-3 hours of burn time but that isnt even accurate...on the highest setting you maybe get 30 mins if that...the 2nd one I got I used once and it just stopped working...its just CRAP.
Bottom Line:
dont buy it. save your money for something better with a better battery otherwise youre going to be swearing at these guys like I did..but for $50 it wasnt like I was out a bunch of money.
Submitted by
Scott Sparkman
a Racer
from Canberra, Australia
Date Reviewed: July 31, 2007
Strengths: Good set of mounting hardware. Two different lights, and you can use both of them at the same time if required.
Weaknesses: Battery life doesn't last anywhere near as long as promised, light turns itself off if you hit a bump hard enough to wiggle the lead. My only real gripe is that it claimed to last two hours using the 10w setting, and it has lasted at best 1 hr 10 minutes, and I bought two sets, and they're both the same, actually one lasts only 1 hr 5 minutes. Investigating warranty. Would probably be inclined not to buy them, and put the $$ towards a set of Niteriders or similar. Am going to upgrade.
Bottom Line:
Don't bother, doesn't deliver great light and doesn't last long enough for the money. Got ripped over here in australia. If you are a commuter who needs only an hour or so of mildly useful light - fill your boots.
