Submitted by
Crashcousins
a Downhiller
from Richmond B.C., Canada
Date Reviewed: December 31, 2009
Strengths: Very bright, provides a wicked light for downhill night riding.
Weaknesses: Battery life sucks, big time. I am lucky if i get 40 minutes when they claim 2.5 hours.
Bottom Line:
If you want a really good light for short rides its great. Don't get it for long night rides. I would only recommend it to someone i hate.
The 19 dollar light i bought for my dog is still on its first aa battery and i have used it twice to get me off the mountain.
For the price, this light is great but the battery is pathetic.
For sale
cheap.
Submitted by
alanchan
a Cross Country Rider
from Toronto, Canada
Date Reviewed: October 15, 2009
Strengths: BRIGHT, great light colors, that yellow ring help
Weaknesses: - mount (battery & light)
- long cable which makes it messy
- short runtime for its huge capacity battery
- 36 degrees flood version is too wide. Put in another way, maybe not too wide be definitely not far enough. So I will go for the spot version next time.
- big
- hot
- heavy
Bottom Line:
If you don't care about design and just want pure brightness for the lowest cost, look no further, this is it! It is very bright because it was design for MX/ATV, not MTB.
The hardest part of making parts for bikes is weight and size while keeping the quality and performances. This was not taken into consideration when they design this product as it was not design for MTB in the first place.
The battery is huge to be mount on stem or top cap which is where it was design for. It also won't fit a water bottle cage as it is too wide. You can run it to a saddle pack but the cable is all messy then. Altho the brightness makes up for runtime, its really too short and some rider may need to carry a spare battery which will be additional cost and a lot of additional weight!
The lamp is big compared to any bike lights out there. It gets quite hot and you have to keep it air cool.
Flood version does not shoot far enough. I went for the flood version as my first thought was aiming 1850 lumens in spot will make the trail go on fire! Altho bar light it suppose to be wide, (this light is wide at 36 degrees), it needs to be wide and shine trails in front. With the flood, its wider then a car light almost but only shines up three meters which is too short for my application.
Similar Products Used: Jetlites HID/halogen, P7 LED
Bike Setup: Many...
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
Ben Niceknownya
a Weekend Warrior
from Grand Junction, CO
Date Reviewed: October 12, 2009
Strengths: BRIGHT, best $/lumen value
Weaknesses: ? Given price - none.
Bottom Line:
Given the price and brightness its hard to imagine anything better. I get about 2:10 to 2:30 minutes per charge. Yes, I wish it lasted longer, but if that is too little, you can purchase a second battery for $100, double the run time, and still spend less than all lights half as bright cost.
I have the flood mounted on my helmet. Works awesome. It isn't as light as air, but I don't notice it. Not even on 2 hour rides. The battery goes in the hydration pack and that's that. Its like riding during the day, only cooler (literally and figuratively), less people, and different wildlife. No need for any additional lights (i.e., handlebar). If you ride with others, be fast and ride in front, or give them lots of room. Other wise your light is so bright they'll be riding in a shadow all night (not the nicest of things to do).
I bought this last year to do crazy winter rides up in Houghton MI (300+inches of snow a winter). For the price, nothing beats it. I would go out for 2 hour rides at temps between 10 and -10*F without fear. I've also done a bunch of trail rides with it this summer. It so bright, even mounted on your handlebars, you can go full speed through twisty singletrack. Battery life is very good even at low temps. I did one 1.5 hour ride where the starting temp was -2*F and final temp of -10*F and the battery outlasted me.
Now the downsides from most to least significant. The handlebar mount sucks. Its made for dirt bike handlebars, so it is too small for the 31.0 mm thick part of the bar, and too big for the area where the shifters mount.
Battery shape kinda sucks. Its not overall that big or heavy, however, its thick and wide. It is much wider then a standard waterbottle, so you can't fab up a waterbottle mount. Because of this, I had to get a big saddle bag and route the cord along the frame.
Both the mass and size are rather large. I'm not doing night races, so I really don't care about this. If you do care about this, you may want to look elsewhere.
Bottom line, its a deal for how bright it is, but being designed for motocycles, there are a few drawbacks/quarks. If you can live with them, I recommend it.
Submitted by
GRTDKAD
a Cross Country Rider
from Malvern, UK
Date Reviewed: June 10, 2009
Strengths: I use the MR16 lamp with a Flood pattern beam. Absolutely staggering light levels for the money - really encouraging faster night-time riding...the clarity and depth of field is more than you could wish for
(three kids means most of my riding is after dark). The on/off switch also provides a clear battery life indicator and allows some control when dropping on to public roads to link sections of ride (for the road I just use my helmet mounted Minewt).
Weaknesses: Initial fault on charger sorted quickly by the guys at TrailTech - their service is absolutely spot-on 10/10.
Bottom Line:
Okay - the light is bigger than anything I have ever used and shiiiny chrome!...but the upside is real illumination that can't really be justified in writing. I upgraded from MR11 to MR16 after a matter of weeks as I became an HID/Trail-Tech convert, I would definitely recommend to any night-time XC-ers and 24-hr racers...
Bike Setup: Be-One Killerbee Team XTR - fairly light-weight (sub-22lb) XC set-up
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
mwagne16
a Weekend Warrior
from Sterling Heights, MI, USA
Date Reviewed: June 7, 2009
Strengths: Brightness and Price!!!
Weaknesses: Size and weight.
Bottom Line:
At $300 this light makes the Nite Rider 2.0 HIds look like flashlights. I have the flood on the bar with the battery in a trianble bag below the seat, perfect. I have the 12 degree spot light up high on my head to oversee EVERYTHING. I keep that battery in a belt pack. Great for the dismounts.
The flood really lights thigs up to a near 180 degree field of view, and reaches the tops of trees. The spot is perfect for dealing with shadown from the bar flood, and to see another 100 feet past the flood. You can go full out with this set up.
3,800 lumens for $600 in a combo bar and helmet set up!!!
Favorite Trail: Sterling Heights to Bloomer In Rochester
Duration Product Used: 3 months
Price Paid:
$300.00
Purchased At: bansheestuff.com
Similar Products Used: Nite Rider HIDs
Bike Setup: Trek 4300 disc.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
nightbiker
a Weekend Warrior
from Issaquah, WA USA
Date Reviewed: January 4, 2009
Strengths: brightest light out there.
Weaknesses: It's heavy on the helmet for bikers. Run time is only about 2:10 minutes.
Bottom Line:
This light is amazingly bright. It's like daylight. The only drawback is runtime, so be sure to bring a backup. Once its dead, its dead, there is no low mode or anything like that. They come with 6600 mAh batteryes now, not 7800 like they used to.
Similar Products Used: MR11, TriNewt, SSC P7 flashlights
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Submitted by
Slappy Joe
a Weekend Warrior
from Coon Rapids, MN, USA
Date Reviewed: December 28, 2008
Strengths: Probably the brightest DC light that can be mounted to a bike. 1800 lumens is very similar to a single car headlight or a motorcycle low beam.
Weaknesses: Everything is huge (for the bike world). Large can, large battery, no great way of mounting the battery to your frame as is (the water bottle battery pictured is not stock). Battery is also rather limited to short rides, I use it for fall commuting so it works perfect for me.
Bottom Line:
Buy this light when intensity is a must. Keep in mind this was designed for ATV's and Motorcycles so the manufacture claims a constant pace of 15mph must be attained for proper cooling of the HID bulb. Also, the service department is great, I have had two issues and neither of them resulted in a penny out-of-pocket.
Similar Products Used: Nothing I have used is comparable. This is my only bike headlight as of now.
Bike Setup: Not worth saying, my commuter is a mix of mediocre parts.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Doug Lockhart
a Weekend Warrior
from Cobble Hill, B.C. Canada
Date Reviewed: December 27, 2008
Strengths: Incredible Light, Long Life Lithium battery, simple operation c/w 'fuel gauge', waterproof....so bright you can ride at the same speed as a sunny day. I carry a spare light but don't need it as the wide angle lights up the entire foreground just like daylight...... ;-)
Weaknesses: Gets hot..shut if off if you go for a pee!!!! It'll cycle off from overheat....nothing wrong it just safety shuts down and waits for itself to cool down. If it's raining on it it'll stay on below 55 degF with some water....above 55 degF and dry it'll cycle off from overheating in about 90 seconds with no air over it....
Bottom Line:
Won't use any other light.....the NiteRider is a backup.
Learn how to deal with the hot running and use the wide angle for mountain biking and you've got it made.
Had some issues with the light...factory guys dealt more than fair with me 1 1/2 years later....
Sooooo......I got two of them .....
Bike Setup: 6 Santa Cruzs (Free, Free, Bullit, Nomad(orig), Nomad(new), Blue LT(new)
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
Richard Samford
a Weekend Warrior
from Seattle WA
Date Reviewed: February 7, 2008
Strengths: Bright! Long lasting. did I mention bright? good clean beam spread on my flood version of the light.
Weaknesses: designed for motorcross... some accesories may need to altered to fit mountain biking. Have to keep moving to keep HID cool. manual says can only be stationary for 5 min intervals without air movement over it, reccomended air movement is 5mph - 10 mph.
Bottom Line:
The beam has to be seen to believe... the flood version of the light seems to spread almost 180 degrees. There is a center circle of the beam where the light is the brightest that acts like a spot light within the flood.
super deal... Insane luemen rating for 350 dollars with lithium-Ion battery.
You may need to bust out some of your MCGeyver skills to mount to handlebar as the one in the kit did not fit mine well. However the helmet attatchment works quite well.
Trail lighting with this is insane! you can see every nook and cranny, root, logs etc. With the wide pattern even branches at head level can't hide.
Strengths: Tons of light. Makes every other light on the market look under powered and over price (oh wait they are!)
Weaknesses: DYI mounting, runs hot (keep moving in the summer nights). Rather large/heavy.
Bottom Line:
The light is amazing. Be prepared to be blown away not only by the amount of light but the value. It doesn't seem right getting such an amazing product at 1/2 the price of the competitors that have 1/3 of the light output. Battery lasts long (I have the 3.75hour battery). Only beefs are that it runs hot (at 30watts what do you expect?) but it comes with a safety off switch that will shut the light off before it melts and will automatically turn the light on when it cools back down. It produces a claimed 1850lumens and I believe it. I opted for the flood beam pattern. It is the best option for singletrack IMO. There is also a spot beam pattern that throws forever. It would probably be better in my application as I find on some double track sections I out run the flood beam. Was thinking about getting a spot for my head and put the flood on the bars, since they are such a good price why not? Trail Tech now make a complete system with Li Ion battery and mounting hardware. I would buy this light again in a heartbeat. 5/5 for function, 5/5 for value.
