Weaknesses: Price, reliability (light no longer works, period!)
Bottom Line:
This light acted up from day one. The first time I disconnected the battery from the light to put it in my bike bag so I could walk around without the light accidentally turning on caused the LED indicator to drop to just a fluttering red when the battery was reconnected. However, the battery was fully charged. The light still worked, just no battery indication. I lived with it like this for quite some time because I needed the light for commuting. THEN IT GOT WORSE! I would be riding to work in the early morning dark with a full battery indication when it would drop to a flashing red LED with the headlamp at it's lowest setting and I couldn't change it. This is after only 15 min. at the 12 watt setting! I still used it for awhile with these annoying problems that eventually became 100% consistent. They would happen all the time. I finally took it back to them explaining the symptoms to one of their so-called enginneers. He took me to the back where they build the lights because he wanted to show me a new, more expensive light. It was a small, unimpressive facility in one of those small industrial complexes that it shares with other small businesses. I understood why my light sucked so bad after seeing where it was built. Everything is done by hand which is fine if you have skilled labor. NiteRider obviously has unskilled labor and ABSOLUTELY NO QUALITY CONTROL DEPARTMENT! I suspect hasty assembly to keep up with the demands of unfortunate consumers like myself. Anyways, I was told I needed a new battery which I paid for because the warranty was up (about $50). When I got it back on the bike and went for a ride, I found that the problems were still there, no change. This means that they never tested it before giving it back to me! In fact, I suspect they didn't even look at the light; just sold me another battery. This p**ses me off!! Now I live in Anaheim which is about 2hrs. from NiteRider in San Diego and the light completely crapped out today. Because of the faulty electronics and battery indication, I never know if the battery really needs charging or if the overcharge safety feature works. But I plugged in the charger and got a full charge indication after it sat for awhile. So I unplugged the charger and went to turn on the light. It came on for a millisecond and went out, for good. Now it doesn't do anything. I also have the tailight that goes with this headlamp and because it's controlled by the same brain as the rest of the system, it no longer works either. Now that I live farther away from the NiteRider facility (I used to live close and they only have one!) this is going to be a pain to resolve, if that's possible. I will try to call them tomorrow (good luck!) and see what they are willing to do for me. I may show up in person again. For anybody that lives close enough, this would be the best bet. I feel for the people who have to ship their defective product for repairs that may not even happen because shipping comes out of their pockets. This can drag on and on and leave you with no hair. Don't let the good reviews here sway you. People are more compelled to write a good review than a bad one. When you're angry you don't feel like reviewing a product you paid for and found out you got ripped. I almost didn't write this one. For the money this light costs it isn't worth the gamble. Especially if you live far away from NiteRider. Your light may or may not work as it's supposed to. It may not work at all! It all depends on which employee had a part in the light's construction and/or the quality of the electronics and other parts being used. Because of this inconsistency with properly working products, I CANNOT RECOMMEND NiteRider to anyone, especially considering their price points. Not to mention my own experience with them (which isn't over) that is shared by many others.
Purchased At: South Bay Bicycles in National City, CA
Similar Products Used: none
Bike Setup: Univega mountain bike with full suspension that I only use for the street. Full suspension because our roads suck.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
mike b
a Cross Country Rider
from Sodom of the North
Date Reviewed: November 18, 2001
Strengths: it's bright. ability to cycle through 6-9-12 low beams. ease of operation/mounting lightweight reasonably long run time
Weaknesses: THE AMOUNT OF SUPPORT YOU GET FROM NITERIDER. NITERIDER'S CUSTOMER SERVICE AND TELEPHONE SYSTEM. the system is apparently not waterproof the original chips in the controller unit were ganchy
Bottom Line:
i don't want to harsh on niterider too badly because this is a pretty good light system. (when it's not raining) however, i feel compelled to savagely curse them every time i think about my very last experience using my very EXPENSIVE dual beam niterider light system.
i was riding to work in san francisco during a heavy rain storm on monday, november 12. i was using my six watt beam in order to be seen during the heavy rain. everything was OK until i arrived at our warehouse, when i noticed both my beams were on after i had shut the system off. i went to switch my lights off, only to discover that the left side (20w) bulb would not shut off whatever i did.
i tried to call niterider in san diego to discuss this problem with them, but thier phone system was down. i nor my local independant niterider dealer have been able to reach them by telephone since.
their response to my email detailing what happened was a form letter.
i have sent this very same system back to niterider before, for basically the same reason--problems with the switch/chip/controller whatever after or during riding in wet conditions. (i had to ride a very difficult trail at night in the rain when the thing failed the first time)
NOW THEY ARE TELLING MY BIKE SHOP (not the shop where i purchased it, but a niterider dealer) THAT THEY WILL NOT FIX THE LIGHT BECUASE THE WARRANTY HAS EXPIRED AND THAT NITERIDER DOES NOT STOCK THE REPLACEMENT PARTS TO THIS SYSTEM ANYMORE. what kind of crap is this?!?!
instead, they're offering me a credit--a hundred and fifteen dollars towards the purchase of a new system.
other than what i've described above, the digital pro twelve is a pretty good system. however, i'd take into consideration what i've written above and what the previous reviewer has railed about before purchasing a niterider product. keep in mind that i have owned a niterider classic in the past as well and have experienced the same problems with their warranty and customer service departments three years ago that i've experienced today.
the bike shop i deal with now is so disgusted with niterider that he is considering dropping them and selling another line of lights.
Don't buy any niterider system. I sent my light in at the beginning of September. It is now the middle of November and they said it they wouldn't look at it for at least another 3 weeks! My LBS let me borrow the same lite system and it suffered the same symptoms: lights go out during rough technical sections, lights would blink on and off on rooted sections. The 2nd bulb would stop working. Found out yesteday that NiteRider has to recall a bunch of their chargers because they are wired backwards! I sent this same light back for repair a year ago. Took 2 months for them to send it back. Worked to the end of last season. Bought a Cateye Stadium 3. Will review in a month or two. Stay away from Niteriders!
Bike Setup: Seven Cycles Ti, XTR, Time pedals, Girven fork
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Tom Meier
a Racer
from Saint Paul, MN
Date Reviewed: August 13, 2001
Strengths: Even the availability of charging facilities at 24 hr. venues is dubious because the operator probably won't show up for work.
Weaknesses: IS THERE AN ECHO IN HERE? 1)Price -- get yourself a nice new wheelset instead; 2)Function -- consistent failure at the furthest point from the line despite perfect function during trial laps in daylight; 3)Service -- send your unit in for routine work and expect it back before the end of NEXT season (if your phone calls are persistent enough).
Bottom Line:
I recommend going to great lengths to avoid any sort of business relationship with this company.
Seriously, I rarely experience sentiments like these, and wish only to help others avoid similar frustration.
These people do everything except leave a flaming bag of dog caca on your front porch.
Submitted by
Brian Kaiser
a Cross Country Rider
from Reno, NV 89523
Date Reviewed: July 23, 2001
Strengths: tons o light, burns forever, BUT...
Weaknesses: As a followup to my post here 6/00, I raced with this light in another 24 hr race and, again, the light went bezerk somewhere around midnight, making me go bezerk somewhere around 1a. This is unacceptable in any product at this price point. Last summer Niterider had this light for 2 months fixing it and it came back in the same condition, this summer, it has been at their shop for a month and I still have not heard from them. The 24hr of Tahoe is coming up in 3 weeks and I seriously doubt I'll have my light back in time...looks like I'm borrowing from someone (again). It's one thing to have your product fail, yet another for the company to hardly stand behind it. OK, they're a small company with minimal staff...Fine. Replace the damn light and be done with it. Instead, my light has spend the past 2 summers out of my possession awaiting repairs. This sucks.
Bottom Line:
My light is a total piece of crap, but everyone I know has Niterider lights that function OK so maybe it's just MY piece of crap. Beware, though, that should you require service from Niterider, you may be in for one hell of a wait. For my money, I'll tape $200 worth of KMart flashlights to my bike for the upcoming race and see how THEY perform.
Similar Products Used: Niterider Classic, headtrip, etc.
Bike Setup: 98 Rocky Mtn Thin Air
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Brian Kaiser
a Racer
from Reno, NV, USA
Date Reviewed: June 14, 2000
Strengths: Bright, long-lasting light. Tons of choices regarding how much light it puts out meets all conditions.
Weaknesses: The light failed on both of my night laps during the last 24Hour race I did at Tahoe. It would start cycling through all of its settings (including off) which is WAY scary when you are downhilling at 30 mph at night. Night Rider was at the race, and they gave me another battery to use but I encountered the same problem. They kept the light for two months getting it fixed, and hopefully it doesn't happen again, but I have not had the opportunity to try it out in the cold.
Bottom Line:
Awesome light, but very expensive (what isn't) and stranded me twice. Properly functioning, though, this is one nice unit with high quality-feeling parts and connections.
Bike Setup: Rocky Mountain Thin Air and Hammer Race (single speed)
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Jer
a Weekend Warrior
from San Francisco, CA
Date Reviewed: March 18, 2000
Strengths: Bright Bulletproof Charger won't kill your battery Long Run Times
Weaknesses: Heavy Expensive Useless dual beam
Bottom Line:
This is an ok light if you have the money. If you're on a budget, I would think that other lights would do the same job for much less.
The dual beams are a mixed blessing. It's always nice to light up everything with the 20 watt flood. The 12 watt spott has an ok beam pattern, a bit too focused to see anything beyond the spot of light. The big problem with the dual beam is that they are always pointed in the same direction. Using both beams at the same time is horribly wasteful; it drops battery life to an hour or so and produces no more visibility than the 20 watt flood.
The waterbottle battery pack weighs a ton, and takes up just as much space. If you use this light to run errands at night, involving a lot of getting off your bike and locking it up, you need a backpack. Then again, the light is durable. I've dropped the battery pack and the light housing a couple of times, and biked in pouring rain. No problems.
If you're gonna spend so much money for this light, you might as well get the taillight. The one thing NiteRider got right was the taillight, which is bright enough to be seen at daylight. People have commented on its brightness, and it can be seen in a huge arc, since the housing is transparent.
Submitted by
cocheese
a Cross-Country Rider
from Shreveport, LA
Date Reviewed: July 2, 1999
Strengths: Brightness variable burn times sos feature lightweight quality
Weaknesses: price
Bottom Line:
This thing really will light up the trail like a landing strip. There are many different burn times from which to choose allowing you many options. The SOS feature is something that would REALLY come in handy if you needed it. I hope I never need to use that particular feature of the system, but if I did need it...well, it could save a life! The sheer quality of this system is really something to behold. The price is high, but you are paying for what is essentially a superior product from a reputable company that I'm sure will be around for a while.
Strengths: Bright, tough, excellent service & support
Weaknesses: Mount design still needs work, but...
Bottom Line:
Some time ago I followed up a favorable review with a lousy one after an evening ride that was greatly hampered by having to constantly reposition the lighthead which would slip down after every bump. A short time later I posted a makeshift solution involving a rolled up rubber shim shoved under the lightheads clip which, after it ages a bit, no longer holds firmly in the mount holes without help.
In response to this I got mail from John Haywood at NR who sent me a redesigned clip that he said should help the problem. It's the same clip, but with a thick rubber square glued just below where I had put the shim (for the record I did try to put the shim the same place NR put the square, but I lacked a glue strong enough to keep it there).
I am pleased to report that the new clip seems to be holding up much better than than the old ones did. The rubber makes it a bit harder to slide the light up on the fly, but it's better than my shim was.
Alas the shim doesn't seem to be compatible with my solution to the mounts lack of adjustability which was to swap the front of the handlebar mount with a more adjustable helmet mount. After a few rides the swapped part broke, probably because it had a tighter curve than the old and couldn't handle the stronger clip.
Still, kudos to NR for for watching, responding, and apparently acting on a customer suggestion. 6 stars if I could give them for great support on what is still a damned good light. Though if anyone from NR is listening I have ideas for a mount design that would fix _all_ the problems... :)
Submitted by
Henri Throop
a Cross-Country Rider
from Boulder, CO
Date Reviewed: May 1, 1999
Bottom Line:
Feature-wise and quality-wise, this is the best light on the market. It's bright,k reliable, and durable. The company replaced a mounting bracket that broke after two years, no charge. The rear flasher is bright and well-designed.One point off for the high price and the lousy mount design. I had to doctor mine up so it would even point straight ahead.
Submitted by
John Gilkenson
a racer
from Alpharetta,GA USA
Date Reviewed: February 9, 1999
Bottom Line:
Awsome light!The light withstood many bumpy obsticals.It does no run for very long on that battery.It lit up the nite sky and out shown my friends vista light.I reccomend this light to any serious night time rider.
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
evan martin
a cross-country rider
from virginia beach, va
Date Reviewed: December 26, 1998
Bottom Line:
this light is the brightest and the most durable bike light i have ever seen. i use a lot, even on the trails and i have no complaints. i'll never worry about someone hitting me with their car because my light wasn't bright enough.
Problem 1: The little curved bit of plastic in the back of the lighthead doesn't hold its shape and eventually (actually pretty quickly) bends forward, becoming unable to firmly hold the peg in the mount holes - in fact, it actually pulls it out. This cause the lighthead to slip down, most often in the kind of terrain where you most need the light and where you are least able to futz with the mount.Solution: A rolled up rubber shim shoved between the lighthead and its attached clip keeps the clip firmly in the mount hole. This makes the light harder to move when you _want_ to move it, but different shim thicknesses/hardness/materials should find one that leaves the light adjustable enough without letting it slide freely.Problem 2: The handlebar mount only has three widely spaced positions, which can usually be described as too high, too low, and useless.Solution: Nightriders helmet mounts use a series of shallow ridges rather than 3 deep holes to hold the light. This allows finer adjustment but the shoddy clip design would never be able to grip the ridges under handlebar vibration, which I assume is why NR uses the deep holes there. But with a shim shoved in the clip it holds fine, and because the clip needn't be pushed forward as far to move the light, the light head is easier to move when you want to move it than it would be with the deep-holed mount. In fact for me pushing against the back of the clip nicely drops the light down one notch, no fuss no muss. Raising it up is slightly less elegant, but still worlds easier than with the original mount.SO - swap the front of the handlebar mount with the front of a helmet mount, shove a rolled up shim under the clip and VIOLA. The lighthead is now adjustable in usably fine increments, and no longer slips (ok if you REALLY bump it drops one small notch). So my question is: if NRs mount problems can be fixed with a rubber shim and a mount they themselves already make, why is it so hard for NRs highly paid engineers to fix it?I am now completely happy with my Nightrider, but they still get one chili off for making me finish their mount design without putting me on their payroll.
Not much else to add to the great reviews here on this lighting system except to say that I've gotten pulled over a few times by motorists who ask in amazement where I got my rear tailight. I continuely hear that they've never seen anything brighter. 10 chilis for the whole package.
It is truely rare to make a purchase this expensive and have it exceed my expectations. This light is exceptional. I rode with it for the first time last night (I will re-post if I have any problems with it)and I was amazed. I rode a variety of trails ranging from smooth, twisty flats, to technical climbs to staircase-like decents. With five light settings and three mounting angles, it is possible to select a light setting or a mount angle on the fly to fit any conditions I came across. I had no problems with the mount shifting positions. In fact, I rode down technical sections and went off kickers to try and bounce the mount--no problems. Night riding is definatly a pay-to-play sport. Based on my experience the NiteRider is worth the price of admission.
