Submitted by
Brian
a Cross Country Rider
from Gainesville, Fl
Date Reviewed: February 25, 2008
Strengths: Good light for the money, inexpensive, fairly bright, decent battery.
Weaknesses: battery takes forever to charge(9Hours) for a 2 hour run time. the handlebar mount slips if i take large hits. handlebar only lights are stupid. it should come with a helmet mount so that i would have options.
Bottom Line:
Good light for the money but watch out with the handlebar mount . get a helmet mount if its your only light and you ride trails. not for races since it wont last for even a 12 hour.
Submitted by
Mag
a Cross Country Rider
from Aiea, Hi, USA
Date Reviewed: October 9, 2007
Strengths: Simple to set up, looks good, easy to remove (if you don't use zip-ties), good beam for 15 mph
Weaknesses: Battery life, bad beam for 16 mph
Bottom Line:
I bought the light almost a year ago and used it once, but re-charged it and stored it. Have been using it consistantly for two months now, commmuting 30 to 45 mins to work in the dark on streets lit in patches. Worked great (cause I ride about 12 mph, which makes the beam about right) until last week and now it will not charge at all. Just contacted NR, and will inform my LBS today. Think I'm out of warranty on both, though...
-I store my battery pack on the stem (110) and have no cable issues, it all removes cleanly when the knobbies go back on... -The on/off button is no joke- I feel for those who have to play with it while riding! -Think it's time to save my pennies and get an easy, bright, plug-and-play light. (I keep getting what I pay for...)
Similar Products Used: Night Sun Dual, Various AA,C,D Lights
Bike Setup: Specialized FSR: XT, Race Face, Ritchey Set up for commuter use now...
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Mark
a Cross Country Rider
from Riverside
Date Reviewed: October 1, 2003
Strengths: Quick release mount. Simple to use.
Weaknesses: Difficult to adjust angle while riding, the beam would be better as a flood. Bar mount only. Only one power setting. Not enough light for fast trail riding.
Bottom Line:
Not enough light for fast trail riding at night. It's OK for a slow trail ride. This could be a decent complement to a powerful helmet spot light, but the beam on this light is a spot itself, and a wider flood beam would work better.
Similar Products Used: Specialized Fireballs (comp?)
Bike Setup: Trek 4500 w/ 536 spd's, specialized bar ends, panaracer fire xc tires
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Catherine Potter
a Cross Country Rider
from Charlottesville
Date Reviewed: March 1, 2003
Strengths: Battery package! Nice package, decent run time considering it's size/weight.
Weaknesses: What's up with the inflexible cord sticking out of the light head? The light is difficult to get off the mount and I'd just leave it on if I'm gonna use it in the evening, except that I'd have that cord sticking out. Who thought this was a good idea? I bought it for the battery, and will modify to fit my existing VistaLite, which is much more user friendly. Also extra "cable slap" of the inflexible cable makes me think the connections won't last long (Nite Rider advises that you "secure the cable to the frame" Huh? I don't ride ONLY at night and want it off during day rides.)
Also you'd want to upgrade the "dumb" charger.
Bottom Line:
I don't ride enough trails at night to make it worth popping $400 bucks on a lighting system, but if my light does goes out on my commute home I'll be dead in the dark. A decent value for the occasional night rider on non-technical rides, insufficient for the serious nightie.
Similar Products Used: Vista 530- excellent light head but crappy lead acid battery.
Bike Setup: More than one bike, more than one setup.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
fonseca
a Cross Country Rider
from Virginia
Date Reviewed: December 28, 2002
Strengths: Best light for $100
Weaknesses: -Power switch very difficult to push, almost impossible with full finger gloves. -Straight handlebar mount interferes with brake cables, so I can't mount near the stem, and no way to correct the angle when mounted to the side of my riser bar. I had to use an aftermarket bar adapter/extension. -Cable not long enough to mount the battery in a convenient spot on my TT: $20 for a 12" extension cable. -10 watt spot beam is useless on the bars for singletrack: why wasn't the wide beam bulb standard? If a helmet mount had been included it would make sense to have a spot beam, but there isn't one.
Bottom Line:
I'm returning it. After reading the many bar vs helmet debates I thought a bar mounted light would be best, what with depth perception and in dusty/foggy/rainy conditions, but that couldn't be further from the truth. If you ride even slightly technical or twisty singletrack, use a helmet mounted light. With the bar mount, you can't see over log piles or rocks and especially down descents. And what's more, you can't look ahead at the next obstacle when navigating the current one. As for twisty singletrack, if I had a wide beam bulb I believe it would be much easier to see, but with this spot bulb, I am forced to nearly come to a stop at every turn because I can't see.
The evolution seems like a better deal with the included helmet mount, QR bar mount and extension cable. I'm going to get the digital evoltion, however, since has a much faster charger, better battery, 15 watt bulb, and an available car adapter for charging. The TR2 is a great buy, But not satisfactory for the above reasons.
Submitted by
Keith
a Cross Country Rider
from Bainbridge, WA
Date Reviewed: December 23, 2002
Strengths: Bright. Nice looking.
Weaknesses: Battery life could be better. Last about four 25 minutes daily commute, that's less than 2 hours. Poor ergonomics: Power switch seems to be child and adult proof, power connector is a pain to use too.
Bottom Line:
I use the Trailrat for daily commute as an alternate to my 99' Digital Pro 6. The switch is stiff and unresponsive, the connectors seemed to have gone south too. I don't know what the R&D dept in noterider is doing! The battery needs to be charged the night before use, apparently according to the user manual, it loses about 10% charge in the first 24-48 hours. My old Pro-6 seems to have the same battery life at 15W as the trail rat at 10W under normal usage. Bottomline? Disappointing - no more Niteriders for me!
Favorite Trail: Dodging clueless soccer-moms in traffic
Duration Product Used: 3 months
Price Paid:
$89.00
Purchased At: supergo
Similar Products Used: NR digital pro 6
Bike Setup: Klein pinnacle with a buch of XT replacenments
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Seth
a Weekend Warrior
from Saint Paul, MN, USA
Date Reviewed: December 9, 2002
Strengths: Nice and bright. Nice mounting for the bike. Haven't tried the helmet. Battery is nice and small. Seems very sturdy, though I haven't dropped it... yet.
Weaknesses: Takes forever to charge on an empty battery 9 hours. 4-6 hours for an hour of use.
Bottom Line:
First light I ever purchased. I was wary at first because of the reviews of bad chargers and such, but have not had one problem with this one. Hella bright for its size. You can definetly see the potholes coming up. Price is the best because you can buy three or four of them for the price of one of the top of the lines.
The Right Cost for someone who wants their first set of lights. They work well time after time with no hassles. Put One on the helment and One on the bars and they " Thats two of them" still cost you less than any other decent light. My Trail Rats have not failed yet in rain , mud nor crash and they are way better than TV Ride on .....
I am posting this information because I used the reviews and comments of others to assist in selecting a good, versatile light that I felt would be a good fit for my requirements and thought this information, which I don't believe has been posted yet, may be useful to others considering this light.
While I could add a lot of details surrounding my purchase, its subsequent return and charger replacement of my TRII, I will simply say the process had its moments of frustration, but that it appears the issue is resolved at this time and the light is working.
The LBS backed up their product. I also requested and received a personal loaner light while mine was in for repair. The NR Canadian repair group was very quick (I dropped off my unit Monday at the LBS and it was back Friday) and fixed the problem by returning my TRII with a new charger. I think it is important to note that the new charger has a colored/coloured dot on it and the original (defective) unit did not. Draw your own conclusions.
The LBS partially charged the battery before I picked it up and it seemed fine. I gave it a thorough charge overnight and it still seems OK. The defective unit would not pass this simple test. The replacement charger became warm but not real hot like the original defective one did. I have not tested it extensively so these comments may be premature but if the charger was the only issue (and I am guessing it was) then I believe the unit will now perform to spec. If it doesn't, I will attempt to post a follow up, though I am sure many others will post telling reviews.
I am speculating this is not an uncommon situation with the new batch of TRIIs. It is known to the Cdn repair group so I presume it is also known by their US colleagues. I suspect this information isn't being circulated to the LBSs - neither shop I spoke with prior to purchasing had the slightest hint there may be an issue - and will follow up with an email to NR suggesting they do so in order to avoid retailer and consumer frustration.
Bottom line: A somewhat frustrating experience initially that seems to be resolved to my satisfaction. I believe I now have a good light system. If I was to buy another TRII at this time, I would make sure I use a LBS with a good reputation and then either look for the dot on the charger or have the shop recharge the light prior to walking away with it.
Hope this helps. The ratings presume the unit will be trouble free and will perform to its stated specs. Thanks to all that posted reviews for me to consider prior to buying this light.
Purchased At: Local bike shop ( with good reputation for support)
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Brad Anderson
a Cross Country Rider
from Seattle
Date Reviewed: November 28, 2001
Strengths: Supposed quality of brand, design and construction. Teency NiMH battery. Neat new logo.
Weaknesses: Could not stay lit for more than two minutes. I returned it to REI and the guy was apologizing before I got within 10 feet of him: every unit they had sold in the past month had come back with the same problem. Furthermore, even though NiteRider had not alerted them to any potential problems, REI (Seattle) pulled all TrailRats from the shelves.
With my return cash in hand (thanks REI) I decided to give NiteRider another chance and a few more $$ and purchased an Evolution. This system (essentially same as TR plus helmet mount, trick handlebar mount, and extension cord) lasted 10 minutes before going dead. This was after following the charging instructions precisely as before. Needless to say, my ride home that night in the pitch darkness was nervous.
Tomorrow I return to REI for a few more apologies and my $150. I don't know what I'll do; if NightRider gets their quality control straight, they would have a great product and might salvage their reputation. But once burned...I don't think I can reward them for screwing me over, twice!
Bottom Line:
Buying NiteRider products right about now sounds like a crap-shoot. Definitely don't buy this on Ebay or from somewhere you can't return it to easily.
My VALUE rating assumes the system works, it would be worth the money.
My OVERALL rating is how I feel about his product given my experience, it has done nothing but cause me grief.
Similar Products Used: Various cheap lights, nothing serious or rechargeable.
Bike Setup: Gary Fisher Montare with component upgrades, currently set up for commuting.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Rob
a Cross Country Rider
from Mississippi
Date Reviewed: November 13, 2001
Strengths: NiMH battery (new!) MUCH reduced weight, 2/3 of the original Trail Rat Standard NR mountings, battery. Extra extender cord included. 10 Watts x 2+ hours of bright white light in a good pattern. Solid construction. No frills price.
Weaknesses: No frills.
Bottom Line:
OK, MTBR hasn't put in a new review category for the Trail Rat 2, so I'll post it here. In the meantime, people looking at the TR will know that there is a SIGNIFICANT upgrade for '02.
The TR 2 is all-round great, and has all other low-buck single beam systems beat. The white light has a faintly bluish tint, and seems to put out as much useable light as some friends' 12 & 15w systems. The beam pattern is a little pointyer than a flood beam, but not a pencil beam -- just about right if you're only running 1 light. In my 4 night rides so far, I'm easily getting 2 hours runtime out of a single charge. The charger is pretty slow (9 hours to full charge), and 'dumb' -- the only way to know when the battery's full is to keep checking if it's started heating up. Pretty simple, but you do have to stay on top of things; definitely not a plug-and-forget gizmo. On the light itself, there are no hi/lo beam modes, no flashers, no slow warm-up start, just ON/OFF. Dead simple, hard to screw up, very basic.
I don't know if I'd take up 24 hour racing with this thing, but for recreational use it's great. To repeat the hits and misses, a solid light at a no frills price, but you get no frills either. Within its limits, it's perfect.
Similar Products Used: Sigma & Cateye AA & C-cell lights, all about 2 Watts, a few borrowed NR & Cateye lights.
Bike Setup: '00 STP 200 w/ESP 9.0 drivetrain
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
BVBR
a Racer
from Ocomukowonawaukesha, WI
Date Reviewed: November 9, 2001
Strengths: Cheap, good quality light output, good runtime
Weaknesses: HEAVY battery, cord is too short, Nightrider bulbs in general are pretty heavy and awkward once placed on your helmet.
Bottom Line:
Good light for the money, got mine onsale for $75. I really can't complain for the price I paid. After 3 years of use, I've more than got my money out of it. I has its weaknesses, but really I can't think of a better light for the price.
Similar Products Used: Vistalite, Planet Bike Insight
Bike Setup: SC Superlight
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Mike
a Weekend Warrior
from Rohnert Park, Ca.
Date Reviewed: November 8, 2001
Strengths: Nice looking and easy to install
Weaknesses: The charging system.
Bottom Line:
I bought a Trail Rat last week. Took it home charged it up and went out riding. It was great. The battery only lasted about 40 minutes. Took it home charged it up again and couldn't get the light to turn on. Re-read the directions and the only problem could have been that the charger was no good.
I took it back to the bike shop and did an exchange for another Trail Rat. Took this one home it worked fine. The bike shop had charged the battery so I got it with a fully charged. It worked great, for about an hour. I charged this up, following the directions, for about 8 hours. I figured this would work because unlike the first unit the charged heated up unlike the first unit I took home.
As with the first one this one didn't work either. The bike shop owner is great. He took this back and refunded my money. What a piece of crap. Last night I was out looking for light at another local bike shop. While I was there this guy walks in asking if his light had been sent back from being serviced. I asked what type of light he had sent out. He had one of the Niterider $400 dual beam units. He had the same problem I had experienced. His unit wouldn't take a charge.
After reading the reviews it appears clear this company has serious management problems. The customer service sucks and there major problems with their products. Somebody is going to get hurt or killed due to the failure of one of these systems. I will never spend another penny on any of their products and will suggest thay anyone looking for a light look elsewhere.
Submitted by
iain
a Cross Country Rider
from Fairfax, VA
Date Reviewed: June 28, 2001
Strengths: Light is light
Weaknesses: Battery is a tad heavy, dependign on where you stash it.
Bottom Line:
I've had this light almost as long as I've had my Classic dual beam (see my review) and I've been very happy with is. Helmet mounted lights are great because they illuminate where you look instead of where your bike is pointed, so when going around turns you can actually see ahead down the trail. This goes great with a handlebar mounted setup. Some people have complained about the weight of the battery but I just stash it in my CamelBack and it doesn't bother me.
Similar Products Used: NiteRider Classic Dual beam
Bike Setup: 2001 Giant XTC SE1 - barely stock
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Squishy Lamano
a Cross Country Rider
from Valley of the Sun
Date Reviewed: February 16, 2001
Strengths: Run time.
Water resistance.
Beam pattern.
Brightness (see below).
Weaknesses: Some riders may be bothered by the tremendous weight if they're caught up in the lightweight craze.
Bottom Line:
I put the battery in a saddle bag and use the available extension cable with zip ties (routed along the top tube). This leaves an empty spot on the frame that I can use for a second battery (adding another tremendous amount of weight). I can now get a 6-hour run time if I need it.
I usually charge it for 12 hours and it'll run 3+ hours.
It's been very bright and with a good pattern. It's sufficient for most of my riding, but I'll use 20W if the terrain gets extremely difficult (not too often around here).
I've used it for rides in heavy rain. It never failed.
It would be closer to perfection if it came with an optional handlebar-mounted dimmer and gauge to check the amount of remaining power during a ride. I haven't seen such a device anywhere.
