Submitted by
Ted
a Cross Country Rider
from Seattle, WA Date Reviewed: February 7, 2009
Favorite Trail:
Burke-Gillman
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$177.00
Purchased At:
PricePoint
Strengths:
Plenty of lumens in this DualCross 300 LED model (equivalent to 20 Watts). Wide enough spread of the beam; even lighting.
Battery hours as advertised.
Used for five days of commuting weekly for the past year, or about 8 hours a week September thru March, much of the time on low beam (which is adequate) with charge over night on weekends.
Weaknesses:
Two week ago The rubber O-ring where the battery cable plugs into the light housing has worn away. It was always a too tight a fit, and the wear-and-tear finally wore the O-ring off. Now the cable end when plugged in the light tends to loosen when riding over even small rough spots causing the light to go off ... the connection is apparently not tight enough now, causing the lighting mode to either be on full mode or no mode...does stay in the in-between modes for long when riding over rough road. At least this is my first take on this.... or could it be the switch itself is shorting out?
I have a small under the saddle bag holding the battery and run the battery cable along the top tube. This is a stiff type of battery cable and any tight bend in it can cause failure.
A plastic mount which slips easily on the handle bar. I used a few wraps of tape to increase the grip.
Similar Products Used:
Had owned the same company's halogen model, but returned it to REI for a full refund after a winter season of use when the switch failed internally. Halogen was too hot and is prone to burn out. LED is never hot and has a much longer life.
Bike Setup:
2000 Bianchi steel frame with Campi 3 X 9 gear.
Bottom Line:
I think if I buy another bike light it will be a couple small powerful LED flashlights for $25 each using AA batteries mounted somehow to my handlebars. Probably bright enough and much cheaper.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Rob
a Downhiller
from Calgary, AB, Canada Date Reviewed: December 16, 2007
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$130.00
Purchased At:
Performance Bike
Strengths:
Inexpensive, tough, amazingly bright. 4 hours of light on the highest setting, 9 hours on the lowest, which is about 75% as bright as the highest setting.
Weaknesses:
No helmet mount. Don't leave it on when you are not moving or it can overheat.
Similar Products Used:
Minewt X2
Bottom Line:
Note that there are actually two versions of this light - the more recent version has LEDs which are 50% brighter than the originals. There will be a small note inside the box that states "LED UPGRADE" if you have the newer version.
With the new LEDs, this light is easily a match for a 20W halogen setup. Nice wide beam pattern, long battery life, and several solid and flashing patterns to choose from.
This has got to be one of the best lights available for under $150.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Stan Jones
a Cross Country Rider
from Sacramento, CA, USA Date Reviewed: December 16, 2007
This is good light for the money, but as another reviewer said, "its led technology has been bypassed by competitors using newer (ie brighter) leds." I will be searching for how to upgrade the LED's after I'm done here.
For around $150, this is one bright light for the price and the burn time. The multiple modes have been very useful and its light weight makes it so I don't notice it when mounted to my helment. I used it with a Hi-flux 100 on a 24 hour team race and the battery life was still good after 3+ hours of riding.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Mark Spruell
a Weekend Warrior
from Waterford, MI Date Reviewed: November 2, 2007
Favorite Trail:
Laurel Mtn trail, Dupont NF
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$125.00
Purchased At:
Pricepoint
Strengths:
Battery life and the many modes -- useful for conserving the battery and alerting motorists with the flashing lights. The flashing modes really get your attention. Its very easy to upgrade.
Weaknesses:
Not very bright as they come from the store (but they are easy to upgrade, read below). The mount is nice a quick, but is hard to get on tight enough
Similar Products Used:
Dinotte 200l, Marwi 15w halogen, Niterider 15w, Cygolite Dual halogen, various other leds...I've had alot of lights!
Bike Setup:
Dualcross 200 on the bars, Dinotte 200L on the helmet
Bottom Line:
This is decent light for the money, but its led technology has been bypassed by competitors using newer (ie brighter) leds -- most notably the Niterider Minewt X2 and Dinotte 200L. Also, as others have stated, the beam itself is very narrow (contrary to Cygolite's advertising claims. Its certainly no match for a 20w halogen (as claimed).
Don't worry, though. This light is very easy to upgrade yourself (it takes about 40 minutes and some skill with a soldering iron). I replaced the stock 5w luxeon leds (about 80 lumens each) with Cree xr-e Q5's (220 lumens each for $20). Now I have a light that is seriously bright and has a better beam pattern. Theoretically its now equal to (or brighter than) a Trinewt (though I suspect the Trinewt has a better beam pattern) and nearly a match for an HID. For less than $160, this is one seriously bright light, maybe not enough on its own for riding fast fireroads, but more than enough for Michigan single track.
Even without the upgrade there are reasons to recommend this light. I find the many modes to be very useful and the battery life is really outstanding (4 hrs+). On one occasion I did a 2hr ride, forgot to charge the battery, then did a 2hr ride with a 30min mechanical break -- over 4.5 hours of total light time and was able to get off the trail by dimming the light a bit.
Out of necessity my rating have to reflect the light in its stock form, if you're not a diy'er you'd be better off with a Minewt X2 or Dinotte. But if you have some soldering skills this light plus a $20 set of crees makes a killer light for the money!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Kenneth Salas
a Weekend Warrior
from Bayamon, PR Date Reviewed: June 18, 2007
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$125.00
Purchased At:
BeyondBikes.com
Strengths:
Powerful lights, amazing distance....
Weaknesses:
Bracket !
Bike Setup:
Jamis Cross Country 1.0
Bottom Line:
One of the best lights I ever have for the money I paid, $124.99. I don't need more..... 4 hour of continue light on high density what more I can ask. Light weight, excellent cable and 9 hour on charging that is no problem for me, why I have to buy a $300.00 light if I can paid only $124.99. Good Luck !
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Ian J
a Cross Country Rider
from Seattle, WA, USA Date Reviewed: May 16, 2007
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$150.00
Strengths:
Excellent beam pattern. Good run time. Lots of mode choices.
Weaknesses:
Too-weak mounting bracket. Too many mode choices.
Similar Products Used:
Nite Rider Nite Owl (1999 era halogen light)
Bike Setup:
Gary Fisher Utopia commuter
Bottom Line:
This is a really good light. Particularly the 200, with its cheaper non-smart charger, is a good deal (all three Dual Cross models have the same light head, only batteries and chargers differ). I use this light all the time for commuting and errand-running at night. It's bright enough, even on its lowest normal level, to see with on dark streets or down trails. At its highest level, it'll compete with streetlights. The beam is a figure-8 pattern, which is perhaps 2-3m wide at 3m in front of the bike -- it spreads quickly. Definitely a flood beam, not a spot. The run time is really good -- I typically get a week of commuting in per charge (about an hour each day) running on flashing mode in the morning and varying solid modes at night in winter.
The biggest weakness of the light, to me, is the mounting bracket. The silly thing bobbles around on the slightest bump -- I wouldn't consider it a realistic choice for trail riding for this reason. The bracket would certainly rotate itself around the bar, if not snap from fatigue after a season. It's adequate for mild street riding, but I still find myself rotating it up once a week or so; I need to get some friction tape under the mount.
My second gripe is that there are actually too many light modes. It goes like this: with a brief press of one of the buttons, you cycle through 100%, 75%, 50% and maybe 33% brightness. Hold down a button to switch off. Hold down a button to switch on in "special" mode. Now press a button to cycle through fast flash (seizure-inducing fast flash), slow flash (too slow to be very useful in traffic), "walking mode," which seems to mean 15% brightness, and then SOS flash. Ok, cool, but what I really want is three modes: 100%, 33% and medium-flash. Having the choice is good, but I'd rather have a simpler interface and less button-pushing.
The two buttons cycle different directions through the modes; one goes "up" and the other goes "down" so you don't have to press 3 times to get to the adjacent mode.
The indicator lights on top of the light head show the current mode (1-4 lights lit solid), and the lowest light will start flickering as the battery gets low. It's not a very obvious battery-strength indicator, and only gives a clear warning a few minutes before the battery conks out. Fortunately, with so many modes, you can switch it to a "see me" light mode (the "walking mode" 15% level) for hours even after the "see the road" light levels are exhausted.
I would recommend this to any street rider who wants to see where they're going. It's a great "see me" light as well, very hard to miss (although I've had drivers miss it). Except for the mounting bracket, the system seems very durable, and the quality is good. For all my griping about too many modes, I haven't yet seen a better light out there for what I want to do.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
sam halbrooks
a
from arlington texas Date Reviewed: March 4, 2007
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$150.00
Purchased At:
REI
Strengths:
A great light at a great price. A great all around light for commuting
Weaknesses:
the charger, not being a smart charger can leave you guessing on battery life.I have ridden three hours after the first charge warning by simply lowering the light intensity as the charge indicator changes states. The low light setting is still bright enough for commuting.
Similar Products Used:
black burn x6
Bike Setup:
easy to set up and stays secure
Bottom Line:
I wished I bought this light to start off with.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
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