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Average Rating
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2.15/5
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# of Reviews
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20
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MSRP
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$ 250.00
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Weight
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More Products from Blackburn
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Description:Blackburn employs the technical advances in emitter (LED) technology by Luxeon to deliver a high quality system that maximizes light and run time. Built to tackle a solo 24 hour event or several commutes, the dual three watt Luxeon lamps have 3 run modes – 30%, 70%, 100% plus a flash mode. One lamp is spot, the other is wide beam. Run time varies from 20 hours (dimmed) to 3.5 hours at full intensity. Included are 2 handlebar mounts, each fits standard or oversize bars and 1 helmet mount. Blackburn’s Constant Current technology maintains full brightness throughout the battery life; the digital charger delivers a full charge in 4.5 hours. The 5 cell battery pack is a lightweight NiMH (3600 mAh).
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Submitted by
Bodybag
a Cross Country Rider
from Brea, CA
Date Reviewed: September 3, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | Chino Hills State Park - Northridge | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$95.00 | | Purchased At: | JensenUSA | | Strengths: | Impressive Packaging and Perception of Value for the price. | | Weaknesses: | Can't come close to meeting the claims of the manufacturer. | | Bike Setup: | Santa Cruz Blur | | Bottom Line: | I was an idiot and believed that they would do what was claimed on the box, or at least close to what was claimed. A group of 4 of us (3 with this light set) went for a night ride to test our new setup. Our normal loop takes about one hour in the daylight, so we figured slightly more for a night ride. Approximately 1/2 way through our loop, or 35 minutes, the first set of lights died. Within 3 minutes, the second set died. The last guy with lights still working quickly switched his to a single light at about 50% and his lasted approximately 6-7 more minutes before dying too. We were left to ride the balance of our loop in the pitch black. HOWEVER, there was one positive thing that came from this, I learned a valuable lesson, never test a new item in a real world situation first. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
jandlflanders
a Cross Country Rider
from Yorba Linda, Ca USA
Date Reviewed: September 3, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | Fullerton Loop, CA | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$95.00 | | Purchased At: | Jenson USA - Great S | | Strengths: | Very Impressive Marketing on the outside of the box. | | Weaknesses: | Everything inside the box. Especially the battery! | | Bike Setup: | Santa Cruz Blur | | Bottom Line: | This light setup has tons of great stats on the outside of the box, unfortunately non of them were true. It states that with a full charge and running both lamps at full intensity, they will last for 5 hours. I think they forgot the decimal point and they meant .5 hours! I got 35 minutes of light the first ride. The second ride I ran only one lamp and got 45 minutes.
I would have thought it was a fluke, except for the fact that the other 2 guys I told to buy these lights with me, got the exact same results.
Fortunately, we were riding with a guy who had a good set of lights and was able to share his light with us to get us off of the trail we were stranded on.
DO NOT BUY THESE LIGHTS IF YOU PLAN TO RIDE FOR MORE THAN 30-45 MINUTES IN THE DARK!
Hopefully JensonUSA will take them back when I go to return them today, I will let you know if they don't. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Patrick Carney
a Cross Country Rider
from Esopus, NY, USA
Date Reviewed: May 9, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | Taconic 909 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$95.00 | | Purchased At: | Jenson | | Strengths: | The lights, themselves are OK... price... | | Weaknesses: | BATTERY!!! GARBAGE!!! Honestly, the worst Mountain Biking product I've ever purchased. | | Similar Products Used: | Flashlight, cellphone, matches... all much better. | | Bike Setup: | Kelley Steel Hardtail | | Bottom Line: | Don't waste your money. Seriously, when you buy these lights keep in mind that the battery is absolutely useless. It will leave you stranded in the dark after about 30-45 minute of use. I'm gonna hack open the battery pack and see if I can replace the core with something better, because the lights themselves aren't too bad... but then this product would fall under the category of DIY. Anyway, I'll give it 2 peppers for value only because this product has some potential of become some cheap spare parts. Too bad there's no "0" chillies for Overall Rating. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Brian Lehfeldt
a Weekend Warrior
from Fort Collins, CO USA
Date Reviewed: January 19, 2008 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$154.00 | | Purchased At: | Performance Bike | | Strengths: | Fast charging, Build quality seems good, fairly bright, price (or so I thought) | | Weaknesses: | Battery life is NO WHERE NEAR what manufacturer claims. | | Similar Products Used: | Not sure what model of Light and Motion helmet light. | | Bike Setup: | N/A | | Bottom Line: | I had already ordered these lights and then read reviews. Because of the reviews when I picked up the lights I timed how long it took to charge them. They were fully charged in around 3 hrs the first time. Unfortunately, the batteries were low enough for lights to shut off completely after 1hr 20 minutes. I tried this three more times and the third charge took 3 hrs 9 minutes to complete. It only took 1 hr. 5 minutes to fully discharge (high power, both lamps) I am returning them- might work pretty good for a commuter, seam to be well built, and they are fairly bright for the price. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Will'm
a Cross Country Rider
from Monterey, CA
Date Reviewed: October 10, 2007 | | Favorite Trail: | Ft. Ord, Giggling side | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$155.00 | | Purchased At: | ebay | | Weaknesses: | DOA battery. | | Similar Products Used: | first non AA light system. | | Bike Setup: | Spec Epic Expert | | Bottom Line: | Ordered online, (knowing that perhaps this wouldn't be the best product do to the reviews on here) but I thought I'd at least get to have my own opinion. Never happened with the battery DOA. Ebay seller didn't mind me shipping back to them to ship to blackburn. But that's a long wait. Blackburn's turn around alone is 2-3 weeks. Which is the only reason why I'm reviewing without a working unit. We'll see how things go, but so far the reviews seemed to be dead on. (So I ordered the Jet Blast HID helmet mount light, so I can at least try and get out on my bike at night this week.)
Value = 1 because of extra shipping costs.
Overall = 1 because if I had wanted DIY I could have a light now. But to spend money and not have the product for 2-3 weeks isn't very good. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Aaron
a
from Bel Air, MD
Date Reviewed: September 13, 2007 | | Favorite Trail: | Fairhill | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$100.00 | | Strengths: | doesn't feel like it will actually break. 2 lights let you adjust to cover a wide range. build quality seems pretty good. | | Weaknesses: | BATTERY!!! can't use on helmet and bar at the same time. | | Similar Products Used: | homemade lights that cost about $15 to make and work just as well, couple different HID setups | | Bottom Line: | Used these at a 24 hour race and they went into power saving mode in less than 2 hours. luckily i was just using them on my handlebars to supplement a helmet mounted HID. I'll still give them a decent rating, because they work well for commuting. Fairly cheap, last long enough as long as you charge them every other night or so, simple enough to mount and adjust. as just about everyone else has experienced, it's really the battery that brings this whole thing down. other than that, the rest of the system isn't half bad. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Brian Horan
a Weekend Warrior
from Manchester, NH USA
Date Reviewed: August 28, 2007 | | Favorite Trail: | Lynn Woods, MA | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$78.00 | | Purchased At: | REI | | Strengths: | The box it comes in tells an impressive story!! | | Weaknesses: | I had the light for less than 24 hours. Plugged in the charger to find the LED on the battery didn't work (this is Step 1 of the directions). I got such a sweet deal I didn't check it out on MTBR until after purchase to find out its junk anyway. Thank goodness REI is awesome with their return policy!! I got a Light in Motion Solo instead...I'll post my review on that shortly!! | | Similar Products Used: | Light in motion Solo | | Bike Setup: | Gary Fisher Fat Possum | | Bottom Line: | I couldn't even charge it the first time to see how it works (bad sign!!). | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
brider
a Weekend Warrior
from Orange, CT, USA
Date Reviewed: August 9, 2007 | | Favorite Trail: | TRW/Power road, Mesa AZ | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$98.00 | | Purchased At: | ebay | | Strengths: | Cool-looking | | Weaknesses: | Can't mount lights on helmet AND bars at same time, battery run time, brightness | | Similar Products Used: | ViewPoint (Performance?) 12w | | Bike Setup: | Jamis XLT 2.0 | | Bottom Line: | Like most everyone else says, this system sucks. Glad I got a smokin' deal on it on ebay, otherwise I'd be REALLY pissed. I read the reviews beforehand, but I needed a light QUICK for a 24-hr race, and couldn't afford a $250+ REAL light. Good thing the laps were only 1 1/2 hrs long.
Best run time: 2 1/2 hrs, both lights at 100%. And in contrast to what others are saying about the light QUALITY and brightness, my 12w halogen Viewpoint light was WAAAAY more effective at night than the wide-beam Blackburn.
Very disappointed, Blackburn won't return e-mails.
Don't do what I did and read the reviews and buy it anyway (especially if you're paying full retail), buy something else. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jamie
a Racer
from LaSalle Ontario Canada
Date Reviewed: July 23, 2007 | | Favorite Trail: | Morton | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$250.00 | | Purchased At: | Bicycle World | | Weaknesses: | I got 2 of these and both had the same problem of the battery not even charging | | Bottom Line: | don`t buy these as Blackburn know there is a problem yet they have done nothing about it | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Guido
a Weekend Warrior
from Tucson, AZ US
Date Reviewed: May 28, 2007 | | Favorite Trail: | Fantasy Island | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$200.00 | | Purchased At: | The best bike shop in the world-Broadway Bikes | | Strengths: | This is the most deceptive product I have ever purchased. | | Weaknesses: | Actual run time is a fraction of what they claim it will be. Also you pay for two lights but you can't mount one on your helmet and one on the handle bars. So save your money and buy something else. The run time for both lights on full is reported to be over three hours. Actually mine ran for one hour and thirty five minutes at best but by twenty five cycles it dropped to thirty and then only twenty minutes. The lights work well but the battery claims they make are a fraud. They sent me a replacement battery and it performed worse than the first, topping out at one hour and twenty minutes after 8 cycles. I followed the instructions completely by letting it fully charge and fully deplete but never did even half of what they claimed. I would have been better off tying flaming five dollar bills to my handle bars. | | Similar Products Used: | Nightrider evolution | | Bike Setup: | Trek Fuel | | Bottom Line: | Don't buy the hype. I read all the reviews before buying. Now that I look back on them I think the positive ones were planted by Blackburn sales staff because everyone I know that bought one had a similar experience to mine. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
sam
a Weekend Warrior
from laguna hills ca
Date Reviewed: May 4, 2007 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$229.00 | | Purchased At: | nashbar.com | | Strengths: | Bright while the battery lasts, but you are very likely to be in power saving mode in less than an hour. | | Weaknesses: | Big, poorly designed, cables everywhere, battery life SUCKS, tech support is non-existent, the control buttons suck, turning the light on or off with gloves on sucks. pretty much everything on this light sucks. 3.5 hours on full? I'm really damn lucky if I get 1 hour on medium. | | Similar Products Used: | PlanetBike alias and a couple others I can't remember. | | Bike Setup: | Gary Fisher Montare, set up for commuting. | | Bottom Line: | I bought this light for commuting and I need about 35 minutes of light 4 nights a week (that's about 140 minutes), with a supposed 3.5 hours at full brightness, I thought I could get a full week of commuting out of a single charge. Well, I don't ride at full brightness from the entire trip home, because I have to ride against traffic in a few spots, and I'm currently unable to keep the light from going in to low power mode after about about 1.5 trips home (that would be about 45-50 minutes).
The charge time is my biggest beef with this light, but there are so many other things wrong with it. The design of the battery is just bad. I use my watter bottle holder to hold my watter bottle, not my battery, so I have to mount this under the top tube. The problem with that it the thing is so big that it can't be moved far enough forward to let me easily remove my watter bottle from it's holder. If they had put the places where the light connects to the battery to the top of the battery (near the strap) this would not be a problem.
The light does come with a low battery indicator on the battery that changes from green to red and then flashes when the battery is getting low. The problem with this is that the battery mounts on the bottom of the top tube or in a watter bottle holder. I don't know about you, but I generally don't look straight down when I'm riding. Maybe puttin this on the back of one of the lights, or even on the thumb switch would have been a better idea?
Speaking of the thumb switch, or any of the switches for that matter, they are a soft rubber that feels like there is a small wire switch inside. These are very hard to push accurately and you have to hit them just right, which is very difficult when wearing gloves. The thumb switch also seems to go the wrong way, if you consider your thumb to be on the top of your hand. You have to push the switch on the side pointing toward the end of your bars to turn it up and toward the center of your bars to turn it down. The headlights also have a ornamental design right in front of the power switches (there is no way to turn both on at once) which which is hard to differentiate from the power switch when in the dark and wearing gloves.
The cabling is very difficult to manage, and the large connectors to connect the thumb switch to the lights and the lights to the battery cable are too big, also the way they connect and disconnect makes me worry that the tiny pins inside will get bent.
Email to tech support has gone unanswered. I've had enough of this product and this company. This whole thing has been nothing but a huge waste of money. I'm going to give the CygoLite DualCross Li-on a try, since it seems to be everything this light isn't. I don't know if it's going to be any better, but it can't possibly be any worse, and I fount it for about $185 at pricepoint.com
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Oren Hershco
a Cross Country Rider
from Ben Shemen
Date Reviewed: April 20, 2007 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$250.00 | | Purchased At: | Nashbar | | Strengths: | (see my review from the 8/18/06 above) | | Weaknesses: | Everything I've written there, plus the fact that after 1 year of use (about once a week) battery performance have been degraded to 30min in full power (!) | | Similar Products Used: | (see above) | | Bike Setup: | (see above) | | Bottom Line: | Big dissapointment. Products which cost half as much live way longer and act much closer to the manufacturer's spec. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Del
a
from Grangemouth
Date Reviewed: February 22, 2007 | | Favorite Trail: | Trossachs | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$240.00 | | Purchased At: | Wiggle | | Bike Setup: | Scott Genius MC40 2006 | | Bottom Line: | Me and a mate both bought the lights on the spec that you could get 5 hours max and up to 20 hours playing about with the dimmers. We both could not get more than 2 hours on max and 5 hours total, my mate even got his battery replaced which at first did not make a difference but is now getting 3 hours on max. When I removed the lights to clean my bike one of the hinges snapped, they are now on they're way back for a full refund. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Gary
a Racer
from UK
Date Reviewed: October 29, 2006 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$150.00 | | Purchased At: | merlinccyles.co.uk | | Strengths: | Small Head Units. Versatile Battery. Light spread is very good with a clear white blue light. | | Weaknesses: | Battery Life | | Similar Products Used: | N/a | | Bottom Line: | As per previous reviews. Battery life is less than advertised. I get 2.0 hrs at full power then another 1.1/2hrs in reserve mode. So total running time 3.1/2 hrs. i have timed this with a stop watch.I'm a little disappointed at this as claimed blurb states 5.00 hrs at max power. Charge time is spot on at 4 hrs with trickle charge for the last hour. The battery fits nice and secure in the bottle cage. The connections are sturdy with screw caps for added protection. The caps do have a fine thread but just like anything else with a thread you wouldn't try and screw it together with mud and dirt in the thread so clean it out.
The head units are very well contructed and the light they produce is a white blue light. Overall i'm very pleased with the lights themslves just a little let down with run time. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
paul
a
from single track, wa
Date Reviewed: October 6, 2006 | | Favorite Trail: | all over around here | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$180.00 | | Purchased At: | pricepoint.com | | Strengths: | very bright Luxeon LED.
battery run time is pretty darn good. not sure with all the fuss on the previous ratings below. LED indicator not being per spec is understandable as to gauge how much battery life is remaining during a long ride but as long as the user knows that he/she has 1.5 - 2.0 solid hrs...who cares if you aren't planning on riding through the night for 3-4 + hours?
battery charge time is very good.
| | Weaknesses: | not suited to use bike mount & helmet mount together. this is possible but battery needs to be placed in a suitable location or need to have longer cable to helmet mount.
thread on battery connection is less than dismal for durability. | | Similar Products Used: | none | | Bike Setup: | '03 gary fisher suger team issue. | | Bottom Line: | overall very impressed with LED light output.
battery life is pretty good (~1.5+ hrs on full bright on both lights)
can use 2 spot lights instead of 1 spot & 1 flood if used on mt.bike trails. (include optional spot light lens?)
can not complain much with this product for the price compared to other competitive lighting systems out on the market.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Kyung Chung Kim
a Weekend Warrior
from SEOUL KOREA
Date Reviewed: September 25, 2006 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$175.00 | | Purchased At: | Pricepoint | | Strengths: | 1. Design is good.
2. Installation is easy | | Weaknesses: | 1. Run time is differ with its spec.
2. The red lamp turns on after 10 minutes using 2 lamps full brightness. The red ramp stands for 70% discharged battery.
3.Total run time is less than 1 hour and 50 minutes using 2
lamps full bright. But its manual spec near 5 hours.
4. Connecter cover is not good for installation. | | Similar Products Used: | None | | Bike Setup: | FUJI OUTLAND-PRO | | Bottom Line: | 1. I send e-mail more than 4 times to Blackburn but no reponse.
2. It is very difficult to use SYSTEM X6 for night riding unless dimming more than 1 hour and 50 minutes.
3. Blackburn had better to recall System X6 as shorted run time.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Oren Hershco
a Cross Country Rider
from Ben-Shemen, Israel
Date Reviewed: August 18, 2006 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$250.00 | | Purchased At: | Nashbar | | Strengths: | Very bright light, powerful enough for trail riding. Looks well constructed, besides the points mentioned in "Product Weaknesses". The battery clamps well to the frame.
The flashing mode is awsome for commuting - nobody would be able to claim they never noticed you. | | Weaknesses: | a. Operation time not as long as promised
b. The LED indicator is useless in informing you how much juice is left in the battery (if you turn on both heads it goes immediately to red)
c. Clamping to the bar is based on knob turning, which means you have to spend some time every time you mount it on your bike.
d. The connections to the battery is based on delicate-looking threads - not something built for dust and mud. The connectors are touchy, and sometimes disconnect from hits even when tightened.
e. No on/off from the remote switch.
f. box not very useful from real storage - you need to disassamble quite a lot so it'll all fit in there. | | Similar Products Used: | Performance ViewPoint (12W+12W halogens with SLA battery) | | Bike Setup: | Cannondale Rush with Lefty fork, Shimano LX gears and brakes, Spinergy Xyclone wheels | | Bottom Line: | The system is definitely better than the halogen-with-lead-battery ones. The light power is about the same as my former 24W halogen, but it lasts much longer. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
chris papaleo
a Cross Country Rider
from waldwick
Date Reviewed: August 2, 2006 | | Favorite Trail: | Sour Lands | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$210.00 | | Strengths: | Very well constructed. The light is very bright and shows great promise as an LED. | | Weaknesses: | I returned the system twice before giving up on it. The battery does not last as advertised (3.5 hour). I was only getting 2 hours max out of it. 50 minutes into use it would go to safe mode. After 5 minutes of initial turn on, the battery indicated would go to red as apposed to staying green for a while. Yes, I trained the battery well and gave it an initial 12 hour charge and completely drained the battery a total of 5 times. The battery did not get any better after the 5th time.
I called Blackburn and they said it should not need more than 3 cycles of full charge and drain. They also said they were aware of the battery indicater light turning red only a few minutes after use and had multiple complaints. | | Similar Products Used: | blow torch | | Bottom Line: | Great light...BAD battery | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mark
a Cross Country Rider
from Jacksonville, FL
Date Reviewed: February 6, 2006 | | Favorite Trail: | San Felasco | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$209.00 | | Purchased At: | JensonUSA | | Strengths: | Well Designed. Solid, rugged construction, Head unit case made of Aluminum surrounded by plastic shield. Aluminum case acts as heat sink for emitter. Solid water resistant electrical connections. Handle bar mounts are very strong and easy to adjust. Power leads have coiled section in them to prevent unwanted disconnects or damage. Smart charger. Kit comes with Helmet mount with separate power lead. | | Weaknesses: | Battery has awkward shape. Manual says will fit in bottle cage, but you have to work it. Battery is much better suited and shaped for frame mount. Rubber top on battery conforms to frame tubing well. Can only run one light with helmet mount. For safety Blackburn recommends battery be frame mounted with lights on handlebar and on person if light is helmet mounted. Kit is set up to accommodate just that. Would like to run flood on handlebar and Spot on helmet, but would not want power lead from my Hydration pack or helmet connected to my bike. Have to agree with Blackburn for liability reasons | | Similar Products Used: | Cyglolite Night Rover. 6 & 12 watt Flood | | Bike Setup: | Stock Trance 2, Jamis Nova | | Bottom Line: | Nice white light. Not HID, but as advertised probably equates to 12-15 watt halogen. Hard to make comparison due to difference in light color. The spot beam compliments the flood nicely. Set the flood in front of bike then aim spot just in front of where flood elumination stops. Four modes, 100%, 70%, 30%, and strobe. If you commute or ride road it works well to get driver’s attention. Also comes with dimmer attachment to control light output in 10% increments. For me it is overkill, but if you like fine tuning, have at it. Constant current technology maintains brightness throughout battery’s useful life cycle. Once at 20%, the charge indicator will begin flashing as warning and light output is automatically reduced to 30% to save juice. Battery will automatically shut down to prevent damage. I like this light!
If this is the first that high output LED technology has to offer, its future looks very promising. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
John Gallacher
a
from Glasgow, Scotland
Date Reviewed: January 21, 2006 | | Favorite Trail: | Glentress Forrest | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$185.00 | | Purchased At: | Alpine Bikes, Glasgow | | Strengths: | Light, Powerfull, easy to fit almost anywhere on the bike, Fantastic run times - 3.5 hours easy on full power in both beams. They also look the business. The inbuilt technology is also way ahead of similarly price and powered units. | | Weaknesses: | This being my first set of serious lights, I cannot find, as yet, any fault with them. | | Similar Products Used: | None | | Bike Setup: | Santa Cruz Chameleon. Fox Vanilla RLC, Hope C2 Brakes, mixture of Race Face, XT and Easton. | | Bottom Line: | My first night ride ever was a real wake up call! - almost s*** myself! I did'nt really know what to expect - I'm now hooked.
These lights although not in the league of the Halides for brightness offer a wide range of options via the power, spot and flood settings. I also think they look the bollocks almost futuristic eapecially the design of the battery and the flaring around the lamp units.
Recommended. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
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