These photos were taken using the same camera settings as the bike lights and should help to put everything into context. First up we have a $20 Dolphin torch—yes, that’s the dim one! The main photo is some halogen car headlights on high beam; that’s two 130-watt H4 globes with aftermarket IPF reflectors and upgraded wiring looms. Now check out the tiny bike lights to see how they compare…
Gloworm X1 $249
Bicycle Peddler (03) 9763 1007 www.bicyclepeddler.com.au
Like the more expensive Gloworm models, the X1 features alloy construction, stainless steel hardware and comes with two extra lenses that allow you to tune the beam pattern. It’s well finished for a $249 light.
In this single LED format, the Gloworm is best suited to helmet mounting. The 58g light unit is ‘barely there’ and the bracket will fit directly to a GoPro helmet mount (there’s a regular velcro strap mounting option too). You won’t notice the tiny 135g battery in your pocket and the 214g combined weight makes all-in-one helmet mounting viable.
The only glitch when helmet mounted relates to the tiny velcro mounted remote switch; it’d be easier to locate if the button was part of the main light unit. I wound up sticking the button directly to the light. When bike mounted, you may find the remote wire too short for handlebars wider than 660mm, so the button won’t be near the grip anyway.
The light modes can be customised but make sure you're patient and have the manual handy, as the sequences of short clicks, double clicks and presses can become confusing. At least there’s a simple ‘return to default’ option that’ll set things right if you mess it up.
While the beam photo was taken with the stock lens (the narrowest option), I really liked the more diffused pattern offered by the wide beam option—it only takes a minute to swap them. At 950 lumens the X1 isn’t super powerful but the beam quality is smooth with no rings or dark spots, and that goes a long way when you’re dealing with twisty singletrack at night. It’s a quality offering for the price-point.
Xeccon Spiker 1207 Pro $249
Cassons (02) 8882 1900 | www.xeccon.com
Xeccon offers a range of affordable lights and the Spiker 1207 is currently their top model. Using a pair of Cree LEDs it’s said to produce 2,200 lumens—an impressive claim for the dollars.
The light is supplied with tool-free helmet and handlebar mounts. It straps to the bar with a simple but effective O-ring system. For helmet mounting, the same O-ring ties the light to an adaptor bracket, which in turn mounts to the helmet. This double-bracket setup makes the light sit a fair way above the helmet, making its 133g weight more noticeable.
The lithium-ion battery cells are wrapped in a rubber case, then strapped into a neoprene bag. A built-in neoprene strap is used for frame mounting; it worked but a non-stretch velcro strap held the battery more securely.
All of the functions are controlled via a wired remote switch. Again O-rings are used to hold the switch to the bar and the connecting wires are sufficiently long for wide MTB bars. The remote button is quite large and easy enough to locate if you choose to run it as a helmet light, however the 34cm long stretch of wire needs to be wrapped up out of the way to ensure you don’t snag a low branch on the trail.
While this is pitched as a 2,200 lumen light, the actual light output appeared comparable to lights that claim 1,200 or 1,300lumens. Whatever the actual figure, power is still more than sufficient for off-road riding.
The beam pattern has a sharp and distinct cut-off around the periphery; within this circle there’s plenty of light but it’s blackness beyond. While the central beam covers a reasonable area, the distinct beam cut-off can be more straining on your eyes—especially when it’s run as a handlebar light. For singletrack riding, the Spiker 1207 performs much better when helmet mounted. While it has some glitches, it’s certainly one of the higher-powered options at this price.
Lupine Neo 2 $295
Virtuascape | www.virtuascape.com.au
German brand Lupine are known for making some of the most powerful lights in the business. They are also known for being expensive, so what’s the Lupine Neo doing at a sub-$300 price point? Lupine designed the Neo first and foremost as a helmet light (although an optional alloy handlebar mount is also offered). The focus was on getting the size and weight down, and this in turn lowered the cost.
While it costs less than their other offerings, it’s not a poor quality or dumbed down light. The light head is alloy and the tiny 130g battery is safely packaged in a hard case. There’s a range of neat features like a flash sequence that tells you the charge status whenever you plug the battery in. It’s supplied with a clip-on light diffuser that’s handy for camping and there’s also a special low-powered red light that’s designed to assist with map reading.
While these features add versatility, the key with the Neo is it’s minimalist weight. The light head and helmet bracket is just 48g and the whole kit – battery and all – comes in at 187g. It’s light enough to mount everything to your helmet and the overall low profile helps to make the weight even less noticeable.
There are no remote switches, just tidy wiring and an easy to locate rubber button on the light head. The velcro mounts for both the light and battery are easy to use and secure. In stock form it offers three light levels (35/270/700 lumens) but you can also select from 10 other custom settings to suit a range of applications, both on the bike and off. While you’ll need to refer to the manual when selecting custom modes, it’s really quite easy to do.
Lupine offers a modest claimed light output of 700 lumens but this light seemed comparable to others that were in the 1,000 lumen range. It’s not the broadest beam and it does cut off a little abruptly around the outside, but it’s sufficiently wide for helmet-mounted use and makes very good use of the available lumens.
Lezyne Mega Drive $299
Monza Imports (03) 8327 8080 | www.lezyne.com
We’ve tested the Lezyne Mega Drive before and it’s always struck us as a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Despite the all-alloy body, it still looks a bit like a commuter light. Switch it on and it’s a whole different story.
Previous versions of the Mega Drive had two LEDs and were impressively bright. The latest version runs three LEDs and the claimed output has gone from 1,200 lumens up to 1,400.
More lumens sounds great but the real improvement on the trail comes with the beam pattern on the updated light. It’s now slightly smoother in its transition from the central hot-spot to the outer edge of the beam. If anything it doesn’t throw the light as far down the trail but there’s clearly more spill around the edges. As a handlebar-only light, this is an important feature; narrow beams do a respectable job when helmet mounted but become annoying when fitted to the bars. The beam offered by the Mega Drive is nice and wide whilst still offering plenty of distance vision.
Lezyne says the light goes for 1:15 on high beam and we achieved 1:10 in our testing. The lower power settings allow you to stretch this out for a two hour ride but it’s worth buying the ‘Loaded Box’ kit (as tested), as it’s supplied with an extra battery that you can swap out on the trail for longer rides. This upgraded kit also comes with an alloy handlebar bracket—a must if you want this 269g light to stay put on the handlebars on rougher trails.
The regular setup includes a couple of flashing modes within the beam sequence, which isn’t ideal for off-road use. We preferred the ‘overdrive’ setting which gives you a simple two-mode operation; full power and ‘economy’ (5hrs at 300 lumens), although the lower beam is on the dim side for anything other than climbing.
BBB Scope 1300 $359
Bike Sportz 1800 808 181 | www.bbbcycling.com
While the BBB lighting range is predominantly aimed at the commuters, the Scope 1300 is pitched directly at the MTB market. The kit comes with both handlebar and helmet mounts and they claim a 1,300 lumen output from the twin Cree XM-L LEDs.
Hard case construction protects the battery and it features a built in fuel gauge as well as a USB outlet that allows you to charge other devices; phones, GPS and whatnot. While the battery and light is reasonably compact, the 330g combined weight is a little too much to have the whole setup on your helmet—you’ll need to stow the battery in your pack or pocket.
Swapping from helmet to handlebar mounting is easy and the brackets click on and off with no tools required. The bar mount is meant to fit regular 31.8mm handlebars but it seemed slightly undersized; in some cases you may need to trim back or even remove the rubber shim that helps the bracket stay put on the bars.
At first I was suspicious that this would be a commuter light but that’s definitely not the case. You won’t find any annoying flashing modes within the beam sequence and the light output is surprisingly good for a 1,300 lumen light. There’s plenty of light at full power but you’ll only get 1:40 out of it. With four modes in total, it’s easy to extend the runtime. Both the 825 lumen and 550 lumen mid-settings are quite usable on the trail, so it’s not hard to get a two to three hour ride in with the Scape.
It has a central hotspot that provides good distance vision for faster trails but it filters out around the sides rather than just stopping abruptly. Overall we’d suggest that the centrally weighted spot makes it better as a helmet mounted light but it was still quite workable as a bar mounted light.
Cygolite TridenX 1300 $439
Bikecorp | www.bicorp.com.au
Rated at 1,300 lumens, the TridenX is the second brightest offering from Cygolite. A split battery and light unit, it comes supplied with all the fittings required for both helmet or handlebar use.
With this model, Cygolite has updated their bar mount. It’s now easier to use with a good sized thumbwheel and a rubber spacer that stays in place (unlike the previous design). While it’s designed to fit handlebar diameters up to 31.6mm, we found the fit a bit on the tight side and only used one of the two rubber spacers provided.
The helmet fitting is simple but effective and easy to mount. It’s designed to run in a relatively forward position on the helmet. This makes the 135g light/bracket weight more noticeable than if it was mounted closer to the middle of the helmet—it’s not terrible but it’s definitely more noticeable when you move your head around.
The hard case battery is secured by a wide velcro strap. It’s a solid setup but make sure you apply the adhesive foam pad before mounting it—this eliminates rattles and protect your frame from scratching.
We had the larger ‘Xtra’ battery option which is meant run for 3:30 on full power. In our testing it fell short of this by 13 minutes. Still, over three hours is a pretty long night ride and the TridenX will achieve this without using any of the power saving modes. If you do need a longer burntime, the TridenX has four modes that are accessed by the right-side button. The button on the left of the light head fine tunes the light level within each mode. There’s a lot going on here but the two button design makes it relatively easy to navigate.
The TridenX produces a distinct beam cut-off around the sides but the spread is wide enough that you never get that tunnel vision effect on the trail. Within the main beam area, the light is relatively even and there’s no distracting hotspot. While it’s not the absolute brightest, the TridenX is a solid performer on the trail.
Serfas TSL-2500 $439
Velo Vita (02) 9700 7977 | www.velovita.net.au
With four Cree LEDs and a claimed output of 2,500 lumens, the Serfas TSL-2500 is a pretty serious bit of kit for the $439 asking price. It’s a dedicated off-road light with no flashing modes and both helmet and bar mounting options.
With the helmet mount, the light head weighs 190g which is getting towards the upper end of what we’d be comfortable with. Bar mounting is solid, tool free and adaptable for a wide range of diameters—it’ll even cope with the new 35mm handlebars.
The battery is a chunky 425g brick but it’s well designed with thick moulded in rubber pads to protect your frame. You’ll find a power indicator on the battery and the mode button on the light head doubles as fuel gauge too. The battery also has a USB outlet that allows you to charge other devices; phones, MP3 players and other devices.
A remote mode switch is also included but it’s a plug-in style, so you can choose whether you want to use it or not. Remotes work for some people and bikes but not others, so the optional remote is a good idea. You may notice a chunky oversized connector on the lead that comes from the light head; this is for an optional Serfas taillight but I can’t see many mountain bikers employing this option.
So does the TSL-2500 stack up to their power output claims? It’s definitely up at the brighter end of the lights that we’ve reviewed in this issue. Like a number of others, the beam has a distinct circular edge where the light simply stops, but this core of light is wide enough to perform well on the trail. With its weight and battery bulk, it’s probably better suited to bike mounting. In this setting the beam is better suited to flat-out fire trail blasting. If sinuous riding is more your thing, go with the helmet mounted option.
Ay Up MTB Kit $440
Ay Up Lighting Systems 1300 405 092 www.ayup-lights.com
The last time we looked at Ay Ups, each light was rated at 400 lumens. Now this figure is up to 700 lumens (1,400 lumens in total). They may be brighter but the overall design remains virtually unchanged. You get two lights in the pack; one for your helmet and the other for your bars. Other lights may offer helmet or bar mounting options but Ay Up covers you for both in one fell swoop.
Mounting the Ay Ups is about as low-tech as it gets. The handlebar bracket is secured with cable ties while the helmet mount is fitted using adhesive velcro dots. Once the mounts are in place, the light components clip into place without needing tools. However with the lights removed, you’re left with brackets and velcro dots all over the place—maybe I’m too precious but this bugged me.
In function the Ay Ups couldn’t be easier to use. Click the button to switch them on, click to scroll through three beam levels and hold the button down for two seconds to turn them off. If you want a flashing mode for daytime visibility, switch the light on with an extended press—that’s as complicated as it gets. You also get a pair of red covers that turn your Ay Up into a super bright taillight.
In stock form the kit is supplied with one spot beam (typically for the helmet) and one mid-beam. Both beams are very centrally focused with dark rings around the outside. The bar and helmet light combo goes a long way in compensating for the patchy beam patterns, so in use the system performed better than the photo suggests. We also got to try their new wide beam option; it produces a much smoother and more consistent light. If you ride narrow or twisting trails, we’d recommend you order the wide beam for the bars combined with a mid-beam for your head.
Exposure Six Pack Mk 5 $540
Bike Box (03) 9555 5800 | www.bikebox.com.au
A couple of years ago, Exposure introduced the Reflex; a light with built-in accelerometers that sense whether you’re climbing, descending or hitting bumps and adjust the light output accordingly. Now the same technology has been applied to the three top bar-mounted off-road lights within the Exposure range; the Toro, Maxx-D and Six Pack.
As with virtually every new light, the lumen outputs have gone up. The Six Pack that we tested has gone from 2,000 lumens up to a whopping 3,200 lumens! On the trail it’s obviously a lot brighter and it’ll still go for three hours or more in the default ‘auto’ mode. Exposure has also worked on the beam patterns. Our Six Pack offered a wider, smoother beam that filters out smoothly at the sides (the older versions were a more spotty and centrally focused).
The new lights also feature a special touch screen display that lets you select from a range of custom modes, as well as providing an estimate on the remaining burntime. It worked well (even with full-fingered gloves) and was easy to use on the trail.
The auto light adjustment seems more sensitive to terrain changes and bumps than the original Reflex, and the variation from full power to low beam is greater too. Sometimes this was beneficial and on occasion it was irritating; you could be climbing a smooth road and hit a single pothole, it then blasts out 3,200 lumens when it wasn’t necessary. For the most part it performed well and it always bumped up the light output when you needed it. It’s a great feature for racing when you really want to keep your hands on the bars. For general trail riding you can always flick to a manual override if you prefer.
Best of all this light is extremely convenient. The all-in-one design makes it quick and easy to mount. No need to fiddle with battery packs and wiring—just clip it on and hit the trails.
Light & Motion Seca 2000 $649
JetBlack Products (02) 4560 1200 www.jetblackproducts.com
The latest version of the Light & Motion Seca now produces 2,000 lumens, an increase of around 20% over the previous version. The battery remains very compact on the ‘Race’ version that we reviewed, and it powers the light for 1:30 on high beam. Light & Motion also offers a larger ‘Enduro’ battery that extends the burntime to 2:30 on high.
You can select from two operational modes. The regular setting gives you three constant beams and a flashing mode. You can’t skip the flash mode, so if you’re plodding along in low beam and suddenly plunge into a descent, you’ll need to do a quick double click to bypass the flashing before you get to high beam. Personally I preferred the two-beam ‘Race’ setting; switch the light on with a one second press rather than a quick click and you’ll be in Race mode. While it keeps it simple and avoids unwanted flashing, it only provides a 1,600 lumen high beam. This ups the burn time to two hours and remains really bright. Low beam in race mode gives you 850 lumens and a four-hour burntime.
Fitting is easy and the rubber-strap bar mount is tool-free and works for all handlebar diameters. The helmet mount sits the unit up fairly high, making the 126g weight more noticeable than it should be.
Where the Seca really wins is in its beam pattern. The tuned six LED cluster provides a beautifully smooth beam that sends plenty of light down the trail while still offering a wide flood of light immediately in front of you. It’s one of the best beam patterns in the business and it uses the light in a very efficient and effective manner. As a result, this 2,000 lumen light punches well above its weight and shows that quality is more important than quantity when it comes to MTB lighting.
Trail LED DS $699
Full Beam Australia www.fullbeam.com.au
Trail LED is the brand behind the distinctive ‘Halo’ light; a 6,000 lumen monster with 10 LEDs that curves to fit right around the outside of your helmet. Producing a claimed 3,000 lumens, the DS is basically half a Halo. It’s close to half the price too at $699 versus $1,379 for the Halo.
The alloy light body is machined in the US and the finish is first rate. Visually the battery pack is comparatively rudimentary; the cells are wrapped in a heavy duty rubber cover. While the battery isn’t as well presented (or protected) as a hard case unit, the performance was impressive. It offers a 1:1 charge to burntime ratio; ride on high beam for two hours and it’ll only take two hours to recharge the battery—that’s pretty rare for a 3,000 lumen light.
It’s pretty clear that the DS has been designed first and foremost as a helmet light. The alloy body contours gently to match your helmet and it sits directly on the shell with a big O-ring to hold it in place. Mounting is a little fiddley the first time around; the light needs to line up with vents for the O-ring to slip through whilst simultaneously pointing the beam in the right direction.
The main benefit of this system is that it keeps the weight low and close to your head. At 98g the head unit is pretty light to begin with – especially for a 3,000 lumen light – but the perceived weight on your helmet will have you thinking it weighs even less. There is a handlebar mount for the DS; a nylon sleeve that goes around your stem before you strap it down with two O-rings. We had limited success using it and it’ll depend heavily on your handlebar and stem setup.
Power wise the DS won’t disappoint—it was extremely bright. While a lot of light is punched through the central portion, it still spreads to the sides and the DS performed brilliantly as a helmet light. The emitters are also upgradable, so there’s an element of future-proofing built in and Trail LED offers a lifetime warranty on the light head.
