With multiple options available in bike shops these days, picking up a bike light is far from easy. Most new rider make the mistake of judging an headlight by how bright the beam is, but they ignore very important other factors like runtime, mount quality etc. We strongly suggest you go through our tips on selecting the right headlight before going ahead.
In this article we review some of the headlight options available in the local bike stores, and hope this helps you to make an informed choice. We have 2 broad categories for these lights – Battery Powered and USB Rechargeable.
In this article we review some of the headlight options available in the local bike stores, and hope this helps you to make an informed choice. We have 2 broad categories for these lights – Battery Powered and USB Rechargeable.
A
comparison of all the available headlight options:
| Max Light Output | Battery | Charge Time | Run Time | Suitable for | Price | USB Rechargeable or Battery Powered | TBA Tested? | ||||||||
| Akslen HB 112 | 1000 candella/10 lux(at 10 metres)/100 lumen | NA | NA | Full Power: 10 hrs (1000 cd) City Eco : 20 hrs (500 cd) Flash: 40 hrs |
Urban Riders , Commuters, Casual, Cross Country Riders and Randonneurs | Rs 1650 | Battery Powered | Yes | |||||||
| Akslen HB 122 | 1500 candella/15 lux(at 10 metres)/150 lumen | NA | NA | Full Power: 5 hrs (1500 cd) City Eco: 18 hrs (550 cd) Flash: 54 hours |
Urban Riders , Commuters, Casual, Cross Country Riders and Randonneurs | Rs 2150 | Battery Powered | Yes | |||||||
| Niterider Mako 200 | 200 lumen | NA | NA | Full Power: 5 hrs (1500 cd) City Eco: 18 hrs (550 cd) Flash: 54 hours |
Urban Riders, Commuters and Randonneurs | Rs 2300 | Battery Powered | Yes | |||||||
| CatEye Volt 300 | 300 Lumen | Li-ion rechargeable battery (3.7V-2200mAh) | Approx 6 hrs (USB 2.0 recharge), 3 hrs via optional fast-charging cradle | High: 3 hrs Med: 8 hrs Low: 18 hrs Hyper Constant: 11 hrs Flashing: 16 hrs |
Roadies, Urban Riders, Commuters and Cross Country Riders and Randonneurs |
Rs 3390 for the stand alone light; Rs 4590 for the complete set with extra battery cartridge and quick charging cradle. |
USB Rechargeable | Yes | |||||||
| Niterider Lumina Micro 220 | 220 Lumen | 1300 m/Ah x 1 | 3.5 hrs | High: 1.30 hrs (220 lumen) Med: 2:45 hrs (120 lumen) Low: 4 hrs (80 lumen) Walk: 14 hrs (15 lumen) |
Roadies, Urban Riders, Commuters , Cross Country Riders and mountain bikers. |
Rs. 4800/- | USB Rechargeable | No | |||||||
| Niterider Lumina 700 | 700 Lumen | 1X Li-ion | 6 hrs | High: 1.3 hrs (700 lumen) Med: 3 hrs (350 lumen) Low: 5.5 hrs (200 lumen) Walk: 18 hrs (40 lumen) |
Roadies, Urban Riders, Commuters , Cross Country Riders and mountain bikers and randonneurs |
Rs 7800/- | USB Rechargeable | No | |||||||
| Cateye Nano Shot Plus | 600 Lumen | Li-Ion rechargeable battery (3.7V-2800mAh) | Approx 8 hrs (USB2.0 recharge) 80% full recharge in 5hrs | High: 1.3 hrs Low: 4 hrs Hyperconstant: 2 hrs |
Roadies, Urban Riders, Commuters , Cross Country Riders and mountain bikers and randonneurs |
Rs 7490/- | USB Rechargeable | No | |||||||
Battery
powered
The
light
is
powered
by
2
AA
cells
and
is
a
good
option
for
commuters
and
starters.
You
can
find
the
specs
of
the
light
here
-http://www.akslen.com/HB_112.html
- The beam pattern is wider than most other light in the category. This of great help when you are riding through rural potholed streets and need to change your line every now and then.
- The Akslen clamps are rock solid – the light doesn't move at all when you are riding through dirt trail or bad roads at high speed.
- The light can be panned as well, meaning you don't always need to mount it close to the stem, making it easier if you have other gadgets on your handle bar.
- The light comes with a steady state circuit. This means, unlike several other lights, it remains equally bright until the prescribed run time is reached. Beyond it, the light intensity fades away very quickly
- The light is also compatible to the Akslen’s Fork Mount(CF 10) giving you additional mount options.
Akslen
HB 122
This
shares
the
same
features
as
Hb112,
but
is
50%
brighter
in
full
power
mode!
The
full
specs
can
be
found
here
-
http://www.akslen.com/HB_122.html
Nightrider
Mako
200
This
one
is
a
popular
commuter
light
from
Niterider.
- Powered by 2 AA cells, it has 3 modes – High, Medium & Low.
- This headlight has side “gills” that emit red light, making it more visible at intersections
- Compared to the Akslen HB 122, the light has a narrower beam pattern with a central bright spot.
- This is good for riding fast on good roads, but a wider beam pattern does help on suburb or country roads where road conditions may not be great.
- The new lights come with a better clamp design and the light can be panned partially .
USB
rechargeable :
Cateye
Volt 300
This
is
an
interesting
light
from
CatEye.
It
runs
on
a
USB
battery
cartridge
that
is
swappable.
This
means
if
you
have
an
extra
cartridge,
you
can
swap
it
middle
of
your
ride.
You
can
buy
the
light
stand
alone
or
buy
the
bundle
which
comes
with
an
extra
cartridge
and
a
quick
charging
USB
cradle.
We
tested
this
light
over
a
couple
of
weeks.
The
test
consisted
of
a
few
long
night
rides
as
well
as
a
short
but
technical
trail
ride.
- The light throws an impressive amount of light on the High Mode. The beam is neither too wide, nor too focussed. In fact, the beam pattern is perfect for road riding.
- Since the beam pattern is optimised for road riding, this may not be your perfect trail light where you would expect a wider beam.
- The Medium Mode is much lower in intensity than the High Mode. On country roads, even where the surface was good, we had to switch from Med to High.
- The Flextight bracket (mount) is equally impressive, and even on a hardcore trail ride, it felt rock solid. The bracket allows panning the light on the go as well.
- The light has a conventional Flash Mode and a Hyperconstant Mode. The Flash Mode is the regular one that you see in most lights. The Hyperconstant Mode is a continuous low power illumination punctuated with flash. The idea is to be able to see the road while getting noticed by the oncoming traffic. However, in our limited amount of testing, we were not comfortable using this mode more than a few minutes at a stretch as it puts some strain on the rider's eye.
Niterider
Lumina Micro 220
Niterider
describes
the
Lumina
series
as
'Smaller…Lighter…Brighter'.
The
Lumina
Micro
220
runs
on
Lithium
ion
USB
rechargeable
cell.
There
is
no
separate
battery
pack
and
the
battery
is
integrated
with
the
light.
- The Light comes with a handlebar mount.
- Though on paper it is only 20 lumen more than the Mako 200, it is actually twice as bright as the Mako, plus has an excellent wide beam pattern.
- The mount is pretty solid and the light can be partially panned.
- One downside is the relatively low run time because of a smallish battery.
Like
the
Lumina
Micro
220,
the
Lumina
700
also
runs
on
a
lithium
ion
USB
rechargeable
cell.
The
battery
is
integrated
in
the
light.
- The light comes with a handlebar and a helmet mount. This makes it a very good trail ready light.
- The beam is wider than the Micro 220, again making it a better trail riding light. It is also much brighter, but thats understandable with the increase of lumen
- It has a bigger battery than the Micro 220 making the runtime also better.
- The handlebar mount is same as the Micro 220.
Cateye
Nano Shot Plus
- The CatEye Nano Shot Plus emits 600 lumens of light and has 3 different modes: High, Low and Hyper Constant (Flashing).
- It uses the same flextight bracket that is used by Volt 300, and is pretty solid.
- Like the Niterider rechargeable lights, this also comes with a battery which is part of the light unit.
- The beam pattern is circular like the Volt 300, but wider and brighter.
- The beam is slightly narrower than the Lumina 750, but very bright neverthless.
Really a wonderul blog post this is. For more details, please visit Waterproof Headlamp
ReplyDelete