KingOfTheHill

Was looking around BTI's website and some new ones as well as upgraded ones showed up:

BTI | Lights from NiteRider (page 2)

Looks like the Sentinel and Solas are getting a bump to 250 lumens.

I wonder what the Aero 260 will look like?

Got me googling and I found this:

https://www.niterider.com/omega300/

That Omega 300 looks nice.

https://www.niterider.com/sentinel250/

https://www.niterider.com/solas250/

01 CAt Man Do

One of the things you have to hate about how some companies market their rear bike lights is that they don't always tell you everything you need to know. In case of the Niterider's, they don't tell you just how bright each of the modes are. The Omega looks interesting, however it is using three LED's with each LED having it's own lens. That being the case the total output of the three LED's ( depending on which modes actual produce the maximum output ) @ 300 lumen doesn't necessarily mean the lamp will have more total distance throw than something like the current Cygolite Hotshot 150. Looking carefully at the Omega's lens setup it looks as though both the upper and lower LED's have a different lens type than the center lens. This combo of different lens types undoubtedly is designed to spread the beam pattern out. While this might appeal to some if indeed it has a wider beam pattern, it might also mean that over all distance throw might not be as intense as some other companies rear lamps that offer just one high output LED. With this in mind I would tend to favor the Solas if indeed both of the LED's are grouped *under the single lens ( *if indeed that is the case ). I look forward to seeing how well these lamps do once they come to market. Could be the upgraded Solas will be more visible at distance vs. the new Omega but of course this is speculation on my part since these are unavailable at the moment. That said the Omega will likely have a larger and very visible footprint when viewing at night. I look forward to the videos. While you can't really judge brightness with a video you can get an idea of what the flash modes will look like.

canklecat

It'll be interesting to see whether NiteRider has fixed their rapid dimming problems. The previous generation like my Lumina Micro 750 dim rapidly as the battery discharges, so the rated brightness applies only to a freshly charged light during the first few minutes.

Somehow other manufacturers like Light and Motion solved that problem with lights that run approximately the same length of time per charge as other lights while maintaining a more consistent output without the rapid dimming effect.

Recently I ran my NiteRider Lumina Micro 750 and Light & Motion Urban 500 side by side during a long night ride while recording video. The NiteRider starts out much brighter but rapidly fades and by the time both lights red warning lights come on the L&M remains much brighter.

The NiteRiders also get warmer despite the apparent attempt at a heat sink designed into the case, which may contribute to the rapid dimming. I get the impression they're overdriving a light that should have been rated at 500 lumens and might last longer per charge with more consistent output if the circuitry were redesigned.

01 CAt Man Do

When it comes to self-contained rear lights, likely most manufacturers are only providing the highest outputs when using the flash modes. Of course the brighter the output the faster the battery will drain. With the smaller self-contained units this will always be the "F" factor. I doubt any self-contained rear lamp ( rated over 150 lumen ) is going to be able to maintain it's listed maximum output for more than a couple hours. I'd like to see more of these self contained units offer an option for additional external battery use. Would be real nice it you had the option to use with something like a two cell USB power bank for additional run time. Your phone can do it, why not a rear bike light?

angerdan

All Niteride taillights lack the information about beam angle. In Urban environments this is essential to be seen from the side.
So for countryside its good, but for Urban not.
In this case better go for Cateye Rapid X3.

canklecat

The most comprehensive light testing site may be "We Test Lights", which is run by Light & Motion but appears to apply the same standards and methodology to all lights tested so they don't favor their own brand over others. They also test portable lights for other uses, including field video cameras, so they're more diverse than most bike light reviewers and appear to have more expertise.

Those tests reveal that many lights that claim certain peak brightness actually do perform at or near that nominal level on the brightest steady mode, not only on flash or intermittent mode. In fact, Light & Motion's own Urban series are designed to *not* perform at maximum brightness on their own intermittent mode -- a slow pulse, rather than strobing or any variation of flashing or blinking.

It's difficult to compare all tested lights feature for feature because over time the We Test Lights site has added test criteria that were not applied retroactively or retested with older lights. So, for example, there's no beam angle measurement for the NiteRider Lumina Micro 750 -- although my observation is that it's comparable to the L&M Urban 500, primarily a strong central spot with reasonably wide flood at approximately half the brightness of the center spot. Both have typical circular flashlight beams, no shaping or cutoffs.

In their tests my NiteRider Lumina Micro 750 starts out brighter and runs longer than claimed (there may be variations depending on ambient temperature, the sourced components, age of light at the time of purchase if it's old stock, etc.). It dims rapidly to half its maximum output, 325 lumens, in only 40 minutes. After an hour the discharge curve levels off a bit and remains at 200 lumens for awhile. During the final minutes before it shuts the brightness dims to 100-75 lumens, enough to be seen or to see with dark adapted eyes in some conditions.

On the plus side the Lumina Micro 750 runs quite awhile at half power, which is usable for most situations, and according to spec recharges much more quickly than the Light & Motion. That fast recharge may be tied to a relatively steeper discharge and decline in maximum brightness. However my sample appears to take longer to fully charge, relying solely on the indicator light in the power button.

I've had the Lumina Micro 750 for only a couple of weeks and had only one long enough nighttime ride to run it to full discharge. It seems to match the tested performance of the sample in the above review.

The Light & Motion Urban 500 starts out as claimed, and dims in a diagonal pattern until it shuts down suddenly after 90 minutes, by which time it's still at half the nominal maximum brightness, around 250 lumens. So the 500 lumen light is effectively brighter after 60-90 minutes than the nominally 750 lumen light. However the Lumina Micro 750 has the option of running longer at medium power, the same advantage we'd have with the higher output Light & Motion Urban 800 and 1000 models.

In my experience over 18 months my sample matches the claims and test performance. The Urban 500 takes much longer to reach full charge, over four hours. My sample is from 2016 and may perform differently from the most current Urban 500.

Interestingly, the apparently similar Light & Motion Deckhand 500 performs a bit differently from the Urban 500, with a better discharge curve, retaining more maximum brightness until it suddenly shuts off after 90 minutes. I'm wondering whether it's the same basic physical shell with improved components and circuit design.

Another interesting comparison is the relatively older model Cygolite Metro 750, a popular choice that seems to earn it's esteem among my fellow cyclists who swear by it. This light has a remarkably level discharge pattern for most of its life per charge, holding at around 650 lumens for most of the 90 minute estimated run time per charge. It also appears to have a better beam pattern, between a spot and flood with more evenly distributed light. That matches my casual observations of this model used by friends on long night rides. I may try one of these next, especially if it's discounted to be closer to the comparable Light & Motion model.

Anyway, the We Test Lights site is worth bookmarking and referring to for choosing lights.

canklecat

My Light & Motion Urban 500 and older style Serfas SL-255 both have side ports that redirect some light to the sides to enhance visibility.

Because of the round barrel shape of the L&M Urban (and similar L&M models) and slight recess behind the lens, I was able to easily fabricate a homebrewed lens hood that both provides a cutoff to avoid blinding oncoming cyclists and pedestrians, but also enhances side visibility. I use empty pill bottles made of white translucent plastic (usually HDPE), very commonly available and ideal for this purpose. The plastic is tough, durable, soft enough to cut easily with scissors and/or a craft knife or even a pocket knife (please use a locking blade knife for safety). Trim the neck carefully and it'll snap into the recessed slot behind the lens and stay put, yet can also be removed fairly easily, and holds up to repeated attach/detach cycles.

I taped over the top of the homebrewed hood/shade with black tape to shield my eyes and preserve dark adaptation, while leaving just enough white plastic exposed at the sides to glow light a light bulb. I cut the bottom of the bottle roughly in half, so the full flood beam is directed to the road, while cutting off the top of the beam.

It's much easier to do than to describe. I've been intending to do a YouTube video demonstrating the project. It's so cheap and easy to do I doubt I could make enough money to justify commercially manufacturing and selling this hood design. And if Light & Motion changed the physical design of the Urban, Deckhand and similar lights, the hoods wouldn't work as well. It's dependent on that particular round barrel and recessed slot behind the lens. The squared off shape of the NiteRider, Cygolite and other models would require more fabrication effort, including some heat processing to reshape thermoplastic materials. Not really worth the expense for commercial manufacturing of such a niche product that would immediately be stolen by China and sold for 10% of my costs.

CliffordK

All these super flash lights are fine during the daylight. But, they should have auto-dimming for riding at night. Don't blind the cars coming up behind you.

01 CAt Man Do

Auto dimming?....Nope, don't want one of those. I'll use my remote thank you. Why would I worry about a car behind me if I'm using a 500 lumen front lamp? The person driving the car is going to see hundreds of vehicles with 10x that much light on a routine basis. Don't know why you would call these "super flashlights". Yeah, some are bright when used on high but even at maximum output they aren't that annoying unless they are on some type of irritating strobe mode or pointed directly at you.

That said, last night I encountered someone using something like that. First thing I noticed was the guy was riding on the wrong side of the road. Secondly, the lamp he was using was set on a typically irritating disco-strobe type mode. While not as bring as something like the old MS-808's it was still damn bright, damn irritating and pointed straight at me. When he passed I could see he was using some type of small self-contained single emitter ( flashlight-like, for lack of a better term ) lamp. Likely something in the 100-200 lumen range but that was too much light on strobe for that time of night ( and the fact that he was on the wrong side of the road to boot... ). While all this irritated me for all of the 15 sec. it took for us to cross paths, in retrospect it really wasn't all that much of a big deal. Thinking this over, I'd rather be irritated briefly than be driving along and suddenly see a person riding a bike on my side of the road at the last second. That guy got seen well before he was in my danger zone. In my opinion, his safety trumps my momentary irritation so I'll not let it bother me too much. Would of been better though if he was on the proper side of the road and using a flash that was only 60 or so lumen. In the day, the 100-200 lumen would of been fine.

01 CAt Man Do

The fact that this website is run by Light & Motion means you are going to have to believe that one bike lamp manufacturer is going to honestly compare their lamps to another another brand. While this might be possible for the most part I believe this is counter-intuitive to how most people think. I would rather see comparisons done by someone without any commercial interests in selling the products they are reviewing.

canklecat

I was initially concerned about the neutrality of We Test Lights, but in some cases their tests of lights by other manufacturers beat their own brand Light & Motion models. For example the Cygolite Metro 750 is a better buy than comparable L&M Urban models, and output is flatter throughout the run time than L&M's own lights. If the site were biased they'd have fudged the data. However I know some folks complain about the Cygolite mount and overall size.

There are a few other light review sites but those aren't as comprehensive, have gone dormant with no recent reviews, or are entirely subjective with no data and inconsistent methodology for nighttime photos that don't really show much of anything useful.

canklecat

The main problem with bicycle lights isn't brightness but lens design. Motor vehicle lights but comply with certain standards and use Fresnel lens designs to direct the light where needed with minimal spill that can hinder oncoming traffic (which is why there are aftermarket lenses to put over American market car headlights for driving in other countries with more stringent lighting standards).

But motor vehicles can carry larger, heavier lights with more surface area to enhance visibility. They don't need to aim directly into the eyes of other road users to be visible.

Bicycles are limited in the practical maximum size and weight of lights. There are larger lights available but they tend to be heavier and most cyclists who prefer minimal weight simply won't use them. That's why the Cygolite Hotshot design is so popular. It's intensely bright and very lightweight -- and practically blinding if aimed at eye level.

I use larger lights on my heavy comfort hybrid errand bike and rigid frame hybrid -- the combo light/reflector types using AA or AAA batteries, and Fresnel type lenses. With bikes weighing more than 30 lbs, a little extra weight is hardly noticeable. I'm going to add LED wheel lights to my errand bike, possibly to the other hybrid as well. But I use minimal lights on my road bike, which I mostly use in daylight -- the smaller head and tail lights are mostly for emergencies if I'm out later than expected. And in the hottest part of the summer I may start out just before dark, but I ride rural routes with little traffic or competing light sources, so my minimal lights are more visible than they would be in the city.

And I mostly use my errand bike in my own neighborhood, which is among the most dangerous places in my city for cyclists. Drivers pay little or no attention so I need all the help I can get. Only a mile from here the overall attitude of drivers changes noticeably. (The difference is mostly due to residential demographics. My immediate neighborhood is mostly rental apartments with rapid turnover. Nobody is invested in any sense of community here. A mile away are older traditional middle income homes with stable residents who also walk, jog and ride bikes in their own neighborhood, so they're invested in a sense of community.)

The brightest bike taillights for the buck are the Cygolite Hotshots, but those have no beam direction lenses -- just a clear lens over an intensely focused reflector. Because I participate in nighttime group rides I aim my Cygolite Hotshot downward just a bit. I just eyeball it from behind outside to find a good compromise between visibility to cars while not blinding fellow cyclists behind me.

Arguably, aiming the light downward a bit enhances visibility by creating a bright red light that's visible on my rear tire and pavement behind me. It comes somewhat at the cost of maximum visibility, but at night I normally use the slower pulse type mode (I think Cygolite calls it "zoom") which mimics some road hazard warning lights.

My only beef is with cyclists who aim their headlights directly at eye level on the crowded, narrow MUP. Taillights are less a problem, no matter how bright. The overtaking speed is less a factor. But oncoming bikes using nuclear disco strobes at eye level are inconsiderate and potentially dangerous. I tip my headlight downward as I approach other users -- cyclists or pedestrians -- hoping the brighteyes will take the hint and do the same.

Marcus_Ti

Well typed. Only nitpick...I've never seen a modern car headlight use Fresnel lenses. In the recent past, cars used PAR (Parabolic Aluminized Reflector) lamp/lens sealed units (up until 1980s IIRC in the USA these were required). Today, cars use dedicated lens/reflectors with replaceable lamps that are ellipsoidal or polyellipsoidal.


The other side of it besides size/weight...is operating power. It takes a ton of juice to drive a 2K lumen headlight that is hard to fit on a bike, and last long enough to be useful.

canklecat

Yeah, I'm a good typist.

Yeah, I was taking a lot of liberties with the nomenclature with the term "Fresnel". But even some aftermarket lens-overlay makers for the European market call their products "Fresnels" even though they technically aren't. The theatre type Fresnels and PARs we used onstage wouldn't meet public road or highway standards because they spill light in all directions. And I can't remember the technical name of the motor vehicle lens design that directs the beam downward and into a pattern.

01 CAt Man Do

We each must be using different versions of the Hotshot because mine is nothing like what you described. The Hotshot 150 I have uses a typical conical optic on the LED. What makes this one different from the original Hotshot I used to own is that the newer 150 optic has small vertical lines thru it designed to give a much broader beam pattern. That said it does this very well and without losing too much over all intensity. The only thing the HS 150 doesn't do that I wish it did is; I wish I could adjust the intensity of the flash modes. You can adjust the brightness of the steady mode ( which is great ) but you can't with the flash modes.

When I ride MUP's I take a different approach when using my lights. Basically, no flashing lights at night front or back, just steady modes. ( except my wheel lights which only flash ).... I don't use the Hotshot 150 on the MUP. Simply too bright for that although I suppose if I had to I could use the steady mode on low. Since I also use a cheap Cateye rear clone I just use that on steady-low for MUP's. Yep, that means when I switch from MUP to road I have to stop to turn on some lights but that's no big problem for me.

lightbulbjim

I just received an Omega 300 today and it shows the dimming problem. It's my first NiteRider light, so I have nothing else to compare it to. I've noticed the dimming in the main daylight flash mode so far. I haven't tested the other modes enough to see if it happens with them too.

I was hoping that it could replace my Bontrager Flare R, which I like in every way except that the daylight flash isn't quite bright enough (65 lumens). When freshly charged the Omega is indeed much brighter and more attention grabbing in the walk-down-the-street test. After it had been running for about an hour, however, (I was doing a static bench test to check the run time) it was noticeably dimmer than the Flare R.

At first I thought it was marketeering at work to be able to claim high output with a long runtime. This was supported by the fact that once it had switched down to the lower power, cycling through the modes and returning to daylight flash would put it back to the full output.

It might be thermal management logic though. When on high power the light gets quite warm to the touch. Once it switches down to the lower power it's not warm at all. I opened it up to check the construction (it's just screwed together and quite easy to disassemble) and found something concerning. There is a piece of plastic sandwiched between the circuit board and the battery which is used for mounting the whole assembly in the case. This piece of plastic looks like it has been distorted by heat. There is a ground plane on the back of the circuit board coupled to the components on the top side with through-hole vias for heat dissipation. The ground plane is directly in contact with the distorted plastic mounting piece.

I was also underwhelmed by the runtime. The daylight flash mode is advertised as having a run time of six hours. My first bench test yielded just under 2 hours. I repeated the test and got just over four hours. Note that with both of these tests the light spent most of its time in the lower output mode.

Overall I'm not too happy with this light and will probably return it. For my use it's worse than the Flare R, which I already have.

KraneXL

Three things:

1) The angle is irrelevant because you can adjust it.

2) There is a flash mode for day time and another for night time.

3) All lights have an initial brightness (typically their advertised brightness) that diminishes shortly after they're turned on. The better designs only drop once then remain steady throughout their run times. The lessor lights continue to diminished as the battery drains. That is what the manufacture doesn't tell you.

fietsbob

BTI (link) distributor , sells to retail dealers .. anyhow.. Niterider is the company..

lightbulbjim

I don't see why there's a good reason for the output to continually drop. LiPo cells have a very flat discharge curve and a decent regulator should take care of the rest. Continually dropping output comes across as either poor regulator/thermal design or deliberate marketeering so that the manufacturer can advertise unrealistically high output levels and runtimes.

In the case of the Omega it's hard to say if it's a gradual drop in output or a single large drop. All I know is that it's a very noticeable drop in output. I have two other tail lights to hand (Bontrager Flare R and Niteflux Red Zone 4) and neither of them drop noticeably in output.

Regardless of the output, the run time on the Omega is nowhere near spec (I just did another test run and it died at 1.5 hours) so it's not usable to me.

KraneXL

My guess is all of the above. This is one big reason that makes one light cost much more than another light that seems identical. Its also a component of quality of construction since cheaper lights always compromise on materials and workmanship.Not really an issue with taillights since their operational requirements aren't nearly as stringent.

lightbulbjim

The Omega is a tail light too.

angerdan

Got my NiteRider Sentry Aero 260 today.
Bright as hell, can compare with the Cateye Rapid X3 as well.
And it is much more red than the slighty red/orange Rapid X3.
I like the unusual design.

Garfield Cat

There's a new Hotshot 200 now.

It is not the same because the mounting uses that flexible strap. It comes with the regular size strap but I got the longer strap for aero seat posts.

tunavic

About 2 months ago I got the 150 but had to purchase the flexible strap as an extra because the mounting hardware didn't work with my bike (aero seatpost and seatstays that aren't round).

Do you know if the new 200 brightness can be adjusted while in flashig mode?

​​​

znomit

200 arrived yesterday. Its a much wider beam than my 100, but more orange. The brightness is constant in flash modes, just the frequency changes. Not exactly sure how the light sensing works...
"It even senses day and night, automatically adjusting the brightness of the flashing modes."