Originally Posted by
bpcyclist
Looking at new headlights and wondering if anyone here has had a look at this light. It seems to have some interesting qualities, but is a bit more expensive than some competitors (such as the B&M Ixon Space). Love to hear thoughts and opinions or other suggestions. It appears my beloved Cygolite Trio 1300 may be dying, so I am looking for something powerful to replace it. The other two I use are a Metro Pro 1100 and the unknown but excellent Ceco F1000. Really appreciate the input. I was sort of looking to try/add an StVZO light, but that is not a requirement.
I have used the Outbound Lighting Road light. I've also used other lights that include the B&M Ixon IQ Premium. I bought the Outbound light after reading reviews and the description. It was expensive, $200, and because of that I had high expectations too. I was hoping that the light would be a brighter verions of the B&M light I already had. I have to say that I was disappointed with the Outbound light. The build quality of the light is excellent. The optics are good, but not what I wanted. Outbound puts out a lot of light and it had the advertised sharp cutoff so that you don't blind other road users. What I did not like is that too much light is concentrated about 15 feet in front of the bike. Beyond 15 feet the light is dim and doesn't really light up further down the road well. So if you are going much over 10 mph you don't see as well as you should. I believe that bright white spot in front of the bike also causes your pupils to close up making it even harder to see in the dark. That is different from the B&M light that produces a nice even light that goes out about 100 feet. It is not as bright as the Outbound light, but since it is an even light output it works better. The B&M also has the sharp cut off so as to not blind other users. Basically the B&M makes better use of the light it puts out. The Outbound light would be better if they changed their optics to put more light down the road instead of that bright spot just in front of the bike. I used the Outbound light for 2 seasons and I am about to sell it. I just bought a B&M Ixon Space. This is the brighter version of the B&M IQ Premium I already have. So far, I am pretty happy with the B&M Ixon Space. It is not as bright as I hoped for, but once again it makes the most of the light it does put out. It provide a nice even light going out 150 feet. I find it safer to use going faster and going downhill it gives me more confidence than the Outbound light. One area where both B&M and Outbound are lacking is in giving guidance on how to set up your light. They should tell you how to set up the light to get the best pattern and distance. Some in the way of:
Mount your light between 24 and 36 inches off the ground. When standing 6 feet away from a wheel the top of the light beam should be 48 inches off the ground.
That would help you make the best use of the light you have. I hope that helps.