Bike LED lights have come a long way. They have come from bike tail lights to affordable commuter lights to decent trail riding lights last year. Everything about them was better than halogen or HID except for light brightness. This year though, we heard that they are now brighter than HID. Brighter than HID? This we had to see for ourselves.

Beam Pattern Comparison is here: http://reviews.mtbr.com/blog/bike-lights-shootout-beam-pattern-comparison/

Our own light output measurements can be found here: http://reviews.mtbr.com/blog/lights-shootout-light-meter-measurements/

November 3 Update: We received a new crop of amazing LED lights. They will be added to this shootout in the coming weeks.

‘09 Updated Lights

‘08 Reviewed Lights

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Lupine Wilma 5

Description:

The Lupine Wilma 5 utilizes 4 LEDs working in concert with proprietary lenses to achieve a bright and consistent beam pattern. It delivers a claimed 920 lumens for 3 hours on one charge of its lithium ion batteries.

The switch on the rear of the light unit allows switching through the available light settings, and remains illuminated for easy location during night riding. This switch also acts as a low-battery warning light by changing color. In our previous test, Lupine lights were impressive but we thought the remote, handlebar-mounted switch was unnecessary and caused handlebar clutter. Thus we were very pleased to see this light mounted switch that was one of the easiest to operate in all the lights we’ve tested.

Beam angle is 15° with a pattern that’s very clean and consistent. The total weight is a 320 grams.

Performance:

The Lupine Wilma 5 measured 66 Lux on our light measurement setup. This is above the Dinotte 800L Race at 55 . http://reviews.mtbr.com/blog/lights-shootout-light-meter-measurements/.

This is bright light no doubt. The beam pattern is very clean and focused. It’s about a mid-sized with a 15 degree angle. There’s no center spot or outer Check how it compares to other lights here: http://www.mtbr.com/beamcomparisoncrx.aspx.

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Lupine Tesla 4

Description:

The Lupine Tesla is completely new design from these light wizards from Germany. It extremely compact with a single Seoul Z-Power P7 LED emitter that puts out 700 lumens. It is complemented by an equally small 4.5Ah Li-ion battery tha provides three hours of burn time on full power. Three levels of brightness are accessible from the lighthead mounted switch. And a flashing mode is mode is available for commuter riding.

The switch on the rear of the light unit allows switching through the available light settings, and remains illuminated for easy location during night riding. This switch also acts as a low-battery warning light by changing color. In our previous test, Lupine lights were impressive but we thought the remote, handlebar-mounted switch was unnecessary and caused handlebar clutter. Thus we were very pleased to see this light mounted switch that was one of the easiest to operate in all the lights we’ve tested.

Beam angle is 13° with a very clean and well defined light halo or outer illuminated area. There is also a bright, but not harsh spot in the center of the beam pattern. This worked extremely well on the trail as a wide swath of trail was illuminated while the spot threw light very far into the trail. The total weight is a 320 grams.

Performance:

The Lupine Tesla measured 51 Lux on our light measurement setup. This is just below the Light and Motion Seca Race at 52 Lux and just above the Exposure MaxxD at 48 Lux. The comparison table is available here: http://reviews.mtbr.com/blog/lights-shootout-light-meter-measurements/.

The Tesla’s real strength however is its beam pattern. The halo is very wide and well-defined. And the center spot is just the right size and throws the light very far. As you can see in the beam pattern here http://www.mtbr.com/beamcomparisoncrx.aspx, it’s not the brightest light but it is extremely clean and usable. Coupled with its weight, size and ergonomics, this light is just right.

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NiteFLUX Photon Max Extreme

Light Meter charts and comparison table available here.

Description:

This review won’t be very long since this light is structurally identical to the NiteFLUX Photon Max that we reviewed last year. The case, mounting and accessories are all the same so please refer to the other review for our impressions on the design and packaging. The Photon Max Extreme is distinguished from its predecessor by it’s gold paint on the cooling fins. This gold paint is also seen on the Photon 8 Enduro which we will be reviewing shortly.

So the big news with this light comes in one number, 1350.  That is 1350 lumens compared to the old one at 800 lumens. Most of our other high end LED lights from the shootout come in at under 1000 lumens as well.  Naturally, we were giddy with anticipation to see if this light would measure up to its numbers.

The light comes in a very handy satchel bag that protects the light during transport and opens up nicely for setup. The light head features three LEDs and is fairly big but surprisingly light at 151 grams. The case is a mix of plastic and aluminum molded together in a design that includes nine cooling fins and five vent holes.

The battery is a neoprene wrapped unit slightly smaller than a coke can. The switch is on the battery and has very nice action to it.

Features and Specifications:

- Headlight with Helmet bracket weights – 136grams
- Headlight no bracket weighs – 115grams

The Photon Max headlights also come equipped with temperature sensing, in normal riding conditions it will not come into play but if the headlight was to get too hot it would activate a automatic throttling back of the power consumption to reduce the thermal load on the LEDs. In severe conditions (hot and a standstill for a long period and the light was on highest beam setting) or accidental situation like switching-on of the headlight inside a sports bag could raise the temperature to a point where the temperature sensor would alert a electronic micro controller inside the battery canister which would then throttle back the power to headlight allowing it to cool.
Photon Max Extreme Light Head & Accessories:

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Princeton Tec Switchback 2

Light Meter charts and comparison table available here.

Description:

The Switchback 2 is a 2-LED light and the Switchback 3 is a 3-LED system. Both light heads are encased in big aluminum housings with a big yellow switch  on top. The construction is top-notch and it looks to have ample cooling available.

The battery for each model is a big 5-hour battery in a hard plastic case with a rubber top to rest on the bike frame. The connectors are slotted and lock on to the battery.

The packaging is unbelievable. There is so much attention to detail to all the boxes, spacers, accessories included in the box. Everything is in here and stuffed neatly in these cube-shaped boxes.

PHOTOS: Switchback 2 w/ Battery | Switchback 2 Box | Switchback 3 w/ Battery | Switchback 3 Box | Battery Connector:

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Light and Motion Seca Race $549.00

Light Meter charts and comparison table available here.

Description:

The Light and Motion Seca 700 Race features a big and wide light head with 6 LEDs. Three lights are on top and three on the bottom of the front face of the light. the switch is a big metal triangle-shaped button that sits on top of the light. Behind the switch is a huge red heat sink that keeps the light quite cool even at high power.

To turn the light on, one simply has to tap the big switch. To turn it off, the illuminated switch needs to be pressed for two seconds. We are happy to report that this is one of the easiest LED lights to turn on and off. Simple as it sounds, it seems most manufacturers are afraid of accidental ‘turn ons’ fearing  that the light may cause a fire if the light is in a bag for example. Thus, other lights require a double-click or a two-second depress of  a small switch to turn it on. Light and Motion had no such fears, perhaps because of the cool operation of their light and they chose to optimize for ease of use.

Light head close ups

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Light On! 900 - $475

Light Meter charts and comparison table available here.

Brian Engelen of Light On! didn’t come from the same school of thought as the other Light makers out there. He hails from Oregon where the weather is bad and commuting is the target market for his light. Thus his light is unique compared to the rest of the crowd.

For starters, he has a rotary switch mounted on the battery. This is designed to be weatherproof, foolproof and easy to operate while wearing gloves.

The other diversion is he’s using removable lithium ion batteries. The batteries are removed from the case and charged on separte chargers.

Light Head and Battery Close ups:

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BR Lights C2-K $399.00

Light Meter charts and comparison table available here.

Description:

This won’t be a long review. The BR Lights C2-K looks exactly the same and works exactly the same as their C2.1 H that we reviewed last year. There are three differences:

• the price changed from $329 to  $399
• the run time dropped from about 4 hours to 2.25 hours.
• And most important, the light got a heck of a lot brighter. It went from 410 Lumens to 1000 lumens. Our Lux measurement jumped from 28 Lux to a whopping 65 Lux. The beam pattern improved too with a much bigger hot spot and a much wider beam.

Light Head Close ups:

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Trail Tech MR16 30 Watt $

Light Meter charts and comparison table available here.

Description:

At its core, the MR16 light is a motorcycle light. That’s why it is so big. The light head is about as wide as a waterbottle and weighs almost a lb. The whole system weighs in at 2.2 lbs compared to most high end LED systems now at 1 lb.

That’s why it’s so bright at 1850 lumens. It’s designed so you can go offroad on the motorcycle at 50 mph.  And that’s why it’s so cheap.  The economies of scale in  the motorcycle industry are a little better and I don’t think they would dare sell a light over $500 for fear of retribution.

MR16 | MR 16 w/ Bag | MR 16 w/ Battery:

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Dinotte: 800L - $439.00

Light Meter charts and comparison table available here.

Description:

The Dinotte 800L is a 4-led light and is currently the most powerful light in the Dinotte line-up with a claimed output of 800 lumens. Similar to the 600L, it features two buttons on the rear of the light. One is for turning the light on/off and the other is for selecting the light output. The light is quite fat but not as long as the 600L. The light head weighs in at 170 grams and is ideal for handlebar mount only.

For the price of $439, Dinotte ships two Lithium Ion Batteries. The user can select the size of the batteries as well to either optimize for run-time or weight.

Light Head close ups:

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