In every shootout, there has to be a top dog. This year, the Lupine Betty takes the crown by a devastating landslide. They not only spec'd a 4500 Lumen light but they also backed it up. This light is almost scary in brightness level and one really has to look away from the light head or risk seeing 'stars' for a moment.

The good news is the light levels are very configurable all the way to 40 Lumens without any flicker at all. This one system can serve many purposes from the longest marathon races to the fastest descent around.

The real novelty is the remote. It is so tiny, so easy to activate and so fast. It has a long range and is dependable and lightning quick. This makes it actually useable and easy to change light levels as it will be right at your thumbs. This is particularly useful when the light is on the helmet, as one never has to take the hands off the bars.

Specifications

  • Price: $1115
  • Claimed Lumens: 4500 Lumens
  • Measured Lumens: 4280 Lumens
  • Measured MTBR Lux: 440 Lux
  • Lumens per $: 3.66 Lumens
  • Lumens per gram: 7.70 Lumens
  • Time on High: 1:30 Hours
  • Charge Time: 2:00 Hours
  • Mounted Weight: 530 grams
  • Category: High End

Strengths

  • Excellent 26 degree, even beam pattern
  • It includes a remote that is very useable
  • Insane brightness at 4280 Lumens
  • 7.5 hour run time at 900 Lumens or 1.5 hours at 4280
  • Excellent charger and smart battery with indicator
  • Lupine quality and reputation
  • Can be used with impressive array of Lupine batteries
  • Amazing temperature management that will step down and step up the light brightness based on the air movement and ventilation available

Weaknesses

  • It is $1100
  • Can get hot when stationary and will step down in brightness as the light head is small
  • At this brightness level, it should be wider than 26 degrees
  • At this price, bar mount should be included

Mounting

Included mount is an excellent helmet mount. There is a CNC'd bar mount that is available as an option.

Mtbr Light Meter Measurements

This light measured 440 Lux on our ambient light measurement facility. The light output measurement is performed by placing a Lux light meter beside the light. Both are pointed at the ceiling (five feet above) of a dark room. This measurement uses the ambient light produced by the bike light.

Integrating Sphere Measured Lumens

This light measured 4280 Lumens in an integrating sphere. Claimed Lumens by the manufacturer is 4500 Lumens. The Lumen-hour graph below shows how the light performs over the first three minutes of its battery cycle.

Notice that the lumen output dives down after about a minute. This is the result of our test setup not having enough ventilaton for the light head. We used the same small desk fan for all the lights on this session but the Betty requires a lot of cooling to operate at the full 4280 lumens. The light automatically steps down when it gets hot and it ramps back up when ventilation is avaialable (on a big descent for example).

Compare all Lumen Tests here »



Tunnel Beam Pattern Photo

The location is useful since it has walls and a ceiling that can display a bike light beam pattern. The walls have a lot of graffiti on them and actually show detail when they are lit up by a light with a wide angle. Cones and targets are set up with the far target set up at 120 feet.

Compare all Tunnel Beam Patterns here »



For more information visit lupinenorthamerica.com.


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Related Links
2014 Tunnel Beam Pattern Comparisons »
2014 Mtbr Lumen Tests »
2013 Bike Lights Shootout »
2012 Bike Lights Shootout »
Mtbr Lights Reviews »
Mtbr Lights Forum »

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