To see and Be Seen – Niterider Lighting Solutions

CHARLESS LEE| 12th August 2016 | PRODUCT REVIEWS

For some hopefuls, the #TOGO517 Jersey Collection Day left them star-struck, as elite finishers and achievement winners turned up to collect their sleek black finisher jerseys and certificates. Perhaps you’re wondering how you would ever be able to get on their level; perhaps you feel like you’re stuck in mediocrity, on the verge of throwing in the towel. “Just what does it take to scale greater heights?” you may wonder. These winners, having started from the bottom, know exactly how it feels and have generously shared their personal tips, in the spirit of the strong comradeship often demonstrated within Singapore’s many cycling communities.

ABOUT NITERIDER

Headquartered in San Diego, California, NiteRider has cultivated a rich history of designing, engineering, testing and manufacturing quality lighting systems for the cycling community. In many ways, it is no lesser known than big names like Moon, Cat-Eye and Revo-Lights.

NiteRider specialises in making lighting systems for mountain biking, road biking and urban commuting. The latest product offerings at Hup Leong is a balanced mixture of front lighting systems and rear safety lights for off-roaders, roadies and city dwellers.

FRONT LIGHTING SYSTEMS

The Pro Series

For hardcore mountain bikers who are looking for a lighting solution that can project ultra-bright beams of light to illuminate the darkest of the dark, the Pro 3600 Enduro Remote will satisfy their demands well. Casting an insane brightness of 3600 lumens, the Pro 3600 Enduro Remote is NiteRider’s top torch. Designed with a daylight flash mode and four different output modes from 450 lumens to 3600 lumens, the strongest light beam emitted by the Pro 3600 Enduro Remote is so intense that the rider, when in total darkness, can see up to 30 metres in bright clear view.

Left: The Pro 3600 Enduro Remote

Right: The Pro 2800 Enduro Remote

The second best in the Pro Series is the Pro 2800 Enduro Remote. Similar to the 3600, the Pro 2800 Enduro Remote includes a software that allows the rider to customise the exact lumen outputs from the comfort of his or her laptop. The Pro 2800 Enduro Remote comes with a daylight and five different out modes. Just like the eight-cell battery for the 3600, the six-cell battery for the Pro 2800 Enduro Remote is rechargeable.

For novice racers who simply want a reasonable amount of illumination, the Pro 1600 Race and Pro 1400 Race should suffice. Boasting a lumens output of 1600 lumens and 1400 lumens respectively, both the Pro 1600 Race and Pro 1400 Race inherited the same set of capabilities from their more-powerful siblings.

The Lumina Series

The head-lamps under the Lumina Series give riders the best of both worlds: super-bright lighting and competitive pricing!

There are currently five Lumina variants. Calling the shots is the Lumina 950 OLED Boost, which is specced with OLED bulbs to enhance brightness. For those who have a knack for making every second counts, they will be happy with the Intellicharge, a built-in technology that can reduce battery-charging duration by at least 50 percent. Weight-weenies will be delighted to know that the Lumina 950 OLED Boost, which weighs only 172 grams, will not add on to the weight of their bikes. The Lock Mode is another sweet feature on the Lumina 950 OLED Boost. Its locking mechanism will prevent the lamp from being switched on accidentally when it is kept in storage.

The Lumina 950 OLED Boost

The Swift and Mako Series

The lighting systems under the Swift and Mako Series are collectively designed for road and urban riding.

The Swift 350, which is constructed with four different lumens output mode and a daylight flashing mode, is the choice of many riders as its lumens output capacity is high enough to attract the attention of other road-users. Fitted with a rechargeable Li-on battery, the Swift 350 incorporates a battery indicator which allows the rider to know when to get it recharged. The Swift 350 is IP64-compliant.

The Swift 350

The no-frills Mako Series take on the conventional route with the Double-A batteries and they are specially made for those who have a budget to meet. Whilst the three models – Mako 150, Mako 100 and Mako 50 – are not as flashy as their cousins, they are packed with the same set of inherent NiteRider features – IP64-compliant, toughness, durability and lifetime warranty – that give the riders a run for their money. To amplify visibility on the road, the Mako lighting systems have “side gills” that emit a red light when they are switched on. Built to be environmentally-friendly, the Mako 50 is capable of running on the same pair of batteries for 50 hours. The Mako 150, having a higher lumens output, can run for 20 hours before it runs out of juice.

The Mako 150

REAR LIGHTING SYSTEMS

Rear safety lights are an integral part of bicycles, and they can mean a difference between getting back home safely and getting into an accident.

Sentinel 150

Debuted at the top of the product range, the Sentinel 150 is a daylight-visible rear lighting system that produces a retina-searing output of 150 lumens. Apart from the four flashing modes to select from, the Sentinel 150 is able to enhance the rider’s road presence with three laser-lane options.

The versatility of the Sentinel 150 can be best seen from its compatibility with round and aero-styled seat post. This gives another product choice to competitive riders and triathletes who typically use aerodynamic road bikes. But the most attention-grabbing feature of the Sentinel 150 is its low-battery indicator. When power is running low, the circular portion of the Sentinel 150 will emit a red glow.

The Sentinel 150

Solas 150

Identical to the Sentinal 150, the Solas 150 is a daytime visible tail-light that produces a powerful output of 150 lumens. To reduce glaring and momentarily blindness to the cyclists behind the Solas 150, NiteRider integrated the Solas 150 with a feature known as the “Group Ride Mode”. When this mode is activated, the lighting from the Solas 150 will not be beamed directly at the cyclist’s face. Instead, it will be casted at a lower angle. Equipped with the same low-battery indicator, the 82-grams Solas 150 is extremely light.

The Solas Series has two variants: The Solas 150 and the Solas 100.

The Solas 150

Sabre 50

Touted as the next all-time favourite amongst night cyclists and even runners, the Sabre 50 is the latest addition to NiteRider’s product offerings. With three lumens output modes and three flashing modes, the brightness capacity that Sabre 50 emits is surprisingly as powerful as NiteRider’s top contenders. Side lights are incorporated into the design of the Sabre 50 to enhance road presence and to draw attention from road-users on either sides of the rider.

The Sabre 50’s silicone strap mount is flexible enough to fit any size of round seat post, thanks to the availability of the strap-hooking holes.

Leveraging on rechargeable battery technology, the feather-light Sabre 50, which weighs only 28 grams, can last up to four hours when activated in continuous output mode! Long-distance night riders need not have to worry about any loss of power during their rides.

The Sabre 50

Cherrybomb 35

The Cherrybomb 35 is NiteRider’s least expensive, and yet, the most efficient rear safety light. So, those who wants value-for-money lighting solutions will adore the Cherrybomb 35.

With a run time of up to 100 hours (on flashing mode) on a pair of Triple-A batteries, the Cherrybomb 35 uses a multi-directional collimator to disperse light to the rear and sides of the rider. Despite its smaller lumens ouput, the Cherrybomb 35 has a visibility range of up to 1.6 kilometres. This gives other road-user sufficient reaction time to avoid the rider.

The Cherrybomb 35

Every NiteRider tail-light model is backed by the company’s lifetime warranty that covers any defect in material and workmanship, mechanical components (housings, covers, mounts and fasteners) and LEDs.

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To find out more about NiteRider products, do visit Hup Leong Company at 51 Chin Swee Road, Singapore 160051, or give them a call at 6532 3700.