NiteRider Pro 3600 Front Bike Light

$700.00

(1)

Item # 843561

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Like a miniature, portable sun for your bike, the NiteRider Pro 3600 LED bike light points 3,600 lumens down the road or trail when the real sun has set.

D.I.Y. (Do It Yourself) on-board software gives you full control of the light output and settings for virtually limitless customization for your riding and lighting needs
Internet-based D.I.Y. software runs on Windows 2000 and later platforms
Light can be mounted on handlebar (fits up to 31.8mm) or helmet (mount included)
Borofloat® glass lens ensures maximum light transmission and durability; custom reflectors provide focused and flood beam patterns
8-step power gauge shows you remaining battery life; battery life ranges from 1.5 - 36 hrs., depending on settings
Quick-release battery system provides hassle-free charging: simply disconnect the battery and set it in the docking station, leaving the headlamp and battery mount on the bike
NiteRider Pro 3600 LED bike light system includes headlamp, handlebar mount, helmet mount, extension cable, lithium ion battery and docking station

Please Note: This item contains a lithium battery and cannot be shipped to APO, FPO, U.S. Territories, international destinations or Hawaii, and are only available for in-store pickup in Alaska.

Imported.

Item 843561

$140.00

with coupon code ANNV13
May 17-27 Details

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NiteRider Pro 3600 Front Bike Light Customer Reviews

REVIEW SNAPSHOT®

by PowerReviews

NiteRider Pro 3600 Front Bike Light

5.0

(based on 1 review)

Reviewed by 1 customer

Displaying review 1

Oct

2012

(19 of 19 customers found this review helpful)

5.0

All the light you will need and more

By Sixgun

from Austin, TX

About Me Avid Cyclist

See all my reviews

Pros

Great visibility
Helmet/Removable mount
Low battery indicator
Rechargable

Cons

Gets Hot
Heavy

Best Uses

Front headlight
Night commute

Comments about NiteRider Pro 3600 Front Bike Light:

I do most of my biking at night, in urban areas. I'm hooked up with good safety lights but was looking for an upgrade of my navigation light. Right now I've got a 200 lumen cygolight which is good, but I wanted better.

It comes in a nice nylon zip bag to keep all that stuff in. It comes with a charger, battery, base station, light and extension cord. When you break it out the first thing you notice is that unit is HEAVY in comparison other bike equipment. This is not for ultra light weight biking. If you are spending hundreds of dollars on upgrades to save ounces of weight forget it, this is not the light for you. I bike for fun and fitness so a few extra pounds doesn't mean much to me. Not crashing because I didn't see something or wasn't seen means a LOT to me.

Mounting

The system comes with two mounts, handle bar and helmet.
The helmet mount seems pretty good. There are two Velcro loops on either side of the mount. You can thread them through vents in the helmets. The mount has a foam cushion on the bottom to allow for compressive tightening with the straps and prevent slipping. It's a heavy unit and is angled to be put on the downward slope of the helmet. You'll want to keep the battery pack in your pack or pocket. They provide an extended power cord for that use.

The Handlebar mount is interesting. It is designed hold the light offset from the mount by a couple of inches. The idea is that it attaches to the left side of your handlebar next to the stem (must be on the left) and then holds the light in the middle of your handlebars. It has a removable rubber ring that is tabbed to fit onto the mount for smaller diameter handlebars. This means the rubber won't slip out, but you can still remove it to fit on larger bars (which I had to do). You clamp the unit over the bar and then tighten it down by turning a knob on the back. Adjustment up and down is done by the angle on the bar. Adjustment left and right is done by swinging the arm that holds the light. An Allen wrench is provided to lock the left right in place once you get it set.

The battery pack attaches to the frame via two Velcro straps that you thread over the frame and through loops on the other side of the pack. If you're cabling runs across the top of your bike or is internal you can hook it on the main horizontal spar of the frame hanging down. Otherwise you'll have to do it on the main diagonal. I have a "medium" frame bike and it's just a little too big to be mounted on the inside of the spar and fit with my water bottle. It fits on the bottom, though I will probably work on better placement so it doesn't pick up all the gunk from the front tire.

The normal use of the light is to just pull the battery pack off leaving the mounting tray attached. So when you mount it make sure you have a couple of extra inches of clearance for that. Then you take the battery and put it in the charger.

Output
Putting out the Lumens is what this unit is all about. The "factory" settings Low (1000 lumens), Medium (1600 lumens), High (3600 lumens). You can program additional settings. The battery has roughly 6000 Lumen/hours. Take 6000/(desired lumen output) and that's how many hours it will run for.

Lumen output is always a tricky thing. There are many ways to measure it to make your statistic look good. Plus eyes response to light is not linear. 200 Lumens doesn't "seem" twice as bright at 100 lumens. So from a useful perspective what's this light like?

It's nice, very nice, luxuriously nice, but have reasonable expectations. It's what you need for night biking but it's not going to clearly illuminate targets hundreds of yards away. It's brighter than a single car headlight, on par with a high beam.

I do most of my riding at night in urban areas, so some of the ride has streetlights, some not. This unit fills all my lighting needs and more. Going at 20mph down roads you spot small obstacles about 2-3 seconds before you hit them. Things like small branches, pot holes, meter covers, fist sized rocks and general debris. This is plenty of time to avoid them. In addition to that distance the flood of the light is sizeable, so you not only see the obstacle but what is around it to choose an alternate route. With my old (200 lumen) light you'd spot the obstacle with enough time to swing to the left or right but without the luxury of examining all options before you did.

Cars certainly seem to take more notice of the brighter lights, I've noticed in residential areas they tend to slow down a little more when passing head on. Unless they are not looking they will see you coming.

I've never done night time trail riding but this unit might make that an option. There are areas on my ride where we zoomed through a "tunnel" of darkness and hoped nothing ran out in front of us. The tunnel is now gone.

Half vs Full Power
For my speeds/environment the half power setting (1800 lumens) is sufficient. Going to full power doesn't significantly increase the reach of the light. It does make the beam broader by about 1/3. It also makes the illuminated area much brighter, increasing the quality of the light so to speak. So rather than just seeing "oh that's a branch" you see it's a branch with gray bark, twigs and brown leaves. Does that really make a difference from a navigation standpoint? Street signs are actually better seen at half power. Full power makes them almost TOO reflective.

Drawbacks
It's expensive, though way cheaper than a trip the ER if you avoid a crash/collision. If you're a 20 something who's bike IS your car and know you need a real light, but the price is hard to swallow you don't probably don't NEED this much light to be safe.

Its heavy, that battery pack is a good chunk of weight. Though I don't consider it too much.

It's Hot. It's designed to have air flowing over it, if you are stationary for a while it will heat up. When transporting it make sure to unplug the light from the powerpack. If it accidentally turns on it will likely melt any synthetics or start a fire in a pack.

Conclusion
If you want all the light you'll ever need and then some and don't mind paying for it then this is the light for you. I'm confident that years from now when lights are 50% brighter that I won't regret only having 3600 lumens. This is the last bike light I'll ever need to buy until it dies. It's got the combination of output and battery life for any ride I can foresee taking. The build quality seems good, the setup straightforward enough. Time will tell on those items. If you're looking to save a few $ or some weight you might consider the Pro-1800 model instead, Im thinking about one for my helmet. But if you want the best and brightest this is it.