Light and Motion Urban models bad experience(s)

[Lewis Moon]

After my crash January of 18, I decided to buy a better light to commute with. I bought a L&M Urban 800 and absolutely loved it. I went ahead and bought the Gopro mounts for under my K-Edge Wahoo mount and loved how it freed up bar space. About 3 weeks ago, the little button where the light hooks onto the mount broke off while riding on a rough ish road. I figured it was 9 months old and just ordered another. Within two weeks the same thing happened.
I have a return request in for both lights so we will see what happens. I'm pretty pissed right now:mad:. Missing a ride.

[charliedid]

I'm officially done with Light & Motion. I used to use and sell it with the zeal of a soapbox preacher. I can no longer...

In the last 6 years i have warrantied 6 personal lights both front and rear for malfunctioning charging, broken mounts (rear mostly but not all) and rapidly diminished run times. One brand ne (replacement) front light worked great for about a month and then would drain on pulse more after about 45 minutes of total use.

I want to love them and they have great designs but I feel like they need some serious QC. I know they want to bring all that in-house but part of me thinks that is what will be their demise not what drives them to be higher quality and great.

I still have one Urban 1000 in rotation and it's basically new. The charging port is defective and I need to wiggle it and set it just so or it won't charge.

Sorry I'm out.

I feel for you Lewis

[Likes2ridefar]

Have a vibe pro headlight. First one, roughly a year ago, the casing cracked and peeled shortly after getting it. Warranty - thankfully easy, they just sent a new one after I emailed a receipt.

Second one quit working after less than a year. Same cracking issue but i ignored it this time. Light randomly works at this point making it worthless.

Bought a urban 1000 to replace which I like thus far.

If there was another solid option that works with the go pro mount I’d be all for it instead. I looked quite a bit but didn’t see anything with similar features like small size and day flash feature.

[Davist]

If I understand the issue, the gopro adapter from L&M broke. I have a gopro mount for my Cygolite that I bought from Shapeways (3d printing) it screws together (replaces bar mount) and has worked great for about a year, very sturdy. They do customs as well (I couldn't find light and motion)


Take a look, might be helpful https://www.shapeways.com/marketplace?type=product&q=gopro+light

[charliedid]

Have a vibe pro headlight. First one, roughly a year ago, the casing cracked and peeled shortly after getting it. Warranty - thankfully easy, they just sent a new one after I emailed a receipt.

Second one quit working after less than a year. Same cracking issue but i ignored it this time. Light randomly works at this point making it worthless.

Bought a urban 1000 to replace which I like thus far.

If there was another solid option that works with the go pro mount I’d be all for it instead. I looked quite a bit but didn’t see anything with similar features like small size and day flash feature.

Similar experience with Vibe Pro

[Lewis Moon]

If I understand the issue, the gopro adapter from L&M broke. I have a gopro mount for my Cygolite that I bought from Shapeways (3d printing) it screws together (replaces bar mount) and has worked great for about a year, very sturdy. They do customs as well (I couldn't find light and motion)


Take a look, might be helpful https://www.shapeways.com/marketplace?type=product&q=gopro+light

No, the little button on the light that snaps into the mount broke...on two lights.

Didn't take me long to find a pic on the web:
https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/QmcAAOSwMQBaLJ7V/s-l300.jpg

[Davist]

ahh, sorry..

well, I do recommend the Cygolite Dash Pro 600 and the shapeways mount, if you can't find a solution for L&M

[oldpotatoe]

I had an older L&M light..stopped charging after a few weeks(bought new)..they asked for the light and charger..sent them in and then L&M accused me of lying about not including the charger(??)...we went round and round..even after I mentioned I was a L&M retailer at the time...finally got the original light back with new charger..happened again..into trash it went...

[chiasticon]

yeah I'm moving on too. I want to support them but I just keep having issues. I've replaced my Vis 180 several times. mostly because the charging port cover keeps breaking off. in fairness, previously it's broken within the warranty period and they just sent me a new one. now it's out of warranty and costs $20 (+ shipping) to get replaced. for a little rubber cover. nope. can get a brand new light from someone else for the same money.

they have good designs in general but of the four lights I've owned from them, I don't think any have not been returned to them and repaired/replaced for one reason or another.

[Lewis Moon]

yeah I'm moving on too. I want to support them but I just keep having issues. I've replaced my Vis 180 several times. mostly because the charging port cover keeps breaking off. in fairness, previously it's broken within the warranty period and they just sent me a new one. now it's out of warranty and costs $20 (+ shipping) to get replaced. for a little rubber cover. nope. can get a brand new light from someone else for the same money.

they have good designs in general but of the four lights I've owned from them, I don't think any have not been returned to them and repaired/replaced for one reason or another.

Yeah, the charging cover broke on both lights. One the first time I used it. Luckily I just trimmed the tab off and stuck the plug back in.

[Jaybee]

Went through two Vis180s where the button either stopped working or had to be pressed exceptionally hard. When I returned them to the LBS the owner assured me I wasn’t the only one. Great product, when it works, but “when it works” is not a good quality in a light.

On to Cygolite with no regrets.

[savechief]

My Urban 800 works fine, no issues.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

[kramnnim]

They sent me charge port covers for mine twice (got lost in the mail the first time)

[Ozz]

IIRC, there was a disc part in the mount that was supposed to break when hit...to protect the light if mounted on handlebars, and your head/neck if mounted on helmet...may have been on the HID light, as all others I own have silicone straps

I've never had anything but good service from them for any issues....issues include burned out HID light, and (old 5+ yrs) battery not holding charge. Resolutions were discount on latest model LED light and discount on new battery. No hassles and good communication.

Lights of theirs I have: Seca 900, Stella 200, Taz 1500 and Vis 180

[vincenz]

I love their lights, being super bright, all cars stop for me when they see me. I did have an issue with the mount breaking off too after about a year of use.

I ordered another one and am no longer keeping the mount on handlebars and inserting and removing the light into the mount. Instead, I remove the whole thing from the handlebars every time I need to charge it, so any repeated stress would be on the silicone strap instead of the button tab.

Hopefully that "solves" that issue. I can't find a better performing, better looking, and nicely priced light.

[pdmtong]

I love their lights, being super bright, all cars stop for me when they see me. I did have an issue with the mount breaking off too after about a year of use.

I ordered another one and am no longer keeping the mount on handlebars and inserting and removing the light into the mount. Instead, I remove the whole thing from the handlebars every time I need to charge it, so any repeated stress would be on the silicone strap instead of the button tab.

Hopefully that "solves" that issue. I can't find a better performing, better looking, and nicely priced light.

My older LM do not detach from the strap so it took me a few reads to figure out the OPs complaint. I get it now. this is the redesign to enable the light to attach upside down under a camera mount etc.

I would do the above (begrudgingly) as well. It;'s easier on the connection but defeats the point of the design.

[blakcloud]

Three lights, three problems out of the box. Not worth the hassle. Won't be purchasing Light and Motion ever again.

[AJosiahK]

can relate to alot of your experiences with L&M products over the years. Esp whn i used to work in the industry. Dont have/use their stuff any more, stuck with niterider and cygolite. . . never had good experiences with the urban models especially ... too bad.

[muz]

This is too bad. I have only had good experiences with L&M, and in fact would choose them above anything else. But I haven't tried any of their latest stuff. My Urban 300 is still going strong, after having a new battery installed a few months ago.

[mdeth1313]

I've been using the Seca headlights over the past 15 years or so. First the 400, then 800, then 1000, 1500, 1800, now 2200 and never had an issue. The enduro batteries seem to last forever.

[dbh]

Been through two 180 vis taillights. Loved them when they worked, but had charging issues with both. First one they replaced no questions asked under warranty. The warranty replacement lasted about a year until it stopped charging. The thing is, I loved the light when it worked.

[seahuston]

I'll share my bad experience as well:

Had (have) a Solite 250 which I got primarily for climbing/mountaineer but also as a bike light.
First light mounting clip broke after a week
Warranty replacement left me stuck in the dark on a climb with a stuck/failed on/off button
Warranty replacement round 2 last a couple months before the wire jacket started peeling and exposing the wires inside.

In climbing and cycling I consider lights a potentially critical safety tool. I will never trust Light & Motion with that again

[Dromen]

Yes. My 800 died after 3 years and approximately 12 uses. Same thing with my Taz 1500. Then I suckered myself into their offering of 30% off and bought an urban 900 and a Taz 1200. They work fine but they're only a few months old. Maybe I just have a bad attitude about L&M but they seem to have taken the step down in the quality Department.

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

[arthurlo]

K-edge makes an adapter for the Niterider Lumina/Lumina Micro series to mount them onto a Go-Pro mount. I believe the Micro series weigh about the same as the Urban, while the regular Lumina is a bit heavier.

Bontrager Ion's also have an adapter for the Go-Pro mount, but the cleanest Go-Pro adapter for a helmet mount only comes with their Rally MIPS helmet. The adapter found on their online store is more suited for a stem mount.

[charliedid]

Yes. My 800 died after 3 years and approximately 12 uses. Same thing with my Taz 1500. Then I suckered myself into their offering of 30% off and bought an urban 900 and a Taz 1200. They work fine but they're only a few months old. Maybe I just have a bad attitude about L&M but they seem to have taken the step down in the quality Department.

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

Sounds like a winning attitude to me!