Finally found the perfect front light....

[joosttx]

Finding the perfect front light has been a long quest for me and to be honest one I never thought I would achieve. Well I was wrong. Last week I bought a Lupine Neo 4 900 with the 2.0Ah / 14Wh Fastclick Battery. What appealed to me was its size and power. I went away from the Lupine Piko because it was just too much of a light and it was a little but heavy and bulky taking away for precious handlebar real estate. I tried a couple other lights like the Specialized Flux 1250 but these lights alway created blind spots in the my eyes after riding a bit.

The Neo 4 is plenty bright. The light is easy on your eyes. It takes I guess about 7mm of handlebar space and is easily positioned front and center, in front of the stem. The battery pack 2.0Ah/14Wh Fastclick Battery is very small and thus far has enough juice to power at least 3hrs of 530 lumens (that's the longest I have used it for). It goes into my Oveja Negra Chuckbucket bag. Finally, the Neo is well made and thoughtfully engineered typically of high end German engineering.

[rnhood]

Looks nice. Very nice.

[AngryScientist]

good intel. with lights, lumens alone do not tell the full story, much more to it than that. looks very nice for dawn patrolling.

[Louis]

Does it have multiple intensity modes?

[prototoast]

It looks like you stash the battery in your bar-adjacent bag, is that right? I've tried lights with external batteries before, but never found a place to keep that battery that didn't feel clunky and awkward. How do you feel about this setup?

[dbnm]

What feedbag are those?

NEVER MIND.

[joosttx]

Originally Posted by prototoast

It looks like you stash the battery in your bar-adjacent bag, is that right? I've tried lights with external batteries before, but never found a place to keep that battery that didn't feel clunky and awkward. How do you feel about this setup?

Chunky and awkward was why I abandon the external battery too. But this battery is very small and fits into my current bag system without an issue.

[joosttx]

Originally Posted by dbnm

What feedbag are those?

Oveja Negra Chuckbucket. They are my favorite.

https://www.ovejanegrabikepacking.co...-handlebar-bag

[joosttx]

Originally Posted by Louis

Does it have multiple intensity modes?

Yep, default is 3 modes, 35, 530 and 900 lumens. The 530 is plenty bright for me. But you can go up to 4 intensity modes.

[jkbrwn]

I find it disappointing when light manufacturer's don't publish light beam photos or diagrams. Definitely reads as though it's a MTB light rather than road going?

However, I did manage to find a video reviewing their Lupine SL and that definitely has a road going beam pattern, much like a German dynamo headlamp from B&M or Schmidt. Certainly an easier and more straight forward investment than a dynamo + wheel setup.

[doomridesout]

German beam pattern engineering is the best, everybody else is just screwing around.

[saab2000]

Originally Posted by doomridesout

German beam pattern engineering is the best, everybody else is just screwing around.

This is correct. Germans mandate a beam pattern on road-legal lights to avoid blinding oncoming vehicles. Most other manufacturers make little or no attempt at a focused beam pattern.

I’m pretty sure buried in Lupine’s language there are statements about most of their lights not being road-legal in Europe.

[joosttx]

Originally Posted by saab2000

This is correct. Germans mandate a beam pattern on road-legal lights to avoid blinding oncoming vehicles. Most other manufacturers make little or no attempt at a focused beam pattern.

I’m pretty sure buried in Lupine’s language there are statements about most of their lights not being road-legal in Europe.

Technically the MTB lights are “headlamps” or “flashlights”.

[zap]

edited

Originally Posted by saab2000

This is correct. Germans mandate a beam pattern on road-legal lights to avoid blinding oncoming vehicles..

....or oncoming cyclists. Plus strobing lights are a potential liability

[prototoast]

Originally Posted by saab2000

This is correct. Germans mandate a beam pattern on road-legal lights to avoid blinding oncoming vehicles. Most other manufacturers make little or no attempt at a focused beam pattern.

I’m pretty sure buried in Lupine’s language there are statements about most of their lights not being road-legal in Europe.

I don't want to derail this thread too much, but how does this work. In my experience, the biggest determinant of whether or not lights are blinding is the angle they're set at, and since most lights mount on a round bar, how the light is positioned seems far more critical than any inherent beam pattern. How does the beam pattern come into play?