TESTED: NiteRider Lumina and Sabre

By Imogen Smith

Whether it’s just for the commute between home and your MTB trails, or to light up the singletrack itself, a decent set of lights is a must.

If you’re into full-blown night riding or racing 24-hour events, chances are you’re sorted with large rechargeable units for both handlebars and helmet with separate battery packs and long burn times. But what about those mornings and evenings when you just need some extra illumination and for just an hour or so? In my view, it’s not worth carting around a battery pack and untangling cords just for that, nor is it worth sticking a lamp on your helmet – you just want something relatively light and easy to use that you can whack on your handlebars and switch off once the birds start singing, or when you roll back down your driveway.

Enter the NiteRider Lumina 750. With, as the name reveals, 750 lumens at the top setting, it weighs 172 grams and mounts quickly and neatly to your handlebar, although helmet mounts are also available separately. I tested this unit in commuting, early morning rides on the dirt, and even in a night race (albeit a short one) on my handlebars, teamed with 1000 lumens on my helmet, and it did the job and some. It may look like your standard commuter light (and you could certainly use it as one), but the wide beam means it’s very well suited to moderate singletrack use. The unit’s on switch illuminates red when battery is running below 25%, and the light has three settings, plus flash mode, if you need to conserve battery life – at full whack the light will only burn for 1 hour 30, so make sure you save your juice for when you need it most.

The light also has a couple of settings I didn’t use, including a lock function that activates when you hold the on switch for seven seconds (handy if you have kids or colleagues hanging around, or have the light banging around in your bag during the day), and a ‘walking mode’ – a low-light, constant beam that lasts 18 hours and would be handy if you got caught with low battery.

The light takes six hours to completely charge via a provided USB attachment, but if you have access to a charger over 500mA, the unit will charge in half the time.

The NiteRider Lumina can be paired with the Sabre, a reasonably compact rear red light that emits 35 Lumens. It’s a fairly standard unit, but with a few extras that I really liked. It’s light at 28 grams, easy to attach with a rubber strap, has six different settings, and all but the brightest have good burn times. There are three constant beam settings and a very bright pulse, a fast, and a slow flash that lasts 12 hours. I loved that the Sabre has some orange side illumination – on the road sections of my ride I felt a bit safer knowing I was a little more visible. Like the Lumina, the Sabre’s on switch glows red when there is less than 25% battery left. Charge time is a pretty good 1 hour 30 and there’s a USB cord included for the job.

All in all this little set is a great all-rounder and the perfect choice for mountain bikers who need just a little extra light for their morning or afternoon rides, or who incorporate commuting and off-road riding into their before or after-work routine.

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Hits:

Ease of use

Range of settings

Misses:

Not your best bet for fast mountain bike night rides on swoopy singletrack

RRP: $203.45

From: Jetblackproducts.com