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2008 LED Bike Lights Comprehensive Review - Dual Emitter Lights
By James Sharp
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Dual Emitter Navigation
NiteRider MiNewt.X2 Dual
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 NiteRider's Dual MiNewt.X2 is identical to the standard MiNewt in nearly every way... There are just two light heads. The battery is the same, the mounting is the same, the light heads -- other than the fact that there are two of them -- are the same. It also means that they have the same optics as well.
The light heads are permanently connected to each other, so don't buy this light thinking you can separate the two down the road. Because the power button is on the battery, both lights are always on the same setting, there is no way to make on brighter than the other, it's either all on, or all off.
Independent light heads make fine tuning of both beams child's play -- if you want a wider beam, you aim the beam slightly separated. If you want a brighter spot, you aim the lights to be on top of each other. The downside is that they take up more handlebar space and the beam doesn't seem as bright as a light with both LEDs integrated into the same light head. The overlap doesn't seem as good. Granted, this isn't just with the MiNewt.X2 Dual, but all dual light head lights.
As I stated earlier, the MiNewt.X2 uses the same light heads and battery as the MiNewt.X2, it just doubles up on the number of light heads attached to the battery. Don't expect long run times out this type of set up -- the run times for both high and low beams are half that of the single MiNewt.X2. Considering that there is twice the light as the standard MiNewt.X2, you could spend more time on low beam and extend your riding time that way.
DiNotte 200L Dual
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 In many ways, DiNotte's Dual 200L is similar to the MiNewt.X2 Dual. The concept is essentially the same -- take a nice sincle LED light head, wire two of them to the same battery and double the light output. There are some distinct differences in their approach, however.
While the MiNewt.X2 is hardwired together, the Dual 200L uses a Y-shaped plug to split the power between the two light heads. The power switches for the 200L's are located on the light heads themselves, so the rider has independent control of the two light heads. The DiNotte systems is truly two light sets wired to one battery.
This gives the DiNotte user a serious advantage in versatility. DiNotte ships their lights with two batteries. Since the Dual system is really two complete standalone lights with an adaptor, the light heads can be separated and used alone. Using the included helmet mount and you could run one helmet and one on the bars. Or you can use both on the bars. Or commute with just one on the bars for longer run times. This light is all about options.
It's not quite perfect, though. It does take more effort to switch beam settings, since it has to be done on each light head -- so you turn on one, then turn on the other, repeat every time you go from high beam to any other setting.
Exposure Lights Race MaXx
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 The Race MaXx is the successor to last years Race and Enduro models. Like those lights, the Race MaXx has two LEDs, and an integrated battery with decent run time. Unlike last years lights, this version is brighter, lighter, has a better handlebar mount -- much better. It also has a better switch and has a battery that is not user replaceable. Like the Joystick MaXx, the Race MaXx has an optional external battery if the three hours on high proves insufficient. Also like the Joystick MaXx, no longer do you have to cycle through the flashing mode when switching the light from low beam to high.
This is really a much more mature product than last year's offering. Where before attaching and removing the light required the use of a hex wrench, now, once the mount is attached, a simple tug on the quick release and the light is off. Not only is it dead simple, it is solid. There is no way the light is falling off during use.
As I stated before, the switch is also improved. Gone is the top mounted switch that was difficult to find and use with gloved hands. Now the switch, located dead center on the back of the light, is easy find and fairly easy to press. I did find it a tad stiff, but it's still an improvement over the last one. Another change, the switch is now lit, showing the battery status and the light level -- high, medium and low.
With the use of the latest LEDs, Exposure rates the Race MaXx at 420 lumens. This would make it the brightest of dual LED lights in this review. In reality,while good, it is not. In general, I found the Exposure's lumen ratings to be a tad optimistic, reflecting the ideal/theoretical, rather than the actual output. The beam width is improved over the previous models, but is still a little narrow. However, in practice, I didn't find the beam width to be a problem, at all, especially when paired with a helmet light. I also appreciated the evenness of the beam. There were no annoying hot spots, but, rather, the beam was evenly lit from edge to edge.
Knog Gator 605
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 The Knog Gator was one of the more unusual lights in this review. I've been trying to get my hands on one for quite some time -- ever since I saw a preview from the Tapai show over a year ago. I like Knog's smaller lights, like the Frog. What's unique, you ask? Just about everything. There are three LEDs, two high power ones, and a 5mm hyper bright LED that's a nice "be seen" light.
One thing that sets the Gator 605 apart from the other lights is the remote switch. Instead of controlling all of the LEDs from the same switch, each emitter has its own button. Each emitter also has two modes -- high and low for the larger 3watt emitters, and solid and flashing for the 5mm LED -- so you can turn on one LED, two LEDs, one on high, the other on low, etc. There are a total of 27 different combinations -- with the corresponding run times.
I've mentioned earlier that that specified output (lumens) is a tad optimistic on some of the lights -- at best it's the best amount of light the best LED can produce from a given batch. Knog claims 300 Lumens with both beams on. Even if true, the Gator 605 wouldn't be the brightest of the dual emitter crowd. I found the output to be about that of the brightest single emitter lights, with, perhaps, a broader beam.
Knog's use of silicone rubber is genius. The material doesn't deteriorate, is dirt simple to use and looks good too. The light body is made of the stuff, as is the switch housing. The battery has two straps to hold it onto the bike tube of your choice -- the long thin battery doesn't take up much room and is easy to attach and remove -- and Knog has included two more straps to help tame the cords. The only downsides are that the light head is not adjustable from side to side and, since the emitters are in front of the bars, cables can get in the way of the beam.
The Gator 605 is a bike commuters light. It works fine off road, don't get me wrong, but the simple attachment method, combined with the 5mm "be seen" LED just begs be used in the mean streets. With that in mind I'd like to see the next version of the light eliminate the 5mm LED and make one of the bigger LEDs flash. I think that it would be a better choice for conspicuity.
The biggest drawback to the light is also one of its strengths. With so many beam options it does take a while to power the light on and off. Most of the time, I ran the light on full bright -- two clicks of the wide beam button and two clicks of the spot beam button -- or at half bright -- one click of each button. Turning off the light requires each emitter to be turned off independently. That's a lot of button pressing. There is also a light on the switch panel that lights up when the battery is connected. There is no way to turn this off, this will drain the battery, so when storing the light, be sure to disconnect that battery, even if it is just for a few hours.
BR Lights C2.1H
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 Like the Race MaXx, the C2.1H is an updated version of the light we checked out last winter. Also like the Exposure light, this is an all in one unit. BR Lights is one of only two manufacturers to use Li-Poly batteries. This enables very, very rapid charges -- in the case of the C2.1H, one hour or less. The biggest change between this test light and the last one we used is the change in emitters. The lumen rating has been bumped to a claimed 410 without affecting the run time. I love to see this happening. More light, same or better run times. The lenses are slightly different than last time as well, mostly to accommodate the different circuit board that the LED is attached to. The other change is the inclusion of a walking mode. One long press turns on the light and a single press of the button takes it from high to low. Press the button again and you'll end up back on high. But, if you cycle the light from high to low and hit the button again in rapid succession, you'll pop into walking mode. It's not bright enough to ride by, but it'll last longer than night will, and you can walk out of the forest if needed. It's a nice touch, and I like the fact that you don't have to cycle through it every time.
The lights look is very industrial. This is very much a form follows function design. This much hasn't changed from last winter. The light's mount is still integrated into the light head, and attaches to the bars via a thumb screw clamp. Removing the light removes the clamp as well. The light also features horizontal adjustment. It's stiff, but you just grab the light and twist. Very simple.
The switch is HUGE. It's very easy to find and operate -- even with thick winter gloves, or oven mitts -- and there is a battery good battery indicator. The indicator changes -- starting with green, then flashing green, orange, flashing orange, red and finally, flashing red -- every approximately 17% drop in power. This gives a good, clear picture of battery remaining battery life with a mere glance.
This light is a very good value, for a self contained light. It's not the lightest, but it does charge very quickly and has a decent run time.
The lower lens is a broad beam, while the upper lens the spot. Because they are so close together, they compliment one another with a ton of overlap. It is one beam, essentially, not two -- unlike the dual light head lights, like the Dual 200L and Dual MiNewt.
Really, there are few changes I'd make. For the next iteration, I'd like to see the light shed some weight. While not light, it is heavy enough to notice since all of the weight is on the handlebars. I'd also like to see a little less industrial appearance -- a more attractive package, if you will. BR Lights, whatever you do in the next revision, please, keep that big button!
Ay-Up LCP4N
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 Ay-Up is a new addition to the LED light market. Like Knog, they hail from Australia. They are simple lights -- no flashing modes here -- but give you all you need to get a ride in after dark. The LCP4N is their currently available light, but in early 2008, they'll have an updated kit. The kit -- and it is a kit -- comes with two dual emitter light heads, a handlebar mount, a helmet mount, three batteries -- two small and one large -- an extension cable and charger with wall and car adaptors. Like the BR Lights batteries, these are Li-Polymer. It is a very comprehensive kit.
This is one of the lighter weight light sets out there. The mounts, both handlebar and helmet, attach via zip-ties. They are simple, cheap, strong enough, and readily available. They are not, however, reusable -- at least I could not find any reusable zip-ties in the small size that the Ay-Up mounts use. If you tend to ride the same bike -- and use the same helmet -- at night, then this is not a bad way to go. If, on the other hand, you regularly swap between bikes, then you'll be going through zip-ties like mad. Good thing they are cheap.
The handlebar mount straddles the stem, centering the light. This design takes up very little handlebar space, but might require that you move a computer, or heart rate monitor a little more outboard to make room. Once the mount is attached, the light is held to the mount with a rubber strap. This makes the light easy to remove without having to remove the mount. The helmet mount is much the same.
The light comes in different colors and different beam patterns -- wide, intermediate and narrow/spot. We sampled the red and silver colors and the intermediate and spot beams, respectively. If I was to buy the lights myself, I'd just get two spot beams. The intermediate beam seemed noticeably dimmer than the spot. Since they use the same LEDs, I can only attribute this to the optics. Since the kit comes with both helmet and handlebar lights, you can easily run two spots.
One oddity is the lack of a switch. If you want the light on, you plug in the battery. If you want it off, you unplug the battery. It's that simple. In practice, it was easy to do, but -- particularly with the helmet mount -- you wanted to take care to affix the cord near the light head so it is easy to find in the dark.
Each emitter is located in its own housing, two per light head. Each one of these housings is vertically adjustable, but not horizontally. This means that, should you desire, you can aim one light near and the other far. I ended up doing this, somewhat, with the bar mounted light, but not with the helmet mounted light. On the helmet, I kept the lights aimed the same. The emitters are spread far enough apart that the light behaves more like the 200L Dual and Dual MiNewt than the Race MaXx and C2.1H. There are two distinct beams here.
I appreciate the completeness of the kit. I like the large number of options -- colors and optics -- and, to be honest, the lack of a switch didn't really bother me in practice. Really, my one and only complaint is that I was able to outrun the lights fairly easily. This was the case when I used both the helmet and bar lights simultaneously. They just didn't seem bright enough. I think that a large part of the blame lies with the intermediate lens. There should be better projection running the narrow/spot lens on the both the handlebars and the helmet. If high speed runs aren't part of your night time riding, then this might not be an issue.
As I said before, there will be an updated light soon, it just wasn't ready in time for this review. The newer light is supposed to be a little brighter, using the latest Cree LEDs. It will also feature a switch on the battery to eliminate the need to unplug the light. I'm not a huge fan of the switch-on-the-battery design, but I'll hold my thoughts there until I can actually try it out. Finally, there will be a better strap for the big battery. I didn't have any issues with the current strap, but more secure can only be better. More light will be welcome, especially with the intermediate and wide lenses.
BR Lights Jeni-H
(click here to view the images and graphs specific to this light)
 The Jeni-H is a new light for BR Lights. This helmet light -- and it is helmet only -- has much in common with the C2.1H. Like the handlebar light, the Jeni is self contained. It has the same industrial design, the same Lithium-Polymer battery, the same very short charge time and a similar -- but not identical -- wide beam/narrow beam configuration. Unlike the C2.1H the LEDs are arrainged in a side-by-side set up, rather than the over-under of the C2.1H.
The C2.1H doesn't have any built in vertical adjustment, depending on rotating the light around the bar for that adjustment. This would not have worked with the Jeni. There are only so many places to mount the light on the helmet, so building in some way to adjust the beam angle was a must. BR Lights accomplished this by mounting the emitters onto a pivoting section. This allows for the up and down adjustment that is critical in a helmet mounted light.
The Jeni uses the same large button as the C2.1H so it is easy to find, even with gloved hands. The entire light is built to withstand the occasional crash, getting run over by a truck, or a nuclear blast. It's got a fairly low profile, but is rather wide, so it does take up quite a bit of helmet real estate. In fact, though short, this light is pretty big. It does hold the battery, so I'll cut them a little slack there, but I found the light to be quite bulky.
I'd be able to look beyond the bulk if the light wasn't so heavy. I'd much rather have a separate battery and less weight on my head than integrate the battery and light and carry all that bulk up top. It really is too heavy to be worn comfortably for long periods of time, it's a good thing that the run time isn't longer.
The beam pattern is very good, though. And the Jeni makes an excellent companion, beam wise, to the C2.1H. It's really a shame that it is unpleasant to use. If they were to knock off one-third of the weight, BR Lights would have a winner on their hands. As is... well, as is, there are other options on the market.
Dual Emitter Summary
This is a very diverse group, full of good lights. There are dual light head lights, integrated lights, lights without a power switch... you name it. For the most part, the lights are all bright enough. The Dual Minewt.X2 and the Gator 605 have the shortest run times, while the 200L Dual and LCP4N have the longest run times. The Race MaXx, C2.1H and Jeni H bring all-in-one goodness to the group, though even those with separate batteries are light weight and many have batteries that can be stem mounted, eliminating the tangle of wires.
Both the Gator 605 and the Jeni can be eliminated from the top spot right off the bat. The Gator, while packing some nice features in a somewhat quirky way is the least bright of the bunch, never-mind what the specifications say. The Jeni, is a whole different problem. The run time is adequate and the charge time is superb. The beam itself is very good. The problem is that the light isn't comfortable to use. It's just too heavy, and unless you have a helmet that fits spectacularly, the added weight will be an issue. In this case, it would have been better if the battery was separate, if only to alleviate the weight problem.
The Ay-Up lights are a short on features -- being simple on/off lights -- but more than make up for it with their packed kit. They really do include quite a bit and a neoprene roll to hold it all. In reality, though, they have a lot in common with the 200L Dual. Both kits are for the rider who is new to this whole riding-in-the-dark thing. Want lights on the bar? Check. How about the helmet? Check. Do you want long run times or a small battery? Check, and check. A single Ay-Up is arguably brighter than a single 200L since the LCP4N has two emitters, but it's not that much brighter. If you also commute, then the 200L Dual is a great light, since it has flashing modes and can be dimmed to lengthen the run time -- something the switch deprived LCP4N cannot do. And the two 200L's together are brighter than a single Ay-Up light head. But two light heads, with two switches, aren't as easy to use as a single light head.
Ok, so that covers most of the dual emitter lights, what about the other two, the C2.1H from BR Lights and the Race MaXx from Exposure Lights? To sum it up... I think that the C2.1H has one of the better beams out there. It has decent throw, but also has good fill up close. It makes a better stand alone light than the Race MaXx. It also has a much shorter charge time than the Race MaXx. But, the Race MaXx is smaller, lighter, has a better mounting system and... well... just looks better.
So... who wins this category? If you don't care about aesthetics, then go with the BR Lights C1.2H. In addition the benefits I just stated, it's also $20 cheaper. Now, if you want something lighter, sleeker, with a fantastic mount, then the Race MaXx is your light.
James Sharp is a contributing editor for GearReview.com; more of his ramblings and a look at upcoming reviews can be found at his blog -- Lactic Acid Threshold.
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