Been on a bit of a front light journey recently for some big overnight road rides - with the requirement of anything probably up to 2 nights of light needed. Been using my old halfords 1600 with some powerbanks which is ok-ish, but I'd prefer to use that as an emergency/backup light. Tried the new halfords 1800lumens but the new 1/4-turn mount is terrible when attached via the gopro mount and it flies off at any sign of a pothole. Thennnnn I tried the ravemen 1600 - ticks all the boxes EXCEPT I only realised after buying it that the lens won't work upside down on a gopro mount.
So onwards to looking at Exposure Strada which seems pretty much "the standard" for reliability of road lights (excluding a dynamo/revo combo).
I emailed Exposure who said they should work fine with powerbanks and usb adaptor, and sent me a fact-sheet, so that's all good, but have no idea which to go for. Winstanley's seems cheapest, but there's a fair choice on there in my budget:
MK10 SB - brighter than RS, but previous generation. Can't find anywhere difference between mk10 and mk11 other than the activ auto-dim stuff.
MK11 SB - £20 more than Mk10.
MK10(?) RS - presuming Mk10 but it doesnt say. £20 cheaper than the Mk11..
MK11 RS - dimmer than SB in brightest mode, but unsure how often I'd need that option anyway.
First decision :is it better to get the brighter SB or the dimmer RS?
Second decision: is it better to go for Mk11 over Mk10?
I can’t see how anyone could conceivably need 1600 lumens on road? Even 1200 seems overdoing it. I have the old strada 600 and I’ve used that for my mixed commute this winter. It does leave a bit to be desired on the downhill off road section but on road I can be doing 25 mph and it’s still got plenty of light for country roads
I would go for whatever has the best runtime in medium mode.
If its only £20 more just get the MK11 and be done with it.
I had a previous version of the Strada (1200 iirc) and upgraded to the 2022 model with Activ and it’s a massive step up. You really don’t need it any brighter for road use and the combination of the active dimming when car lights hit it and the other “tech” does everything I need it to.
I’m a bit of an Exposure junkie and have quite a few of the other, far brighter, lights and never use those on the road.
Also noticed the Singletrack membership discount means up to 18% off with exposure so that’s worth looking at too!
The 18% discount code also works in their outlet store.
Make it a proper bargain.
https://www.exposure-use.com/Brands/Exposure-Lights/Outlet-Store
cheers folks, turns out the Mk10 to Mk11 increased battery size, and the SB has a bigger battery than the RS, so Mk11 SB it is! Once i can find cheap stock....
Might be worth looking at what the minimum brightness is on the SB. I have the RS and found out in country when there isn’t lights around I didn’t even want it as bright as lowest setting - except descending.
One thing to be aware of is the usb charging on them is a trickle charge rather than the fast charge they get from the large dedicated wall wart - this probably isn’t relevant if you’re not overnight touring/racing. But I’m surprised they haven’t embraced the USB PD standard so they can do a fast charge from usb!
Whichever you get it’ll be great!
