Niterider’s 2011 range is an impressive mix of updates and new products, covering everything from commuter and casual riding to seriously bright endurance racing lights like the Pro 1400 pictured above.
Starting with the big guns, Niterider has upped the lumen output of their two Pro series lights to 1400 and 700 (from 1200 and 600 respectively). The Pro 1400 uses a dual LED frame with one spot and one flood, and it’s output is customizable via their DIY Software, letting you create your own custom output settings for various button pushes. To clarify, total output is programmable per mode, you can’t alter the flood output versus spot output.
System weight is 812g, and the battery comes with a quick release bike mount, allowing you to leave the mount on the bike and quickly pull the battery on and off for easier charging between transitions (which also means you don’t have to undo Run time ranges from 2:30hr – 64:00 hours depending on usage, charge time is 4.5hours.
More details, photos and the rest of the range after the break…
The Pro 1400 light unit comes with bar and helmet mounts (shown below), and will also fit on their Explorer headband. The battery is an 8-cell Li-Ion pack, and the set comes with charger kit and computer dock to sync up with the DIY software, a free download from Niterider’s website.
The DIY software lets you create four distinct profiles, which you can name however you want (“commute”, “race”, etc.), and within each of those profiles you can create up to seven different modes with each profile. During riding, you can change the profile by holding the button down for three seconds and toggle between profiles. Once chosen, you just tap the button quickly to switch between modes. When you turn the light on, the battery indicator lights correspond to the profile you’re in. Unfortunately for those of us that think different, DIY only works with Windows…Mac users are S.O.L.
The Niterider Pro 1400 will retail for $649.
Also updated is the Niterider Pro 700 LED light:
The Pro 700 comes in two versions, regular and “Race”, with the difference being a smaller, lighter battery for the Race model. The standard version comes with a 6-cell Li-Ion battery good for 4 to 48 hours of run time with a system weight of 605g and 3.5hour charge time.
The Race model gets a 4-cell battery with a 2:40 hr to 32 hr run time and system weight of 505g and 3 hour charge time.
Both versions of the 700 utilize the DIY software and come with helmet and bar mounts, charging kit and computer dock. From the looks of it, the helmet mount uses the same strap system as the GoPro cameras, which is excellent.
The Pro 700 will retail for $499 and the Pro 700 Race for $399. Personally, I’d say just dump three ounces of water from your pack to make up the weight difference and go with the bigger battery. You know you always carry too much water anyway.
Bridging the gap between full race performance and just hitting the trails at night is the forthcoming MiNewt 700 Dual. It’s boosted from the previous model and lets you run one or both lights depending on your needs, which spreads power over 2 to 18 hours. Besides the power bump, the Dual now comes with a splitter cable, so you can run one or both on your bike, making it a great back up system during races and or a full fledged trail light on friendly rides. The system with both lights attached weighs in at 490g, and just 390g with one light and the 4-cell Li-Ion battery pack. It’ll retail for $299.
The single unit MiNewt 350 (above) is basically half the 700 Dual with a smaller battery, but it gets a massive 75% increase in light over last year’s model, and it goes from two settings to three for more control over light output and battery savings. Run times are 2:15 on high / 4:00 on medium / 9:00 on low. System weight is a mere 232g with the 2-cell Li-Ion battery. It retails for $199.
Both MiNewt systems use a new multi-chip LED light to generate big brightness from small packages.
Combining aspects of trail lights (brightness) with commuter lights (easy portability), the all-new MiNewt 250 Cordless pumps out a solid 250 lumens, more than enough for commuting and plenty of backup lighting to get you out of the woods without having to strap on an additional battery pack to your bike. Run times range from 2:30 to 4:30 or pretty much forever on Flash mode.
Like many of Niterider’s high end lights, the 250 Cordless (and the 150 below) uses a combination of reflector and Borofloat lens to shape the light pattern, which Niterider says does a better job for cycling applications than relying on a reflector alone. Both models use an internal Li-Ion battery and use a USB charging cable, but only the 250 includes a helmet mount, too.
The only difference between the 250 and 150 is the light output and that the 150 gets the white color. Run times are 30 to 90 minutes longer on the 150. Oh, and it’s $30 cheaper.
The 250 retails for $129 and the 150 for $99.
The Niterider MiNewt Mini 150 USB and Mini 150 USB-Plus (shown on helmet) jump from 110 lumens on the original model to 150 lumens. They include three modes plus flashing, have a low-battery indicator and run times from 3 to 6 hours.
They weigh in at just 175g and use a separate battery pack that connects via cable. Both can be recharged in 4 hours via USB or a wall outlet, and the Plus model comes with a helmet mount and 36″ extension cable. The MiNewt Mini and Plus are $89 and $109 respectively.
For the casual commuter, the new Lightning Bug lights come in an array of colors and are offered in one, two and three bulb models:
All are white LED lights, only the cases are colored. The 1.0 and 2.0 models have steady/flash modes and the 3.0 (right) has high/low/flash modes. Run times range from 100 to 160 hours. Pricing is $11.99, $14.99 and $19.99.
For the rear, there’s the new Stinger tail light. It has a 1/2 watt LED that should be visible from a half mile away, and its easy on/off strap works on both round and aero seatposts. MSRP is $19.99, and you can get a combo pack with the Stinger and Lightning Bug 3.0 for $34.99.
Pricing will be added to this post as soon as we get it.
