Light & Motion ups their game this July by packing a brilliant 1400 lumens into their Seca light head, all without increasing the size of the body over the current 400 and 900 models.
The new Seca 1400 will also have an improved beam pattern from its all new bi-conic reflector, which L&M says delivers a broader spot and clean even fill light, tailored for confidence at speed. This should be a notable improvement over the 400 we’ve already reviewed and the 900 we’re currently working over. A broader beam pattern should fix the only issue we have with this otherwise great line of bike lights…we’ve already put in our official request to test and compare.
L&M claims the Seca is only high performance light on the market with proven waterproof connectors, tested to 1 meter underwater. While none of us have ridden them underwater, we have raced the 400 in a light drizzle at last year’s BURN 24 Hour Challenge.
See how the reflectors compare and get the full specs after the break…
Above is the current Seca 900. Compared to the new 1400 (at top and below), the outer reflectors for the top three LEDs are larger, which presumably creates the broader spotlight pattern.
The Seca line has several settings, allowing you to run High (full power), Medium (50% power) and L0w (25% power), plus a flashing mode. You can also set it to “Race” mode, which toggles between High and Low only, saving time and battery during a race.
Full Specs:
MSRP: $699
Lumens (high): 1400
Run Time (high): 2:30 hr
System Weight (gr): 500 gr
Charge Time: 2:30 hr
Lumens/Gram: 2.8
Encouraging notes:
1. The system weight is with battery. The light head on the 900 weighs 134g with the helmet mount, and it’s doubtful the 1400 weighs much (if any) more, after all, the system weight on the 900 is claimed at 520g.
2. The claimed run time matches the claimed run time for the current 900, meaning it’s getting a more powerful battery, or L&M knows magic.
3. The 900 is currently priced at $649, so if we were betting folk, we’d say the price on that is likely to drop…and for most riders, the 900 is going to be plenty bright enough. Hopefully, the new reflectors will trickle down the line, too.
