600L Wide Beam and More
Think of this as my pre-InterBike light wrap up, because it's not just the 600L wide beam. Looking back over my previous posts, I realized that I never actually posted any images of the TriNewt itself. Let me remedy that today.
TriNewt:
From the side:
And the battery:
There you have it. It looks like the MiNewt's bigger, badder brother. The battery is a little longer than the MiNewt's; this one won't fit on your stem. The power button is still on the battery.
Now, the 600L. To recap, this is the same light I posted a beam shot of last week, the standard 600L with it's narrowly focused beam. Note, this shot was taken tonight -- I'm not just reposting the one I took last week. I re-aimed the light to illuminate further away -- the bright spot overwhelmed my camera a little last week. I think that this is a better/truer image.
Now, here is the same light, but with a wider beam lens:
As you can see, it fills in -- there is more light spill -- close up, but doesn't project as far. I think that the wider lens would be better for technical riding, while the spot lens would be better for straight, fast rides -- like bombing down a road at night.
Now, the surprise light I mentioned on Monday. Actually, I received two mystery lights. The first is a triple version of DiNotte's amber daytime light. These lights are all about being seen, and in low light -- dawn, dusk, rain, etc. -- conditions, they work well. The triple amber takes this up a notch, or three, and you could ride in the dark by it.
My camera likes to make the amber lights orange. It's not, it's really yellow, but it is as bright as it looks. Make no mistake, throw this on flashing mode and you'll be noticed.
Finally, you've all seen DiNotte's tail light before. But just for comparison's sake, here it is again:
It's one of the brightest on the market, and though it's not cheap, cars take notice. Now, DiNotte has gone one further and made a triple tail light. Now, if you thought that the original was costly, don't look at the price of the triple. Also, the housing is the same as the front lights, so it'll be up to you, the end user, to find a way to mount it to your bike. I'm still working on the mount for mine. But, is it bright? You'll have airplanes trying to land behind you.
There is no other tail light this bright. This light is bright enough to trail ride by -- now there's a thought! -- and in flashing mode... well... you'll show up at high noon, in Arizona, in the summer. It's very, very, VERY, bright. Really.
Well, that's it for this week. I'm wrapping up some stuff around here -- including a review of the Baby Jogger strollers -- then hitting the road to InterBike. Keep posting requests as I'll be checking in to see what you'd like to see.
21 comments:
So how do the Trinewt and the Dinotte wide beam compare? I still can't decide which is better (for me, that's the one with the more side spill).
radirpok,
I think that there is slightly more light spill from the TriNewt than from the wide beam 600L, up close anyway. The beam of the TriNewt puts the light spill near the rider, while still using one of the LEDs to shoot light further down the road or trail.
Scroll down to the TriNewt beam shot and click on the picture to compare. (All images can be clicked on for larger versions.)
Those 600L's would be great when run together. I wish that there was a lens that was in the middle.
It would be good to see the 600L in hihg, med and low beams against the equivalent on the Lupine wilma with the same picture angle.
My current consideration is do I go for the dinotte 600L or the lupine wilma (new 830 lumens one). IF I go for the lupine I know there are more spares available from more vendors over here in the UK than the dinotte. Also lupine have said that wilma's and lupines will be able to be upgraded with a self build kit with either wilma or the betty. Im pretty sure that with Dinotte you would have to send the light back to them for upgrade which would leave me without a light for a few days
your posts have been helpful and pics.........i have just ordered a 600l reg beam and tail light........dinotte has even offered to upgrade my older 120l double a battery modelto the new 200 lumen lithium battery version for free along with the above order....how sweet is that
lupine seems like a great light, but prohibitively expensive......i have read elswhere that the way they report lumens, at the bulbs max output at an ideal temperature doesn't reflect real world lumen output....as the 830 lumen output temperature would not likely ever really exist except maybe when using the light in really cold temperatures and riding fast.......leading me to wonder if a lupine 830 is really any brighter than a dinotte 600 lumen...so I would like to know your thoughts onthis issue....
also, the pics of the amber and tail lights are cool, but i think it would be more helpful to see a photo of them on the rear of the bike down the road a ways in the daylight as well as dusk/dawn....as I am planning to use the single led tail in the daytime as well on flashing mode to try and deter drivers from driving to close to me on the road........
supercal29,
that sounds like spot on customer service from my point of view!!! There isnt much of that around at the mo if you ask me.
All correspondence with Rob at Dinotte has been excellent. Ive made my mind up that its going to be the Dinotte 600L. I cant justify the extra £140 that the lupine wilma 6 costs on top of the 600L for very little performance difference.
The only choice for me now is the wide or standard lens. I ride offroad but I can see the benefits of both. hmmmm decisions, decision!!!
I did discuss the beam angle with Rob and he felt pretty confident I would be happy with the spot.....as the photo just doesn't do the real world view justice...and dinotte has had many rave reviews from customers who own the spot version.....but if i wasn't happy with the spot i could exchange it for a wide.......so my vote would be just order the spot and go from there.......
supercal29
can you fit your battery underneath your stem?
yes on my roadbike stem but not on my mountain bike stem.....as my mt bike stem is a bit too short for the battery...........
the 600l spot seems just fine for me for road or trail riding......for trail i will also have the 200l on my helmet, as i think this is a must for trail to have a decent headlight as well..
it is brighter than my niterider hid and tremendously lighter weight....it s a very nice setup, the tail light is uncomfortable to look at from behind the bike at night it is so intense...
dinotte seems hard to beat right now, lupine has some nice stuff, but dinotte is made in the usa, has great responsive customer support, and is more affordable....they are both upgradeable....one is do it yourself, the other is through a trade up..........it will be cool to see the brightness and efficiency of led to improve the next few years.....and i am very uncomfortable that as dinotte improves their lights, affordable light engine only upgrades will be available......
oops I meant comfortable that dinotte will offer affordable upgrades as the technology improves........but led is amazingly good right now, so i would def not wait just do it, you won't regret it.......
I, too, am trying to figure out which of these three is best:
1) Dinotte 600L (wide or spot?)
2) Niterider TriNewt
3) Exposure Enduro Maxx (will you be reviewing this light at some point in the future?)
The Exposure Enduro Max is around the same size as the Dinotte, has the same LEDs (I believe both SSC P4s), but has the battery totally integrated into the housing. Drop it in your pack before heading out if you think you will be out after dark, and you have it- no cables, no separate battery. But the fact Dinotte is located right here in the U.S. *is* appealing, and they *do* offer upgrades, where Exposure does not. Decisions, decisions...
I live in suburbia, with a heavy mix of really dark roads with no lights, and some roads with half-decent lighting. Lots of crazy drivers, though. ;)
what i plan to do with the 600l/tail combo is run the 4c battery and use a y cable to connect both 600l headlight and dinotte tail light to one battery..should get b/n 2.5-3.0 hrs run time on high.....so for me its really great to have a sweet head and tail light ran by one battery......the lights and battery only take less than 1 minute to remove/remount.....the dinotte tail is probably the single best thing you can have to command a little more car respect...it puts all other blinkies absolutely to shame, and not that much more expensive if your buying the 600l.....i also read and obsessed alot and am a bit of a gearhead about everything i buy.....i also run the rear tail with the smaller 2c battery in the daytime on my road bike...there really is no price you can put on that one moment an inattentive driver doesn't notice you and your bike, but might be alerted by a bright irritating blinking tail light...and I also think the unusually bright and blink pattern likely makes some drivers wonder if you are a bike cop and may buy you a little more room when they pass you !!
Can you take a pic on the road at night of a comparison between the 600L with wide beam and the trinewt? Thanks!
I just got a DiNotte 600L tail light and after a little bit of getting it mounted all I can say is that it is "Scary bright". I know that it will make a good match with Betty up front. Unless a driver is blind it is impossible to miss it. Cars will pull up behind you and give you space because it will hurt their eyes.
Because the drivers are getting so bad in southern california I will use it as a daytime running light in blinking mode.
Now I just got to remember to get DiNotte to send some business cards to hand out to the other riders I see!
From the pictures displayed here, it is clear that both the Dinotte standard and the TriNewt have a wider beam. However, I am wondering how easy it is to see things to your left and right with the Dinotte standard, even without the main part of the spill shining there.
Sorry, I mean "Dinotte wide beam and TriNewt" vs. the Dinotte standard.
Bryan,
I will be reviewing an Exposure Maxx this fall/winter. It is similar in size to the DiNotte, as you said, but is a little longer. The battery is no longer removable on the max. They have redesigned the mount and it's much better.
Sounds great; I can't wait for a review on the Exposure.
The battery not being removable on the Max- does that mean you can't change it *at all*, or simply that it is integrated, as advertised?
I just ordered a 600L standard, and I'm looking forward to seeing how well it works in my daily commute.
I currently use a Planet Bike Alias HID, and it is super handy being integrated. I just slip it off, drop it in my pack and leave the bike locked up in the compound outside.
I have been wanting a Dinotte system for a while, and with CDN price parity, it seems like a good time to buy, just before the winter darkness hits.
BTW, Thanks for the photos!
James,
have you been running the Trinewt's battery on top of your top tube for the past few months and if so, have you had any problems with it slipping and rotating downward?
I have not had any slipping problems with the TriNewt battery, I just used it strapped to the top of the top tube.
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