Brightness, compact unit, simplicity of use, battery life, lightweight, clamp 

    Bracket offers no easy angle adjustment, beam could have more reach

Sussex-based USE launched its Exposure Lights range in 2005. They were early adopters of LED technology, and they’ve come a long way since, partly as LED technology has developed at a rapid rate but also because the company has pushed what is possible with its unique approach to lights.

The range now covers a broad spectrum of price points. Sitting at the top of the tree is the mighty MaXx-D, a light which pumps out an impressive 960 lumens via four LED’s. Now, Exposure’s USP has always been cable free designs with no external batteries, and the MaXx-D is a fine example of this design philosophy; it’s small, compact and takes up little space on the handlebar.

Inside the CNC machined aluminium case is a lithium-ion battery which is good for 3-hours, and we easily got this during testing. For rides longer than that or if you’re doing a couple of laps of a 24-hour racing, the medium setting is still useably light enough for speedy riding and extends the life to 10-hours.

An on/off button on the rear of the unit is easy to operate with gloves on. The first time it’s pressed puts it straight onto the brightest setting, and there are four available modes; medium, low and flashing. 

Securing the light to the handlebars is the work of a nifty machined QR aluminium bracket.We found the light remained perfectly steady even through the roughest trails, and can be easily whipped off in a second. There’s no easy angle adjustment but we found leaving the clamp a smidgen loose gave some freedom to adjust the angle of the beam while riding without the light wobbling about.

Despite the large size of the light we didn’t notice it adversely affecting our handling, indeed the only reminder it was there was the huge beam of light being chucked out across the trail ahead of us. The whole unit weighs just 320g (including the bracket).

The 960 lumen beam gives good depth and spread across the trail, and the reach is fine for all but the fastest riding. There were a few times when we found ourselves wanting a little more reach, but that’s what a helmet light, such as the Diablo, is for.

The all-in-one design is a winner and the brightness and available settings makes it usable in a wide range of riding situations, from trail to enduro racing. And with no cables to faff about with, it’s simply a matter of attaching to the bars and you’re ready to ride.

www.exposurelights.com

Read more: Bike Magic

“I bought the Diablo and the 3 cell piggybag and rode it this morning in Hareskoven. It was AWESOME! It really illuminates the forrest, and now I can’t wait till Nordic24! (And the next time i’ll ride in the dark).”

It’s a great picture of the seat post mounted RedEye connected to the MaXx-D, as you can see it’s the most powerful rear light on the market.

Reader’s review on Singletrack.dk

World Championship Adventure Racing -  Portugal 2009

Review:
Perfect for mountainbiking at night, October 3, 2009
Reviewer: Søren A. Andersen from Copenhagen, Denmark

I can only give my best credits to this product. I have been using this light in my win in the Mens solo class in Nordic24 i 2009. The MaXx-D makes night to day, and makes you able to keep up the pace in technical sections at night which is crucial in a 24 hours mtb race.

Jeg har i sidste weekend deltaget i WCC (West coast challange) ved Blåvand/Oksbøl i sønderjylland. Løbet var primært et natløb med start kl. 0000 fra Blåvandshug-på stranden hvor godt 200 deltagere skulle i race gennem natten. Der var nymåne/altså ingen måne, og derfor meget mørkt. Du kan læse mere om løbet på
http://www.wcc.dk/
Jeg kørte med Exposure Enduro Maxx2 på cyklen og Joystick MaXX2 monteret op cykelhjelmen. Det er en fantastisk kombination at have disse to lygter med på samme tid. Ofte kørte jeg blot med svageste belysning på de større grusveje, og tændte for fuld styrke når terrænet indbød til mere lys. Så fik jeg for alvor det lys jeg havde brug for til at finde både vejen som ofte blot var en mindre sti, der skulle køres af. Lyset på hjelmen Joystick kunne samtidigt drejes i den vinkel jeg ønskede mens jeg orienterede mig på kortet på cyklen. Dette gjorde at mens jeg orienterede mig på kortet kunne mine 2 holdkammerater bagved, kigge efter posterne i klitterne netop fordi det kraftige lys kunne lyse postskærmen op, samtidigt med at jeg havde lys forude fra cyklens Enduro MaXX2.
Kombinationen af de 2 lygter er et perfekt setup af lys til Adventurerace, når der køres efter kort på MTB. Når vi skulle af cyklerne og ind i terrænet for at finde posten kunne jeg enten beholde hjelmen på el. tage Joystickén af og anvende den som alm. lygte i hånden. Ligeledes tog jeg flere gange Enduro MaXX2 af cyklen fordi den har en større kegle og et kraftigere lys i skoven og på mange meters afstand i terrænet.
En af de store kvaliteter ved lygterne er ligeledes at de er ledningsfrie under anvendelse, hvor andre lignende LED-lygter har ledning fra lygte til batteri. Det giver større bevægelsesfrihed at kunne anvende lygten uden ledning.
Jeg havde ikke problemer med batteritiden, netop fordi jeg skiftede lys styrke under løbet og anvendte det lys jeg havde behov for på forskellige tidspunkter.

Silkeborg OK

written by Michael Filyo
30-09-2009