Product Image:
Product name: Bikehut 1600 lumen front bike light
Price paid: £50
Score (out of 10): 9.8
Review: Specs, pricing and info here:
Bikehut 1600 Lumen Front Bike Light
I bought one of these to do away with the faff of cables and battery packs for shorter night rides
Ok. In the box there’s
The light unit with rubber quick mount fitted
A stabilizer block for the quick mount
A USB to Micro USB cable
Replacement GoPro style mount
Plastic Garmin/Gopro outfront mount including 2 keyed rubber reducer rings to fit different bar diameters
2 allen keys
Very thorough instructions in english with diagrams
The light itself appears very well made and well thought out. Alu case, nice soft rubber buttons, battery life/charge indicator leds along the top, sturdy rubber plugs covering each USB port 2.0 for the powerbank on the rear and microUSB for charging and the remote connector underneath.
It has 3 XP-G2 LEDs (whatever they are)
the size of the unit is 115mm x 34mm x 44mm
the weight is 234g incl quick mount and stabilizer (it’ll be lighter with the go pro mount attached)
The adjustable rubber band on mount it comes with allows easy remvoval/fitting without the need for any permanently fitted baracket or tools and is actually fairly decent. it’s bolted onto the underside by a single 4mm allen bolt. This has silicone rubber on the base and a small dog to stop it rotating/vibrating loose. The design includes a silicone/rubber stabilizing block to help it grip your bars more securely. This mount without the stabilizing block would probably be fine for roadbars or commuting but there’s no way it’s secure enough not to move if used off road or hard street stunting
With the stabilizer block it’s actually really secure. Not entirely convinced it would stay put on the roughest terrain but a millinion times better than the generic chinese O-ring style mounts.
The Outfront mount is possibly one of the best plastic outfront mounts I’ve ever seen. it’s stiffer than most aided no doubt by the moulded with hollow honeycomb section underneath. I’ve used quite a few Garmin/Gopro OF mounts to run a garmin and a chinese lamp together and all but the Alu ones have flexed, some so badly that even road riding the vibration is so bad you can barely read the garmin and your light noticable shakes on the road ahead. This one seems a lot stiffer. The Gopro mount bolts on below by 2 allen head screws and the garmin mount by 2 allen head screws above. Both are well made and fit well. (not all generic ones are) The OF mount also comes with 2 rubber/silicone rings to shim it to anything between 22mm and 35mm bar diameters (35mm go pro/garmin bar mounts are like gold dust) great for someone like me with multiple bikes from multiple eras. I’m not planning on using this mount as I have a quality alu one on the only bike I use a garmin on (roadbike) but will definitely be keeping it as a spare.
First impressions.
After sticking it on charge for an hour or so (not fully charged, but one light off) first ride was only a short fast road descent, streetlit residential street and some woodland single/double track. Not the worst ride to the pub here
. I’ve no idea how many minutes it took me getting home. (Say half an hour mainly on full) and hadn’t even used one more bar on the battery indicator
Beam review:
Bright AF, quite floody with shitloads of throw. You won’t be disappointed. Not for this sort of cost.
I’m not sure how to describe the beam so you’d understand but with the light on full power it shines all the way down the (unlit road) hill to the pub (400m?) and illuminates the road sign at the bottom. and with the light pointing straight forwards and dipped only a tiny amount if I manual my Ebike (much higher balance point than normal bikes) The light still reaches the ground infront of my wheel. No other light I have does this at the same angle and it’s nice and wide to the sides too.
No weird hotspots.
the next 3 lower brightness modes are all useful for proper riding the next is more of a commuter be-seen light then 3 different flashing type light modes rather than something useful to ride by.
A couple of the strobe modes could actually be used to ride by when you’ve almost drained the battery fully.
The wee remote feels like an old skool kinder egg toy, Not a bad thing, old skool kinder egg toys were genius. Not like the 3 piece crappy cartoon figurines they put in them these days. push the lever up for one sec to switch on/off. push it down once to change mode. it’s a very light action and like an excited milf easy to flick fast.
it’s really intuitive and easy to cycle through all the (too many really) modes quickly. it doesn’t attach to the bars all that securely. I think it might be designed to be fitted to a grip/bar taps as well as bars and as such isn’t a tight fit on a 22.2 section of bare bar. it seems to have been designed for fitting over bar tape and perhaps your grip. (I ended up sticking a slither of M3 2228 Mastic tape around the bar right next to my lock on collar and it's far better fitting/secure when fitted now)
8 modes are as follows (1600, 1000, 640, 240, 15 Lumen, day flash, flash, pulse)
Brightness: 1600 Bright AF, Next one down brighter than a Solarsun X2, next again probably a little less than an X2 (like X2 medium)
The rubber mount (done up very tightly) didn’t budge at all. Stuntage wasn’t high though and the trails ridden are far from gnarly.
additional features.
the light has an extra USB port and can be used as an external powerbank to charge phones etc. Not something i'm likely to ever need but handy all the same.
Negatives.
The mode selection cycle could have been better implemented. Some lights have a long press to switch between constant modes and strobe modes. I feel this would have been a far better way to have programed the mode selection. Without the remote (which really is super easy to use) I feel it would be a PITA pressing the button on the top of the light. Especially so if you chose to mount the light underneath the outfront mount (upside down).
The diameter of the remote clamp isn't sized to 22.2 bars (easily fixed with tape but still not ideal)
When the remote is connected to the micro USB port the rubber plug has to be removed leaving an area around the plug open to the elements. It will remain to be seen whether it's a problem in real life with any water ingress but if so Sugru around the plug should be enough to sort it out and fully waterproof th connection.
It’s £50 all in with BC discount.
Really pleased with it.
Longer term review to come later
[UPDATE]
After now using the light for nearly 4 weeks I'd still stand by my original review.
Because of it's ease of fitting and small size It's become my go to light for popping out in the evening for a quick XC blast or just out to the shop, pub or to visit friends. living rurally surrounded by farm/woodland (off road trails in 3 directions) I tend to nip out to the nearest villages by bike in the evenings more often than I drive.
1600lm setting is incerdibly bright for such a small unit and as such is rarely needed for local rides and using lesser settings I'm yet to use the battery completely on rides of upto 2.5 hrs.
Using the remote has become second nature and straightforward in the same way using a gear shifter does and I no longer find flicking past the strobe modes any sort of problem or a chore while riding. A coupel of my rides have been wet/v.muddy and haven't had any issues with water or mud in the micro USB port while using the remote.
I finally rode my local fast jump/root strewn DH tracks using the light and it was impressive allowing me to ride at exactly the same speed as in daylight. The silicone mounting strap did cause the light to move/vibrate quite badly as expected over rough chattery ground but it didn't budge landing jumps or through the roughest sections. The vibration was really noticable but didn't actually slow me down as the light coverage in 1600lm mode covers and throws seriously far but obviously it wasn't ideal. If you're buying this light for serious off-road use (fast/rough DH) I'd definitely recomend using the go pro mount and buying a specific bar mount for it.
There are plenty cheap anodized aluminium Gopro compatible action camera bike mounts to choose from on Ebay ranging from bolt on or QR bar clamps to stem face plate mounts to stem top cap mounts.
For maximum stiff/secureness and minimum vibration I'd recommend one of those over the supplied outfront mount and an allen head bolt over the gopro thumb screws.
Product name: Bikehut 1600 lumen front bike light
Price paid: £50
Score (out of 10): 9.8
Review: Specs, pricing and info here:
Bikehut 1600 Lumen Front Bike Light
I bought one of these to do away with the faff of cables and battery packs for shorter night rides
Ok. In the box there’s
The light unit with rubber quick mount fitted
A stabilizer block for the quick mount
A USB to Micro USB cable
Replacement GoPro style mount
Plastic Garmin/Gopro outfront mount including 2 keyed rubber reducer rings to fit different bar diameters
2 allen keys
Very thorough instructions in english with diagrams
The light itself appears very well made and well thought out. Alu case, nice soft rubber buttons, battery life/charge indicator leds along the top, sturdy rubber plugs covering each USB port 2.0 for the powerbank on the rear and microUSB for charging and the remote connector underneath.
It has 3 XP-G2 LEDs (whatever they are)
the size of the unit is 115mm x 34mm x 44mm
the weight is 234g incl quick mount and stabilizer (it’ll be lighter with the go pro mount attached)
The adjustable rubber band on mount it comes with allows easy remvoval/fitting without the need for any permanently fitted baracket or tools and is actually fairly decent. it’s bolted onto the underside by a single 4mm allen bolt. This has silicone rubber on the base and a small dog to stop it rotating/vibrating loose. The design includes a silicone/rubber stabilizing block to help it grip your bars more securely. This mount without the stabilizing block would probably be fine for roadbars or commuting but there’s no way it’s secure enough not to move if used off road or hard street stunting
With the stabilizer block it’s actually really secure. Not entirely convinced it would stay put on the roughest terrain but a millinion times better than the generic chinese O-ring style mounts.
The Outfront mount is possibly one of the best plastic outfront mounts I’ve ever seen. it’s stiffer than most aided no doubt by the moulded with hollow honeycomb section underneath. I’ve used quite a few Garmin/Gopro OF mounts to run a garmin and a chinese lamp together and all but the Alu ones have flexed, some so badly that even road riding the vibration is so bad you can barely read the garmin and your light noticable shakes on the road ahead. This one seems a lot stiffer. The Gopro mount bolts on below by 2 allen head screws and the garmin mount by 2 allen head screws above. Both are well made and fit well. (not all generic ones are) The OF mount also comes with 2 rubber/silicone rings to shim it to anything between 22mm and 35mm bar diameters (35mm go pro/garmin bar mounts are like gold dust) great for someone like me with multiple bikes from multiple eras. I’m not planning on using this mount as I have a quality alu one on the only bike I use a garmin on (roadbike) but will definitely be keeping it as a spare.
First impressions.
After sticking it on charge for an hour or so (not fully charged, but one light off) first ride was only a short fast road descent, streetlit residential street and some woodland single/double track. Not the worst ride to the pub here
. I’ve no idea how many minutes it took me getting home. (Say half an hour mainly on full) and hadn’t even used one more bar on the battery indicatorBeam review:
Bright AF, quite floody with shitloads of throw. You won’t be disappointed. Not for this sort of cost.
I’m not sure how to describe the beam so you’d understand but with the light on full power it shines all the way down the (unlit road) hill to the pub (400m?) and illuminates the road sign at the bottom. and with the light pointing straight forwards and dipped only a tiny amount if I manual my Ebike (much higher balance point than normal bikes) The light still reaches the ground infront of my wheel. No other light I have does this at the same angle and it’s nice and wide to the sides too.
No weird hotspots.
the next 3 lower brightness modes are all useful for proper riding the next is more of a commuter be-seen light then 3 different flashing type light modes rather than something useful to ride by.
A couple of the strobe modes could actually be used to ride by when you’ve almost drained the battery fully.
The wee remote feels like an old skool kinder egg toy, Not a bad thing, old skool kinder egg toys were genius. Not like the 3 piece crappy cartoon figurines they put in them these days. push the lever up for one sec to switch on/off. push it down once to change mode. it’s a very light action and like an excited milf easy to flick fast.
it’s really intuitive and easy to cycle through all the (too many really) modes quickly. it doesn’t attach to the bars all that securely. I think it might be designed to be fitted to a grip/bar taps as well as bars and as such isn’t a tight fit on a 22.2 section of bare bar. it seems to have been designed for fitting over bar tape and perhaps your grip. (I ended up sticking a slither of M3 2228 Mastic tape around the bar right next to my lock on collar and it's far better fitting/secure when fitted now)
8 modes are as follows (1600, 1000, 640, 240, 15 Lumen, day flash, flash, pulse)
Brightness: 1600 Bright AF, Next one down brighter than a Solarsun X2, next again probably a little less than an X2 (like X2 medium)
The rubber mount (done up very tightly) didn’t budge at all. Stuntage wasn’t high though and the trails ridden are far from gnarly.
additional features.
the light has an extra USB port and can be used as an external powerbank to charge phones etc. Not something i'm likely to ever need but handy all the same.
Negatives.
The mode selection cycle could have been better implemented. Some lights have a long press to switch between constant modes and strobe modes. I feel this would have been a far better way to have programed the mode selection. Without the remote (which really is super easy to use) I feel it would be a PITA pressing the button on the top of the light. Especially so if you chose to mount the light underneath the outfront mount (upside down).
The diameter of the remote clamp isn't sized to 22.2 bars (easily fixed with tape but still not ideal)
When the remote is connected to the micro USB port the rubber plug has to be removed leaving an area around the plug open to the elements. It will remain to be seen whether it's a problem in real life with any water ingress but if so Sugru around the plug should be enough to sort it out and fully waterproof th connection.
It’s £50 all in with BC discount.
Really pleased with it.
Longer term review to come later
[UPDATE]
After now using the light for nearly 4 weeks I'd still stand by my original review.
Because of it's ease of fitting and small size It's become my go to light for popping out in the evening for a quick XC blast or just out to the shop, pub or to visit friends. living rurally surrounded by farm/woodland (off road trails in 3 directions) I tend to nip out to the nearest villages by bike in the evenings more often than I drive.
1600lm setting is incerdibly bright for such a small unit and as such is rarely needed for local rides and using lesser settings I'm yet to use the battery completely on rides of upto 2.5 hrs.
Using the remote has become second nature and straightforward in the same way using a gear shifter does and I no longer find flicking past the strobe modes any sort of problem or a chore while riding. A coupel of my rides have been wet/v.muddy and haven't had any issues with water or mud in the micro USB port while using the remote.
I finally rode my local fast jump/root strewn DH tracks using the light and it was impressive allowing me to ride at exactly the same speed as in daylight. The silicone mounting strap did cause the light to move/vibrate quite badly as expected over rough chattery ground but it didn't budge landing jumps or through the roughest sections. The vibration was really noticable but didn't actually slow me down as the light coverage in 1600lm mode covers and throws seriously far but obviously it wasn't ideal. If you're buying this light for serious off-road use (fast/rough DH) I'd definitely recomend using the go pro mount and buying a specific bar mount for it.
There are plenty cheap anodized aluminium Gopro compatible action camera bike mounts to choose from on Ebay ranging from bolt on or QR bar clamps to stem face plate mounts to stem top cap mounts.
For maximum stiff/secureness and minimum vibration I'd recommend one of those over the supplied outfront mount and an allen head bolt over the gopro thumb screws.
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