As you are browsing through the accessory section your favorite bike shop, you will probably notice that most of the large bike companies have their own headlights on the market. These headlights are perfectly fine for commuting and bike path rides, but rarely do they offer enough light for a fast descents or tight single track. If you find that you are riding slower during the night or you are planning on entering a 24-hour race, you need to invest in a good lighting system.
One system that may interest you is the Pro 1400 system offered by NiteRider based in San Diego, CA. As the name implies, this dual LED lamp system produces 1400 lumens when set to the ‘high’ mode. The 1400 lumens is achieved during the ‘high’ mode by both the spot and flood light being fully illuminated to 700 lumens each. Though this will offer plenty of light for the trail you are blazing, your run time will only be 2:30 hours. For a longer night ride with these light right out of the box, all you have to do is switch to either the flood or spot lamp when the full 1400 is not needed.
The Pro 1400 has a plethora of other features including an 8 cell Li- Ion battery which can be fully charged in 4:30 hours; an 8 step LED fuel gauge; borofloat high temperature glass lens; both a handlebar and a helmet mount; but one of the most unique features is the D.I.Y. Software.
The D.I.Y. Software is not included in the package, but can be downloaded from NiteRider’s website. Once downloaded to your personal computer, this software will allow you to actually program the lumens output for each lamp and see how the level of lumens will affect your run time. The maximum output for each lamp is 700 lumens and the minimum is 50 lumens. If you reduce the lamp output enough, it is possible to acheive a 64 hour run time. The software also allows you to customize your flash settings for those times that you need a strobe light. After you have created your custom setting, you can then save that setting for mountain, road, commute or ‘program #4′.
The Pro 1400 in manufactured by NiteRider in their facility in Southern California and retails for $650. It will light up your life.