Let there be light: can the Osram LEDsBIKE RACE 100 SET & RACE 50 bring some light into darkness?

Let there be gentle! Osram offered their first bicycle gentle at EUROBIKE this yr. However does the Osram LEDsBIKE RACE 100 SET really banish the darkness, and are Osram as progressive as their advertising claims? We’ve put Osram’s bike gentle to the take a look at for you.

Osram – a reputation most of us affiliate with home gentle bulbs. Nevertheless, the corporate has now turned its consideration to the bicycle market. The outcome are three bike gentle units, every consisting of a entrance and rear gentle. We examined each the priciest RACE 100 SET variant, which provides a strong 100 lux and retails at € 49,99 and the most cost effective RACE 50 mannequin, which generates 50 lux and prices € 24,99. In between, there’s additionally the RACE 80, which prices € 34.99 and produces 80 lux.

Each of the fashions we examined could be charged by way of a USB-C charging port, and are delivered with a charging cable. Nevertheless, Osram don’t embody the facility adapter, so that you’ll must both discover one or borrow one from a good friend 😉 The RACE 50 SET and RACE 100 SET each connect to the handlebars and seat tube with a rubber band – or you possibly can safe them to a pannier rack too. Setup for each entrance and tail lamps is nearly equivalent, besides that the entrance gentle mount can rotate 360°, whereas the rear gentle solely tilts. When tilting or rotating, a effective ratchet system supplies clicking suggestions. A transparent benefit is that you would be able to connect and take away the sunshine unit from the rubber band mount with out having to loosen the band every time.

Each headlights have three brightness ranges, which could be managed by the facility button. Each additionally characteristic two gentle strips on the perimeters of the housing – so that you’re seen from the aspect too! On the high of the housing, there’s an LED indicator exhibiting the battery standing – 13 hours, in accordance with the producer. Nevertheless, solely the dearer RACE 100 model shows the brightness stage on the high alongside the battery cost standing – good! The construct high quality of the bike lights, which include an aluminium warmth sink, a strong plastic housing, and a clear polycarbonate lens designed for optimum sturdiness, is spectacular.

The 2 lights differ not solely in worth but in addition within the options. The RACE 100 bike gentle comes with a steady gentle mode and an automated brightness sensor – which means it activates by itself. There’s additionally a brake gentle perform and 50 extra lux on the entrance gentle. Nevertheless, each fashions we examined are splash-proof with an IP44 ranking.

What’s lux, anyway?

Lux is the unit used to measure the brightness of a motorcycle gentle. It measures the illuminance of the headlight on the centre of the sunshine beam, perpendicular to the street floor at a distance of 10 metres. Merely put, lux signifies the brightness of the sunshine at its brightest level. Nevertheless, it’s vital to notice that lux doesn’t inform you something in regards to the whole gentle output (measured in lumens) or the width of the beam (beam angle). Lux doesn’t reveal how far the beam reaches to the perimeters. There are additionally clear rules for street visitors: in Germany, a motorcycle gentle should have no less than 10 lux to keep away from bother with the legislation. In the event you’re a mountain biker or an outside fanatic using off-road, there aren’t any limits to the lux ranking – besides in your bike gentle’s battery life. That’s as a result of the upper the lux, the extra vitality the sunshine requires.

That’s every little thing about gentle depth for now.

Osram bike gentle on overview

Though you shouldn’t be using trails at night time – primarily for the love for wildlife and one other small, but vital issue – not having the ability to see something – we ventured into the darkness to see whether or not the Osram RACE 50 bike gentle might brighten up the path. First off: Osram don’t suggest the RACE 50 for path use; solely the RACE 100 is listed particularly for “off-road using.” However we couldn’t resist and took each alongside for our night time experience.

Osram RACE 50: Because of the rubber straps, it may be connected to the handlebars and seat tube very quickly. On forest tracks and in street visitors, the sunshine reliably illuminates the trail forward, which makes it a really sensible companion. Within the highest setting, the headlight ensures good visibility, permitting you to comfortably experience house at 25 km/h. We solely used the opposite two brightness ranges when the battery was working low. Nevertheless, on the path, the sunshine is sadly ineffective: the slim beam makes it extra of a guessing sport slightly than exhibiting you clearly the place you’re going – harmful! This impact is amplified by the low brightness and the handlebar mount. Whereas the handlebar all the time factors within the route you’re using, it doesn’t essentially level the place you’re wanting. So the sunshine doesn’t transfer along with your head like a helmet-mounted gentle does. Moreover, when using on tough terrain, vibrations are transferred on to the sunshine. Briefly, don’t use the RACE 50 on trails – it’s higher fitted to the experience house after a night spin in your native trails, when it will get darkish earlier within the autumn. For that, the RACE 50 is an honest selection. The tail gentle, which mounts simply as simply to the seat tube, is much less cumbersome however nonetheless fairly brilliant, making certain good visibility in visitors. Even within the busiest city environments, we felt secure.

Osram RACE 100: the RACE 100 is simply as straightforward to mount as its little sibling and appears equivalent. In heavy city visitors and on forest tracks resulting in trailheads, the RACE 100 is a stable possibility. Nevertheless, it’s nonetheless not appropriate for path using: whereas the sunshine is brighter, the beam remains to be too slim to identify obstacles in time, and the handlebar mount limits it additional. However as an addition to a trail-riding-specific helmet gentle, it’s fairly helpful. The automated brightness detector, which switches between three ranges, appeared pointless to us. Sure, it saves battery, however when it’s darkish, we need to see as a lot as potential, so we ended up utilizing the brightest setting more often than not. We did respect the brake gentle perform – it really works reliably and was a pleasant characteristic in street visitors. The battery lifetime of the headlight in automated mode was average, lasting round 5 hours in our assessments, although it clearly is determined by the person lighting circumstances. Temperature additionally performs a task in battery efficiency.

Because of the IP44 ranking, each bike lights can simply face up to rain and dust – although with mud, you need to wipe them off often, as it may possibly obscure the sunshine.

The mounts on each lights are steady, however we seen an annoying squeaking sound on gravel paths and with heavier vibrations, even with totally different handlebar supplies. Whereas that is no huge deal, it may be fairly irritating on longer rides. Moreover, we missed having a steady flashing mode on each lights, which might assist entice extra consideration on lengthy street rides (although, after all, it’s not compliant with German street rules).

Conclusions in regards to the Osram RACE 50/100 bike gentle

Each lights are stable selections to be used on roads and forest tracks. However when you hit the paths, they clearly attain their limits: the beam is simply too slim, and an excessive amount of vibration makes the sunshine unstable. Nevertheless, for the experience house after a night spin or as an on a regular basis gentle for commuting, they work nicely. However in the event you’re severe about using trails, you’re higher off in search of a brighter gentle with a wider beam, and, probably, a helmet mount.

Tops

• Simple to mount
• Good for commuting
• Appropriate for forest tracks and street visitors

Flops

• Squeaky rubber straps
• Not appropriate for trails

Extra data could be discovered at Osram.com

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Phrases: Robin Ulbrich Images: Mike Starvation