Submitted by
kattrap
a Cross Country Rider
from Santa Cruz, CA USA Date Reviewed: March 9, 2010
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$120.00
Purchased At:
Amazon
Strengths:
Bright! Easy to turn on/switch brightness. Quick to remove/swap to different bikes. Battery life is *excellent* on low-lumen setting. Did I mention bright?
Weaknesses:
Wiggles free on the bumps, narrow beam...
Similar Products Used:
too many cheap lights
Bike Setup:
Hardtail
Bottom Line:
I was having light envy this fall and did lots of looking around before purchasing. Unfortunately the LBS was asking $200 while Amazon was $125 (includes shipping). I'll try the electrical tape suggestion that someone else posted for the wiggle problem. I've used it in low light (not pitch black) on known trails..most of my night riding is road commute. Far traveling narrowish beam is good for some things but I wouldn't try this as my sole night trail rider light. Maybe on a full moon meadow XC ride..
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Submitted by
pongo 3
a Weekend Warrior
from Shefield Date Reviewed: December 18, 2009
Favorite Trail:
Road home
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$110.00
Purchased At:
Wiggle
Strengths:
Great beam, simple to use, reasonable runtime and weight. quick charge. Basically, a perfect commuting light.
Weaknesses:
The mount can slip. Need to put electricians tape on the bars to increase friction. Not really bright enough for off road use
Similar Products Used:
Cateye 530, Lupine Tesla 4.
Bike Setup:
Trek 7.3 (hybrid) with loads of upgrades
Bottom Line:
Absolutely perfect for commuting, but the mount could be improved
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Submitted by
lucyfek
a Cross Country Rider
from Lake Co, IL, USA Date Reviewed: November 9, 2009
Favorite Trail:
any
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$130.00
Purchased At:
nashbar
Strengths:
reasonably compact, bright, three power output modes + flash, decent burn times - probably longer than stated by the manufacturer (plus can be extended through using lower power modes)
Weaknesses:
shape - hard to pack it away into a saddle bag (especially with the new mount), mount - makes it easy to swap between bikes but requires adjustments for every ride, not sure about reliability yet
Similar Products Used:
ascent and cygolite halogen lights; got the vega 200 as the replacement for my failed vega
Bike Setup:
which one?
Bottom Line:
nice but I liked the original form factor more (would consider Cygolite Milion 200 Led Headlight (curious how this one compares) if not that I'd got this light as a replacement/upgrade for the broken one) , new version is much more powerful though, in fact it easily washes out my 12W+ halogen light that I used to consider a decent light, beam shape is adequate but it would be nice if light manufacturers tried to get trapezoidal output that better matches real trail needs (who needs to shine half of light onto top of trees?)
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Submitted by
Bill E
a Weekend Warrior
from Columbus Date Reviewed: June 29, 2009
Favorite Trail:
Olentangy
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$100.00
Purchased At:
eBay
Strengths:
Light output, high build quality, simplicity/compactness
Weaknesses:
Rather narrow beam, doesn't include helmet mount
Similar Products Used:
Cygolite night rover, dinotte 200l, light and motion solo
Bike Setup:
Gary Fisher
Bottom Line:
I just got the light and my initial impressions are good. I really like the integration of the battery and light; there are no external battery packs or cords to mess with. Although it's a bit on the heavy side, the light head feels really solid and crash proof. It emits a nice amount of light close in and has a hot spot which helps to send light farther down range. My two slight gripes are that there isn't a helmet mount and that the beam is pretty narrow. If you're basing your decision on having an easy to use, decently bright light, this is it. If you can deal with a small external battery and need light output for more than just commuting, go with the comparably priced Dinotte 200l.
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Submitted by
iploya
a Racer
from Houston, TX Date Reviewed: March 12, 2009
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$190.00
Strengths:
Super bright, lightweight, and self-contained rechargeable battery with no batteries to change and no external battery pack to mount.
Weaknesses:
Wide form factor; imprecise mounting method.
Similar Products Used:
Previous generation Vega (narrower, black anodized aluminum with separate clamp)
Bike Setup:
Road/race setup. road bike review redirected me to mtbr since there was no category for lights.
Bottom Line:
Before purchasing this latest Vega, I owned the previous generation Vega, and loved it. It was lightweight, bright, and had a self-contained, rechargeable battery. The first iterations of the bar clamp had a design flaw that L and M fixed (great customer service to replace mine, too). That clamp was great because you could set the angle and forget about it. In comparison, the new Vega is much brighter (more than twice the lumens of the previous model). It has built-in heatsink fans, which seems like a good idea since this thing can get a little warm. It has kind of an awkward form factor (shape) though - wider than it is deep. The new mounting system has pros and cons too. It uses a rubber strap, like a watch strap, or like those rubber straps on bike carriers. That means you can remove the light without leaving a clamp on the bars permanently. If you pull the strap tight, it holds snugly, and I haven't had any problem with it falling off. The one disadvantage I see, however, is that you have to reset the aim/angle every time you put the light on. This makes it a little trickier to get positioned. However, this light is so great for its compact size, very bright LED output, and rechargeable design (no external battery pack) that I give it at least a 4-star rating. It is still the best option for those who want to light up the road without bulky, heavy battery packs.
$ 190.00
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