Description:The new Betty can be mounted everywhere – on the handlebar, the helmet or as a headlight. Future upgrades can be accomplished by anyone, even without technical knowledge. 7 Seoul P4 LED’s provide an astonishing 1400 Lumens, in a single housing, from 0.25W – 22W.
as another rider mentioned the mounting can slip. I had to add some electrical tape to make the mount point a bit thicker, which fixed the problem.
Similar Products Used:
Niterider Storm HID
Bike Setup:
litespeed hardtail.
Bottom Line:
This is a very, very expensive light, but you get an amazing product for the dollars. I had two requirements when I purchased it:
1) I wanted something light enough to comfortably wear on my helmet and to comfortably carry the battery in a jersey pocket (not in a camelback)
2) High brightness. Better then my old HID.
I looked around and this was the best light you could get that was still met my 1st criteria.
I was very excited to see that LEDs had made it to this level of performance. They are much nicer because they have a more uniform light and are highly adjustable. The Betty allows you to run full out for a 3.75 hour runtime (smaller battery) or at an ultra low setting for days.
To give an example I was riding with a friend who has a recent model Niterider HID and when I had mine on full blast behind him, he was riding in a shadow. Whats great though is that I could turn mine to 40% and be comprable to his HID output. My runtime also becomes something like 7-8 hours on that setting.
I will give one warning that I did have a problem with the light. Something wrong with the lamp. However, I sent it back and they had it back to me free of charge within 1 week. Its been running fine for 2 months since then. So i'll consider it a fluke unless it goes bad again.
If you can swallow the price, its one hell of a light.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Andrey Gloukhoff
a Downhiller
from KoP, PA, USA Date Reviewed: January 31, 2008
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$1000.00
Purchased At:
gretnabikes
Strengths:
It puts out so much light, you can put your hand in front of it and it will get warm just from the light.
Weaknesses:
Mounting could be better. If you take a hard hit, the light can slide down a bit, esp in cold weather when the rubber is less 'grippy'. This can be very very annoying on a long rough downhill.
Bottom Line:
Best light I ever had. I don't just use it for biking, I use it when working on the car, walking the dog, etc. The fact that you can set the brightness down makes it great for pretty much any scenario.
Another thing, GretnaBikes have been great. My dog managed to pull my helmet off the table with the light still attached to it and chewed up the cables and switch. Just when I thought I was out another $600 for the lampset, they fixed it up and sent it back overnight for $100.
I have no regrets about buying this light at all.
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Submitted by
Matthias
a Racer
from Austria Date Reviewed: December 19, 2007
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$850.00
Purchased At:
www.bikestar.at
Strengths:
very light weight, Brightness, battery lifetime;
Weaknesses:
none except the price
Similar Products Used:
Supernova HID
Bike Setup:
Scott Scale LTD
Bottom Line:
Well I`m using the Betty 6 which I bought at a bikeshop in my town. (www.bikestar.at) I decided to use the Betty 6 as it`s lighter than the Betty 12. To achieve the same lighting times I bought an second rechargeable battery pack. Betty 6 is exactly the same as Betty 12 except of the battery pack so I don`t loose any lighting power.
Well compared to the supernova, I like the Betty best because it simply blows away any product I know.
Concerning the quality - it`s simply top notch quality made in Germany.
By the way I use the Betty for 24 h races and training. In winter I also use it for back country skiing and skitours. Even used at very low temperatures (-18°C) the battery pack has enough power for hours.
The only thing that might hinder you from buying is the price - but it`s really worth every penny.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Neil
a Cross Country Rider
from Denver, Colorado Date Reviewed: December 12, 2007
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$895.00
Purchased At:
www.mtnhighcyclery.com
Strengths:
Brightness, attention to detail, mounting system
Weaknesses:
This is tough. I'll reach and say at this price, the light should include a lens cover.
Similar Products Used:
Owned Light & Motion ARC, Jet Phantom, Lume Strada. Used several Nite Rider HIDs.
Bike Setup:
Turner Spot
Bottom Line:
I planned on using the Lupine Wilma on the helmet and was really looking to get a superwide and bright bar light that was really bright but not overly focused or reflective. Since the Wilma was so impressive, the Betty was a natural choice for the bar. It isn't too heavy (175 grams or so) and can be used on the helmet as well.
The beam width is really good and you can see to the sides with your peripheral vision- a really nice thing to have in the dark Rocky mountains at night. The reach is incredible. It can light up stuff a hundred yards away BUT not in the way a spotlight does. Unlike a really powerful spotlight, the Lupine beam is very even and diffused very effectively so it lights up the trail and trees like a high-end car headlight would. There is no reflective hotspot or rings or anything that distracts the eyes while riding.
I have tried some really nice lights but the Betty trumps them all. You expect this blinding white light at first but you will be a bit surprised that it doesn't have that reflective beam you expect but instead has a bright and evenly diffused beam that lights up so much of the trail. It really is a light that makes night riding a lot of fun. It makes me more confident and it makes me feel safer than using a HID or Halogen.
The LEDs can be dimmed to get up to 40 hours of burntime. The light can be programmed to all sort of different levels and steps. You have different power levels and different dimming levels within those power levels. There is in infinite dimming option as well. It's more customizable than any other light out there.
And of course, we have the typical German construction and design. Every detail is well thought out and the quality of the components and quality of overall construction is like no other light I have seen. Even the rubber mounting band is twice as thick as any other light that uses one and the light can be adjusted easily and stays put on the helmet or bar. I prefer it to the other mounting methods.
Lastly, Todd at gretnabikes (www.gretnabikes.com) and Larry (www.mtnhighcyclery.com) were really helpful and answered many dumb questions with patience. Larry also runs/owns a local shop and deals in really high-end bikes (Turner, Ventana, Knolly, Niner, Chumba) so when he decided to carry Lupines, I knew he was impressed by them as well. I feel good supporting these guys and I know that besides Lupine, they also have my back if something happens. However, one of the reasons I chose Lupine was their incredible record of reliability so I will probably never need any warranty help.
It was worth the money to me. I was very leery about spending more than $300 on a light at first but I got sucked in after seeing one in operson and have no regrets :)
This one get 5 Chilis even though it is expensive. It was worth the money to me and I find no weaknesses. Well, a custom lens cap (even of cheap plastic) would be nice. I leave the Wilma on the helmet since it is my night-riding helmet and hate to have a tool or tire pump smack into it one day when I'm in a rush trying to get stuff out of the car.
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