And though its ¼-inch side cutouts are not as attention-grabbing as the City Rover’s ¾-inch cutouts, they are larger than those on our upgrade pick.
The E-Lume 600 is less water-resistant than the City Rover, but it does have a durable, heat-dissipating extruded-aluminum housing. And its low-flash mode runs for 90 hours at a highly respectable 100 lumens, with an easy-to-gauge color-coded battery indicator. The narrowly focused, yellowish beam was not as bright or as wide as that of the PDW City Rover 700, but its 600-lumen output never wavered for the duration of its promised run time of 2¾ hours. And the light never budged, even when it was put to the test on a mountain-bike ride. We did come to appreciate the mounting system: It incorporates a bracket, thumb lever, cam hook, and rubber strap, and it allowed us to direct the beam where we liked. With its yellowish-tinted beam and somewhat complicated cam-hook-style mount, the Serfas E-Lume 600 Headlight differed from the rest of the headlights in our test in both functionality and design. And we should note that its beam was not the widest of the beams on the other lights we tested. Finally, though the City Rover (which uses a quick-release mount) stays put over rough terrain, it can swivel only a few degrees in either direction (limiting your ability to adjust for differences in handlebar angles). The body is made of plastic, rather than more-durable machined aluminum (as on our upgrade pick, the Lezyne headlight). There are some trade-offs that come with the affordability: The City Rover 700 is water-resistant-not waterproof-but its most vulnerable point (the charging port) is tucked under the light and fitted with a snug rubber cover to keep out water. The City Rover 700 also has generously sized sidelights, for visibility at intersections we found them to be more eye-catching than those on many other models we tested. Plus, after the low-battery indicator comes on, the light automatically dims itself to its lowest setting, where it stays for an additional 15 minutes to allow for a last-ditch sprint home. That medium setting should be bright enough to cut through urban light pollution and to illuminate the occasional dark alleyway.
Battery backup light bulb full#
And though few city commuters may need to use this light at its full, 700-lumen strength, its medium setting has longer-than-average run times (four hours at 350 lumens), as does its low setting (eight full hours at 200 lumens). When choosing a good bike light, we consider battery life to be a top factor. But we think Portland Design Works’ City Rover 700 USB Headlight offers everything most commuters need (and nothing they don’t) at an excellent price. You could, of course, spend a lot more money on a bike light that’s brighter or has a longer run time.
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