NiteRider TriNewt bike headlamp?

[bhj1]

Has anyone used the new NiteRider TriNewt LED bike headlamp yet? Their website claims almost 500 lumens from a three-LED setup and regulated 3.5 hours on high with 7 on low. The price is heavy, but if the light performs as they claim it's a great asset for night riding/adventure racing. I'm also curious as to what LED's they're using. Thanks for any input.

http://www.niterider.com/prod_trinewt.shtml

Bill

 

[Patriot]

I have an old nite rider with lead acid battery. At one time it was my brightest small light at about 60 lumens. That was a long time ago. They make very high quality light assemblies and digital regulation circuitry. I've emailed them with your question but we probably wont have a response until tomorrow. Catch you then.

 

[Skeeterbytes]

I've got a MiNewt X2 on backorder from REI, so will hopefully be able to report on that in a week or three. Based on fiddling with one in the store, it's quite tiny and quite bright, as well as very nicely made. I can well imagine the Tri will set stray brush afire with its considerably higher output.

After seeing what Lupine lights cost, the NiteRider line seems filled with bargains.

--Rick

 

[Patriot]

Update: Still no word back from NiteRider yet. I'll send them another email and we'll try again. Till then..

 

[Patriot]

Sent a second email through the contact area at niterider 24 hours ago and still not response. :shakehead

 

[Patriot]

I waited until tonight to send out question the 3rd time. So far customer support doesn't seem all that cooperative....bummer

 

[Patriot]

UPDATE:

Ok, I finally got a response from Nite Rider which is as follows, minus the responders name which I have left off.

"The LED's come from a proprietary source. This is the only information they are releasing about the LED's besides that they are high powered.

Thank you,"


I guess they're being secretive or they actually don't know. Maybe customer service didn't feel like finding out from tech support but that's only speculation on my part. Based on what I've seen thus far, I probably wont likey be a NiteRider customer in the future. :shrug:

 

[Skeeterbytes]

That's very interesting, about the LED.

I got my MiNewt X2 yesterday and man, is it bright! Surprisingly small and light as well, particularly the teeny battery. My old Niterider is a halogen lamp with the water-bottle sized NiCd battery, so this is a major downsizing for me.

Far brighter than any headlamp I own, this should light up the road pretty well. Personally, I can't imagine needing the TriNewt, but I don't do technical nighttime offroad riding, either.

--Rick

p.s. There are torx screws in the lamphead but I'm resisting taking it apart for the time being.

UPDATE:

Ok, I finally got a response from Nite Rider which is as follows, minus the responders name which I have left off.

"The LED's come from a proprietary source. This is the only information they are releasing about the LED's besides that they are high powered.

Thank you,"


I guess they're being secretive or they actually don't know. Maybe customer service didn't feel like finding out from tech support but that's only speculation on my part. Based on what I've seen thus far, I probably wont likey be a NiteRider customer in the future. :shrug:

 

[northman]

Has anyone used the new NiteRider TriNewt LED bike headlamp yet? Their website claims almost 500 lumens from a three-LED setup and regulated 3.5 hours on high with 7 on low. The price is heavy, but if the light performs as they claim it's a great asset for night riding/adventure racing. I'm also curious as to what LED's they're using. Thanks for any input.

http://www.niterider.com/prod_trinewt.shtml

Bill

This looks like ssc emitters,probably driven at 750-800 ma at high!

 

[greenLED]

They're probably SSC's, and I'll bet'ya those are "ideal" lumen output numbers, not "real world" values.

 

[luminari]

They're probably SSC's, and I'll bet'ya those are "ideal" lumen output numbers, not "real world" values.

You seem quite confident in that statement. Where did you get that info?

 

[zamboniman]

It's an open secret that the vast majority of flashlight manufacturers love inflating brightness and runtime specs.

 

[bhj1]

With my 20% coupon in hand I visited my local REI and purchased their floor model TriNewt for an additional 5% off; for a total of 25% off retail. That's not a bad deal. I considered a Light and Motion ARC HID Ultra Li-Ion, but the cost was prohibitive for some additional lumens and better runtimes. With the money I saved I'll get an extra TriNewt battery and ultimately increase my overall runtime. I have yet to try it, it's on the charger as I type. Hopefully this weekend I'll run it through it's paces and post some results.

I will say that the TriNewt light head is robust and appears heavy duty, but is somewhat larger than it's kid brother the MiNewt. I have a MiNewt as well, and it seems bullet-proof too. The TriNewt comes with a helmet mount and extension cord along with the normal accessories.

Thanks to all who posted responses.


Bill

 

[RGB_LED]

bhj1, sorry to hijack this thread but let us know how you like the TriNewt. Do you ride single-track trails at all? I, too, am looking into getting a set of lights for night riding and currently deciding on LED's vs. HID.

The last time I went for a short night ride on single-track, I jury-rigged my PT Apex Pro to my helmet along with a Fenix P3D on my handle-bars - found that the helment mount didn't quite work out as I wasn't getting enough depth perception or shadow to make out the rocks / roots. Not sure if you do the same type of riding or have run into the same issue.

My buddies and I are hitting some single-track tomorrow night and I will have access to a set of Light & Motion HID Arc Li-Ion, a Topeak Moonshine Halogen 3H as well as a couple of other lights (Another HID and and others unknown at this time). I'll be trying them out and will try to take some beanshots.

 

[LEDAdd1ct]

I hope this isn't considered hijacking; I was wondering if anyone here has compared the TriNewt with the Dinotte 600L? Both are comparably priced, and I was wondering if anyone has compared their beam patterns, beam quality, brightness, etc...

 

[spinkid]

I hope this helps some since this has info on the trinewt and the dinotte 600L.

http://acidinmylegs.blogspot.com/2007/09/trinewt-and-600l-beam-shots.html

I have the 600L and could vouch for it, just used during my first 24hr. mountain bike race. Super bright and great runtimes for me. I was in arms between these same 2 lights and ordered the 500L and to my suprise they were upgraded to 600L's and thats what I received. Sorry for the diversion.

 

[Darell]

Moved to the bicycle forum...

Nobody wants to say what emitters are used in their lights because then they get in trouble if/when they change them. And there's really little chance that they're getting 500 lumen out the front end of these. Just typical LED output numbers used in place of REAL measured output of the device.

 

[LEDAdd1ct]

"Nobody wants to say what emitters are used in their lights because then they get in trouble if/when they change them. And there's really little chance that they're getting 500 lumen out the front end of these. Just typical LED output numbers used in place of REAL measured output of the device."

I have to express similar dissatisfaction with the method used; however, quoting "at the die" lumen ratings is still more informative than "world's brightest LED light!"

 

[LEDAdd1ct]

One of the things that bothers me about the TriNewt, and may keep me from buying it, is that, correct me if I am wrong, the ON/OFF switch, and possibly regulation circuitry as well, are housed in the battery. This means if the batteries go bad or need replacing, you lose your ON/OFF switch as well. Now, some may say, "Who cares? What good is a light anyway without a battery?"

Now, while this is true that one cannot use a light without a power source, what if when my battery dies I want to use a third-party replacement, such as something from Batteryspace? I *hate* being locked into proprietary gear, and this seems to be a setup which does just that.

Please correct me if I am wrong...

LEDAdd1ct

 

[T-Rex]

Nobody wants to say what emitters are used in their lights because then they get in trouble if/when they change them.

Sorry Darrell, I have to disagree.

I just called them up and asked. Their sales dept said they were Seoul LEDs. (Of course it might help when I told them I worked in a bike store).