Lumintop C01 Bicycle  Light Review

Paul321 · 2018-08-09T02:12:37.000Z

LuminTop presented the C01 Bicycle Light on the BLF, and I was very interested. After some courteous email exchanges I agreed to review the light.

I received the light free of charge from LuminTop on the condition I would produce an honest review.

What’s included:
The light arrived well protected in the sturdy box. Included with the light is the handlebar mount, USB cable, operation manual and LuminTop warranty card.

Observations and use:
The light is molded from ABS (Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) resin. The parts are well made and fit together without evidence of mold mismatch, the surface finish is high grade. ABS is an excellent choice for this application. The lens is a crystal clear plastic. The light is a self-contained device powered by a lithium–ion rechargeable cell. The cell is not replaceable.

At the tail of the light is the micro USB charging port, the port well protected with a secure fitting rubber cover.

The light is operated with the large orange colored switch located top and center. There are three main modes, low- medium- high. The light always starts in low, and then a short press to medium followed by high, then again back to low. A long press (real long) brings in the hidden modes strobe-SOS- beacon, with short presses to the switch to cycle through these modes. A medium length press will turn off the light from any mode. During use when the lithium–ion cell is near depletion (about 10 minutes), a red LED underneath the switch will flash. The red LED also will illuminate during charging, and then turn green to indicate a full charge.

The C01 is unique in that LuminTop did not merely re-configure a standard flashlight with a circular parabolic reflector. The LED (CREE XP-G3 neutral white) is mounted at the light top and faces downward, rather than the familiar forward facing design.

The emitted light is captured and reflected forward and downward into an oblong shape with a pronounced cutoff. The beam shape is a horizontally aligned oblong hot spot with wide side illuminating coronas, a secondary lesser hot spot (or corona) is aimed directly on the tarmac in front of the wheel.
Low-

Medium-

High- those parking lines are ten feet apart, the cement balustrade is 56 feet away

The light is attached to the bicycle handlebars with a molded ABS resin clamp. The clamp is durable, simple to engage and adjust; this clamp will fit handle bars from 22 - 31.8 mm diameter without shims. The light fits onto the clamp with molded dovetails feature on the light bottom. A small spring will snap the light in place, the light when fitted to the clamp can be rotated left or right to aim the beam. Clamps or mounting methods are the Achilles heel of bicycle lights, this clamp is well designed, and well made from top notch materials.

31.8mm diameter bar 22 mm diameter bar

The cell charges in 2 hours plus or minus 5 minutes.
The manual mentions “when charging the light supports operation and mode switch except flash modes”.
For extended runtimes a power bank with USB cable can be used. The extended runtime depends on the power bank capacity. I found this to be a nice feature.

Runtime on high is 2 hours 10 minutes plus or minus 10 minutes, 111% of the advertised. I did not measure the runtimes for other modes; I am comfortable with that result.

I haven’t a device for measuring output in lumens, so I cannot verify.

The light is performing well in a static rain test; I don’t like to ride in the rain so for now being left on in the rain storm will suffice. I am not using the extended runtime feature during the rain testing, the rain resistance is dependent on the USB cover being in place.

Drop test I have dropped from the height of my handle bars; only small nicks in housing observed, all functions are working

I ride my bicycle with this light in confidence, mainly suburban areas and familiar road ways. The wide beam will almost light the entire lane I found the beam pattern works really well at all modes low-medium-high. I admit I use the high mode mostly. You have to adjust your speed to the light level obviously. This light is not for racing but that is not its intention. LuminTop does suggest this for urban use.

wle · 2018-08-09T22:22:31.000Z

i find the $30 4x18650 bike lights very good… run time at 800 lumens or so is about 2 hours, which is VERY bright…

wle

Paul321 · 2018-08-10T12:29:13.000Z

wle:

i find the $30 4x18650 bike lights very good… run time at 800 lumens or so is about 2 hours, which is VERY bright…

wle

I agree , I have the Thorfire, and I’m waiting for a deal on the NightFighter, I don’t know why I need (want) more of these.
I have some sort of problem….