goo_mason
Champion barbed-wire hurdler
- Location
- Leith, Edinburgh
Rockbros USB Bike Light
Please note that I was sent this light by GearBest in exchange for an honest review, and I ran the light on my bike during my daily commutes in all Edinburgh weathers for three weeks to give it a good shakedown before writing this.
Link to buy: Rockbros USB Bike Light
Size tested: 1200 lumens
Technical details?
T6 Cree LED, max light level of 1200 lumens, can reach 200 - 800m lighting distance
3 modes - strong, low and flash, controlled by button switch
Shockproof CNC anodized aluminium alloy heat-sink casing
Illuminated button switch, with colour indicating charge level
Waterproof
Rubber O-Ring handlebar attachment
(Requires USB 2.1A powerpack)
Available in Red/Black, Gold/Black and Silver/Black
Size: 4.2 x 5.5 x 3.0 cm
Product weight: 0.165 kg
Build quality:
9/10
Solid construction that looks like it'll survive a beating .
Ease of use:
10/10
Plug it in, push the button and you're up and running. Press again for the lower-powered beam, and a third time for strobe. Uses a nicely-visible coloured indicator to indicate battery life.
Fixing options:
7/10
Comes supplied with various rubber O-rings to attach the lamp to bars of different diameters. I'm never that keen on this type of fixing, as I usually can't get the lamp to stay pointing in the same direction after a few minutes on Edinburgh's poorly-surfaced roads. However, this lamp seems to have stayed put when others haven't – likely because it's fairly small and light and tightly attached.
Waterproof qualities:
9/10
It's been drenched repeatedly in the heavy Edinburgh rain, with no ill-effects. I reckon that's a good guarantee that it'll fend off the very worst of the elements!
Battery life / charge times:
9/10
It's hard to judge this as it'll depend on the USB powerbank you use. As an indication, I've used a tiny, pebble-sized Lidl power source which puts out 1.0A and it's kept the strobe going for over 3hrs (and this thing barely adds 1 bar to a smartphone before it's empty). With a beefier powerpack, I reckon you'll get days out of this light!
Light Performance:
8/10
It's brighter than my trusty AyUps, although the beam is pretty focused in one spot and doesn't really have much spread.
Value for money
8/10
The light is pretty much on par with its Chinese-manufactured competitors. It's available for $9.57 on GearBest with free postage from China. At current exchange rates, that's about £6.67 which is damn good value (especially when I think about how much I've spent on less-powerful and short-lasting lights over the years).
Summary
8/10
I have to admit that when I was sent this light and found it was powered via USB, I didn't hold out much hope. However, I've been really quite pleasantly surprised by the quality, brightness and run times – especially since I didn't have a powerpack of my own to run it from, and could only borrow a piddlingly tiny Lidl one which I didn't think would (a) power it, and (b) keep it running for more than a few minutes. Amazingly, it powered it and kept doing so for over 3hrs. I guess that this would appeal to those who don't want to have to strap a bulky, heavy powerpack to the bike – a tiny USB power source will do just fine. Alternatively, for hours and hours of power there's nothing to stop you using a monster powerpack if you really want to. You do, of course, have to supply your own means of strapping the powerpack to your bike, but that's a minor inconvenience. I reckon the cable's long enough to run the length of the top tube and into a sadldlebag if you already use one.
The beam spread means that it's not going to light up a wide section of the road ahead of you, but unless you're riding very fast on a completely unlit road or path I don't think that's going to be too much of an issue. You're definitely going to be seen if you're running this light, though I do recommend being polite and angling it down so that it points to the road a metre or so in front of you. It's very impolite – and not to mention dangerous - to dazzle or blind oncoming cyclists or drivers.
Overall, I'm really happy with this light and if you're looking for a cheap light that'll help you be seen and show up all of those approaching potholes on a dark commute, this comes recommended.
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