NiteRider Lumina Micro 650 Front Bike Light

The NiteRider Lumina Micro 650 is a solid and dependable front light. It might have a slightly clunky look, but it's tough, water resistant and will serve you well as an every day commuter light, keeping you visible and allowing you to ride more safely in the dark.

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There isn't much complexity to the NiteRider Lumina Micro 650. It's quick and simple to mount on your handlebar and has a sufficient range of modes for day-to-day commuting duties. The body is made from chunky nylon-reinforced fibreglass, which should make it tough enough to shrug off the occasional drop.

Its resistance from the elements is pretty good too, its IP64 rating meaning it's totally impervious to dust and resistant to water spray from any direction. Unless you submerse it in water you should be just fine.

The five modes cover all the options I want from a commuter light. The High gives you the maximum 650 lumens for two hours; Medium provides 4 hours 30 minutes at 325lm; Low gives 10h30 at 130lm. In addition to these you've got the Flash mode that delivers 650 lumens for 12h30 and a low-power Walk setting – 40 lumens for 50 hours.

I think these should be sufficient for most cycle commuters and that low-power Walk mode could well be a handy extra for you.

I found the claimed runtimes pretty accurate, even getting two hours at the maximum setting when the light wasn't quite fully charged to begin with, though I must admit I didn't put the claimed 50 hours walk mode figure to the test. Life's too short for that...

Recharging is via the familiar micro-USB cable, which I found handy, given how many of my other lights and devices use the same cable, though it is starting to look a bit long-in-the-tooth now as the quicker USB-C gains traction.

I'd describe myself as an 'urban commuter', riding for 15 minutes on busy, lit roads, so I'm looking for something that ensures not just that I'll easily be seen by other road users – but is bright enough to dodge the numerous potholes on my commute.

On my morning ride I tended to use the NiteRider in its Low mode, which I felt was bright enough to let me be seen – saving the High mode for the darker evening ride home when I really needed to see the road surface. During those rides I found the spread of the beam and the 650-lumen output bright enough to do the job – at least for me personally on my city-based rides. If you're cycling on unlit routes you may want a little more power on hand and a beam with a spread a couple of metres wider.

You access the modes using the single top-mounted button and I found it pleasingly simple to use – with a three-second press required to access the walk and flash modes.

The light's handlebar mount is also very easy to attach to your bar. Once you've screwed the bolt tightly to secure the mount, you just slide the light into a groove and it clicks into place, and I found it stable enough over the usual road bumps. You do have the option to purchase a helmet mount, though I'd probably choose a less bulky purpose-built helmet light such as the Brightside Topside as a be-seen-by light or the Exposure Nightstick Mk17 for unlit routes.

I can't say that the NiteRider Micro 650 is an especially sleek design and the light and mount together do take up a fair amount of real estate on your handlebar, though I didn't really see this as a particular problem on my commuter bike.

Value

NiteRider's tagline for the Micro 650 is 'All the lumens you'll ever need for your ride at a price-point you can afford' and I think that's pretty fair. I personally don't feel the need for anything more than 650 lumens for my regular commutes, and NiteRider has hit that affordable price without any obvious compromises on quality.

When it comes to the competition there aren't that many others offering 650-lumen lights – it tends to be 1,000-lumen-plus lights for unlit riding or sub-500-lumen lights for the urban commuter market.

The Moon Rigel Rechargeable Front Light was £55 when Jamie reviewed it but it's now a tenner less and you can find it cheaper still. It's ostensibly a 700-lumen light, but Jamie reckoned it performs more like a 600-lumen one.

Ed recently tested the Lezyne Fusion Drive Pro 600+ that offers very similar features and will also cost you 50 quid.

It's also worth noting that NiteRider has essentially the same light with different power outputs, such as the Lumina Micro 900 Bike Headlight that Laurence reviewed, which costs just £10 more.

Conclusion

NiteRider's Lumina Micro 650 is a good, straightforward bike light at a pretty appealing price. It's tough, water resistant, easy to fit, simple to use and its range of power outputs are well suited to the needs of the urban commuter.

Verdict

Tough, easy to fit and with a sensible range of power outputs for urban commuting