# NiteRider Solas Review



## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

My NiteRider Solas came from treefortbikes.com today. Since I can't find any reviews online, I figure I'd give my $.02 and some pictures and videos. I'll use the PB Superflash Turbo and Blinky to compare it to since those are well known.

The Solas is pretty well built. Not quite as nice as the SF Turbo, but still pretty nice.




























The mount turns 90 degrees so you can put it on a vertical or horizontal tube without having it sideways.

Here's where the USB cable attaches:










And the power button, which is very easy to press, much easier than the one on the SF Turbo:










The beam is noticeably brighter than the SF Turbo, I wouldn't say twice as bright (2w vs. 1w LED) but noticeable for sure. It just plain embarrasses the Blinky, but for 3x the price, it should. The beam is also more of an oval/rectangular patters as opposed to round. In person, the SF has a very bright hot spot that's pretty small, then a ring around it that's slightly less bright. The Solas has a larger hot spot than that whole 2 ring area of the SF and it's brighter.

(Left: SF, Right: Solas)










Here's a daytime video:



Nighttime videos:





Nighttime images, from about 20' away straight back:

Solas









SF









Blinky









And the best shot of all:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Looks like it has enough punch to cover the larger area and be seen better to the rear quarters at least.

BrianMc


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I'm embarrassed for my Blinky 5. I might just have to get one. Seems like cheap insurance. Thanks for the review.


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## FOAM (Jun 8, 2011)

Finally. I've been searching for a video of the Solas with no luck until now. Thank you for posting this and I think I found a good match for my just acquired Cygolite Expilion 700. Just ordered the Solas. It was between it, the Cygolite Hotshot or the Light & Motion VIS 180.


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## Guest (Oct 4, 2012)

Is it made in San Diego like previous NiteRider products?


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## apheod (Sep 3, 2012)

is the battery replacable? i like the rechargable lithion ions, but i also like being able to carry spare batteries.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Nope. Not without taking some screws out. I'm not sure if it is proprietary or a standard cell. I'd guess proprietary.


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## apheod (Sep 3, 2012)

how is the off-axis visibility? i just bought a PDW danger zone for my blinker, dual 1/2w leds, but i'm wanting another light for constant on. hoping for something that doesn't need aimed straight at motorists to be noticable.


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## SpecializedJim (Mar 8, 2012)

This light is pretty awesome. I've had two people from work drive past me and later tell me "your taillight is really bright and I couldn't help but stare at it". My wife came up on me and she was half paying attention because she was texting while driving :madmax: and she glanced up while I was going around a turn. She said she seen a really bright light and stopped what she was doing until she came the rest of the way around the turn and seen me. For those that are wondering what the beam looks like from an angle apparently it was good enough at an angle to stop her from doing what she was doing and look harder at the road. All 3 people that commented on it seen it in the daylight and all said it was really bright and couldn't help but to stare. I feel a lot safer now that I got this light but I still keep my head on a swivel.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

At about 20' from a wall it casts a bright spot about 3'-4' wide and about 2' tall and it fades away for about twice that. In other words "pretty good".


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

apheod said:


> how is the off-axis visibility? i just bought a PDW danger zone for my blinker, dual 1/2w leds, but i'm wanting another light for constant on. hoping for something that doesn't need aimed straight at motorists to be noticable.


I was looking for the same when I got this. The only good answer I could find was a Dinotte, but I wasn't willing to spend that much.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

This is the beam pattern on a 16' wide garage door at a distance of 25'


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## atreyu (Oct 19, 2012)

Hmm. Looks pretty bright... I'll have to take and post some comparison shots of new my DIY tail light vs. my PB Superflash Turbo... I would expect/hope it's even brighter!

My setup: I epoxied a red photo filter to a $40 CREE XM-L T6 based headlight, swapped out the clear glass lens for a wide-angle, and mounted the light to my seat rails using the base from the included head mount. Only out ~$60 for a BRIGHT lithium rechargeable system, vs. >$200 for a Lithium-based DiNotte 400R!


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