# Specialized Flux Expert lights



## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

A review:

REVIEW: Specialized Flux Expert Bicycle Headlight - Photo Intensive

Review: Specialized Flux Expert Taillight

I had a chance to test the same pre-production units used in these reviews.

SIGNUP HAS ENDED - Pass Around/Giveaway-Specialized Flux Headlight and Taillight

SIGNUP HAS ENDED - Pass Around/Giveaway-Specialized Flux Headlight and Taillight

SIGNUP HAS ENDED - Pass Around/Giveaway-Specialized Flux Headlight and Taillight

SIGNUP HAS ENDED - Pass Around/Giveaway-Specialized Flux Headlight and Taillight

My last posts have not cleared the moderator, so here is the first of my last two videos:






In case anyone is looking for new lights and has that kind of scratch ($100 for the taillight, $275 for the headlight).

BrianMc


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

*The Second video*

The same section of street where I first tested my lights.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Nice lights! I like how the Flux can be run either on the internal battery or with an external battery for more battery life. I could see bringing just the headlight on a late afternoon trail ride (just in case), or on a commute, then using the battery pack on longer (or colder) rides. The taillight looked less impressive.


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## rogbie (Jun 20, 2011)

For that kind of money, I'd rather buy something from any other company and not give it to the litigious and unreasonable company that is Specious-ized.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> The taillight looked less impressive.


It is no Dinotte 300!  It is half the price of the new Dinotte Quad Red:

NEW Quad RED Taillight with built in battery - DiNotte Lighting USA Online Store

It is also four times the price of my HotShot. So not cheap. The HotShot, Planet Bike Turbo, and (as it is about the same) the PDW Radbot 1000 are at least comparable in a straight line. One on the back of the helmet might be the ticket as the head angle would not be as large an issue. Still, I have no pressing desire to own one.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rogbie said:


> For that kind of money, I'd rather buy something from any other company and not give it to the litigious and unreasonable company that is Specious-ized.


Sorry, I know nothing of this. Do you have a link?


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## rogbie (Jun 20, 2011)

From:

Bicycle Retailer

and

Velonews

Velonews

And there are many blog posts dedicated to the ridiculous nature of Specialized's operating procedure:

Bikeportland

BikesnobNYC

etc.

It's a big history to delve into, but the shady actions of Specialized start at the companies beginning.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Alize could be confused with Allez? Because it starts with A and is five letters? Really? I could understand "All-A's". Maybe the new name should have been Ahsol.  Or: YGTBKMe. The Volagi fiasco seems a disgraceful way to bully former employees who disclosed all on departure. Drop the "iz" and it is Special ed. CB may have that right. Too bad it is a nice light.


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## snailspace (Jan 12, 2014)

I am a recent purchaser of this light and very happy with it. For me wi even the 400 lumen low setting is perfect for my commutes. My biggest selling points were;

Its all self contained
Easy on easy off and can centrally mount
wide beam pattern

Gripes are;

wish it had either a 600 or 800 lumen steady output
extra mounts are $45 cdn so


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## snailspace (Jan 12, 2014)

Now that I have used the light for a week I have an issue with battery life. After 30 minutes of use at 400 lumen setting the battery indicator is red, meaning less than 20%. This is troubling because on that setting it should get 6 hours. Though my commute at night isn't long enough to fully drain it.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^ Even under cold temps, that is not expected. I assume the charger is bringing it up to 8.4 volts (2 or 4 cells), or 11.6 (3 cells), or 12.8 (4 cells) whatever that pack is? If it is then it sounds like it is time for a fix under warranty. I ran one at about 20 F at the highest setting for over two hours without a recharge. Now you get to find out if they are as good as Dinotte or Cygolite in warranty work. Since they are pricey Specialized should be at least as good.


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## Fen (Mar 27, 2014)

I have both the front and rear. The front I am pretty happy with. It's not as amazing a beam as the reviews I read made it out to be, but it's as good as anything else I've used. The hi / low beam is a bit of a gimmick I'd say as you really don't see much further / better with high beam on than with low in my non scientific tests. It's nice to have some confidence it isn't being obnoxious to other people when it's aimed at a useful height however.

The rear is a different story. First one I had turned itself off during a ride 3 out of 5 times I used it. Battery level was fine as I'm talking 2 x 45 minute commutes and one 1.5 hour ride for fun (and charging it between), and it happily turned back on with a green battery indicator colour every time.

I returned it to the LBS and they replaced it saying it was a fault with the light sensor. The replacement is better in that it's remained on for all but 2 of about 6 rides. This morning on the way to work I used a different mode (not the automatic light-sensing one) and it was off when I arrived. I'm calling that out as useless, so it'll be going back to the LBS again tomorrow. I'm not sure if I want to try another one or just go for a refund - I'll probably wait to see what they suggest.

Overall after a handful of weeks with them I'd say the front isn't worth the money and the rear is junk (based on current experience). If I do get another replacement and it's fault-free I'll try to remember to post back as it's a nice light and my review would be totally different if it offered the basic functionality of remaining in operation until turned off or the battery runs flat.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Note that the tested model was a pre-commercial example. I can't say whether it is representative. I did not use them long enough to pick up your sort of issue. The cyclist who won the pair, has not reported on his use over the last 6 months.

Performance-wise I like my HotShot better than this tail light and my DIY taillights blow it away.


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## steven765 (May 31, 2015)

Been running the flux expert and tail light for 3 night rides now. I'll say this on high I've got no problems riding at night. Heck on trails I've never ridden it was remarkably easy to find the trails by head light, was actually harder the next day. 

The remote is nifty, but honestly I might just stop using it. On trails it's difficult to tell the difference between Lo/high and high/low. More of a gimmick. I just want low, high, pulse and flash. The light horn is cool. 

The one thing I did find pleasantly surprising is that to conserve battery I was able to run the pulse setting on double track and smooth single track trails with no issues.


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## froze (Feb 5, 2011)

rogbie said:


> From:
> 
> Bicycle Retailer
> 
> ...


That sort of puts Trek into the same company: Trek Sues CA Winery for Use of Name | Bicycle Retailer and Industry News
TREK Bikes v CROSSTREK Cars « Trademark Blog
And Trek does the same thing as Specialized does by bullying the dealers into not selling other top line brands; for example Trek doesn't want their dealers selling Specialized, or Cannondale, and they have to carry Trek related line of companies products which is why you see Electra brand of bikes in Trek stores as well as Bontrager and LeMond.

And then there's this: Trek

So what you're saying is we need to also avoid Treks?

SO WHAT Specialize and Trek does this? it's nothing different then what a car company does to their dealerships; it's nothing different then what a car company would do to a small non related company using one of their names on a their products. Clint Eastwood sued Eastwood insurance agency for using a cowboy image, an image that looked nothing like Clint, but since it was the image of a cowboy along with the business name Mr Eastwood sued and won. This sort of stuff goes on all the time, if you stop buying from companies that do this sort of thing you'll be buying very little of anything.


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## angerdan (Sep 18, 2017)

*Flux Elite StVZO Headlight*

Besides the in-development version of the Flux Elite and Taillight meeting the german StVZO regulations there's a kickstarter project for a similiar lamp with external battery (and DC5521 plug like magicshine). 
specializedeuropebvhelp.zendesk.com/hc/de/sections/202726689-Beleuchtung
specialized.com/de/en/flux-elite-stvzo-headlight/p/130646?color=220115-130646
specialized.com/de/en/flux-expert-stvzo-taillight/p/130523?color=220459-130523

forums.mtbr.com/lights-night-riding/outbound-lighting-focal-series-discussion-1055278.html


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

I read that early Flux Experts had battery issues. The use of newer high efficiency LED's to compensate for the mirror losses makes the OL light interesting.


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## Outbound (Aug 23, 2017)

angerdan said:


> Besides the in-development version of the Flux Elite and Taillight meeting the german StVZO regulations there's a kickstarter project for a similiar lamp with external battery (and DC5521 plug like magicshine).
> specializedeuropebvhelp.zendesk.com/hc/de/sections/202726689-Beleuchtung
> specialized.com/de/en/flux-elite-stvzo-headlight/p/130646?color=220115-130646
> specialized.com/de/en/flux-expert-stvzo-taillight/p/130523?color=220459-130523
> ...


Thanks for the shoutout!

Direct link to the project is here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/939496402/high-performance-lightweight-long-lasting-bike-lig


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