# CAt Review; Ravemen CR-500



## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

I picked up the Ravemen CR-500 from Ravemanbikelights.com and received the product yesterday. I haven't had a lot of time to play with it and sadly when I got home last night ( near 1:30am ) it had just started to rain. That killed any idea I had to try it out on some commuter trails just behind where I live.

I did try it out while at work although unfortunately I wasn't working in an area where I could find a really dark spot for testing. Still, from what I could tell ( using the darkest parking lots I could find ) the little CR-500 seems to puts out a very usable intensity/beam pattern.

Since I've never owned a lamp designed with a cutoff beam pattern I was anxious to see if I was going to like the set-up. My initial impression is that I like what I see so far. Can't tell for sure yet until I actually do a ride with it but from what I could tell by just shining it around some semi-dark parking lots ( and one really dark road ) I think I'm going to get my monies worth from the lamp.

The CR-500 puts out a fairly wide beam pattern so I'm thinking/hoping that it's going to work well when riding on the twisty paved commuter trails just behind where I live. There are some slight artifacts in the beam pattern but nothing that I would consider to be a deal killer. Beam tint is cool white but no hint of blue which is good. Although I typically favor neutral to warm white LED's I have no problem using a lamp for road use that utilizes a good cool white LED.

Well, I need to get to bed right now since I might have to deal with some snow tomorrow. Likely I won't get more play time till the weekend. More comments to come when I get the chance to write. If any one has any questions I'll try to answer. Hopefully I'll have more to talk about after the weekend.



> *Disclaimer;* I bought the CR500 with my own money. I intend to use the lamp ( as back-up ) for rides that may include extended sections of paved trails...the idea being that the cut-off beam pattern will be less annoying to on-comers when riding the narrow paved trails ( or dirt rail-trails )


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## MRMOLE (May 31, 2011)

I'm betting for how you intend to use this light your going to be very happy with the beam pattern. I was a little skeptical how useful the cut-off beam would be largely because it's limited to 400 lumens on my Ravemen 900. Much better than expected though (brighter/wider/more throw) and as you suspect beam is very wide and useful for bike paths. Look forward to your impressions/comments!
Mole


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## Dirt Road (Feb 6, 2016)

Always cool to get a review on new lights, lookin forward to it CMD.


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

I got lucky and the expected snow never showed. Cold weather is back though so I doubt I'll be up for a night ride until it warms up again. Last week I got some sad news. I was informed by the management of the property I live at that a male young adult was shot on the paved commuter path that weaves behind our property. This is the last thing I wanted to hear since I often ride those paths when quickly testing lights and such. Anyway the story was that the youth was approached by two other youths and one was shot and in critical condition. Wish I knew more about the story as I feel it might be drug related. Now I have to worry about that kind of stuff when I ride those trails and need I say I'm not happy about it. Used to be when I went out after 12:00am I'd never see a single person but now when I go out I've seen people on the paved trails as late as 2:00am.

Can't wait to see how the battery and run times are going to play out. Last night I set the lamp up on my commuter/road set-up. I had to use a medium size shim to get the clamp to fit right. Unfortunately they didn't supply one although they did supply a large and thin shim. Lucky for me I had a spare medium size shim from one of my other lamps. I also had to tighten the screw on the quick release because the lamp was wobbling all over the place. Once tightened all is fine. 

One of the things that makes owning one of these worth while is that the lamp has a removable "wired remote". On the down side the two flash modes are included in the main mode menu. Actually that might not be a bad thing. I rarely change modes when riding road anyway but it's still nice to have a remote. The remote can change modes and if you press/hold will activate the high mode from any mode. The only thing the remote won't do is turn the light on or off but that's fine with me. I'll likely leave the light on in it's third steady mode ( 100 lumen ) most of the time anyway. One of things I like about the lamp is that it seems to make good use of the lower levels of light. Since it's a commuter style lamp I figure that's a good thing. Now when I'm riding the paved trails with my Gloworm X2, when I see on coming pedestrians or riders I can turn the GW off and just let the CR-500 take over.


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## Staypuft1652 (Oct 8, 2016)

Cat-man-do said:


> I got lucky and the expected snow never showed. Cold weather is back though so I doubt I'll be up for a night ride until it warms up again. Last week I got some sad news. I was informed by the management of the property I live at that a male young adult was shot on the paved commuter path that weaves behind our property. This is the last thing I wanted to hear since I often ride those paths when quickly testing lights and such. Anyway the story was that the youth was approached by two other youths and one was shot and in critical condition. Wish I knew more about the story as I feel it might be drug related. Now I have to worry about that kind of stuff when I ride those trails and need I say I'm not happy about it. Used to be when I went out after 12:00am I'd never see a single person but now when I go out I've seen people on the paved trails as late as 2:00am.
> 
> Can't wait to see how the battery and run times are going to play out. Last night I set the lamp up on my commuter/road set-up. I had to use a medium size shim to get the clamp to fit right. Unfortunately they didn't supply one although they did supply a large and thin shim. Lucky for me I had a spare medium size shim from one of my other lamps. I also had to tighten the screw on the quick release because the lamp was wobbling all over the place. Once tightened all is fine.
> 
> One of the things that makes owning one of these worth while is that the lamp has a removable "wired remote". On the down side the two flash modes are included in the main mode menu. Actually that might not be a bad thing. I rarely change modes when riding road anyway but it's still nice to have a remote. The remote can change modes and if you press/hold will activate the high mode from any mode. The only thing the remote won't do is turn the light on or off but that's fine with me. I'll likely leave the light on in it's third steady mode ( 100 lumen ) most of the time anyway. One of things I like about the lamp is that it seems to make good use of the lower levels of light. Since it's a commuter style lamp I figure that's a good thing. Now when I'm riding the paved trails with my Gloworm X2, when I see on coming pedestrians or riders I can turn the GW off and just let the CR-500 take over.


That's pretty much my intention also. Sorry to hear about the shooting. Wishing the best outcome for the youth.


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

When I got home tonight I did what I thought I would never do again, I went for a test ride ( in freezing cold weather ). 

Sometimes ya gotta do what ya gotta do. I had to know what the CR500 would look like while on the bike. So with temps in the low 20's F and winds up to 20 mph I took a short spin. Strange how things turn out sometimes. The paved trail was as dry as a bone but I forgot how conditions change on the local trail in the winter. Namely, I forgot that with no leaves on the trees much of the ambient light emitted from the lights around my building complex was able to make it back to the paved trails. Adding to the "F" factor was the fact that the moon was in full phase with not a cloud in the sky. It was almost bright enough to ride without a light *sigh*.......hey!...whata'ya gonna do? 

Still I was pleased to see that the CR500 appears to function very well while on a ride. When on high it supplies more than enough light for me to ride at normal speeds. I can ride without too much difficulty just using the third mode ( 100 lm ). Likely I'll use the second mode the most but I still need to see do more experimentation as far as aiming goes. I figure if the lamp is aimed too high it will still blind on-comers. Of course if you aim it down too much than you can't see as far. 

I did some experimenting with ( cut-off adjustment ) inside my home and here's what I think; Cut-off beam patterns are useful but just like with cars if you run a bright enough output you are still going to be blinding people who are approaching you at your 12 o'clock. On the highest setting ( 500 lm ) I found the light from the CR500 still bright enough to be annoying to approaching ( head on ) traffic, even though I had the lamp aimed at a fairly downward angle. Medium was not as bad but still enough to bother someone who is walking a trail in complete darkness with their pupils in full, "light gathering" mode. The third mode, low ( 100 lm ) seemed not to be too bothersome. ( when standing about 20-25 ft from the front of the bike.) In a nutshell there's two ways to prevent the lamp from blinding on coming traffic, either point the lamp down a whole lot or just use a lower mode. I don't like to mess with the aim so for me I'll be using the low mode a lot. 

BTW, even though my ride only took about 10 minutes I noticed no change in the voltage indicators. I found that to be important because it was so cold. Last year I tested a small Xeccon commuter lamp ( in cold weather ) only to find that it wouldn't even run for 10 minutes before the red indicators came on. Two minutes later the xeccon lamp turned itself off. The Ravemen CR-500 lamp is only using a single 1700 mAh li-ion battery. I'd like to see it go at least 30 minutes ( on high ) before the red indicator ( 50% charge ) comes on. I'll do more testing to gauge run-time come the weekend. I'll be testing not only run time but relative brightness as the battery begins to deplete. The CR500 is suppose to run 1.6 hrs. on high but you can bet your bottom dollar that if it does run that long that it's not going to maintain 500 lumen for entire 1.6 hr.  ( **Of course if it does I'll be most pleasantly surprised )


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## Dirt Road (Feb 6, 2016)

Pretty cool with the wired remote. I'd be highly surprised to see an hour of runtime on high mode. Good dedication riding in the cold, I'm fighting myself going into hibernation mode. Rode Friday with wind chills in the neg- (no fun but rewarding at the end)


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## garrybunk (Feb 12, 2014)

1700mAh! That's pathetic. Bare minimum should be 2,200mAh (those cells being dirt cheap). 2,600 mAh would be more "normal". I'd rather pay $1 more and get 900mAh more capacity. 

-Garry


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

garrybunk said:


> 1700mAh! That's pathetic. Bare minimum should be 2,200mAh (those cells being dirt cheap). 2,600 mAh would be more "normal". I'd rather pay $1 more and get 900mAh more capacity.
> 
> -Garry


I hear ya. I thought the same thing when I read in the literature it was only 1700 mAh. The lamp is rather small so I'm not sure it's using an 18650 size battery, especially when you start considering that the electronics have to go somewhere. Quite possibly it could be using a series of 3 x 10440 size cells ( in parallel )...something like these. The lamp doesn't look to be easy to take apart so only way to know for sure is to contact the manufacturer and ask the question.

The lamp itself is about 3/4 the length of a normal 18650 torch but it is a bit wider. ( sorry, can't find my tape measure at the moment or I'd give the dimensions. ) I'd do a quick run test tonight when I get home but I've got the graveyard shift tonight and won't get home till about 4:00am. No play time till the weekend.


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

*Ravemen CR-500; seond ride*

I was able to take a nice little ride tonight using the the CR500. Temps were in the upper 40'sF. Took me a while to decide what to wear though. I don't do too many rides in the winter so I forget now what combos to wear but I got lucky and wore stuff that was not too warm and no too cold...just perfect, which of course made the whole ride much more pleasant.

With my bike all set-up and ready to go I set the CR500 on the 100 lumen mode ( #3 ) and took off down my local sidewalk headed to the nearest junction for the paved commuter trails. Right as I was approaching the turn for the paved paths I saw two young ladies approaching about a 100 ft of so down the side walk. The idea popped into my head to stop and ask them about how bright my light appeared to them. Turned out they were too very young and sweet young women who where out spreading the Word of the Lord on behalf of the Church of Later day Saints. I almost had to laugh because I've never seen women doing this before just the young men, but I digress. I asked them if they found my lights "too bright" and being very polite they indicated that while the light was bright it was not uncomfortable for them.

After a short talk with the two very attractive and modest young ladies ( both about bike lights and what they were doing ) I went on my way down the paved trails. I ended up encountering many people on the paved paths ( pedestrians ) and I could tell by looking at them that not much of the light from the CR500 was hitting them in the face. On the 100 lumen mode I'm able to see about 40ft without too much trouble. As I continued on I played around with the brighter settings which of course lets me see much further.

After riding for a while I decided to extend the ride a bit more since I was having such a good time. I ended the ride by riding the last mile of so on the road and using the brightest mode. I had no problems seeing anything I needed to see.

The entire ride lasted maybe 45 minutes to an hour with temps around 47 degrees F. Sadly I forgot to check my watch when I left. The good news is the CR500 never deviated from the "green voltage indicator" While I didn't use the upper modes a whole lot ( hey I didn't need to as I wasn't riding that fast ) I did use them for maybe 15 minutes

I don't know if the CR500 puts out an actual 500 lumen. I just know that if I'm riding my flat-bar commuter bike I don't tend to ride real fast unless I'm on a road so it's real hard for me to "out-run" the useful beam pattern of the lamp. Cloud cover eliminated the moon tonight so I was seeing how it worked on some of the darker trails. So far no major complaints. I'll give it an "in house" run test when I get home later.

I will say this though, "If the CR-500 had a user serviceable battery, owning one of these would be a slam-dunk". The CR500 beam pattern lights the entire road and could very well be enough to replace my GW bar lamp since I rarely run the GW at more than 500 lm most of the time anyway. ( BTW, the Mormon girls were very impressed with the CR500. One made mention that she really like the pulse/steady flash mode. ) :thumbsup:


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## RAKC Ind (Jan 27, 2017)

Nice info Cat!

I guess I shouldn't admit I grew up in a Mormon household lol but just found it interesting of all people to run into.

I'm really enjoying my 500 as well. Does make a big difference on the road when your not loosing a lot of light upwards. I need it on the trails but the road it's great.

Mine has been on my road bike, rapid flash during the day then steady mode after dark (usually just 15-20 minute ride home from wherever I happen to be).

Sent from my XT1565 using Tapatalk


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

*Ravemen CR-500; Runtime test*

I set the CR-500 up inside my house with lamp aimed about 2m from my lux meter. Turned out the brightest area was about 16" from the floor at that distance at the angle I had the light pointed. Ambient room temp was about 74°F. I took lux readings every 10 minutes and a couple temperature readings on the lamp body. The lamp was run on high the whole time. A fan was used to cool the lamp during the test. My findings are as such;



> 1) start up ...............309 lux
> 
> 2) Ten min.................329 lux
> 
> ...


Things to note: Average output for the first 60 minutes was about 303 lux. Not bad, very consistent output for the first hour. The temperature of the lamp body never rose above 97°F. That too is very impressive. Final output was slightly more than 50% of the initial start-up output. That means you had at least 200-150 lumen up to the moment the lamp cut-off. _( *Note; I should probably mention here that I don't think the CR-500 puts out a real 500 lumen. My opinion is that it is likely more like 400 lumen but that's only because I don't think this lamp is getting 500 lumen from a single Cree XP-G2 LED. )_

What I didn't like was that the lamp ran for 15 minutes "after" the blinking indicator first came on, which turned out to be the final warning. I would of liked to have had something like a "warning strobe" flash just seconds before the lamp turned off so you had time to stop and switch to whatever back-up you happened to have. The voltage indicators are not very bright. That is something positive ( IMO ) because the indicators don't distract you or effect your night vision. On the down side if you don't happen to pay attention and not notice the indicator blinking you could end up suddenly finding yourself riding along at speed with no light. That would or could be a very dangerous thing to have happen.

Summing up I'm very impressed with the run time being only 5 minutes less than rated. Output did drop toward the end ( as I anticipated ) but there was no "auto power down" per say as I might have thought. Very impressive for something using so small a battery.

Personally, if I were to use this lamp to commute from my job to home it would probably take me about 1 hr and 15-20 minutes to get home. I would not have a problem using this lamp because I have a lot of hills to climb so likely I'd be using the 100 lumen setting for at least 30-40 minutes of the commute home. This would of course extend the run time considerably. Too bad the lamp doesn't have an option to exchange the battery on the fly.

Still, if you really needed longer run time there is always the option to "buy a second lamp and use it for back-up". This is not as crazy as it may sound as these are not really that expensive. If you use another brand lamp with extra back-up cells the cells themselves cost money so the cost of the extra lamp ( in this case ) might justify itself if you really like having a smaller lamp with a cut-off beam pattern. I've not checked but you might actually be able to purchase the "lamp only" ( no mount or remote ) and get a discount on a second. If so that would be a nice option as long as it didn't cost more than $30. That of course would depend on the dealer and what they are willing to do to attract business.



> On a side note; It took about 2.5 hrs to recharge the battery using a plug-in ( line voltage ) phone micro-USB charger.


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## yetirich (Jan 12, 2004)

So could you use a Goal Zero portable battery to run this lamp? So something like this...Goal Zero Switch 10 Recharger | | Goal Zero

I'd be using this a backup light or one for my kids to use when we are out.

Great write up....


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## RAKC Ind (Jan 27, 2017)

No they can't run while being charged sadly.

Here's all the "technical" details of all the lights, http://forums.mtbr.com/lights-night-riding/ravemen-cut-off-beam-lights-1033204.html

Sent from my XT1565 using Tapatalk


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

RAKC Ind is correct. Unlike your cell/smart phones the CR-500 can't be used and charged at the same time...unfortunately. Would be nice if future editions gave the user that option but I guess it depends on how much room the additional electronics would take up. If I were the manufacturer I would think it worth the upgrade because you could then sell your own version of a USB power bank to go along with it ( as an option ). Going forward I'd be willing to pay an extra $20 for a version that either permitted exchange of battery ( on the fly ) or allowed operation of the lamp while charging. If it ended up making the lamp a half inch longer I could live with that. Otherwise if you're the kind of person who takes two hour rides, likes a lamp with a cut-off beam pattern, can get by using the lower power levels for a quarter of the ride, this lamp could be what you're looking for.

Keep in mind the middle mode ( one mode down ) is listed as 250 lumen and is listed as having a 3hr run time. That said I noticed very little difference ( visually speaking ) between the high and middle mode. The difference in lux is 323 vs. 174. Sounds like a lot but to your eyes it doesn't appear to be that much difference when in actual use. I could do a ride using just the middle mode and no problem doing a typical three hour ride. Then again I always follow my own advice and carry a back-up. In this case my back-ups are my helmet torch ( cheap Ultrafire 501-B drop-in torch ) along with my O-light S1 mini-torch which I always carry with me ( at all times ).


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## GJHS (Jul 10, 2013)

Nice review Cat. Any chance of getting pictures on the bars for size?

I am looking to pick up a light to throw in the pack, for park rides that go into the night. I prefer a self contained over a battery pack.


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## RAKC Ind (Jan 27, 2017)

There you go, I just happened to get home from my friends shop (night ride about 10 miles from there to home) and been using my CR500. Cat can get better pics probably but figured this would help for now.

Sent from my XT1565 using Tapatalk


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

*Ravemen CR-500 torch size comparison*

Below is a comparison of some torches I have to give you a relative idea of the Ravemen CR-500.

Left to right, one 26650 battery,* Raveman CR-500*, two standard Convoy 18650 torches and lastly my Ultrafire 501-B drop-in 18650 torch that I use on my helmet at times.


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

Almost forgot to mention before. I'm not impressed with the flash modes on the CR-500. My opinion is that flash modes are intended to attract attention from inattentive motorists. The CR500 has two flash modes; steady with pulse and standard flash. While the flash modes are not completely useless I personally doubt they will attract a lot of attention when in use, particularly when used in places where there is already a good amount of ambient light. Compared to my little 80 lumen ( 4 mini LED ) Performance Axiom mini-flasher, the Axiom pretty much blows the CR500 away. 

Likely the optic on the CR-500 just disperses the flash so much that it just seems not to appear real bright. Not a deal breaker for me but as a flashers go I think it offers the poorest flash intensity I've ever seen on a lamp rated more than 300 lumen. If I were to compare the CR-500 flash to something like the flash on an old school DiNotte 200L, the 200L would blow it out of the water. 

I have to admit I am a little disappointed the flash is not more conspicuous. When I do day road rides I will sometimes employee my brightest flash when descending down a long, fast hill with lots of shade. For me that's my Gloworm X2 set on beacon mode ( 1200 lumen of a sharp, quick pulse ). Once the sun begins to set I'm good with just the Axiom ( if I need a good flash ). 

Well...just did a retest. This time I pointed the CR-500 straight forward and it does seems to improve the flash modes a bit. I still think the flash of the Axiom better but with the CR-500 pointed up like a normal lamp it should be good enough to use in the late evening and at sunset ( I'll still use the Axiom on the front fork though...:yesnod: )

Summing up; IMO, cutoff optics/beam patterns are not particularly the best way to go if you want a small lamp with a very conspicuous flash mode. I'll likely not use the flash modes on the CR-500 much anyway so for me not a big deal.


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

Had to work Saturday. What a day to work, temp near 70°F and I'm stuck working a Saturday. Ugh...Took a short ride today though although it was little cooler with temps in the 60°'s. Someone ( in a car ) flashed their highbeams at me tonight while using the CR-500 on high. I guess that proves my point that even a lamp designed with cut-off can still be annoying to some if the lamp is bright enough. Likely I did have it pointed up a bit because I was moving fairly fast. The thing is when moving fast I need more throw so I'm not surprised by some unexpected obstacle in the road. Still amazes me that some jug-head would flash lights at someone on a bike.

Riding back to my home I was using the local paved pathways. I tried using only the CR-500 and had no problem seeing what I needed to see with one exception. With the lamp properly aimed ( for cut-off ) you really have no heads-up when approaching pedestrians ( because of the shortened throw ). That said sometimes pedestrians take up the whole path which means you need to either ride slower or use another lamp with some throw to give you some advance warning. 

For me this means using either the Gloworm X2 ( on the bars ) or the torch on the helmet so I get enough warning of approaching pedestrians. Only takes a moment to turn the throwers off and then approach using only the CR-500. I don't like sudden surprises at night and I certainly don't want to run into anyone.


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## RAKC Ind (Jan 27, 2017)

Cat, 

I was experimenting with this since you mentioned that. At higher speeds it can be an issue. One thing I've found is we can get by with aiming these higher than normal. I put the cr500 next to my wiz20, turned the wiz20 to about 300 lumens and aimed both straight level.

CR500 is definitely less brutal on the eyes lol. Very much so. Which now I also get the difference in flash you pointed out too. It's much less intense. It "works" but not something for open road (rural road, urban street) especially during the day. Better than nothing and OK for path use.

Open road here we have to ride on same side/direction as traffic. So not a huge problem.

Now for normal riding I wouldn't point the cr500 straight ahead since that's eye level with those in cars, but as like mole did with his test, can match the angle to that of a car and that helps.

CR500 I like for rolling around town but outside of the the PR900/1200 is much better. Being able to hit that big button to turn off the high beam is actually really nice. I did a 40 mile road ride (training for Ragbrai and also doing wonders for endurance and recover for trail riding) where the last 15 were in the dark coming home. Second trip like that now.

It was great to operate a light just like a car. And one of the trucks that was coming at me stopped to ask me about the light. He says spring and fall on that road always sucks cause he sees bikes (the few miles of road is part of the designated Great River Trail) with their lights blasting and it's annoying as hell. He's never see a light that goes from blinding to not at the push of a button.

That right there sold me on cutoff beam lights. Getting a thank you for doing what used to mean adjusting a light angle or as you do, 2 lights, appears to be appreciated by drivers.

Anyway, keep the info coming, seems we both ride similar areas at times which we can share thoughts and ideas for dealing with different scenarios now that I'm riding pavement far more than all previous years combined.

Sent from my XT1565 using Tapatalk


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

RAKC Ind said:


> Cat,
> 
> I was experimenting with this since you mentioned that. At higher speeds it can be an issue. One thing I've found is we can get by with aiming these higher than normal. I put the cr500 next to my wiz20, turned the wiz20 to about 300 lumens and aimed both straight level.
> 
> CR500 is definitely less brutal on the eyes lol. Very much so. Which now I also get the difference in flash you pointed out too. It's much less intense. It "works" but not something for open road (rural road, urban street) especially during the day. Better than nothing and OK for path use...


Yes, I've done a bit more experimenting since my last post and I've noticed a big difference when comparing the CR-500 to a typical lamp with conical type beam pattern. Conical beam is much more blinding.

The problem with using a lamp like the CR-500 is that it is not always a simple task to figure out how to aim it at the correct angle. If I'm riding on the road I'm likely going to need some decent throw if I start to pick up speed. This means I have to aim it higher than what I do when on paved trail. I don't think this will be a major problem going forward because even when aimed a little high, the cut-off of the beam pattern lessens the perceived intensity as compared to a lamp with a typical conical shaped beam pattern.

Even if I do aim it high there is still going to be times when I need the additional punch of a high beam. My bar mounted Gloworm X2 works fine for this but the remote on the GW's is slow to turn off when on-coming traffic begins to appear. That said, I'm considering switching from GWX2 to my Gemini Duo for my road set-up. The Duo ( with wireless remote ) will do the same thing as the GW only the Duo turns off almost instantly when using the remote. This is a big plus when using on the road. The downside is that I lose the nice off-set mounting of the GW's. Not a major problem though as I have a small extension mount that should allow me to still have the lamp in the same area ( in front of the stem ) as I did with the GW X2. I hope to make the switch by this weekend and ( hopefully ) will get some weather mild enough for me to take a night road ride.

I like what you said about the duel emitter Ravemen's. Having the extra emitter ( for high beam throw ) has got to be great. What would be cooler though would be to have a lamp like the duel series Ravemen's but with a _"dual button remote"_ that would let you both change modes and use a second button for turning off the second emitter _high beam_ ( instantly, no press and hold ) when encountering on-coming traffic.

One thing I want to mention about the Ravemen CR-500 that I'd like the manufacturers to consider changing; _Please_, put the flash modes ( and the 50 lm steady mode ) on a separate sub-menu! This would make changing the more usable steady modes, "SO MUCH EASIER"! Right now if I want to switch from low/steady ( 100 lm ) to high/steady I have to click the remote FOUR times! That is way too much of a nuisance.


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

Tonight I did another ride using the CR500. After the last ride I had taken the front off the lamp in an attempt to realign the lens ( thinking it was a tad off camber )...Well, my bad. Turns out nothing was wrong. What was wrong is that my flat road bars are not exactly flat. This made the cut-off look a little uneven. Turned out even worse after I screwed with it. 

I put it back together and this time I noted that you really can't change the angle of the upper part of the lens because the lamp has a couple small notches in which the lens has a couple small bumps that fits right into the notches. Didn't see them before because they are really small. 

So...to fix the issue I had to cut a small piece of rubber and slip it under the part of the mount that dips ever so slightly. This fixed the issue perfectly and now the cut-off is more evenly parallel to the road surface. 

Tonight I rode long enough to have the red light turn on. I had to go back to read my own review to know how much run time was left. lol. ( about 50 min ).

On the way back I jumped onto one of the local paved trails and when I did I noticed a couple people walking ahead of me using LED head lamps. I powered the CR500 down a notch and rode pass the people. With a cutoff beam pattern set correctly you aren't able to see the people's faces. I couldn't so all was good. The only negative to the whole night was some guy yelling at me out the passenger window of a passing car. Now at the time I was riding on a wide paved shoulder of the road. I haven't a clue to what the guy said. I could only tell by his tone that he was saying something stupid.  The only thing worse than having someone yell something stupid at you is to have someone yell something stupid at you that is so garbled that you can't make out what was said.


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

*Rural ride with the CR-500*

Because of all the rain we had in the last couple days I decided to forego taking an off-road ride and decided to take the road bike out for a ride through some of the more rural roads in my area. Once again I'm using the CR-500 for full time use and my Gemini Duo when a brighter high beam is needed. Been a while since I rode through the country at night. Damn! is it dark on those roads! The CR-500 worked like a champ on the dark roads. Interestingly, when riding on really dark roads I found I really didn't need to run the lamp on full power all the time. On the roads I was on I had a lot of long medium climbs that sometimes went on for almost a mile. The slower I went the less light that was needed so I was running the 500 a good quarter of the time on either medium or low.

Of course there were a number of great downhill runs and for those it was great to have the added punch that the Duo offers. While the distance throw of the CR500 on high in a dark environment is not bad, at times it's nice to be able to kick-in the Duo to see those deer 250 ft. up ahead on the side of the road. Not to mention in the boonies you don't see a lot of cars driving around so it doesn't hurt to use the brighter light when you start to kick-it into overdrive on that long downhill.

By the time I got back to the car I had ridden for almost two hours in complete darkness with the CR-500 doing most of the work. When I got back to the car the battery indicator was still showing in the green. While I didn't need to use the high mode a whole lot I'm still impressed at how well this little lamp works.


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## gipsyman (Nov 18, 2014)

Cat-man-do said:


> Because of all the rain we had in the last couple days I decided to forego taking an off-road ride and decided to take the road bike out for a ride through some of the more rural roads in my area. Once again I'm using the CR-500 for full time use and my Gemini Duo when a brighter high beam is needed. Been a while since I rode through the country at night. Damn! is it dark on those roads! The CR-500 worked like a champ on the dark roads. Interestingly, when riding on really dark roads I found I really didn't need to run the lamp on full power all the time. On the roads I was on I had a lot of long medium climbs that sometimes went on for almost a mile. The slower I went the less light that was needed so I was running the 500 a good quarter of the time on either medium or low.
> 
> Of course there were a number of great downhill runs and for those it was great to have the added punch that the Duo offers. While the distance throw of the CR500 on high in a dark environment is not bad, at times it's nice to be able to kick-in the Duo to see those deer 250 ft. up ahead on the side of the road. Not to mention in the boonies you don't see a lot of cars driving around so it doesn't hurt to use the brighter light when you start to kick-it into overdrive on that long downhill.
> 
> By the time I got back to the car I had ridden for almost two hours in complete darkness with the CR-500 doing most of the work. When I got back to the car the battery indicator was still showing in the green. While I didn't need to use the high mode a whole lot I'm still impressed at how well this little lamp works.


That led driver efficiency in an expensive light is the real difference between it and the cheaper bike lights.

It has been raining unnaturally up here in the White Mountains of AZ so I haven't been riding the muddy trails, just hiking them. The road rides have had their own hazards lately like the herds of large animals. But the daytime views are great.


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## RAKC Ind (Jan 27, 2017)

The CR500 isnt really expensive compared to others.

Your right though the internals is where the price difference comes in. Battery quality, driver efficiency and so on.

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## jever98 (Sep 2, 2007)

Hi all,

Thanks for the detailed reviews. I was wondering whether it would be possible to modify the CR-500 (or the upcoming CR900) for upside down installation, ie turning the optics around. It would be very useful for a clean installation on a road bike (below the bike computer). It seems the lens is notched, so could be difficult to turn around? What if one sands off these notches - would things work, or is the reflector somehow asymmetric ?

Thanks in advance.


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## RAKC Ind (Jan 27, 2017)

Actually we will have a mount specifically for that purpose. Gopro mount compatible system.

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## jever98 (Sep 2, 2007)

RAKC Ind said:


> Actually we will have a mount specifically for that purpose. Gopro mount compatible system.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk


Thanks for the reply. The mount doesn't seem to be the bottleneck, as the helmet mount AHM01 seems to create a go-pro compatible interface. The issue is that you need to turn the light upside down in this configuration. For that the optics need to be turn around, or you will be lighting the sky .


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## RAKC Ind (Jan 27, 2017)

There is a mount coming specifically to hold the CR series underneath computer mounts. Ill post a link later for it.

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## jever98 (Sep 2, 2007)

Are you referring to the ABM04? That would not work with the touchpad of the 900, I guess.


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

jever98 said:


> Thanks for the reply. The mount doesn't seem to be the bottleneck, as the helmet mount AHM01 seems to create a go-pro compatible interface. The issue is that you need to turn the light upside down in this configuration. For that the optics need to be turn around, or you will be lighting the sky .


There would be no need to turn the lamp itself upside down but the touch pad of course would be blocked off....no worry though if you use the wired remote.

On the other hand I might be more worried ( using said mount ) that the combined weight of a Garmin and the CR-900 might make the whole thing vibrate or shake when going over rough roads.


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## RAKC Ind (Jan 27, 2017)

It would still work, not like you could reach and use the touch pad easily anyway. I do know it will mount the CR900, I wont have my hands on the CR900 and the new mount for a few weeks yet to say exactly how it works.

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## Magsrgod (Jun 21, 2006)

I ran across the PR1200 searching for lights for my bar then found this thread. This will be my first real foray into riding at night with lights so I wasn't looking to go balls out on price and I wanted something that had an integrated battery pack. If I love night riding then I will drop the cash for a killer setup. 

Have you guys used the PR1200 for trail riding at all? I'm up in New England so its the tight, twisty tree cover style trails.


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## RAKC Ind (Jan 27, 2017)

Funny you should ask, I did put a small video on our facebook of doing some trail riding. Its a few months old though

Then a couple evenings ago I was short on daylight to squeeze a ride in while I was near the trails. Didnt bring lights but happened to have my pr1200 in the wifes van laying in the back. Decided to grab it as I figured it would be too dark in the woods before I would finish a quick lap.

Hating myself for not have a gopro, the light did really well the last bit of the ride when I had to turn it on. Fast decent with wooden berms, small rollers etc. No helmet light and still the pr1200 gave plenty light to make the terrain daytime clear again (tight and twisty so do need much throw) so i could bomb it.

Was pleasantly surprised by it. I will try to get a video of it this weekend.

I know a few customers use them for trail riding as well.

Ps sorry CAT, just saw this is the cr500 thread.

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## Magsrgod (Jun 21, 2006)

RAKC Ind said:


> Funny you should ask, I did put a small video on our facebook of doing some trail riding. Its a few months old though
> 
> Then a couple evenings ago I was short on daylight to squeeze a ride in while I was near the trails. Didnt bring lights but happened to have my pr1200 in the wifes van laying in the back. Decided to grab it as I figured it would be too dark in the woods before I would finish a quick lap.
> 
> ...


Awesome thank you. I think I'm going to look at the 1200 for the bar and a 900 for the helmet.

Sorry to bomb the thread but I saw a PR light mentioned above so I figured I would toss the question out there!


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## RAKC Ind (Jan 27, 2017)

900 is literally the same except for emitters as the 1200. Going to be a bit clunky for a helmet light honestly.

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