# Anyone using the Niterider Minewt 600 Cordless?



## xfimpg (Aug 27, 2005)

I'm looking for a simple and effective night light for singletrack and came across the Niterider Minewt 600 Cordless.
Is anyone using this? Positive or Negative experience?


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## Hutch3637 (Jul 1, 2011)

Actually waiting for mine to get here. Let you know later this week.


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## xfimpg (Aug 27, 2005)

Hutch3637 said:


> Actually waiting for mine to get here. Let you know later this week.


Hey thanks, I look forward to your feedback. 

I'm looking to purchase sooner than later so if anyone else has an opinion, thanks in advance.


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## peter584 (Jan 14, 2006)

I got the 250 on closeout. It's just for commuting on the bike trails, but after getting it I'm definetly interested in the 600. I like the light


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## Hutch3637 (Jul 1, 2011)

Well, bad news for now. After calling UPS twice, they told me "it will be there today". Well its 21:15.....Yet some how it was less then 10 miles away at their store at 1am this moring.

Well, just at 21:26....I get an email......The package was missed at the UPS facility, UPS will deliver on the next business day.

Yeah my bad UPS

I.m pissed.


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## Hutch3637 (Jul 1, 2011)

Finally arrived today, it's charging now so later tonight I"ll post about initial first impressions.


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## xfimpg (Aug 27, 2005)

Hutch3637 said:


> Finally arrived today, it's charging now so later tonight I"ll post about initial first impressions.


Cool!:thumbsup:


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## anekin007 (May 23, 2011)

keep us updated. im deciding on if I should get the Niterider minewt 600 or Cygolite expilion 400.


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## Hutch3637 (Jul 1, 2011)

*first review on miNewt 600*

Take this post with a grain of salt as I've never had a light before.

Run down of the light.

On high level the run time is around 1:30-45 hours (600) lumens
On medium the run time is around 3 hour (400) lumens 
On low the run time is around 5 hours (150) lumens

For the walk mode it's 10 hours (70) lumens

For flash mode unknown but it's (600) lumens and its retarted lol.

My first impression for this light is wow this is a bright light. Apparently cars do not like this light even on medium. But you are visible to everyone. At 600 I was asked to turn in down going down a street. I don't live near any wooded areas so the best I could do was go through the ghetto to a local park. You can all thank me later. The beam for me has a tear drop effect at the low point followed by a arrow beam. You'll see in the pictures what I mean. For mounting it the clamp is a little iffy even with stock bars but was tight none the less. It also comes with a helmet mount which I don't know if most lights do but I think it will be a great excessory if someone wants to just run it on the helmet. As for just running it on the bars I found it works and peforms just perfect for me.The mount also swivels side to side. The beam shoots out to the sides just enough while maintaining a true straight light path. As just for riding in the dark at this park (Schenectady) central park it peformed great. I figured lets go down some of the small trails, which I did and to my surprise I amost ran into pepe le pew a couple times and with the light it shot far enough down the trail that I saw the skunk prior to running it over. If you have any other questions or something I may have missed let me know. Now for the pictures. These are taken from my (my touch 4g) so bare with me please. Some of the pictures are ok but doesn't show this lights true potential. All pictures are on full 600 lumens btw.

In this first picture NO FLASH ON there is a post about 100-125 feet away in the upper right hand corner.










In the second picture NO FLASH I'm about 125-150 feet away.










Third picture came out the best for my phone. Sorry guys










Four picture just of the light.










Lastly the geese approved of the light apparently just for a breif minute.


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## anekin007 (May 23, 2011)

thanks for the update and review hutch! I havent found much info but are the minewts weatherproof?


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## jayaimzzz (Jun 18, 2009)

I got mine yesterday and went night riding for the first time tonight. I don't have anything to compare it to as it is my first light but I am impressed. It charges with usb and came with a bar and helmet mount. My plan was to use this as my helmet light and then get something like the Baja Designs Strykr for the bars. I found the light bright enough for trail riding but it was a little heavy. 190 grams has never felt heavier than when it was pushing my helmet into my forehead at the bottom of hills. I liked the idea of no wires so I went for the cordless but now I think this might be the light for my bars even though it is not as wide as the Strykr I was planning on getting. So the light seems great, maybe not the best for a helmet light if you have a senstive head like I do. The even better news is that I loved night riding. I can't wait to go again! Here's a picture I took of the light with a half second shutter speed.


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## jayaimzzz (Jun 18, 2009)

anekin007 said:


> thanks for the update and review hutch! I havent found much info but are the minewts weatherproof?


Niterider's FAQ says they are water resistant and good in the rain but cannot be submerged in water.


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## Hutch3637 (Jul 1, 2011)

Thank you. Good question, I"m pretty sure they are but I'm calling them tomorrow to find that out. It should be for 150$, actually it better be.


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## mattthemuppet (Jul 16, 2004)

any chance of a picture of the LED? I'm curious what they're running in it. I'm guessing an XM-L but it'd be nice to know 

the minewts should all be showerproof - they have a silicone gasket sealing the light, an O-ring behind the coverglass and the switch is pretty water resistant. I've never heard of anybody having water issues with Minewts. Submergibility is a different matter and if you accidentally end up in a river or lake, the waterproofness of your light is probably the least of your concerns


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## MtbMacgyver (Jan 23, 2007)

mattthemuppet said:


> any chance of a picture of the LED? I'm curious what they're running in it. I'm guessing an XM-L but it'd be nice to know


Fairly certain it's a Cree MCE.


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## juslom2002 (Jul 29, 2011)

*my 600 cordless purchase*

i just ordered the 600 cordless, didnt get it yet, will on tues. My biggest concern was the weight also. i have two mini 3 led battery powered lights on the handlebars and was going to run the 600 on my helmet. my thinking was the weaker led's dont have to go far since theyd be only illuminating the ground directly in front of the bike. but i see alot of guys running the more powerfull lights on their handlebars. still dont understand this setup? i ride pretty fast singletrack about 15-20mph+ at night so hopefully the 600lumen setting will be sufficient. my only question is. Is there a low batt. indicator or a power guage somewhere .unfortunatly my trail is about 15miles long and takes me almost a full hour and a half at night,,including the 2.5 miles to the trail and back which makes 20miles. so the battery hopefully will still last long enough for me. i saw some 18$ flashlights claiming a 1000 lumens also which means i could have gotten a 7000 lumen setup for the 140$ i spent on the 600 cordless. dont know if the ratings are accurate though.


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## mattthemuppet (Jul 16, 2004)

MtbMacgyver said:


> Fairly certain it's a Cree MCE.


that's curious and a shame. Still, no great surprise for a company that's still using SSC P4 LEDs.

I wonder if they're still using the old doughnut passive PCB and post setup..


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## Hutch3637 (Jul 1, 2011)

The led is cree and the power button will flash red when power is low. Also they said its fine to ride in inclimate weather.


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## rsanjuan31 (Jul 20, 2011)

I'm new to the night riding and I've just bought a Cygolite Pace 150 from PerformanceBike.com for $70. I was looking at the Niterider 600 first, and found them on eBay on sale for $129.99 with free shipping..

My question, is 600 lumens ACTUALLY 600 lumens? This 150 lumen Cygo I got seems really bright for 150. I'm really curious to see how much brighter this 600 could be!


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## Mowerman (Jan 1, 2005)

how does the beam/lumens on this one compare to the older Blowtorch HID? That's what I was used to using but am now shopping for something new. It had 2 settings- off, and blowtoch lol- it was bright and lasted for 4 hours. Why don't the LEDs last 4 hrs on full power?


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

Mowerman said:


> how does the beam/lumens on this one compare to the older Blowtorch HID? That's what I was used to using but am now shopping for something new. It had 2 settings- off, and blowtoch lol- it was bright and lasted for 4 hours. Why don't the LEDs last 4 hrs on full power?


Hard to explain but I'll try. HID uses a ballast which ups the voltage to the ARC lamp. ARC lamps ( 13watts ) were very efficient for the amount of light they produced. However the 30watt version was not so efficient.

LED on the other hand can be efficient as well but it all depends on what LED you are using, how much light you want and what battery set-up you are using. All of that will determine run time. i.g. "A double XM-L on mid-mode ( drawing say about 800ma. each ) would provide nearly 600 lumen and with a four cell battery would run about 6 hrs ( ball park est. ), not to mention you could go lower or higher output depending on the need of the moment. That is something you really couldn't do with HID lamps. Also, when you turned an HID lamp off after a good many hours you really couldn't be sure you would have enough juice left to fire the ARC lamp back up. That is surely something you never have to deal with using LED's.


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## juslom2002 (Jul 29, 2011)

*my niterider 600 cordless review*

got the 600 last night, went for a quick ride.. this light is great.. very very bright on max. setting, plenty illumination for fairly high speed night riding. the light itself looks cooler in person and is better well built than i thought . its also slightly smaller than the pics would have you believe. would love to get a second one for the handlebars as that would look really cool and be very bright. but is not needed just yet. overall happy with the light so far


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## anekin007 (May 23, 2011)

I'm still debating on the niterider minewt 600 or cygolite expilion 400. Minewt has higher lumen but expilion is lighter, $10 cheaper, and looks better. It looks like good reviews are coming in for the minewt 600. I haven't found a single review for the expilion 400 yet. Cheapest I found the minewt for is $113.32 from speedgoat.com I was going to buy something from treefortbikes.com and I needed something else to get the free shipping spending limit. Tree fort bike was able to do a instant price match for the minewt 600. Looks like I might go for minewt 600.


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## goretex guy (Aug 4, 2011)

I've been using a couple of Niterider 250's for commuting this last winter. They're good lights, quite bright and reliable, and I haven't had any problems in the Seattle rain. Now I'm interested in upgrading to the 600, but I'd like to know if the 600 can use the charger and the mount from my 250's. Anyone know about that.


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## OldAusDigger (Apr 8, 2008)

anekin007 said:


> I'm still debating on the niterider minewt 600 or cygolite expilion 400. Minewt has higher lumen but expilion is lighter, $10 cheaper, and looks better. It looks like good reviews are coming in for the minewt 600. I haven't found a single review for the expilion 400 yet. Cheapest I found the minewt for is $113.32 from speedgoat.com I was going to buy something from treefortbikes.com and I needed something else to get the free shipping spending limit. Tree fort bike was able to do a instant price match for the minewt 600. Looks like I might go for minewt 600.


I agree with your opinion about the asthetics. As to which is better, I don't know. But I've found a bike shop here in Australia that has done its own beam test photos & put them on line. While the exact two lights you are considering aren't there, there are pictures of the Expillion 250, the Minewt 350 & the Mitycross 400 among many others. 
Draw your own conclusions, but I think the Expillion 250 looks almost as bright as the Minewt 350, and the Cygolite Mitycross 400 looks way brighter than the Minewt 350. So much so, that I reckon Cygolites idea of what is 400 lumens could possibly be brighter than what Niterider is claiming 600 lumens is with their new cordless range. This is assuming that the Cygolite Expillion range & Mitycross range are on par with each other as far as claimed brightness is concerned. And just for reference, the "Nitelights" brand of lights on that page are basically Magicshines.

http://www.ivanhoecycles.com.au/bike-lights/front-bicycle-lights/cat_259.html


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## juslom2002 (Jul 29, 2011)

i sprung for another niterider 600 cordless today. going to mount two on my handlebars and the chezzy batt. powered light on my helmet. should be the ultimate setup. or should i say the ultimate ultimate ultimate ultimate ultimate setup as ive changed my light setup about 8 times now. but it always gets better and more expensive. i dont really like the idea of hanging 300$ worth of lights off the front end of a bike since every piece of electronic equiptment has broken ive ever put on the front of a bike from crashing often. although i am under 1 crash per ride currently. i went with this setup for cosmetic reasons as two of these lights on the handlebars looks awesome, the other reason was i really didnt like having that much weight on the helmet, it was tolerable but got annoying at times, and the light also left just a little to be desired in terms of illumination. so 2 should definatley rival any racing light setup. and you also have the convience of just jumpin on the bike and going at night.


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## anekin007 (May 23, 2011)

OldAusDigger said:


> I agree with your opinion about the asthetics. As to which is better, I don't know. But I've found a bike shop here in Australia that has done its own beam test photos & put them on line. While the exact two lights you are considering aren't there, there are pictures of the Expillion 250, the Minewt 350 & the Mitycross 400 among many others.
> Draw your own conclusions, but I think the Expillion 250 looks almost as bright as the Minewt 350, and the Cygolite Mitycross 400 looks way brighter than the Minewt 350. So much so, that I reckon Cygolites idea of what is 400 lumens could possibly be brighter than what Niterider is claiming 600 lumens is with their new cordless range. This is assuming that the Cygolite Expillion range & Mitycross range are on par with each other as far as claimed brightness is concerned. And just for reference, the "Nitelights" brand of lights on that page are basically Magicshines.


Thanks for the link. It shows a good variety of different setups. I couldnt decide so I end up buying both the Minewt 600 and Expilion 400. Im going to do a short test and review. Then I will return or sell the one I didnt like.


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## juslom2002 (Jul 29, 2011)

*niterider pics*

2 600s on my handlebars two mid level schwinn leds on my helmet perfect setup helmet lights still needed stupid bright setup


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## OldAusDigger (Apr 8, 2008)

anekin007 said:


> Thanks for the link. It shows a good variety of different setups. I couldnt decide so I end up buying both the Minewt 600 and Expilion 400. Im going to do a short test and review. Then I will return or sell the one I didnt like.


Anekin, I'm looking forward to your review of these two lights. Like you I'm interested in both of these, but not sure which is better. I'm interested in purchasing two self contained lights around that 400 - 600 lumen range mainly for my new commuter bike, but ones that can easily be swapped to my mountain bike to serve as back-up lights for my main mtb lighting system.
In another thread I expressed interest in some Chinese lights for this role, but after thinking about it some more, I have to agree with Suba (especially considering what's happened with the global economy this week), and I'm going to make a concerted effort to not buy products from Asian countries - especially China! Even if it means I'm out of pocket, I'm going to try & support the economies of English speaking counties.


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## juslom2002 (Jul 29, 2011)

@ hutch3637 the runtime stats u listed for the 600 are incorrect.


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## PedalDangit (Jun 2, 2011)

*$106 at Manitou Bikes*

So it's available at Manitou Bikes for $106. I'm trying figure out what the catch is. Seems like a good bright light for cheap. Any ideas as to why it's being discounted so heavily from the $149 street price?

NiteRider MiNewt 600 Cordless Rechargable Headlight


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## anekin007 (May 23, 2011)

$149 is the msrp. Some places sell them at cost just to get business. $106 is the lowest I seen, good find. I ordered mine last week for $113 and I just received it yesterday. I also ordered the cygolite expilion 400 I'm getting today and do a comparison and review this weekend. From the pictures it didn't looks like much but after I received it. The minewt is pretty sexy! lol


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## thatdrewguy (Jul 28, 2009)

anekin007 said:


> $149 is the msrp. Some places sell them at cost just to get business. $106 is the lowest I seen, good find. I ordered mine last week for $113 and I just received it yesterday. I also ordered the cygolite expilion 400 I'm getting today and do a comparison and review this weekend. From the pictures it didn't looks like much but after I received it. The minewt is pretty sexy! lol


I think I've found my helmet light. Which one has a better helmet mount or are they pretty much the same? From the specs it seems the minewt is 190g and the cygolite is 130g. How accurate are these weights from the manufacturer and does the cygolite "seem" lighter?


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## anekin007 (May 23, 2011)

thatdrewguy said:


> I think I've found my helmet light. Which one has a better helmet mount or are they pretty much the same? From the specs it seems the minewt is 190g and the cygolite is 130g. How accurate are these weights from the manufacturer and does the cygolite "seem" lighter?


On my digital scale the minewt itself weighed in at 164.5g. I was weighing couple other bike parts i recieved then the scale batteries died. I will post up later today for pictures,measurements, and weight comparison of each light with the handlebar mount and helment mount.


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## thatdrewguy (Jul 28, 2009)

For size comparison it would be great if you could post a side by side pic of both lamps. if not at least describe the size difference between the two. I was on both websites looking for info and they don't seem to list any dimensions.


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## Hutch3637 (Jul 1, 2011)

juslom2002 said:


> @ hutch3637 the runtime stats u listed for the 600 are incorrect.


The runtimes I listed are from the manual itself. Actual numbers could vary. Also did a night ride a week ago with it on med and ran for three hours and started to blink red (low battery level) a couple minutes after the three hour mark but, by that time I arrived home.


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## mlinenb (Dec 27, 2008)

thatdrewguy said:


> I think I've found my helmet light. Which one has a better helmet mount or are they pretty much the same? From the specs it seems the minewt is 190g and the cygolite is 130g. How accurate are these weights from the manufacturer and does the cygolite "seem" lighter?


helmet mount of cygolite 400 is pretty similar to last years model- 250. the weights are identical to last years as well:

400 expilion (also 250 expilion) light head- 133 grams
31.8 mm mount- 25 grams
smaller diameter mount option (31.8 mm mount and extra spacers installed)- 29 grams
helmet mount- 17 grams


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## anekin007 (May 23, 2011)

I got both lights now i need 10 post to make a new post.


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## juslom2002 (Jul 29, 2011)

@hutch3637 my manual says 275lu.4.5hrs..low setting....and they dont blink red as a low light indicator...they go solid red ..i ran them dead a few times and never saw them blink


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## PaulRivers (Jan 2, 2009)

juslom2002 said:


> i dont really like the idea of hanging 300$ worth of lights off the front end of a bike since every piece of electronic equiptment has broken ive ever put on the front of a bike from crashing often. although i am under 1 crash per ride currently.


Yeah, I was riding a few days ago with my Light and Motion Seca 1400, a $700 light and managed to flip by bike and break my speedometer mount.

The one good thing is that I mounted the Seca close to the stem, in the dip on the handlebars, and other than some aesthetic damage on the top it was fine - unlike my speedometer which got smushed by both the handlebars and the ground, my Seca was low enough profile to stay down inside the curve on the bars.

If the beam pattern is uniform (not different on the top and the bottom), maybe you could mount them upside down so they're hanging off the bottom of the bars? They'd be a lot more protected there in a crash, the handlebars would almost certainly get hit before the light did.


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## Hutch3637 (Jul 1, 2011)

Just checked, I must have wrote the time for the 350, sorry. Also did not help when I posted that write up in the am and was thinking about a head lamp I have about the blinking.



juslom2002 said:


> @hutch3637 my manual says 275lu.4.5hrs..low setting....and they dont blink red as a low light indicator...they go solid red ..i ran them dead a few times and never saw them blink


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## PedalDangit (Jun 2, 2011)

Just got my Minewt 600 and tested it out last night. Very pleased. Very bright. In fact I compared it to a friend's Exposure Lights Diablo (975L) and we could barely notice a difference in brightness. The Diablo is a nifty light, and lighter, but it's also over $100 more. The build quality of the Minewt is better than expected. The beam seems to be just the right size. I love that you can charge it though the usb port on my computer. I'm thinking of picking up a second one as my handlebar light.


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## telemarc67 (Aug 5, 2010)

Is there a helmet mount with this light?


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## AZRickD (Sep 1, 2011)

That MiNewt600 Cordless mounted to my helmet sounds very promising if paired with 1,200 to 1,500 lumens on my bar.


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## anekin007 (May 23, 2011)

telemarc67 said:


> Is there a helmet mount with this light?


yes it comes with a helmet mount. niterider advertise the light to be 190g but its actually about 160g for the light and about 190g total with either the bar or helmet mount.


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

anekin007 said:


> yes it comes with a helmet mount. niterider advertise the light to be 190g but its actually about 160g for the light and about 190g total with either the bar or helmet mount.


Just curious...When NR came out with these I was thinking that these would appeal to people who mostly ride road and with the light used bar mounted. Now I'm not so sure. Any one have a photo with the light mounted on a helmet ?
Can anyone provide a beam photo or a description of the beam pattern? I was assuming that the 600 would be mostly designed for throw. Am I wrong?


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## White & Nerdy (Jul 26, 2011)

How do these lights work in cold weather? I figured I'd ask because I have some Lithium Ion tools that are unusable when it gets cold.


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## PedalDangit (Jun 2, 2011)

Cat-man-do said:


> Just curious...When NR came out with these I was thinking that these would appeal to people who mostly ride road and with the light used bar mounted. Now I'm not so sure. Any one have a photo with the light mounted on a helmet ?
> Can anyone provide a beam photo or a description of the beam pattern? I was assuming that the 600 would be mostly designed for throw. Am I wrong?


I find the helmet mount to be very good. I do feel like I need a light on the bars too because with just a helmet light, I'm not seeing the depth/height of things like rocks and roots. Adding a handlebar light will throw some shadows behind those obstacles. As far as light output, it's great. I was surprised that my speed wasn't much slower than in daylight. The beam seems just the perfect width. My buddy's Diablo was slightly narrower. I'll be riding tonight until a little after sunset, so I'll see if I can snap a quick iphone shot of the beam on the trail.


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## anekin007 (May 23, 2011)

White & Nerdy said:


> How do these lights work in cold weather? I figured I'd ask because I have some Lithium Ion tools that are unusable when it gets cold.


I keep my lights in a ziplock bag and put them in the fridge when its not in use. I can take them out and and it turns on without a problem.


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## mattthemuppet (Jul 16, 2004)

White & Nerdy said:


> How do these lights work in cold weather? I figured I'd ask because I have some Lithium Ion tools that are unusable when it gets cold.


Li-ion bike lights work fine in cold weather, although the runtime suffers a bit. I've ridden with mine at -20C with no problems. I think the main issue with Li-ion power tools is that the current draw is a lot higher than most bike lights, so the cold cells can't provide the amount of power the tool needs to work whereas a bike light is relatively unaffected.


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## spankone (Aug 31, 2011)

Its not small is it!


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## marzocchiz2 (Aug 19, 2008)

Cat-man-do said:


> Just curious...When NR came out with these I was thinking that these would appeal to people who mostly ride road and with the light used bar mounted. Now I'm not so sure. Any one have a photo with the light mounted on a helmet ?
> Can anyone provide a beam photo or a description of the beam pattern? I was assuming that the 600 would be mostly designed for throw. Am I wrong?


If you're familiar with the Trinewt, the 600 is much more spot focused than the Trinewt so it does get light much further out, however it does provide enough spread to use alone on the road. I use mine bar mounted and have the L&M Vis360 on my helmet, no where near as bright as the 600 but it's enough to see around turns.


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## Diesel~ (Feb 17, 2008)

Cat-man-do said:


> Just curious...When NR came out with these I was thinking that these would appeal to people who mostly ride road and with the light used bar mounted. Now I'm not so sure. Any one have a photo with the light mounted on a helmet ?
> Can anyone provide a beam photo or a description of the beam pattern? I was assuming that the 600 would be mostly designed for throw. Am I wrong?


I have one and it seems a bit bulky to mount to a helmet, though I've not tried it.

I use it bar mounted, both road and off road, when paired with one of the original MJ808s on the helmet.

I'd say that the beam pattern is a great mix between throw and spread. It is not as spotty as the MJ808, and the spread is much better. Throw may be a bit less, but not much. It is very bright for such a small, self contained package. Great value.

-D


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## xfimpg (Aug 27, 2005)

xfimpg said:


> I'm looking for a simple and effective night light for singletrack and came across the Niterider Minewt 600 Cordless.
> Is anyone using this? Positive or Negative experience?


I like the wide and consistent intensity beam, rugged construction.
I did not see much difference between 275, 400 and 600 lumens, though.


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## offrhodes42 (May 1, 2009)

Do you have any issues with the light sticking that far off the helmet? Is it comfortable? I am trying to decide between one of the cordless Minewts, the 350 or 600, and the Minewt 350 for my helmet light. I already have a nice bright light for the bars.



PedalDangit said:


> I find the helmet mount to be very good. I do feel like I need a light on the bars too because with just a helmet light, I'm not seeing the depth/height of things like rocks and roots. Adding a handlebar light will throw some shadows behind those obstacles. As far as light output, it's great. I was surprised that my speed wasn't much slower than in daylight. The beam seems just the perfect width. My buddy's Diablo was slightly narrower. I'll be riding tonight until a little after sunset, so I'll see if I can snap a quick iphone shot of the beam on the trail.


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## dyusem (Sep 13, 2008)

I've decided to pull the trigger on this light however I saw another thread that suggested that the Strada Cateye wireless computer's performance was impacted by the light that they were using.

Does anyone know if the Niterider Minewt 600 Cordless will have any impact on the Cateye's functionality?

Cheers!


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## ehigh (Apr 19, 2011)

I thoroughly enjoyed riding my MiNewt 600 out on the trails tonight. It isn't the most advanced trail that I ride, but there are enough jumps mixed in for it to be considered technical. I went as hard as I usually do with it mounted on my bar and had a blast. I'll put a different like on my helmet for other trails, but I know all the corners of the one I went out on tonight. 

It was a lot of fun.


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## billbanshee (Mar 13, 2009)

just ordered 2 of em now the wait


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## ehigh (Apr 19, 2011)

lost my shim for the handlebar mount..anyone know where I can get another one? had some troubles with my light on my second night ride, but on my third I had zero troubles. I am not sure if I'll need a Baja Designs light anymore.


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## JKA (Jul 26, 2006)

ehigh said:


> lost my shim for the handlebar mount..anyone know where I can get another one? had some troubles with my light on my second night ride, but on my third I had zero troubles. I am not sure if I'll need a Baja Designs light anymore.


I always lose those things. I just cut up an inner tube and use that. Bike tube for a thin shim and motorcycle tube for a thicker shim, or double up on them for even thicker. Works great for me.


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## lou2uanme (Oct 11, 2009)

*High powered lights and cycle computers used together*



dyusem said:


> I've decided to pull the trigger on this light however I saw another thread that suggested that the Strada Cateye wireless computer's performance was impacted by the light that they were using.
> 
> Does anyone know if the Niterider Minewt 600 Cordless will have any impact on the Cateye's functionality?
> 
> Cheers!


The problem of interference between high powered lights and cycle computers is due to the RF (radio frequency) emitted by the light's electronics.

The problem is only with ANALOG wireless computers. DIGITAL wireless cycle computers do not have this problem. So if you have a problem with your wireless cycle computer it is probably analog and you will need to upgrade to a digital wireless cycle computer. But it is better if you chose one that has a strong signal distance.


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## dyusem (Sep 13, 2008)

lou2uanme said:


> The problem of interference between high powered lights and cycle computers is due to the RF (radio frequency) emitted by the light's electronics.
> 
> The problem is only with ANALOG wireless computers. DIGITAL wireless cycle computers do not have this problem. So if you have a problem with your wireless cycle computer it is probably analog and you will need to upgrade to a digital wireless cycle computer. But it is better if you chose one that has a strong signal distance.


Many thanks for the feedback and explanation! I've got the Minewt 600 and will install it this weekend and report back whether the Cateye still functions properly or not...cheers!


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## 40ncounting (Aug 5, 2005)

*Nightrider Minewt 600*

I have two minewt 600's, one on the bar and one on the helmet. I took it out on the trail at dawn (still pitch black). It did a good job overall and the darkness didnt slow me down. This was the first outing with these lights. I made sure the bar shimmy was setup before I hit the trail in the darkness so I would not have any unexpected mounting issues. The two light setup was great. Being able to focus up the trail and peer around corners was great. I had the units running on Hi, just because I wanted to see what the run times were at that level. The red indicators came on around 40 minutes, and the lights I estimated shut down in about an hour. This had me concerned about overall run time so I did some bench tests.

After an overnight charge I ran the lights on high again. They sat stationary in a cool 60F garage. I confirmed that the red indicator did go on at 40 minutes, and the lights shut down at 1 hour 12 minutes. Both samples shut down a the same time so variability between samples were consistent. One came from Amazon and the other from REI.

I would have been more pleased if they did run the full 90 minutes (mfr rating), but when I consider:
- self contained
- USB charging
- 400-600 lumens
- durable
- $130
The minewt 600 makes for good argument. If I want long run times, I figure I will just run it on medium level. At this level, night visibility was still good and sufficient. I recall that I only ran at high to see what the "worst case" situation might be.

Thanks -


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## sherpaxc (Aug 12, 2005)

I've found that when mounted on the handlebars and riding singletrack, the mount doesn't hold the light up. It falls forward. No matter how hard I press down on the clamping mechanism I can't seem to get it tight enough for it to not do that. 
any ideas? Other than that I love the light.


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## Serenity Now (Jun 6, 2006)

Sorry to rain on people's parade, but I just returned my Minewt 600, after having it fail more than once in 3 weeks. 

To be fair I probably just had a dud, but battery life was a disaster (i.e. less than an hour), and on more than one occasion it just died after 20 minutes.

Other issues/concerns

Flash mode was way too bright in my opinion. Seems like it was the full 600 lumens. I used flashing a lot at this time of year around dawn and dusk when it isn't dark yet, to alert drivers, it just seemed to irritate them

As mentioned above the difference in power between the 3 settings was hard to even notice, not a huge deal, but odd.

That clamping mechanism sucks. I'd prefer the old stretchy rubber band in hindsight.

It took up a lot of room on the bar. With the clamp I had to go under the cables, therefore close to the stem, but that spot is getting real full with my GPS, little bell etc. I love the idea of a one-piece unit, but realized that there is a price to pay for that

I've gone back to using the MiNewt 150 while I wait for Francios to tell me what to buy next, and it sure seems woefully inadequate now compared to the brightness of the 600, but I wasn't willing to risk that unreliability any longer.

I'm glad others had more luck, and trust me, I really wanted to love the light, but no cigar.

On a positive note, I also bought a Cygolite Hotshot rechargeable rear light this year, and that is great!!


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## Francis Cebedo (Aug 1, 1996)

Serenity Now said:


> Sorry to rain on people's parade, but I just returned my Minewt 600, after having it fail more than once in 3 weeks. ...
> On a positive note, I also bought a Cygolite Hotshot rechargeable rear light this year, and that is great!!


What's up Serenity? Good insight. I found an old photo of you (on the right):
Wes and Boyd of MBO | Mountain Bike Review

I'm going to Bend in a few weeks. Beer, bikes, lights.

fc


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## Serenity Now (Jun 6, 2006)

francois said:


> What's up Serenity? Good insight. I found an old photo of you (on the right):
> Wes and Boyd of MBO | Mountain Bike Review
> 
> I'm going to Bend in a few weeks. Beer, bikes, lights.
> ...


Francios. Nice!! Good memories of that ride despite the weather. OK, good memories of the beer afterwards. We've missed your crew at MBO.

I'm back in the Northwest after a couple of years in Europe. All that sunshine was friggen getting me down

Enjoy Bend, and let me know when you come to Portland. I'll take ya to ride Sandy Ridge.


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## 40ncounting (Aug 5, 2005)

sherpaxc said:


> I've found that when mounted on the handlebars and riding singletrack, the mount doesn't hold the light up. It falls forward. No matter how hard I press down on the clamping mechanism I can't seem to get it tight enough for it to not do that.
> any ideas? Other than that I love the light.


I agree with what has been said about the clamp. It should be better. I installed it with an extra rubber shim. Try using an extra inner tube. The extra thickness will allow you more compression depth and improve the clamp. I use a Easton EC90 bar (it is not thick at all) It looks like the clamp can accommodate some really fat bars. With the clamp on, there is space fore and aft between the bar and the clamp so that is why I think the extra shim helps (to fill in the space).

As for the helmet mount, the weight was not too bad. I found that I needed to take up the slack in my chin strap to minimize the moving around. Also on my next ride I have shifted the mount about an inch towards the rear so that the weight is balanced on top of the head rather than forward.


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## sherpaxc (Aug 12, 2005)

Well, I returned it to REI. I REALLY enjoy this light for my road commute. I love the flash pattern, I love how it's easy to unclip (I used it as a flash light many times), and it's a slick design. My biggest hang up was the mounting bracket. I could not for the life of me get it tight enough to not fall forward on singletrack, it's main use. The mount needs to be either an o-ring or some type of bolt on with a sliding attachment. 

To me it's a fantastic light but the clamp just isn't going to cut it. It needs a re design.


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## 40ncounting (Aug 5, 2005)

sherpaxc said:


> Well, I returned it to REI. I REALLY enjoy this light for my road commute. I love the flash pattern, I love how it's easy to unclip (I used it as a flash light many times), and it's a slick design. My biggest hang up was the mounting bracket. I could not for the life of me get it tight enough to not fall forward on singletrack, it's main use. The mount needs to be either an o-ring or some type of bolt on with a sliding attachment.
> 
> To me it's a fantastic light but the clamp just isn't going to cut it. It needs a re design.


I don't blame you.
I just went out tonight and did some rough stuff and what I thought was good enough my first time out did not cut it the second time around. Mine started to droop and half way into the ride I lost the inner tube shim. Mine are going back too. I stopped during my ride, took them off and stuffed them in the pack. Too bad because they had some real potential and kick. I was using them as a booster for the down hills to get the extra reach. I could not really rely on them to be on high full time because of the 1.25 hour burn time, but as a booster they are great.

I am trying out some cygolite mitycrosses. They have a nice bar mount and the helmet mount works okay. Their bar mount is real firm.

This trial and error (field testing) is really helping me figure out what is going to work and what isn't. Also, it is giving me an idea of how much light I want on the bar and on the head.

Best


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## metrotuned (Dec 29, 2006)

juslom2002, wouldn't it have been better to just buy a higher lumen light instead of having four lights all over the place?


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## scooby214 (Oct 15, 2011)

I was just about to pull the trigger on the MiNewt 600 before reading this thread. I'm thankful I held off, as battery life is very important for my commuting situation. Does anyone know if the battery life of this light improves as the battery breaks in?


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## MtbMacgyver (Jan 23, 2007)

scooby214 said:


> I was just about to pull the trigger on the MiNewt 600 before reading this thread. I'm thankful I held off, as battery life is very important for my commuting situation. Does anyone know if the battery life of this light improves as the battery breaks in?


No, it uses a Li-ion batteries. They will have the highest capacity the very first cycle and it will gradually decrease with cycles and age.

Improved capacity after a break in period is a characteristic of nicad and nimh batteries that isn't shared by li-ion battery technology.


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## PaulRivers (Jan 2, 2009)

MtbMacgyver said:


> No, it uses a Li-ion batteries. They will have the highest capacity the very first cycle and it will gradually decrease with cycles and age.
> 
> Improved capacity after a break in period is a characteristic of nicad and nimh batteries that isn't shared by li-ion battery technology.


I've read that as well, but every cell phone I've gotten (all have lith-ion) has had better battery life after using it for a couple days. The phone definitely lasted longer on day 4 than it did on day 1 even though I full charged the battery - and that last time was careful not to mess around with settings or "new phone stuff" in the first few days just to check it.

I agree that it's not supposed to, but in my experience the battery life goes up after using it for the first few days.


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## MtbMacgyver (Jan 23, 2007)

PaulRivers said:


> I've read that as well, but every cell phone I've gotten (all have lith-ion) has had better battery life after using it for a couple days. The phone definitely lasted longer on day 4 than it did on day 1 even though I full charged the battery - and that last time was careful not to mess around with settings or "new phone stuff" in the first few days just to check it.
> 
> I agree that it's not supposed to, but in my experience the battery life goes up after using it for the first few days.


You can't really go by how a cell phone behaves because that introduces a whole other set of factors. The power consumption of a cell phone is heavily dependent on the transceiver transmit power setting which is negotiated between the phone and the tower it's connected to at the moment. Independent of whether you change settings, there is a lot of stuff that happens in those negotiations especially when a phone is first connected to the network.


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## PedalDangit (Jun 2, 2011)

scooby214 said:


> I was just about to pull the trigger on the MiNewt 600 before reading this thread. I'm thankful I held off, as battery life is very important for my commuting situation. Does anyone know if the battery life of this light improves as the battery breaks in?


I wouldn't base my buying decision on one guy that got a faulty one. The battery life on mine has been as advertised.


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## dyusem (Sep 13, 2008)

scooby214 said:


> I was just about to pull the trigger on the MiNewt 600 before reading this thread. I'm thankful I held off, as battery life is very important for my commuting situation. Does anyone know if the battery life of this light improves as the battery breaks in?


I've now been using this light for 90-120 minute rides that typically take place in the early AM, during 30 minutes of pure darkness (under the redwoods) on the high setting (although medium provides adequate light) and the balance of the ride during daybreak and prior to sunrise on either the medium or low settings.

Upon return, the green light is still on in the low setting, part green/part red in the medium setting and red in the high setting. I've not yet tested how much longer each setting would stay lit but in my user case (early AM riding), this light meets my requirements exceptionally well.

What exactly is your commute? Two hours of complete darkness? Thirty minutes of complete darkness and 60 minutes of daybreak? Starting your ride at dusk and ending 90 minutes later in total darkness?


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## sherpaxc (Aug 12, 2005)

I'll chime in again (wow, this is like the most I've ever posted in a week and I've been a member for a while now). Anyway, the Minewt 600 is terrific for a road commute. I used it daily for 3 weeks on the road and really enjoyed it. I also bought though for singletrack and it failed in that application. The bar mount is not strong enough to hold the heavy light head/battery upright. The clamping mechanism just isn't good enough.

As to the battery life/light output. The first 30 minutes of my commute are totally dark this time of year on hilly roads. I had plenty of light on the low setting and never felt the need for it to be on high. Once it got bright enough I just switched it to strobe.

I was not a fan of how you were able to lock/unlock the lighthead. It just wasn't very user friendly in that aspect, but that's just being nit picky I guess. 

For road commutes, works fantastic and highly recommended (I loved being able to use it as a flashlight at times)

For singletrack use, it's a non-starter. Not even worth the effort to make it work when there are other lights out there with the same or more lumens with a longer battery life. I hope this helps someone.


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## scooby214 (Oct 15, 2011)

dyusem said:


> I've now been using this light for 90-120 minute rides that typically take place in the early AM, during 30 minutes of pure darkness (under the redwoods) on the high setting (although medium provides adequate light) and the balance of the ride during daybreak and prior to sunrise on either the medium or low settings.
> 
> Upon return, the green light is still on in the low setting, part green/part red in the medium setting and red in the high setting. I've not yet tested how much longer each setting would stay lit but in my user case (early AM riding), this light meets my requirements exceptionally well.
> 
> What exactly is your commute? Two hours of complete darkness? Thirty minutes of complete darkness and 60 minutes of daybreak? Starting your ride at dusk and ending 90 minutes later in total darkness?


Thanks, everybody, for the responses! My morning commute is completely in the dark. I have a route that takes me through the older part of NW Okla. City. During daylight, the 13.5 each way ride takes me a little under an hour. Until time change, I have daylight for my evening commute. Once DST ends, I will be commuting in darkness for the first part of my morning commute and the last part of my evening commute.

I currently use a Cateye EL320, which works well enough until an oncoming car's headlights make it difficult to see road hazards in my path. The 320 doesn't put out enough light to illuminate potholes and some debris in the face of car headlights.

At first, I thought I would try one of the asymmetrical lights like the Philips, but I've pretty well decided that a standard beam will serve me better overall. My two I am currently considering are the MiNewt 600 and the new Serfas True 500. I'm not in a rush, as I have been using my Cateye light for a long time and know my route's usual obstacles well.


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## Hutch3637 (Jul 1, 2011)

*scooby214*

The Minewt 600 would provide more then enough light for your commute. As for what other's have said about run times, just like any product some may be defective. The run times on mine still run accordingly. Also in the mtbr review itself of this light and it does put out a full 600 lumens. Side note: I did get an email coupon from jensonusa or universal cycles all niterider lights are 15% percent off if you have any account with them.


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## scooby214 (Oct 15, 2011)

Hutch3637 said:


> The Minewt 600 would provide more then enough light for your commute. As for what other's have said about run times, just like any product some may be defective. The run times on mine still run accordingly. Also in the mtbr review itself of this light and it does put out a full 600 lumens. Side note: I did get an email coupon from jensonusa or universal cycles all niterider lights are 15% percent off if you have any account with them.


Thanks for letting me know about the coupon. I think I have an account with Universal Cycles, though I will probably buy the light locally. I know a local shop has the NiteRider MiNewt 350 and 600 in stock.


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## Hutch3637 (Jul 1, 2011)

Scooby214 the 600 lumens / 50 Lux was stated in the mtbr video by Francis but on their review it's 485 lumens with a 50 Lux. Wanted to clear that up.


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## dyusem (Sep 13, 2008)

scooby214 said:


> Thanks, everybody, for the responses! My morning commute is completely in the dark. I have a route that takes me through the older part of NW Okla. City. During daylight, the 13.5 each way ride takes me a little under an hour. Until time change, I have daylight for my evening commute. Once DST ends, I will be commuting in darkness for the first part of my morning commute and the last part of my evening commute.
> 
> I currently use a Cateye EL320, which works well enough until an oncoming car's headlights make it difficult to see road hazards in my path. The 320 doesn't put out enough light to illuminate potholes and some debris in the face of car headlights.
> 
> At first, I thought I would try one of the asymmetrical lights like the Philips, but I've pretty well decided that a standard beam will serve me better overall. My two I am currently considering are the MiNewt 600 and the new Serfas True 500. I'm not in a rush, as I have been using my Cateye light for a long time and know my route's usual obstacles well.


I too feel that you'll have no problem with the MiNewt 600 for your particular commute. As far as having issues with an oncoming car's headlights: my experience is that the light is very effective at making my presence known; I do not believe the light's illumination will be cancelled out by oncoming traffic.


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## 40ncounting (Aug 5, 2005)

scooby214 said:


> Thanks, everybody, for the responses! My morning commute is completely in the dark. I have a route that takes me through the older part of NW Okla. City. During daylight, the 13.5 each way ride takes me a little under an hour. Until time change, I have daylight for my evening commute. Once DST ends, I will be commuting in darkness for the first part of my morning commute and the last part of my evening commute.
> 
> I currently use a Cateye EL320, which works well enough until an oncoming car's headlights make it difficult to see road hazards in my path. The 320 doesn't put out enough light to illuminate potholes and some debris in the face of car headlights.
> 
> At first, I thought I would try one of the asymmetrical lights like the Philips, but I've pretty well decided that a standard beam will serve me better overall. My two I am currently considering are the MiNewt 600 and the new Serfas True 500. I'm not in a rush, as I have been using my Cateye light for a long time and know my route's usual obstacles well.


I think the Minewt 600 is a fantastic light. I do think it excels as a commuter light. The issue in your situation, I gather, is the concern about run times. My experience of the light is that at high power, the light provide plenty of illumination whether on the trail or on the road. Actually when running in the streets, I would be concerned about running the 600 on high level because the beam spread is fairly large and could distract on coming cars, it has a great spot with great spill - a well balanced pattern. To my eyes, even the medium setting is more than adequate in most cases (road and trail).

Back to topic, so in that application, running on medium is what I think is the more likely choice for street use. On medium, assuming the battery life is, conservatively 80 percent of manufactures claim, this will give you nearly 2.5 hours which would cover your to and from work. Also, I do appreciate that USB charging capability, so while at work one could top it off prior to the commute home.

I am not doing any road work, so it sounds like my needs are different than yours, but I would put the 600 on the top of my list as a commuter light. The only other consideration I had was that if longer run times were needed, the Expilion 400 apparently has a replaceable Li-ion battery so a spare battery could live in your pocket as a backup. On the other hand, if your commute was long enough to warrant a battery replacement mid ride, I suppose your choice would be for another type of light. Just sharing some of my thoughts as I have been working through them in recent weeks.


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## gcavy1 (Oct 21, 2009)

I used a buddy's MiNewt 600 for a night ride last month. I found it a to be a great little light, but I did have some issues keeping it aimed over rough single track. I think having the whole unit self-contained just is more weight to keep from moving around. I used a MagicShine (900 Lumen model) for a 24 hour race this summer and light head didn't budge an inch. 
Its a trade off for sure. No wires is pretty nice!


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## mattthemuppet (Jul 16, 2004)

having also used an EL320 for years, I think anything you buy now will be an improvement! I thought that was the bee's knees when I got it, amazing how things change.

I doubt you'd need to run a Minewt600 on high all the time on your commute and the lower levels should last plenty long enough. Another option might be a 18650 torch with a couple of protected 18650 cells and a charger - would also be cordless, cheaper and you wouldn't have to worry about the battery running out, plus you can use it as a torch off the bike. Handlebar and helmet mounts for torches aren't expensive either.


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## TCW (Mar 13, 2006)

My set up last night: MiNewt 600 on the helmet ran on medium/high and a Foride on the bars ran on medium/high. After an hour the MiNewt went to red, so I had to bump it down to either low or medium. My wife ran a MiNewt on her bars with a Magicshine on the helmet. Both set ups worked fine but I had quite a few more lumens on the bars with the Foride (1400 lumens - claimed, 118 lux on Francois's lux meter). The wife had no problem with her MiNewt on the bars. TO get the mount tight I really had to smash the mount till it engaged tighter. It didn't move around at all with the super-smash method.


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## thatdrewguy (Jul 28, 2009)

gcavy1 said:


> I found it a to be a great little light, but I did have some issues keeping it aimed over rough single track. I think having the whole unit self-contained just is more weight to keep from moving around.


I agree completely. It needs either a more secure bar mount that doesn't cause the light to vibrate or less weight when used as a helmet light.


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## scooby214 (Oct 15, 2011)

Sounds like running the MiNewt 600 on medium will still give me a significant boost in visibility compared to my Cateye 320. 

In a perfect world, one would have a light with the output of the Minewt 600 and the battery life of the Cateye 320, but that is wishful thinking. My Rayovac hybrid rechargeable batteries last forever in the old 320.


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## billbanshee (Mar 13, 2009)

So it's available at Manitou Bikes for $106. I'm trying figure out what the catch is. Seems like a good bright light for cheap. Any ideas as to why it's being discounted so heavily from the $149 street price?

because its a rip off and they never send the product dont buy from manitou bikes wish i hadnt seen this post and id have a new light by now 21 days wasted but thanks to paypal for getting my money back from this fake bike shop


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## anekin007 (May 23, 2011)

billbanshee said:


> So it's available at Manitou Bikes for $106. I'm trying figure out what the catch is. Seems like a good bright light for cheap. Any ideas as to why it's being discounted so heavily from the $149 street price?
> 
> because its a rip off and they never send the product dont buy from manitou bikes wish i hadnt seen this post and id have a new light by now 21 days wasted but thanks to paypal for getting my money back from this fake bike shop


149 is msrp. Prices what most local shops. Most online shops sell them at discount prices and sometimes sales. I bought 2 when they first released. First one I got was $120 then 2 weeks I picked up another one for $103. Manitou is a reputable site. Most bike sites price match so try to see if the site you usually buy from will price match it.


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## epicxt (Dec 24, 2007)

*Love my 600s...*

I recently upgraded from running two Mi-newt 250 cordless lights (1 on bar and one on helmet) to two 600s in the same array. Really like them, although I primarily use them for commuting.

I haven't had a problem with the mounts on either the bar or the helmet, but I also REALLY tighten the bar mount down.

As far as the power itself goes, it's almost more than I need. I had great luck running my 250s as primary light sources for a 24 hr race this year (solo) and they lasted all night. Granted, when I am racing solo I'm not going full-tilt every lap at night, so much of each lap was done on the medium output from the helmet light and the bar light just turned on for fast sections. Still had no problem over-running my beam and there were a few 30+ mph sections each lap.

All in all, I love the lights and have really enjoyed no cords!:thumbsup:


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## rth009 (May 20, 2010)

Is it best for the MiNewt battery to drain it all the way before charging? Or is it fine to use it for a little bit and then recharge it? I know some batteries last longer if you fully drain-fully charge-fully drain-fully charge. Thanks for any advice


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## willie73 (Aug 26, 2011)

*Run times*

Am using the light in the UK and think its great. My red light has been coming on early so did some test and my results are pretty much same as 40ncountings;

Red Light came on after 30 mins FULL and 21 mins LOW so about equivalent of 40 mins FULL

Light then went out after 35 minutes giving FULL run time of about 1.15

Done this 3 times and same every time.

Did once turn back on after light had run out and gave 7/8 minutes of walk/low power - still better than most use.

Not sure if buying a better battery would improve times although these are sufficient for me. Haven't opened up to see which battery is inside although just recieved Niterider 1 watt cherrybomb (very impressive) and came with NR branded batteries.

As for charging, don't run flat in order to recharge, this is detrimental.

Hope this helps someone


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## skidad (May 23, 2005)

Those not diggin their NR MiNewt 600 might want to check out the new Lyzene Super Drive 450. I think it's a better design setup and the lux ratings are the same in the MTBR test. What I really like is the ability to quickly change the battery which is a standard issue 18650 cell and not a proprietary or built in battery. Light goes out just pop in a spare battery and off you go. Just use _*high quality protected cell 18650's*_. It comes with a 2400mAh battery but you can get 2900mAh and I think even 3100mAh ones that should help run time a bit. The light charges the battery with a USB connection like the NR and comes in 3 colors. I've got one ordered to try and hopefully the clamp is better than the NR. They are supposed to be working on a helmet mount but right now it's a bar mount only.

LED Lights


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## PedalDangit (Jun 2, 2011)

I finally got a chance to do a full night ride with 2 600's and they performed great. One on the helmet and one on the bar. I ran them both on medium the whole way and it was tons of light. We rode at the same pace as we do during the day. The bar mount worked fine. Did not budge the slightest bit despite what I've read here about it not working well. Still happy with my purchases. BTW, I found my 2nd one for $106 at bike.com but not knowing the rep of that store I asked Tree Fort for a price match and they obliged.


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## FTC Rider (Apr 16, 2010)

I got one 600 about 3 weeks ago and have it used on the bike three times and have tested it inside 4 times. I think it is a great light. My bars are a bit bigger but with hard pressure, I was able to get it to click twice to close. I took it on two different trails (both moderate singletrack) and it never moved once. I have thought about switching out the shim to one cut from a rubber inner tube (that is what I use on my other light mount), to be able to click it a few more times and get a tighter fit but so far, the shim that it comes with it seems to be working OK, provided I push down hard to close.

Anyway, I love the look and solid feel to it. It provides great light - wide enough for the trail and just a bit more to show off trail on either side (have gotten to see eyes on the side of the trail peering at me as I ride by). The intensity of the light at my speed (I don't ride 20mph at night on the trails - more of a moderate pace closer to 10 mph) was just right.

The only drawback I found was the battery. Fully charged, I found that the high beam only lasted 50 minutes before the red light indicator came on (the warning indicator) and then it lasted to about 1:15-1:20 before shutting off. I found that by turning it to medium when the red light indicator came on, I was able to extend it to about 1:40 - 1:45 before it shut off. So, it fell a bit short of its advertised battery life. However, I also found that the difference between medium and high was almost neglible - I could hardly tell the difference (the difference between low and medium was also not that great). So, for the future, I think I will try mostly running on medium and only using high as needed if I expect to be out for more than a hour and a half (most of my night rides are only in the darkness for about an hour or so but I always like to have a bit extra battery life for crashes/maintenace issues on the trail). For instance, as I typically start before dusk, I will use medium for the first half hour or so during dusk until it gets really dark and then switch to high (and then when the red light comes on, switch back to medium until get the red light again and finally switch to low). I am curious how much battery life I will get using this scenario but hopefully around two and half hours plus. Of course, this only works on bar mounts since you can't see when the red light comes on for helmet mounts.

The red light indicator is a nice feature that comes on when about 20% of battery life is left so you can extend the remaining life by switching to a lower level light as needed. I also like the lock feature. It was clumsy at first as I learned how to use it (i.e. hold down the button 3-5 seconds) to lock or unlock it. Since this light has no wires to disconnect it, there is a real concern that it will accidently turn on in your bag (which will burn out the light before you pull it out to use)(note: the end, like other lights, gets real hot if its on for a while). Thus, the lock feature is necessary. The feature is a bit clumsy since you also hold down the button to switch to and from the flashing mode (making it confusing between this feature and lock out feature) but with just a few minutes playing with it, you will get it down. In any event, one of the reasons I liked this light was the lack of a separate battery pack, wires, etc. that you have to deal with - just attach to handlebars/helmet and off you go. Once the mount is on, it only takes a couple of seconds to attach or remove, making it easy to take with you after parking the bike.

Haven't tried the helmet mount yet so no comment on that.

It is a great light if you don't need more than two hours or so of bright light. I rarely ride more than 2 hours in the dark so this fit my needs perfectly.


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## BamaCyclist (Dec 19, 2009)

Had my second full night ride with this light and got stranded in the dark! I use it as a helmet light, so I cannot see the red warning light. I did end up getting about an hour and a half on high (pretty much as advertised). The last mile of single-track in the woods in pitch darkness was pretty exciting, to say the least 

The odd thing is, this is my second 600 and the first one (which was replaced under warranty) slowly faded out as it ran out of juice. It never charged or turned on again after that (hence the warranty replacement), but I assumed that the replacement light would fade out as it ran out of juice like the first one had.


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## Rogus (Nov 15, 2011)

dyusem said:


> I've decided to pull the trigger on this light however I saw another thread that suggested that the Strada Cateye wireless computer's performance was impacted by the light that they were using.
> 
> Does anyone know if the Niterider Minewt 600 Cordless will have any impact on the Cateye's functionality?


I recently purchased the Minewt.600 and found that it did interfer with my Cateye Adventure Cyclocomputer which is wireless. Bascially in certain intensity settings the computer would stop receiving any signal.

I too have had problems with the security of the bracket even with using inner tube pieces for additional shims even with applying as much pressure as possible to cinch down the bracket.

I also think the flashing mode is too bright for use if you're the type that the strobe light affects. Once it lightens up that I don't need the light to see, I switch to flashing to be seen. It was just too much in that period when it's light, but not full daylight.

The other problem I had is using the on/off/settings button with my thick winter gloves. I found it very difficult to switch settings. The thickness of the glove wouldn't allow me to push on the button. Like others, I find I need to switch settings as I ride. Since it hasn't been mentioned by others perhaps this is just an issue for my heavy gloves and not for my medium weight gloves.


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## Rogus (Nov 15, 2011)

lou2uanme said:


> The problem of interference between high powered lights and cycle computers is due to the RF (radio frequency) emitted by the light's electronics.
> 
> The problem is only with ANALOG wireless computers. DIGITAL wireless cycle computers do not have this problem. So if you have a problem with your wireless cycle computer it is probably analog and you will need to upgrade to a digital wireless cycle computer. But it is better if you chose one that has a strong signal distance.


My Cateye Adventure is digital wireless and it has a problem with interference with the 600.


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## FTC Rider (Apr 16, 2010)

BamaCyclist said:


> Had my second full night ride with this light and got stranded in the dark! I use it as a helmet light, so I cannot see the red warning light. I did end up getting about an hour and a half on high (pretty much as advertised). The last mile of single-track in the woods in pitch darkness was pretty exciting, to say the least
> 
> The odd thing is, this is my second 600 and the first one (which was replaced under warranty) slowly faded out as it ran out of juice. It never charged or turned on again after that (hence the warranty replacement), but I assumed that the replacement light would fade out as it ran out of juice like the first one had.


Yeah, I figured out that if I plan on being out more than an hour, I need to be careful and be prepared to switch to a lower lumen level to make sure it lasts long enough. As you found out, the red light indicator is meaningless if it is helmet mounted since you can't see it. It does not dim or fade out - it burns bright and abruptly turns off, with no warning other than the red light indicator. So, if it is helmet mounted, you just have to watch the clock and plan on timing for adjusting the light. I am not sure but when it does burn out, you might try turning it on to a lower level - I don't know if it completely burns out the battery or if you lower the level, if it still might have burn time left.


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## 3fast3furious (Dec 10, 2010)

FTC Rider said:


> Yeah, I figured out that if I plan on being out more than an hour, I need to be careful and be prepared to switch to a lower lumen level to make sure it lasts long enough. As you found out, the red light indicator is meaningless if it is helmet mounted since you can't see it. It does not dim or fade out - it burns bright and abruptly turns off, with no warning other than the red light indicator. So, if it is helmet mounted, you just have to watch the clock and plan on timing for adjusting the light. I am not sure but when it does burn out, you might try turning it on to a lower level - I don't know if it completely burns out the battery or if you lower the level, if it still might have burn time left.


How old is your light? I just got the 600 yesterday and I noticed in the packaging they included a slip of paper. It stated on there that they have reprogrammed the new versions of the light to automatically switch it to low when it hits a certain threshold of capacity on the battery. So when it fades to low it is supposed to give you an extra half hour of light before dying. If you have the old version it might not do that. The only bad thing is that it locks out the medium and high. So if you wanted to burn it out on high, you have no choice.


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## skidad (May 23, 2005)

3fast3furious said:


> How old is your light? I just got the 600 yesterday and I noticed in the packaging they included a slip of paper. It stated on there that they have reprogrammed the new versions of the light to automatically switch it to low when it hits a certain threshold of capacity on the battery. So when it fades to low it is supposed to give you an extra half hour of light before dying. If you have the old version it might not do that. The only bad thing is that it locks out the medium and high. So if you wanted to burn it out on high, you have no choice.


 Good they did that. The new Lyzene Super Drive also steps down to low at a certain point. Std supplied battery ran 1:36 on high, stepped to low, then ran another 35min. Callie's Kustoms 3100mAh battery ran 1:46 on high, stepped to low, and then 3 hours and I finally shut it off. Not sure if you could bump it back up but I'll have to test for that. IMO Night Rider should adopt the easily replaceable battery (and non proprietary) like the Lyzene light.


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## FTC Rider (Apr 16, 2010)

I got mine last month from rei. It did not come with any such slip of paper. It must be the older version. That is a great feature - wonder if rei would exchange it for the newer model.


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## BamaCyclist (Dec 19, 2009)

3fast3furious said:


> How old is your light? I just got the 600 yesterday and I noticed in the packaging they included a slip of paper. It stated on there that they have reprogrammed the new versions of the light to automatically switch it to low when it hits a certain threshold of capacity on the battery. So when it fades to low it is supposed to give you an extra half hour of light before dying. If you have the old version it might not do that. The only bad thing is that it locks out the medium and high. So if you wanted to burn it out on high, you have no choice.


Funny, my first light (purchased from NightRider truck at a race in early October), did slowly fade out before it died. That light, however, never worked again after that so I had a warranty replacement shipped (mid-October) from NightRider directly, and that one justs dies abrubtly, no fading. And once it dies, there is no turning it back on, it is dead. I guess I'll have to be sure to keep my rides right at an hour and a half and also carry a camping headlamp just in case.


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## 3fast3furious (Dec 10, 2010)

ok, update on the new feature for the auto step down to low. I did a test on my light the other day. I ran it at home with a fan blowing on it the whole time. According to the slip of paper included with the light it was supposed to drop to low at about the 1 hour 25 minute mark. It hit that target almost dead on. I think it came in at 1 hour 24 minutes and 36 seconds. The problem was that it didn't step down to low but rather shut off entirely. It was not overheating or anything. It was cool to the touch. I turned it on and it came right back on. I then let it run on low and timed that. The paper said that it should run and additional 30 minutes. I ran it for almost another hour before I got bored and shut it off. It was starting to dim pretty bad at that point. It wasn't dim enough to look at the light directly, but I would not want to be in the woods with it at that point. Probably running about 25-50 lumens at that point.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I've been using this light for commuting for about 1 month now and have been so happy with it that I have ordered another to use as a helmet mount and backup light in case of emergencies. I run it on medium which is adequate for most rides and I run it on high during the rain/fog/snow. I figure I'll run the helmet one on low to see around corners and if I ever run low on power on the bar mounted one I can switch them. The mount seems good enough for me but so far I've only used it for commuting and no off road stuff. I do swap it between 2 bikes. A pair of channel locks helps to get that last CLICK if you can't get it tight enough by hand. That was the second reason for buying the second light was that I could keep a mount on each bike. I am afraid that if I swap it back an forth too many times that the plastic teeth will wear out.

Anyway, since you probably don't need another random poster's review - here's some real information. Since I now own 2 of these lights, curiosity got the best of me and I wondered what I would be facing when it was time to replace the batteries. It was not soldered to the board. These were the markings on the battery. 
Panasonic KP-18650-PAN29
Protected Li-ion 
3.6V 2900mAh
using Panasonic NCR18650

A quick search didn't turn up an exact replacement but the UltraFire3000mAh would probably work. Hopefully I won't need to know for over 2 years.

(I was going to post an image of it apart but I'm new to the forum and therefore not worthy):madman:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

3 posts to image.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

2 posts to image.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

1 post to image.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Not sure how that was helpful but now that I have 10 posts I can post this.


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## mattthemuppet (Jul 16, 2004)

that's neat to see, should be easy to swap out and I'm glad NR are still using quality Panasonic batteries. If you ever did need to replace it, whatever you do, don't bother with cheap Chinese cells. They rarely reach even 70% of their stated capacity and many have problems supplying more than 1/2C (1C = capacity in Amps), which would cause a lot of issues with your light. Single Panasonic cells can be had for $12-15, so it wouldn't be a huge expense anyway.


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## skidad (May 23, 2005)

> Panasonic KP-18650-PAN29
> Protected Li-ion
> 3.6V 2900mAh
> using Panasonic NCR18650


Yup, good to see. That's one of the best 18650 batteries you can get right now. AW 2900 and my Callies Kustoms 3100's use these Panasonic cells. Good on NR for this...but bad and why oh why didn't they make this little light with a quick change battery like the Leyzene. Deal breaker for me.


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

bedwards1000 said:


> Not sure how that was helpful but now that I have 10 posts I can post this.


Nice to see you can take these apart. While not the ideal situation you could switch out the battery if you carry the tools along. Skidad is right though, NR should have included an "easy access" battery option. Having that would of made it sooooo..much better. 

Since it comes apart I suppose you could also mod the light and rig up an external plug/battery holder. Food for thought. Then again it does defeat the idea of being "self contained".


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## FTC Rider (Apr 16, 2010)

Thanks for the pix! Nice to know the battery is removable. How easy is it to remove and replace the battery? Does the battery just pop/snap out or is it more involved? Something you would need tools to do (besides the tools to open up/remove the screws on the casing)? 

If it is easy to do on the trail (and only takes about 5 minutes), then it seem like this light just gets better and would work well for bikepacking up to a week if you can just bring an extra battery or two.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

The only tool that is needed is the hex driver to open it. There is a cutout on the back of the plastic to facilitate removal. I haven't been able to find an exact part number replacement yet. 

If somebody has a link to order the Panasonic battery can they please post it?

Has anybody noticed reduced capacity when cold? (Besides me) I had my first red light on the ride in this morning. I charged it fully then did the same commutes that I normally do but this time I got the red light. I'm not sure I was really running out of juice, it just might have been lower battery voltage due to the cold (about 20 F)


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## mattthemuppet (Jul 16, 2004)

I got a couple from
Panasonic Best 18650 battery in the world NCR 18650A 3100mAh3100mAh
although they've gone up a bit in price since (mine were $22 inc. postage). First discharge-charge got 2900mAh on my hobby charger, I'd expect they'll reach 3000mAh after a few charges based on data from the Budget Light forum. Generally around $10 per cell is pretty reasonable, haven't seen them cheaper than that.

I wouldn't want to be swapping out batteries on the trail, although it wouldn't hurt to have a back up just in case. You're right though in that you'll be getting less run time in the cold, even though li-ion is less effected by it than alkalines and NiMh.


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

bedwards1000 said:


> The only tool that is needed is the hex driver to open it. There is a cutout on the back of the plastic to facilitate removal.


Great, nice to hear. Not the ideal situation but it least it gives the owners some options.



bedwards1000 said:


> ...Has anybody noticed reduced capacity when cold? (Besides me) I had my first red light on the ride in this morning. I charged it fully then did the same commutes that I normally do but this time I got the red light. I'm not sure I was really running out of juice, it just might have been lower battery voltage due to the cold (about 20 F)


Adding to what Matt said, yes cold temps give problems. The issue is compounded because you are also only running off of one cell. Expect shorter run times after the temperature drops below 50°F. Probably better to run a light with a bigger battery during colder weather. That's what I do.



Mattthemuppet said:


> ...I wouldn't want to be swapping out batteries on the trail, although it wouldn't hurt to have a back up just in case.


While I wouldn't want to have to deal with using a tool to replace a battery, on other setups or torches it takes but a moment. Strangely, I've been using torches for years now and I have yet needed to replace a battery while on a ride. Oh, nice find on those Panasonic cells. Not a bad price for two quality / high capacity 18650 cells.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Cat-man-do said:


> Adding to what Matt said, yes cold temps give problems. The issue is compounded because you are also only running off of one cell. Expect shorter run times after the temperature drops below 50°F. Probably better to run a light with a bigger battery during colder weather. That's what I do.


LOL, I haven't riden in above 50F in a month. Most of my riding in the dark occurs between 15-40F. 
There are some graphs of capacity at different temps here:
NCR18650 Datasheet
I've committed to these lights at this point so I'm thinking some kind of insulating sock in in order that just slips over the light to keep some of the self generated heat in. I can picture it in my mind... It is just making something that works and doesn't interfere with the mount or power button that is the problem. I think I can work with the reduced capacity since my commute is under an hour. I might just need to charge it at home and at work instead of just at work.


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## scar (Jun 2, 2005)

***


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## betweenrides (Oct 19, 2010)

Here's another link for good price on quality Panasonics, free shipping:

Panasonic NCR18650A 3100mAh Li-ion Battery [NCR18650A] - $9.97 : Led Flashlight-International Outdoor Store


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Good link. From the text printed on the battery they are using the PROTECTED version of it which appears to be a slightly different size. I didn't think to measure it when I had it apart.


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## mattthemuppet (Jul 16, 2004)

the unprotected ones are $9.99, the protected ones are $11.98 (which is still a bargain). I was looking at these as a bunch of people off the Budget Light Forum have bought these and they seem legit, I just wanted them quicker than I'd get them from China - around 3wks to a month at this time of year.

Scar - interesting to see that Li-ions don't drop off in capacity that much at -20C. Though, TBH, if I was out long enough to notice the difference at that temperature I probably wouldn't have any toes the next day!


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## betweenrides (Oct 19, 2010)

Matt: If you want quick, go Callie's. I ordered two on Wednesday afternoon, ship email rec'd 1 hour later, at my house in Chicago on Friday. No cheap, however: $37 for two with flat rate shipping!!!

Re: 18650 drop off in cold weather. I haven't really noticed any change in run time with my torches, no matter the temperature.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I was getting a red light near the end of my 50min ride on medium which concerned me since it should last 3 hours at that level, not 1. It prompted me to do a bench test. I ran it on high and the red low battery indicator came on in 40 min, not good since there is only supposed to be 20% left when the light comes on. I left the light on until it shut off and got 79 minutes of run time which I guess i can live with. It is about 12% lower than advertised. The light I tested had about 20 50% discharge cycles. I'll probably test it again after a full season.


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## marzocchiz2 (Aug 19, 2008)

bedwards1000 said:


> I was getting a red light near the end of my 50min ride on medium which concerned me since it should last 3 hours at that level, not 1. It prompted me to do a bench test. I ran it on high and the red low battery indicator came on in 40 min, not good since there is only supposed to be 20% left when the light comes on. I left the light on until it shut off and got 79 minutes of run time which I guess i can live with. It is about 12% lower than advertised. The light I tested had about 20 50% discharge cycles. I'll probably test it again after a full season.


I was having the same problem, actually a bit worse, I'd get the red light after about 30 min. of mixed flash, medium and only a few minutes on high. I contacted NiteRider and they had me do a few more charge cycles on it (I was only at 4 cycles when I contacted them), it didn't make a difference. They sent me a replacement light and the battery life has been as advertised. One thing I noticed about the new light though, they changed the order of the beams, meaning that it turns on to low initially, medium, high, whereas the original was turn on to medium, high, low, this is not a deal breaker just fyi as when I first turned on the replacement I thought it was weaker than the original but it's just as bright.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

That is great to know. I may contact them to see if they will send a replacement. Maybe the first ones out the door were buggy.

I bought a second light about a month after the first and it has the new sequence and it also reverts to low power when the charge is low. Starting on low is better because you don't need to cycle through high to get to low. If the battery is low sometimes you can't make it through the high state.


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## sxr-racer (Nov 17, 2005)

been thinking of picking one of these up as a backup light.


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## rfxc (Oct 18, 2004)

I just borrowed a minwet 600 cordless and used it for a morning commute on my cx bike then singletrack on my full susp mtb. Very nice light for the money! It's definitely a flood pattern, and just as useable (if not moreso) than my original magicshine lights. It doesn't throw quite as far as my wife's HID, but its flood pattern is better and light color is more natural. Very impressed.

Edit: I used this light on bars, and head a magicshine 900 (claimed) on helmet. Great combo. well balanced even with the minewt 600 on medium.

LED tech is moving pretty fast. I know others on the mtbr boards have upgraded old minewts with newer LED's. Does anyone anticipate LED upgrade-ability with these lights? IE, you think a good tinkerer could, in a year or two, add a newer LED and get either 800-900 lumens and/or more runtime out of this little beast? We already know how to replace the battery...


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## mattthemuppet (Jul 16, 2004)

rfxc said:


> LED tech is moving pretty fast. I know others on the mtbr boards have upgraded old minewts with newer LED's. Does anyone anticipate LED upgrade-ability with these lights? IE, you think a good tinkerer could, in a year or two, add a newer LED and get either 800-900 lumens and/or more runtime out of this little beast? We already know how to replace the battery...


theoretically feasible, although a lot depends on how the current LED is mounted and wired up, plus what die size the new LED is and the size of available reflectors. Still, if the old donut hole P4 Minewts can be upgraded to XM-Ls with a modicum of swearing, I'm sure the cordless will be doable.

no idea on future output - each generation seems to bring ~15-20% improvement in lm/wt, so I'd expect probably 20% more light and 20% more runtime in a couple of years from an LED 1 or 2 generations ahead.


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## rfxc (Oct 18, 2004)

skidad said:


> Those not diggin their NR MiNewt 600 might want to check out the new Lyzene Super Drive 450. I think it's a better design setup and the lux ratings are the same in the MTBR test. What I really like is the ability to quickly change the battery which is a standard issue 18650 cell and not a proprietary or built in battery. Light goes out just pop in a spare battery and off you go. Just use _*high quality protected cell 18650's*_. It comes with a 2400mAh battery but you can get 2900mAh and I think even 3100mAh ones that should help run time a bit. The light charges the battery with a USB connection like the NR and comes in 3 colors. I've got one ordered to try and hopefully the clamp is better than the NR. They are supposed to be working on a helmet mount but right now it's a bar mount only.
> 
> LED Lights


Did you ever get this light? How does brightness, beam pattern, and mount compare to the minewt 600?

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk


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## jarango (Apr 2, 2009)

I had one of these. It is very bright the does the jib very well. Somewhat heavy to wear in helmet. Not that you actually feel the weight but the helmet tends to move around going downhill on bumpy trails.


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## pwd81 (May 2, 2011)

I use two 600s on my handlebar. The pattern and brightness are better than my car I think.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

*Anticipation*

I've been running these all winter now and I think my very favorite thing about them is when they are plugged into my computer at work and the charge lights turn from red to green. It means the next ride is right around the corner. I think I'm actually going to miss them when summer rolls around and I'm riding in daylight. (I won't miss the time it takes to layer up and down)

I've still had no problems with the mount now on 3 different bikes on the road and the trails.

Buy these lights and they will expand your riding horizons.:thumbsup:

A little fuzzy but you get the point


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## FTC Rider (Apr 16, 2010)

The stated run time for mininewts 600 @ low (275 lm) is 4:30. I have tried it a couple of times and both times got 2:30. The partial red light came on at around 1:30 and then the light went out at 2:30 (i.e. I got the light last fall b/f they changed the settings so it dims instead of turning off). I could then turn it back on but it was the really low light at that point. 

Has anyone else had this problem on the low setting? It is nowhere near 4:30 (if it was around 4:00, that would be close enough). What is odd is that on the high setting (600 lm), it is reasonably close to the stated run time (about 1:20).


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

FTC -See the post at the top of this page and the end of the last page. They seem to be pretty good about warranty replacements. I have one of old style and one of the new (dimming) style, both purchased last fall about a month apart. The old one seems to give the low battery prematurely but not enough that I want to send it back yet. I'll probably test it once I don't need lights and if it isn't within spec send it back then.


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## FTC Rider (Apr 16, 2010)

I exchanged the old one (got last Fall) for another one yesterday at REI (very easy at REI - hard to get better return policy). Unfortunately, the new one is also the old style where it turns off rather than slowly fade when it nears the end of the battery.

I tested the low setting (275 lm) and got 3:20 hrs (much better than the 2:20 I got w/old one but still not the 4:30 as NR claims). I also tested the high setting and got 1:20 (slightly better than than the old one but pretty similar). Once it turned off, I was able to turn it back on, just at a lower setting, which is nice to ensure that I still have at least some light after running thru that respective setting (on high (600 lm), it reverts to low (275 lm); on low, it reverts to walking (40 lm)). 

This is probably OK w/me (though I am still thinking about it) but has anyone else tested out their low setting (275 lm)? Anyone close to the 4:30 time claimed by NR?


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## Sh4wn (Dec 3, 2011)

FTC Rider said:


> I exchanged the old one (got last Fall) for another one yesterday at REI (very easy at REI - hard to get better return policy). Unfortunately, the new one is also the old style where it turns off rather than slowly fade when it nears the end of the battery.
> 
> I tested the low setting (275 lm) and got 3:20 hrs (much better than the 2:20 I got w/old one but still not the 4:30 as NR claims). I also tested the high setting and got 1:20 (slightly better than than the old one but pretty similar). Once it turned off, I was able to turn it back on, just at a lower setting, which is nice to ensure that I still have at least some light after running thru that respective setting (on high (600 lm), it reverts to low (275 lm); on low, it reverts to walking (40 lm)).
> 
> This is probably OK w/me (though I am still thinking about it) but has anyone else tested out their low setting (275 lm)? Anyone close to the 4:30 time claimed by NR?


I ride on the low setting and don't get close to 4:30. I'll time it to see.

My light shuts off when low. The new ones don't do that anymore? That would be great. The shut-off is getting dangerous. It shut off while crossing a narrow bridge last night.


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## Zuke (Oct 17, 2005)

Just picked one of these up and used it tonight.

Was riding down some pretty rough rocky trails with jumps and mount simply would not keep the light level no matter how hard I squeezed the clamp. And the teeth on it don't look like they could take much abuse before they strip out. On smooth singletrack, it was fine, but in the rough stuff, the light kept ending up pointing straight down at my front wheel. Could be pretty dangerous on high speed rocky trails, but I was also using a helmet-mounted HID.

I see some of you have used old tire pieces as shims. Has this solved your issues with the light moving around on rough trails? Or does anyone else have any other methods that have worked? This thing needs a bolt-on mount, but I don't see any available. Thinking about returning it...

Thanks for any suggestions!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I've never had any problems over rough stuff but don't do much for jumps. My bars have a slightly rough surface. I also squeeze the clamp on with a big pair of channel locks which helps to get that last click. I had the same concerns about the teeth but I bought a second one so i could have a mount for each bike I use it on so I don't swap it back an forth any more.

I would think a thin rubber shim with adhesive on the bar side would work. Like adhesive handle bar tape.


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## offrhodes42 (May 1, 2009)

One tip to try and stop the moving clamp is to try either some carbon paste or even sprinkle some hand chalk used in rock climbing on the bars and then put the clamp on.


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## Zuke (Oct 17, 2005)

Thanks for the tips! :thumbsup:


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## offrhodes42 (May 1, 2009)

taildoc said:


> I use mine for commuting at night. I think trail riding might be a bit of a stretch.


I am going to get off topic here, and not specifically picking on you....

Are people so spoiled by todays light technology that they think 600 lumens is not enough for trail riding? Back in the day (I must be old now) we rode and raced with 10 watt lights. Sometimes you had two, one on the bars and one on the helmet, and the really spanked out guys had a 10 and a 25. 600 lumens is definitely enough to ride trails with. Some people do not realize how good they have it now compared to the mid 90's.


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## baverill (Mar 25, 2012)

*Damage?*

I just bought this light a few weeks ago and it won't turn on anymore. When I plug it in to charge it shows both the red and green lights on the button. Has anyone else encountered this problem? I'm going to call Nite Rider on Monday, but thought someone on here might be able to help.


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## imranbecks (Dec 23, 2006)

I've had my MiNewt 250 Cordless for a year now.. Got it before NiteRider released the 600. The 250 that I have has performed really well and it is already bright enough for my routes. Twice now I've had the police stop me saying the lights were too bright.. Most recent being two nights ago. Isn't it being bright the whole point? For the rider to see and to be seen by others. Then I guess they have not seen the 600 yet..haha.. Anyway, I have no reason on getting the MiNewt 600 just yet since the 250 that I have is already bright enough, unless my 250 dies out on me of coz..


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## PaulRivers (Jan 2, 2009)

offrhodes42 said:


> I am going to get off topic here, and not specifically picking on you....
> 
> Are people so spoiled by todays light technology that they think 600 lumens is not enough for trail riding? Back in the day (I must be old now) we rode and raced with 10 watt lights. Sometimes you had two, one on the bars and one on the helmet, and the really spanked out guys had a 10 and a 25. 600 lumens is definitely enough to ride trails with. Some people do not realize how good they have it now compared to the mid 90's.


I often feel that way...however...I've experienced why people feel that they need more lumens - because adding more lumens often adds so little real usable light.

I have a pair of Dinotte 400L lights. 2 separate lights that hook up to the same battery. Unless you change lenses on one of them (which you *can* do, which is pretty cool). But anyways...assuming one doesn't change the lenses, I certainly saw something interesting.

I would turn one light on, on full power. I would ride with that for a while. Then - I would turn the second light on. And I would get...like, I could see 10-20% more at most. The lights were literally putting out *double* the light output, and I wasn't seeing more than 10-20% more. In fact, in some ways it was worse than that - I could see 10-20% more of the road, but *less* off the the sides - my ability to see outside the main beam of the light went *down*.

It's the same kind of deal with my Light and Motion Seca 900 - the difference between medium power and high power is...not very much to my eyes. Like 10-20%. I *know* it's putting out twice the light - it just doesn't make a very big difference in how much I can actually see.

My favorite light setup (if there's *no* oncoming traffic, I cannot ride it whatsoever on the MUP because it's to blinding) is my Seca 900 on high, alongside my Seca 1400 on medium. It's not the light output so much as it's that they're very, very different beam patterns - the 900 is pretty narrow and focused, while the 1400 is a wide spread flood beam.

Anyways, my point is - I totally agree with you. This "I *need* 600 lumens, 1200 lumens, etc" is kind of ridiculous. I think where they're coming from though, is they get a light and think "this isn't quite enough light, it's the minimum I'd ride with though" not realizing that if it put out half that much light, they'd have trouble telling the difference.


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## raptor_quasar (May 11, 2012)

I can use this light with the NiteRider Headband (for hiking trips ) ??


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

The helmet mount supplied needs something ridged to mount to. You could probably take off the provided strap and add your own but you'd need to get it pretty tight to support the weight.


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## Sh4wn (Dec 3, 2011)

raptor_quasar said:


> I can use this light with the NiteRider Headband (for hiking trips ) ??


Not suitable for hiking. You want something lightweight that lasts for hours. The Minewt 600 is neither.

I do use it as a flashlight around the house very often.


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## GRR gravity riders (Dec 25, 2010)

I have this light and I bring into Annadel all the time. Two things, it doesnt like rock gardens mine kept slowly working its way down. I contacted Nightrider and they quickly sent me another mount which screwed on, MUCH better. But otherwise its a great light, although I might score a brighter one and use it as a helmet light. Waiting for a cordless 1000 from anyone.


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## GRR gravity riders (Dec 25, 2010)

BTW I mount my 600 on my headset right below my stem, it works well to keep the light stable.


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## Blur--> (Nov 10, 2012)

*Great Torch*



xfimpg said:


> I'm looking for a simple and effective night light for singletrack and came across the Niterider Minewt 600 Cordless.
> Is anyone using this? Positive or Negative experience?


Owned the NiteRider 600 for about a year. I love this torch. On used for road biking with bar mount.

1. Great road illumination begins about 3 to 6 feet in front of wheel. Total darkness riding at 25 mph no-problem (over known routes). for the mountain I'd also use a helmet mount for light anywhere you need it (right in front of wheel).
2. Strobe "Seizure" mode. Super bright spastic-ADHD fast flashing rate. People waiting for the bus always comment on the show. During dangerous full daylight commutes to/from work, cars on my right stop at least 10 feet sooner, then without light. Reflecting traffic signs scream for abeyance. Although it feels like the light changes modes quickly in the light, when it's black out it feel like a long few seconds without light.
3. Bar Mount Swivel - a feature I thought was of no benefit, is actually VERY useful. When flying down the road, you can easily swivel the light left or right and get some attention before getting run over. It also helps when you don't want to blind someone, and don't want to start pushing buttons and go dark. 
4. Handle bar mount: although it takes some muscle to get a good tight mount, I still love it. I can quickly and easily switch between my bikes and my kids bikes. It's fits my over sized flat Specialized FACT carbon bar as well as my 6 yr old's little alum bike. 
5. Durability. The Niterider Minewt 600 bounced of the road at about 15 - 20 mph. I was pissed! There goes another light. But besides a little ding, No Problems. One tough light. 
6. Helmet mount: never put in on my hat. I just figured this big torpedo of a light wouldn't ride well on my head. I like lights with remote battery to balance out my helmet. But who knows...

I purchase a discontinued Cygolite pace 350 to mount on my helmet from performance to light up the bums under the bridges and blind car on a collision course for today for $65. I hope it works well too.


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