# Niterider Trinewt



## spinkid (May 3, 2007)

Hello, Has anyone seen one of these (http://www.niterider.com/prod_trinewt.shtml) in person yet? They also have a wireless switch version which almost seems cool but its just another battery to die/change in the woods. I am wondering if they put a switch on the light module yet. It does not look like though. What good are multiple levels of switching if the light is worn as a helmet light and the switch is on the battery which is in your pack? Either way, as a bar light it might be a competitor the the Dinotte 500L.


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## Milo_B (Aug 9, 2006)

I haven't seen one - But i've ordered one off Beyond Bikes (check out for the 10% niterider coupon if buying). I was highly impressed by the quality of the original minewt dual, so if that is anything to go by it should be really good & comparable to some HID's.
As for switching beams - it has a 3 & a half hour battery life on high. So for most instances of night riding (apart from enduro's), I figured that should be plenty without worrying about changing levels of switching :thumbsup:


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## spinkid (May 3, 2007)

Thanks, Milo_B for the reply. If you wouldn't mind, could you post some impressions of the light when you receive it. Also, thanks for the 10% coupon info. You are right on the 3.5 hour runtime being good for most rides. I just want to be able to easily shut off the light when we stop to BS or wait for other people on the ride and end up blinding others while waiting.


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## [email protected] (Jan 4, 2004)

What I've done when I've used the MiNewt helmet mounted is to put the battery in my jersey pocket. I can use the button through the lycra just fine. But then, I don't use a hydration pack very much any more, unless I am on a very long ride.


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## spinkid (May 3, 2007)

Thanks for the reply [email protected] I think I am gonna wait and hear some reviews on the light to see if the lack of switch on the head unit is gonna bother me or will the decent price prevail over convenience for me. By the way, you have a great web site. Because of what I read about the Dinotte on your site and CPF I bought my first dinotte and love it. I also continue to return to the site for reference. Keep up the good work. Thanks again.


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## scottyperkins (Oct 29, 2006)

Not really adding huge value here, but I have an original MiNewt for commuting and I'm very happy with it. I'd be very interested in your experience with the TriNewt. I may consider putting my current light on the block as the days get shorter if the TriNewt brings the goods.


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## Superlight2003 (Sep 22, 2005)

*TRINEWT Reviews???*



Milo_B said:


> I haven't seen one - But i've ordered one off Beyond Bikes (check out for the 10% niterider coupon if buying). I was highly impressed by the quality of the original minewt dual, so if that is anything to go by it should be really good & comparable to some HID's.
> As for switching beams - it has a 3 & a half hour battery life on high. So for most instances of night riding (apart from enduro's), I figured that should be plenty without worrying about changing levels of switching :thumbsup:


Can you give us a quick review of the Trinewt? Do you use it off road? How does it compare to the HID? I am loooking to order one as well because my blowtorch died after 6 years.


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## MaximusHQ (Aug 6, 2007)

I look forward to hearing more about the trinewt also.


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## Superlight2003 (Sep 22, 2005)

BeyondBikes is not shipping until the 12th of September.


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## RandyP (Sep 30, 2004)

*Trinewt review*

Last week I walk into the LBS expecting to have to order a Trinewt and lo & behold they have one in stock! So I do a price match and get out the door with it for about $300.

I have only used it twice, both for roadie rides. I have several NR HIDs and a couple of Light & Motion Vega LEDs. The last ride was about 2 hours and I rode with it on Hi the entire time. I have not pushed it to the limits of battery life yet but will do so pretty soon. So far, it works great and puts out about the same light as an HID.

This light is very bright. While I have not done a side-by-side comparo to the HIDs, they put the Vega to shame. I could regularly overdrive the Vega on a few 40+ mph road descents. Not so with the Trinewt.

The Trinewt sheds very even light but is not as crisp at the edges as the HID. It comes on immediately and the battery mounts with a Velcro strap to the down tube (top tube on my road bike).

The Li ion battery is very light and fits easily in a jersey pocket or CamelbaK. Charge time is about 4 hours.

Now here are the down sides:

The on-off-level switch is on the battery pack. While this is no big deal when the battery is frame mounted, you cannot get to it in your hydration pack or jersey pocket. They have a remote option, but it adds $100 to the price tag. So, bassically, you turn it on & forget it if you mount it on your helmet.

The rubber mounting strap setup is poor. I could not mount the light on the road bike without it interfering with the brake cables. I had similar problems mounting it on my Truth. I run EC90 riser bars which are kind of narrow and the light hits the brake lines on my Juicy 7s. I cannot really rotate the brake levers down since they would not clear the top tube if I wrapped the bars in a get-off.

What I did that worked great is use a NR universal bar mount from my HIDs and strap the light to the mounting base. This gave me tons of mounting options. It worked equally well on the road and MT bike. NR needs to come up with a better mount for this light that uses the universal mounting base.

The helmet mount is OK but is not adjustable on the fly. There is a thumbscrew that fastens the light to the helmet mount. You have to loosen this thumbscrew to change height and side-to-side positioning. Once it is where you want it, the balance is very good.

I'll post some pics after this weekend's race.

R


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## Maple (Jan 30, 2004)

Thanks for the write up RandyP. 

I'm anxiously awaiting the arrival of one that I ordered from REI. Sounds like it's plenty bright. I'll be using it as a helmet mount. I'll have to see how I like the switch on the battery. I'm thinking it might end up to be ok, if the battery is as light as others say, and you can just throw it in a pocket where you can easily reach the switch. 

This will be my first step up in lighting since purcahsing a Cygolite Night Explorer about 9 years ago. That light has been great for me. Now it has just become to heavy and dim. It will now move off the helmet and down to my bars. I'm also building a new battery pack that will overvolt it and replace the boat anchor SLA that it's been running on. Guess I held off long enough to completely skip the HID hardware.


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## K'Tesh (Sep 20, 2007)

Picked mine up last Friday... I've got over a hundred miles on it already... tonight I picked up another 30+ miles (I haven't seen the inside of my apartment before 1030pm for a week). I love the Lumens compared to my 6V 15W Halogen systems, and the battery life on a ride was what sold me. I commute year round in the PNW, long rides are not uncommon, now my range has been greatly extended (I've lost 40lbs since last Thanksgiving, and have more miles accumulated this year by September 20th, than in all of last year.)

The charger for the TriNewt and the MiNewt (and MiNewt X2) are identical... so if one were to go down for maintenance, and you have another system, you can still use your light. (I believe in redundancy for lights.. nothing like being 15 miles from home, and having your light cut out... or when you have a system fail for one reason or another (damaged cords, burned out bulb, etc...) just when you need to be able to ride (I don't have a car). 

LED's don't burn out! (unless you *REALLY* abuse them).

I'm going to modify the light just like all the other NR lights I've purchased over the years.
(see beam(dot)to/ufobike for more on this). I've found times when I'm switching from steady to flash, that I didn't realize that the light had started to flash already, so I'm still holding the button.

I REALLY wanted a waterbottle battery adapter for the the light... so I made one... instructions will be posted later (probably this weekend). Not the NR waterbottle battery, though, I want to see if water is getting in the case. (I've lost two systems because of that).

I am trying to create an adapter to allow it to use my old NR universal handlebar mount. I'm not thrilled with rubber straps as a method of securing lights... rubber can rot, get cut, etc... If I have a problem with the light, I could still use one of my NR halogen systems, with a simple swap of the head, rather than tracking down where I put my old mount.

Please forgive my rambling... I'm exhausted..
It's time to check out the inside of my eyelids..

Cya out there...
K'Tesh


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## RandyP (Sep 30, 2004)

The battery is very ight. The switch is on the end of the battery opposite the Posilok cable connector. This means that you'd probably have the battery in your pocke with the cable facing up which means the switch would be facing the bottom of the jersey pocket. Same for a CamelbaK. It's not like the Sol and Minewt where the switch is on the long side (top) of the battery, so I guess you could get to it in a jersey pocket but probably not as easy as the Sol or Minewt.


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## Homebrew (Jan 2, 2004)

RandyP said:


> The battery is very ight. The switch is on the end of the battery opposite the Posilok cable connector. This means that you'd probably have the battery in your pocke with the cable facing up which means the switch would be facing the bottom of the jersey pocket. Same for a CamelbaK. It's not like the Sol and Minewt where the switch is on the long side (top) of the battery, so I guess you could get to it in a jersey pocket but probably not as easy as the Sol or Minewt.


Thanks. Keep the reviews coming. I would really like to see an apples-to-apples beamshot comparison with the HID when you get a chance (both fully charged, etc). Also, from where did you pricematch for $300?


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## sonyisdope (Jul 24, 2004)

So, let me get this straight. . .It doesn't put out *quite* as much light as an HID, and it costs the same as an entry level HID, right? So, what's the point? I would really like to see beam shots of this light compared to a 10watt HID.


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## Homebrew (Jan 2, 2004)

sonyisdope said:


> So, let me get this straight. . .It doesn't put out *quite* as much light as an HID, and it costs the same as an entry level HID, right? So, what's the point? I would really like to see beam shots of this light compared to a 10watt HID.


Multiple light levels, 7 hour burn time on low, and "forever" bulb life would be a few of the key differences. And unless you DIY, you're not going to get a Li-Ion HID system in the $300 range.


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## christexan (Jun 1, 2004)

I think the point is that unlike an HID, an LED light properly designed is nearly unbreakable, if you drop an HID on concrete it is very possible to shatter the bulb (or endo onto a hard rock, etc). 
Also, an LED is dimmable, they are actually happier to run at lower power levels, and so you can run at 50% power for twice as long, still have tons of light, and no problems. 
You can strobe them, they can start up instantly, umm.... 
They CAN be MUCH lighter (no ballast or heavy glass) but that depends somewhat on design, optics used, etc. 
Oh, and if designed and used properly (not overdriven or allowed to overheat much), they are typically rated at a 50,000 hour lifetime, and that's just to a dimmer output (70 or 80%, depending on manufacturer)... if you take even 1/5th of that before a slightly noticeable drop in output occurs, you are looking at 10,000 hours, or the lifespan of 2-4 HID bulbs (at $80+ a piece replacement costs, IF you don't break them sooner)... in other words, an LED light will require no maintenance and will last "forever" in realistic terms. 
All that, for the same price as an HID, which offers none of those benefits. The only argument left really would be beam patterns and color, both of which are variable based on LED used, and optics/reflectors used in the design, compared to a pretty standard HID pattern (only a couple of HID bulbs used in the biking marketplace, what you see is what you get). Really as of this moment, LEDs on a lumens/watt/dollar basis, are equal to or slightly better than HID in the commercial marketplace and (and can be much better if done by a DIYer). In 6 months as LED emitters are getting more efficient (10-20%), they will pass HID in the efficiency area to the point that HID will no longer make sense and most likely will quickly disappear (or drop substantially in price due to dropping demand, since they already have the tooling and R&D investments in HID designs, but since the bulb is a large part of the cost, the makers of the bulbs will have to cut price as well, and probably won't for a niche market like bike lighting). 
Anyhow, that should hopefully give a good overview of "why LED over HID" in current market terms (equal light per watt, more feature capable, potentially lighter and smaller package, longevity and durability).


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## christexan (Jun 1, 2004)

Oops, looks like someone beat me to it, darn phonecall!


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## RandyP (Sep 30, 2004)

*Best price*



Homebrew said:


> Thanks. Keep the reviews coming. I would really like to see an apples-to-apples beamshot comparison with the HID when you get a chance (both fully charged, etc). Also, from where did you pricematch for $300?


Bikeman.com has them advertised on their site for $300.95. Performance had the light and did a pricematch.

Performance has a 20% off deal that ends today ($319).

Bluesky is at $358.

R


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## Milo_B (Aug 9, 2006)

Well, after waiting forever with beyond bikes - i bailed and got another LED.
I bought an iblaast from nightlightning, which is a triple LED with the latest P4 LED's. For memory it is about 700 lumens, and is brighter than most HID's (apart from Vicious lights). The battery life is around 4 hours on high and that is with a Li-Ion 14.8V 2.2aH battery which weighs 280g.
The helmet mount is this industrial velcro - which i was super sceptical of. However, after a lot of night riding and racing, it has never failed. 
I did have a huge stack the other week when "a tree jumped out at me", and after i hit my head, the velcro had let go however this seemed to be more of a safety feature, as the light was 100% perfect. I was able to reattach it, and work my way back to the car (i was fairly injured) - whereas if i had a fixed mount I believe i would have broken it, which would have just added to the pain i was in.
it was delivered $530 AUD (with Battery), so US people could prolly get it around the $450 mark - www.nightlightning.co.nz

Not dissing niterider, but I think Beyond Bikes were def wrong, advertising the light 2 months before the supposed release and then to hold them back till September is disgraceful - esp when people like me had pre-purchased them and was watching the letter-box every day and not receiving any communication from Beyond bikes. Anyhow, I believe I have made the correct decision in the nightlightning iblaast.
  :thumbsup: 
Oh yeah, there is also a comparison page of the nightlightning with other lights including the wilma 6 and a niterider 12w HID here
http://www.nightlightning.co.nz/endurenz details.htm#comparison

Cheers


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## Milo_B (Aug 9, 2006)

Well, after waiting forever with beyond bikes - i bailed and got another LED.
I bought an iblaast from nightlightning, which is a triple LED with the latest P4 LED's. For memory it is about 700 lumens, and is brighter than most HID's (apart from Vicious lights). The battery life is around 4 hours on high and that is with a Li-Ion 14.8V 2.2aH battery which weighs 280g.
The helmet mount is this industrial velcro - which i was super sceptical of. However, after a lot of night riding and racing, it has never failed. 
I did have a huge stack the other week when "a tree jumped out at me", and after i hit my head, the velcro had let go however this seemed to be more of a safety feature, as the light was 100% perfect. I was able to reattach it, and work my way back to the car (i was fairly injured) - whereas if i had a fixed mount I believe i would have broken it, which would have just added to the pain i was in.
it was delivered $530 AUD (with Battery), so US people could prolly get it around the $450 mark - www.nightlightning.co.nz

Not dissing niterider, but I think Beyond Bikes were def wrong, advertising the light 2 months before the supposed release and then to hold them back till September is disgraceful - esp when people like me had pre-purchased them and was watching the letter-box every day and not receiving any communication from Beyond bikes. Anyhow, I believe I have made the correct decision in the nightlightning iblaast.
  :thumbsup: 
Oh yeah, there is also a comparison page of the nightlightning with other lights including the wilma 6 and a niterider 12w HID here
http://www.nightlightning.co.nz/endurenz details.htm#comparison

Cheers


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## Milo_B (Aug 9, 2006)

Well, after waiting forever with beyond bikes - i bailed and got another LED.
I bought an iblaast from nightlightning, which is a triple LED with the latest P4 LED's. For memory it is about 700 lumens, and is brighter than most HID's (apart from Vicious lights). The battery life is around 4 hours on high and that is with a Li-Ion 14.8V 2.2aH battery which weighs 280g.
The helmet mount is this industrial velcro - which i was super sceptical of. However, after a lot of night riding and racing, it has never failed. 
I did have a huge stack the other week when "a tree jumped out at me", and after i hit my head, the velcro had let go however this seemed to be more of a safety feature, as the light was 100% perfect. I was able to reattach it, and work my way back to the car (i was fairly injured) - whereas if i had a fixed mount I believe i would have broken it, which would have just added to the pain i was in.
it was delivered $530 AUD (with Battery), so US people could prolly get it around the $450 mark - www.nightlightning.co.nz

Not dissing niterider, but I think Beyond Bikes were def wrong, advertising the light 2 months before the supposed release and then to hold them back till September is disgraceful - esp when people like me had pre-purchased them and was watching the letter-box every day and not receiving any communication from Beyond bikes. Anyhow, I believe I have made the correct decision in the nightlightning iblaast.
  :thumbsup: 
Oh yeah, there is also a comparison page of the nightlightning with other lights including the wilma 6 and a niterider 12w HID here
http://www.nightlightning.co.nz/endurenz details.htm#comparison

Cheers


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## dirt & beer (Feb 26, 2006)

i just ordered a trinewt with the wireless remote. i looked at it versus the light&motion arc and the price/weight/durability/light color/instant on/beam pattern of the niterider won me over.
i ride with lights helmet-mounted and the battery in the pack, thus, i was stuck getting the wireless. i really wish the on/off was on the light, but the salesguy said the cooling vanes prevented this.
i'll use it on the road and mountain with two different packs so i plan to attach the remote to a carabiner that i can clip onto the shoulder strap of either pack.
i expect i'll see a jump in performance from my old 10w halogen niterider evolution


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## xcmonkey (Oct 13, 2007)

Called REI and they just received one. When i got there the sales guy was playing with it outside so i got to check it out. He had a guy mount it on his bike and rode toward us beyond 150 feet and the light almost blinded me. Seriously, you do not want to stare into the beam. When view from behind the unit, the beam seems more like flood light. It's doesn't seem to have a concentrated hot spot like halogen. It's very light but the battery is elongated so you can not mount it on the bike stem. You still have to mount it on the top tube. I like the convience of the rubber strap on the head unit but like others mentioned, the on/off switch on the battery maybe a minor inconvience. Don't think it's a good idea for helmet mount cause the battery is still bulky. Anyways, i was sold on the spot and ordered one from the store. Been using NR trailrat for the last 3 years but Trinewt just blows it away. You really have to see it to believe how bright this thing is. Can't wait for mine to arrive.


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## root (Jan 24, 2006)

I'm undecided on this light. Our local shop got one in the other day and after looking at the catalog I was curious. Unfortunately the literature doesn't seem to give a good number on how bright it is, and the one in shop did not have a charge. I examined it and the one they had, the button was on the same side as the cord. I wasn't sure if I liked that or not. The mount system really bothers me. What the heck? After their perfectly fine universal bar mount bracket they switch to this glorified rubber band? I'm thinking most of the circuitry is in the battery pack, again I'm not sure how much I like that. I'm wondering how much replacement pack cost for when your pack dies. The clincher is going to be the light intensity and pattern, I'll have to go back & ask them to charge it so I can see. I've been told it's NR's brightest light. The mount may be adaptable.


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## K'Tesh (Sep 20, 2007)

*TriNewt battery mount option*

the solution to the battery mount issue I found can be seen at the following link

http://www.flickr.com/gp/[email protected]/82WJuD


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## Stumpy_Steve (Aug 18, 2006)

id be interested to see anybody who has a minewt or minewt dual and trinewt, and maybe take a picture in a pitch black garage with each light at different times, know what im sayin?


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## K'Tesh (Sep 20, 2007)

Um... why a garage?  Any reasonably good light will fill a small room with a lot of light:skep: 

I'd say check out some beam shots on a trail and/or a road to get a real world idea of what you are looking at....  

(all that and...:drumroll:... I don't have a garage (or a car*) to oblige). 

Cya out there...
K'Tesh

(*cars suck):thumbsup:


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## K'Tesh (Sep 20, 2007)

Well, it's not a garage, trail, or a road, and there was a lot of light outside tonight. So, this was the best I could do in short order.

http://www.flickr.com/gp/[email protected]/X652MK

When I was hit on friday, I had one MiNewt on low, one flashing, and the TriNewt on low... and yet he still didn't see me coming...

Save the World... Scrap a car today!
K'Tesh


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## dsully575 (Feb 23, 2004)

K'Tesh said:


> Well, it's not a garage, trail, or a road, and there was a lot of light outside tonight. So, this was the best I could do in short order.
> 
> http://www.flickr.com/gp/[email protected]/X652MK


Thanks for the comparison pics. Even though it is just a quick side-by-side I think it gives you a pretty good idea. I think I'm going to go with the Tri-Newt, mainly for the burn time and bulb life.


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## Go Kart Motzart (Jan 2, 2004)

Thanks for the write ups. I just bought a TriNewt based on the info in this thread.

A quick backyard test tells me it is VERY bright and I like the helmet mount. My old Storm put the heavy light on th front of my helmet making it very uncomfortable. The new mount puts it right on the middle of the helmet making things much more balanced.

Reading above it appears the chargers are interchangeable with my MiNewt which is a nice convenience. I plugged up the battery from my MiNewt and the TriNewt seemed just as bright.

My question is- does anyone know the battery specs for these two batteries (MiNewt and TriNewt)? Just curious on what the theoretical run time would be with the smaller stem mountable MiNewt battery.

Thanks for the help.


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## BlueHorse (Jul 21, 2007)

Any idea if the wireless feature is available as an upgrade or do you have to purchase it that way from the start?


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## Burl (Jan 4, 2006)

I have read somewhere that it is not upgradeable, you must purchase it that way.


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## K'Tesh (Sep 20, 2007)

According to NR's customer service, a standard TriNewt head WILL work with a wireless's battery. Keep in mind that only a wireless's battery has the receiver, so just getting the controls won't work... damn. 

You could theoretically purchase a wireless's battery and controls seperatly. However, each one is individually coded. So, a 2nd wireless battery would not work with your 1st's controls. 

I feel that this was a little shortsighted... What about people (like me) who will want to be able to switch bikes w/o having to remove the control each time? I've got more than one bike, and I bought like keyed Ulocks so I only need one key... Why not like keyed batteries and controls?


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## Go Kart Motzart (Jan 2, 2004)

Go Kart Motzart said:


> My question is- does anyone know the battery specs for these two batteries (MiNewt and TriNewt)? Just curious on what the theoretical run time would be with the smaller stem mountable MiNewt battery.
> 
> Thanks for the help.


Anyone have an idea?


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## lonnie_20 (Mar 13, 2007)

great reviews...i was giving night riding some consideration. looks like im going to have get serious!


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## root (Jan 24, 2006)

Ended up picking it up and used it for first night trailride this past Monday. I like the light performance. Bright, nice wide flood pattern. Doesn't look as bright as friends NR HID, but his HID has a tighter hot spot. I actually prefer the TriNewt broader bright area. And no waiting for warm up, no color flicker, no worries about turning off & on. Don't particularly like the button on battery, but thats liveable. The rubber band mounting I can see failing, and the light did shift a little with some good rocky downhill action. That's definitely going to get thrown out, I'm going to adapt the old universal mount to it.


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