Trek Bontrager Ion Headlight and Flare Taillight Review
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First Illuminating Thoughts On The Bontrager Ion Headlight and Flare Taillight
Perfect timing as these Bontrager Ion Headlight and Flare Taillight showed up on the Autumnal equinox, and morning daylight has virtually disappeared for most of my morning rides.
My local group ride meets every Tuesday and Friday, and my wheels need to be rolling by 5:30 A.M. At the start, it’s probably been dark for a good 2 months. Having said that, Daylight Savings time will give me an hour back come November 6th. In either case, my other lights’ batteries had just died, and the stars, full moon, and Bontrager lights were aligned.
Background
Daylight running lights are nothing new in cars and motorcycles. Studies have shown that they can help cut accidents by nearly 25%. Why aren’t more of us riding our bikes with Daytime Running Lights? We, as a cycling tribe, tend to wear some pretty loud and bright clothes, which does help some, I suppose.
What I usually do is turn my lights off during my ride for a variety of reasons. There is strength in numbers, and when I’m rolling with 50 of my pals, the long freight train of bikes and lights does provide security. Secondly, it will get light for a portion of my ride, and I won’t need the lights anymore. And lastly, I want to save my batteries.
The Trek Bontrager Ion Headlight and Flare Taillight Out On The Road
The Bontrager Ion 100 R headlight and Flare R City Tail Light are tiny. I mean they are literally the size of my iPhone charging cube (not including the strap). They simply attach to the handle bar or seatpost in mere second.
Apple iPhone Charger and the actual lighting unit size.
I have now taken my Trek Bontrager Ion Headlight and Flare Taillights out for 5 consecutive rides, and they work great. I charged them after my first ride because I didn’t want to get caught out with an empty charge. Then again, I should probably just let them run out to challenge or ensure the advertised battery times.
The range of visibility to drivers is from 400 meters to 2000 meters. That will certainly provide motorists with plenty of a visual to react accordingly. Colorado is a cycling fanatic state, but we have certainly seen our fair share of vehicular accidents lately including a handful of deaths.
What’s so unique about DRL is that it creates a Focus. It’s a light that is visible in the daylight by directing or amplifying output.
The Bontrager Ion Headlight in action.
What makes a light a Daytime Running Light?
This comes directly from the Trek Bontrager website and sums up the inner workings of how this will keep you safer on the road.
Focus – Creating a light visible in the daylight requires intentional design. By directing or amplifying output, we intensify the beam and extend its range. Without this, a light may appear bright, but will not be noticed in the day.
Flash – Most tail lights use a steady flashing pattern. This pulsing is less noticeable than one that continually varies its intensity and pattern. The Day Flash setting featured on Bontrager Daytime Running Lights was created to specifically increase noticeability with varying outputs and an interruptive flash pattern.
Range – Daytime Running Lights are brighter to give drivers more reaction time. Bontrager Daytime Running Lights are detectable from a minimum of 400m to over 2km away in daylight conditions.
Tail Light Battery Charge Life
Day flash 35 Lumens – 8hrs
Night flash 35 Lumens – 16hrs
Day steady 20 Lumens – 3hrs
Night steady 2 Lumens – 20hrs
The Head Light Battery Charge Life
100 Lumens – 1.5hrs
50 Lumens – 3hrs
5 Lumens – 16hrs
Night Flash – 7hrs
Day Flash – 5hrs
What Could Be Added….
Keeping in mind that the Bontrager Ion Headlight and Flare Taillight lights were designed to be simple, light, and small, adding anything would probably defeat that purpose. However, a small display screen that would display the hours of charge and light you’d have left would be nice. It could be a digital timer, or a simple dot light bar that went from green to yellow to red.
********Update. After continued use, I noticed a red beeping light right next to the power button. That would indicate to me that it is time to charge my lights. I guess the power charge lasts longer than I had envisioned.
A flexible band easily stretches and attaches safely together.
Final En-Lightened Thoughts About The Trek Bontrager Ion Headlight and Flare Taillight
When you first see these on-line or in person, they don’t appear like much. Quite small and really simple, but once installed, they pack a punch. Super easy to attach to your handlebar or seatpost, and it gives a wide variety of lighting options. The rechargeable aspect is really awesome because I will no longer have to worry about turning if off to preserve battery life. This is where the potential safety factors will come into play to keep me visible to motorists who would not have seen me, or are too distracted.
For these and other lights from Bontrager Trek, please check out their wide selection at www.trekbikes.com
MSRP: $39.99 for the Bontrager Flare R City Tail light.
MSRP: $39.99 for the Bontrager Ion 100 R.
