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Electron Micro 1W Front Light

8
£24.99

VERDICT:

8
10
Well designed, good value budget commuter light for urban riders
Weight: 
114g
Contact: 
www.madison.co.uk

At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.

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Electron's Micro 1W light is a commuter light with, as the name implies, a single 1W LED. This puts it at the being seen rather than the seeing by end of the bike light spectrum, even so it does provide a degree of road illumination, as our light data shows; enough for badly lit urban streets.

Mounting the light to the handlebars is a stress free affair. A simple quick release loop is contrained with a tool-free bolt and grips the bars through a piece of rubber. The rubber strip is thoughtfully moulded with little nubs which sit in grooves on the clamp, avoiding the fiddly process of holding the strip whilst simultanously trying to tighten the clamp. The light then slides cleanly onto this clamp; held by a plastic clip, the whole assembly never slipped or wobbled.

Power is supplied by four AAA batteries. Those in the light as it comes are non-rechargeables, you could of course use rechargeables once these run out, although in our experience there is often a penalty in overall run time when you do. And the run time? Electron say you can get up to 80 hours - that was optimistic in my testing, I got closer to 60 hour, my guess is 80 is what you'll get using it solely in flashing mode. A power level gauge is included by means of the on light - switching from green to red as voltage starts to dip - so you shouldn't be left high and dry. Battery replacement is as easy as twisting the body a few degrees to open, then slotting in the new cells with the right orientation.

A simple two mode operation: constant and strobe, operated by a single button, does the job and means you aren't forever cycling through as you miss the mode you want. That button is also easily used with winter gloves. The design is well waterproofed and finished in a nice rubber coating to ensure easy removal even when wet. Another nice feature I noticed was small holes at the sides of the light diffuser in order to provide a small amount of side-on visability.

Verdict

Overall, the Micro 1W fulfils its job as a commuter light well and presents good value with a 24.99 RRP - shop around and you can find it for considerably less than that. Whilst there is no inbuilt recharge option (you can of course use your own recharger and cells) in some ways this may suit busy commuters better - you can just pop in your nearest shop. A simple mounting and quick release add to the commuter credentials. The light provided is good enough to provide inner-city visibility, even a certainly element of side-on, but I wouldn't want to navigate unlit lanes with it.

road.cc test report

Make and model: Electron Micro 1W Front Light

Size tested: Black

Tell us what the light is for, and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?

Labeled as a commuting light and is a commuting light

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the light?

Rubberised body, single button - two mode operation, quick release mounting, tool free mount, 4xAAA batteries, 1W LED, side illumination, ~60hr run time.

Rate the light for quality of construction:
 
8/10

Good and solid, the rubber adds a nice touch.

Rate the light for design and ease of use. How simple was the light to use?
 
9/10

Just one button and two modes: constant and strobe.

Rate the light for the design and usability of the clamping system/s
 
9/10
Rate the light for waterproofing. How did it stand up to the elements?
 
6/10

Held up to light rain, didn't have chance to test it in any heavy downpours.

Rate the light for battery life. How long did it last? How long did it take to recharge?
 
5/10

Recharging isn't an option here. Run time was ambitious, more like 60hr.

Rate the light for performance:
 
7/10

As a commuter light the visibility is good, spot is not great for vision however.

Rate the light for durability:
 
8/10

Clamp seems up to the job with no signs of strain.

Rate the light for value:
 
8/10

Tell us how the light performed overall when used for its designed purpose

Well, as a means of being seen.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the light

The rubberised body, easily removable when wet.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the light

No option of using rechargeable batteries.

Did you enjoy using the light? Yes

Would you consider buying the light? Yes

Would you recommend the light to a friend? Yes

Overall rating: 8/10

About the tester

Age: 23  Height: 184cm  Weight: 66kg

I usually ride: Orbea Onix (Carbon) - Summer, Orbea Asphalt (Alu) - Winter  My best bike is: Orbea Alma G10

I've been riding for: Under 5 years  I ride: Every day  I would class myself as: Semi pro

I regularly do the following types of riding: road racing, time trialling, cyclo cross, club rides, mtb,

 

Add new comment

7 comments

Avatar
BigDonn | 12 years ago
0 likes

This light is on sale for between £10-20 on most internet sites. I bought it for about £15 in January '11. Worked very well but unfortunately the button eventually broke down and eventually stopped working after about 7 months of use.
I've not switched to an Ultrafire torch with a Cree T6 led that runs off rechargeable 18650 batteries. Even on its lowest setting the light is far brighter.
The Electron is a good light - but you can get far better for a similar price.

Avatar
Dr_Lex | 12 years ago
0 likes

Chalk me up as another for whom the beam test inset has borked. Be interesting to see how this at £25 stacks up against the plethora of sub-£10 versions.

Avatar
Darkerside | 12 years ago
0 likes

Sadly the site-in-a-site didn't have scroll bars, otherwise I could've got a bit of a trapped between two mirrors thing going on.

Avatar
Tony Farrelly | 12 years ago
0 likes

was there ever any doubt… pilot error at this end - sorry, I managed to knock some of the code for the light comparator out when I went back in to change something. Fixed now.

Avatar
Tony Farrelly | 12 years ago
0 likes

yeah and me… Firefox just updated which it does on a seemingly daily basis at the mo. Worked when it put it on in Firefox this morning looking a bit borked now.

I will investigate, could be pilot error this end when I was fiddling about after publishing, never a good idea

Avatar
mad_scot_rider | 12 years ago
0 likes

nope - same for me on latest Firefox - instead of the light comparison we expect - there's a sub-site or meta-site - it's all gone a bit "Inception"

Avatar
Darkerside | 12 years ago
0 likes

Might be my medieval work browser, but you seem to have, er, embedded the site in the site...?

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