Xeccon Geinea III front & rear light set

The Xeccon Geinea III front and rear light set are a boxy yet pretty pairing. By my reckoning, they're firmly in contingency territory, the sort of lights you turn to when you've been out on the best bike, making the most of summer's fading glory.

Specification

The integrated lens and switch look very neat and are very convenient wearing full-finger gloves. There are four modes in total: low, high, flashing and SOS. A deliberate, two-second press of the lens engages high (steady). Peripheral bleed is created by cut outs in the fetching 6061 T6, anodised aluminium shells.

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Low and flashing follow with subsequent prods. Switching off is just a matter of pressing the lens for two seconds. There is also an SOS mode, reached by holding the lens for three seconds. The front produces a maximum of 15 lumens, the rear 10.

The 80mAh battery charges in the cited 2hr 30min when fully depleted and using the increasingly ubiquitous charger. Bank on another 10 minutes if it's guzzling from laptop or tablet but otherwise it's perfect for discrete deskside refuelling and/or you've left the OEM cable at home.

The charge port plug fits snugly, without faff and though Xeccon don't cite an IPX rating (preferring instead to describe it as water resistant) I've had no problems in moderate to heavy rain, or when leaving it in situ while giving bikes a sudsy bucket wash and garden hose rinse down.

Mount

On the subject of fitting/removal, Xeccon have plumped for a big stretchy rubberised watch strap and clip arrangement. This is press-fitted onto a round peg on the 6061 casing's reverse side. This set up sits flush against bars, posts and indeed frame tubing.

There's sufficient stretch to accommodate oversized tubes without straining rider or strap. I've mounted ours to head tubes, helmets and at the other extreme, pencil thin seat stays. In a pinch, you could always tether to a clothing or luggage strap.

Output

This is a relative term, given the numbers but allowing for the contingency brief, I've been pleasantly surprised. Thanks to decent quality lens and reflectors, both produce a rich glow that compensates for the modest numbers.

Flashing is closer to pulsing and pretty much my default. With daylight fading fast and used as my sole form of rear light, other riders reckoned they could spot me at around 100m along the open road, nearer 60m following through town.

SOS mode seemed a bit more captivating on account of the pattern but there wasn't much in it. There's some peripheral light from the cut-outs mentioned above, but I didn't feel particularly comfortable when joining the flow of traffic.

The Geinea III front light has a bit more kick. Not that you'd be navigating with it but flashing seemed to register at 100 metres or so along the open road and the tempo was sufficient to alert vehicles approaching at junctions.

> Buyer's Guide: The best front lights for cycling

Given the purity of output, high steady mode was a pleasant surprise. Useful around dusk and good enough for well-lit town centres. Low is a bit impotent, though sufficient for dual use cycle paths.

Run times

These were accurate and pretty much what I'd expect given the output and battery spec. I've had 2hr 49min and 2hr 53min from a full charge, running them in their highest, steady modes. In SOS, I've managed 8 hr 54min, which is close enough.

Those are reasonable run times for tertiary/contingency lighting, where they could save your bacon in the event of a main system powering down, or losing track of time one autumn/winter afternoon. However, they're unexceptional compared with compact pairings, such as Moon Gemini.

Conclusion

The Geinea III lights aren't poor, just relatively expensive, compared with other, compact pairings packing a much bigger punch. Moon Gemini lights are one notable example. At the other end of the price scale, two B'Twin V100 320 USB dual bike lights pump out 22 and 7 lumens, occupy even less space and give change from £17.

Verdict

By no means poor but expensive compared with brighter competition