Ravemen FR300

The Ravemen FR300 is excellent as a daytime running light or for urban commuting. Its dual mount gives it a secure and sleek look on your computer mount, with the only drawback being that it didn't work quite as well with a large cycling computer.

Want to make yourself as visible as possible when riding at night? Check out our guides to the best reflective cycling clothing and accessories and the best rear bike lights.

Emily reviewed the FR160 last year and thought it was good, with some reservations. Happily, Ravemen appears to have listened to customer feedback and the FR300 addresses many of the complaints people had.

Even with a boosted 300-lumen output and larger battery, the FR300 is still best suited for daytime running or urban commuting – you'll still need a stronger light for pitch-black rural lanes – but the wide wraparound LED is visible from most angles, which gave me confidence riding in busy urban traffic.

Build

The light has a quarter-turn mount top and bottom. It attaches easily to a Garmin mount and you can then attach your computer to the top of the light. It comes with a tether to attach to your bars, too, which I always used.

Using it with my Garmin Edge 540, they both felt secure riding on the road, but trying it with a larger and heavier Edge 1050 (shown below), the Garmin shook a little and I didn't feel quite as confident (especially as I was just about to send the unit back to Garmin!), though it stayed put.

You also get an adapter for it to work with a Wahoo computer, now included in the box, and you can buy an adapter for Bryton units.

The on/off button is now on the side, which makes it much easier to use compared with the previous version, where Emily found it tricky to change modes while it was mounted.

The light has a water resistance rating of IPX6, and it held up well in the torrential rain I had the misfortune of testing it in.

Modes

The light has six modes – three constant and three flashing. The constant high puts out 200 lumens, medium 100 lumens, and low 50 lumens. Warning flash has the brightest output – 300 lumens – while Rapid flash and Slow flash have 100 lumens.

The FR300 has a memory function which means it'll turn on in the most recently used mode, which was handy as I used the same medium constant most of the time.

Run-times & charging

Battery life ranges from 4 hours for constant high to 24 hours for slow flash. I mostly used the medium setting and achieved close to the stated run-time.

The 1,200mAh battery officially charges in just under 2 hours via a USB-C port, and I found that to be pretty accurate. The USB port is at the back of the light and covered with a rubber bung to ensure no rain or road spray gets in.

The on/off button doubles up as a battery life indicator, with green showing when you've got 40% battery or more, red for 5% to 40%, and flashing red for less than 5%. Another setting – amber perhaps – would be good, as 40% feels a bit low to be green if you're heading out for a long ride.

There's an auto-off feature that switches the light off if you haven't moved in a few minutes. It worked well if I forgot to switch it off, without ever turning itself off when waiting at some lights.

You can also use the FR300 to charge your cycling computer, and there's a small USB-C to USB-C cable included in the box, which is a nice bonus, though I didn't use it beyond testing as my computer battery lasts so long.

As I said earlier, I tested this with a Garmin Edge 1050 and an Edge 540. The 1050 (below) completely covers the light, whereas the 540 (above) just about covers it. It feels slightly worrying initially as you don't know if it's working, but a quick hand in front reassures you that it's on.

Value

At £59.99 the FR300 is relatively expensive for the level of output. However, you do get the excellent form factor and integration with the computer mount.

The Gaciron Kiwi 1200, for example, which Steve thought was very good, has a much higher output and costs less than £50, and for £20 more (actually, just a tenner more at the moment as it's discounted to £69.99) you could have the 1,300-lumen Magicshine Evo 1300, which Josh thought was excellent.

Shaun was very impressed with the Moon Helix Pro-W – another 'be seen by' light – and that's £49.99, though the modes are lower.

Conclusion

Overall, this is a very good daytime running light; it isn't bright enough for riding the lanes at night but it's a great option for urban commuting. I like the design and integration with the Garmin mount for my Edge 540, though I wouldn't recommend it if you have a larger cycling computer.

Verdict

Great light for urban commuting with excellent computer integration