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review
£94.95
VERDICT:
Superb front and rear light set but undeniably not cheap.
Weight:
46g
Contact:
www.exposurelights.com
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.
What the road.cc scores meanGood scores are more common than bad, because fortunately good products are more common than bad.
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Exposure Lights' Trace and TraceR light set is a pricy but solidly made and extremely handy pair of LED lights.
Up front, The Trace pumps out a claimed 110 lumens. It's more than enough to be seen with and at a pinch it puts out enough light to see on unlit paths, as long as you don't try and take any Strava segment records on the way.
The lens is clear all the way round, so there's plenty of light coming from the sides for visibility at junctions. In properly dark conditions, that's a bit annoying as it puts a bright light at the bottom of your vision. Easily fixed with a bit of tape, but you feel like you shouldn't have to.
On full power I got over four hours light from the Trace.
Out back, the TraceR is like a USB-rechargeable version of Exposure's classic Flare rear light and puts out bucketloads of light. It's a light for the back-marker on an evening group ride because following a rider with a TraceR (or a Flare) is almost painful. I gave up trying to find out the maximum distance it's visible from when I couldn't find a straight road long enough and they wouldn't let me on the local airport runway.
In throbbing mode I got eight hours use from the TraceR. I have to say I am a huge fan of throbbing mode and not just because it gives me an excuse to write 'throbbing'. Driving on unlit roads I find it tricky to judge closing speed and location when I'm behind a standard on/off blinker. It's much easier with a throbber because the light never goes off and vanishes from view.
Both lights come with quick-release mounts, held on your seatpost or handlebar with silicone rubber bands. They're very convenient to pop on and off the bars or seatpost so you really only need to take the lights out of the mounts to charge them.
That convenience has made them the whole family's go-to lights for those moments when you realise it's going to be dark when you get home, or the morning fog means you need a bit more visibility on the school run.
Both Trace and TraceR charge via micro-USB ports covered by tight rubber seals. From flat to full takes under 2.5 hours from a standard USB charger, so you can charge them from your office desktop if you get to work and realise they're flat. The package includes a USB cable, but no charger. Exposure presumably reasons we're all up to our ankles in USB chargers and if my charger collection is typical, they're not wrong.
In theory there are lower-power settings for the Trace and TraceR, but I didn't bother to use them. When a light is this powerful and this convenient, with a run-time long enough for a week's commuting, why bother emasculating it?
Both Trace and TraceR have machined aluminium housings and have shrugged off being dropped and otherwise mishandled. As with other Exposure lights a double click turns them on and a long press turns them off.
I've used the TraceR for an application that's well outside Exposure's intentions. It turns out the mount fits securely on Flash the husky's harness, so the TraceR has been helping me keep track of him during mountain bike night rides. It's withstood being shaken vigorously, dunked in a stream and scraped against undergrowth. It's stayed put and carried on working.
£95 is a lot of money for a pair of USB-rechargeable lights. The quality, convenience, brightness and toughness of the Trace and TraceR just about justifies the price, but they're definitely at the luxury end of the price range.
Verdict
Superb front and rear light set but undeniably not cheap.
road.cc test report
Make and model: Exposure Lights Trace TraceR front and rear light set
Size tested: Front and Rear
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?
Exposure says:
The Trace and TraceR are super bright USB rechargeable front and rear lights. New to the range its compact design, high power and ultra reliability make this a winning product.
The Trace and TraceR features Optimum Mode Selector, offering 3 brightness modes and the choice of solid or pulsing beams. The Trace also has Fuel Gauge displaying the remaining battery life using a traffic light system to make it clear when it's time to recharge. Excellent side visibility will make sure you're safe and seen out on the ride.
Exposure Lights have always been designed to get the maximum light from minimum sized unit and Cable Free Design ensures this is maintained. Utilising superb brackets Exposure Lights attach quickly, safely and securely for hassle free riding.
The TraceR can also be mounted under the saddle using the Saddle Rail Bracket(Sold separately).
Optimised Mode Selector (OMS)
The Optimised Mode Selector allows you to easily select from a concise number of programs to optimise the burntime of your light.
Function button
3 colour Fuel Gauge indicator in side the lens operates as light is switched off.
Weatherproof Body
CNC machined aerospace grade aluminium body with efficient heat transfer design. Fully manufactured in the UK.
Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the light?
Exposure says:
Weight: 78g
Power: Lithium Ion internal battery
Emitter: 1 XPG LED / 1 Red XPE LRD
Maximum lumen output: Trace 110 / TraceR 75
Minimum burn time (hours): 3
Maximum burn time (hours): 24
Bar mounted: yes
Helmet mounted: no
Seat post Mount: yes for TraceR
Reflex technology: no
SPT+: no
CFD: yes
ITM: no
OMS: yes
Fuel gauge: yes
USB charging: yes
Rate the light for quality of construction:
10/10
Rate the light for design and ease of use. How simple was the light to use?
10/10
Very easy to use.
Rate the light for the design and usability of the clamping system/s
10/10
Fits all the bars and seatposts in my fleet - and the husky's harness
Rate the light for waterproofing. How did it stand up to the elements?
10/10
No problems in the wet.
Rate the light for battery life. How long did it last? How long did it take to recharge?
9/10
Rate the light for performance:
9/10
Pretty much faultless for the size as long as you don't need to go full gas.
Rate the light for durability:
10/10
Lack of explosives in the toolkit means I can't say they're bomb-proof, but they're definitely husky-proof.
Rate the light for weight, if applicable:
9/10
They're not going to slow you down.
Rate the light for value:
5/10
There are now so many USB-rechargeable lights on the market that it's impossible to avoid price comparisons. The Trace and TraceR set is expensive.
Tell us how the light performed overall when used for its designed purpose
Brilliantly (sorry). The Trace and TraceR put out loads of light for their tiny size, are easy to fit to a bike, recharge quickly and give a decent run time.
Tell us what you particularly liked about the light
Convenience, plenty of light from a tiny package, very robust, dead easy to use.
Tell us what you particularly disliked about the light
The price.
Did you enjoy using the light? Yes.
Would you consider buying the light? Yes.
Would you recommend the light to a friend? Yes.
Anything further to say about the light in conclusion?
The Rolls Royce of commuting lights. Close to perfect in quality and function, but the price tag of almost £100 pulls the score down.
About the tester
Age: 48 Height: 5ft 11in Weight: 85kg
I usually ride: Scapin Style My best bike is:
I've been riding for: Over 20 years I ride: Most days I would class myself as: Expert
I regularly do the following types of riding: commuting, touring, club rides, general fitness riding,
John has been writing about bikes and cycling for over 30 years since discovering that people were mug enough to pay him for it rather than expecting him to do an honest day's work.
He was heavily involved in the mountain bike boom of the late 1980s as a racer, team manager and race promoter, and that led to writing for Mountain Biking UK magazine shortly after its inception. He got the gig by phoning up the editor and telling him the magazine was rubbish and he could do better. Rather than telling him to get lost, MBUK editor Tym Manley called John’s bluff and the rest is history.
Since then he has worked on MTB Pro magazine and was editor of Maximum Mountain Bike and Australian Mountain Bike magazines, before switching to the web in 2000 to work for CyclingNews.com. Along with road.cc founder Tony Farrelly, John was on the launch team for BikeRadar.com and subsequently became editor in chief of Future Publishing’s group of cycling magazines and websites, including Cycling Plus, MBUK, What Mountain Bike and Procycling.
John has also written for Cyclist magazine, edited the BikeMagic website and was founding editor of TotalWomensCycling.com before handing over to someone far more representative of the site's main audience.
He joined road.cc in 2013. He lives in Cambridge where the lack of hills is more than made up for by the headwinds.
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Add new comment
20 comments
.
Leodis - aye think the runtime is a bit shorter but not far off. I might have to do a full run test with it dipped in water for cooling.
Water resistance seems okay though, you have to user vaseline or something similar on the port to stop water getting in. Does not bother me too much, think cos I like the light so much. It's kind of similar to tuning loose bearing hubs to spin smoothly. ))
I recently bought the rear light, after one ride of light rain water it allowed water in. The battery time is nowhere near the advertised time either.
I have a set of LYNZE lights, these sound very similar. Thrbbing mode works well on unlite country roads, an UBERLITE is my main front light which is brilliant.
I've had the Mk7 Joystick for 2 years. Never missed a beat as a helmet mounted light for offroad. I'm going to have a serious look at the these.
Pricey? This isn't made in China rubbish. They're made in Britain!
...and the inners constantly come loose from the outer meaning the switch stops functioning and it’s difficult to get the usb in. I sent the rear back to Exposure and they fixed it no quibbles. But I don’t want to be having to send them back all the time as I use these 5 days a week.
Other than that they are brilliant; although I’m down to about 2.5hrs on throb mode before needing a charge.
have a Strada that I got from USE at bikeradar trade stand In 2010..still running, still on original battery and seemingly bulletproof..used it for Mtb'ing as well..i'd recommend Exposure lights wholeheartedly ,well worth the extra money. and the run times are good too.
I've got the Blaze and Strada MK5, bought them a month ago. Early days but I quite like them. The "throbbing" mode is one of the main reasons I went with them. I expect them to work wonders in the dark of the winter...
'that's because they're tight misers trying to stretch the batteries out as long as possible, which is silly if they're USB rechargeable and the normal steady mode lasts long enough for your journey'
That's the only logical argument for using flashing lights - battery life.
Paul_C - flash modes stand out more, innit.
I've got their predecessors the Flash and Flare and have been using them as my commuter lights. Going into their third winter now and they show no sign of any deterioration (though I do supplement them with a Knog for unlit roads). If these are a step up then they are definitely good value.
Interestingly no mention of the fact USE is a british company designing and manufacturing these lights in the UK! Goes a bit into the price but buying UK made has other benefits too.
+1 for riding behind these lights being a bit painful on the eyes.
I have these lights and they're seriously bright for how small they are. So much so that in flashing mode they can actually be too bright for other road users (or so I'm told by other people when I asked them to judge their brightness from a driver's perspective).
I've now taken to running them on medium power, since high power flashing mode is just too much, except perhaps on very well-light urban roads.
The build quality is top-notch and the design is pretty much spot on, but with one small flaw: the front light can be dazzling when riding the bike, since the lens diffuses light in all directions and there's nothing to shield your eyes (it's especially disorienting in flashing mode). This is easily fixed by putting a small strip of black gaffer tape over the top of the lens, but this should really have been thought of in the design process.
Beyond this, I really can't fault them at all. Superb lights.
A proper front light with beam cut-off would be nice. The rear light is fine, if a bit overkill. Better off with a Philips SafeRide Front and a Smart Lunar R2 Rear ... both take standard batteries and cost less than this Exposure set.
'I find it tricky to judge closing speed and location when I'm behind a standard on/off blinker. It's much easier with a throbber because the light never goes off and vanishes from view.'
It's not just you, it's all drivers. It's a simple fact. But people will keep on insisting on running their bike lights on flashing mode...
This is why I run 2+ rear lights, one is always on constant and the others on flash etc.
Redvee wrote: This is why I run 2+ rear lights, one is always on constant and the others on flash etc.
+1 from me, Redvee
that's because they're tight misers trying to stretch the batteries out as long as possible, which is silly if they're USB rechargeable and the normal steady mode lasts long enough for your journey
ps. I run 3 lights up front and 3 lights at the rear.
In each bunch, one steady, one flashing and on off as a spare...
Gotta say after a couple of different "standard" rear light switching off mid ride/getting soaked and not switching on/off correctly, the TraceR is just worth it.
It is powerful and you are not left thinking "oh I wish they did that". Everything is thought out and executed well. It is very compact, yet it behaves like a full fledged light. It stays in the mount very securely, is very easy to take on and off the bike, gives ample visibility and the pulsing mode completes it.
I am still not clear how accurate the run times are, so conducting a trial this week to see if it comes close to the 6 hours.
I recommend this light anyway, however if the run times prove accurate it will be hands down my favorite light ever.
£50 is not a little amount for a rear light, but I really have no reservations paying that in return for a solid product. It's refreshing to not have any compromises. (pending battery life!)