Supernova E3 Pro dynamo front light

Want to ride all night on a regular basis, or commute all year round? A dynamo means you never have to worry about battery levels, and fitting an E3 Pro will mean you don't have to worry about not having enough light either. It's a very well built unit with a great beam pattern that's more or less perfect for road cycling.

The E3 Pro is the same size as the head unit from a standard 2-pack system, but at 134g it's reassuringly weighty. It's an all-Aluminium construction and the light is completely rebuildable, so if you bend it in a spill you can just replace the bent bits. Everything's anodised to repel salt water, and the light is fully waterproof. Inside there's a single CREE LED capable of pushing out 370 lumens; our light came with the asymetric Terraflux lens that complies with German road lighting regulations, directing over 90% of the beam on to the tarmac. Another lens, the Iris, is available for mixed use and off-road.

Plug the E3 Pro into your dynamo of choice (we used Supernova's Infinity 8 for the testing) and roll off into the night, and it's immediately apparent that it's going to kick out more than enough light for nearly any road-based situation. unfortunately the fact that you need a spinning wheel means we can't put it in our beam shot rig, but the beam is well focused and directed predominantly at the ground, making best use of the output (see http://www.supernova-lights.com/en/products/e3pro3.html for a beam shot). Once you're moving at more than about 5mph the flicker from the dynamo resolves itself into a steady beam, so even on steep climbs there's plenty of light. If you stop there's a standlight circuit that'll keep the light glowing on a very low output for a few minutes. There's plenty enough light for clipping along on the flat, and only the very quickest of descents had me reaching for the brakes.

Our test light came with a bar mount that secures with an O-ring and allows movement in horizontal and vertical planes. There's a range of other mounts too for different types of bike. The O-ring mount was plenty secure and kept the E3 Pro pointing in the right direction, with just a bit of beam chatter over rough surfaces.

Obviously this is a dynamo light, and that means cables. Supernova use a high-quality 2-core wiring system that looks pretty hardy, and the lights are supplied with a range of heatshrink sleeves to make sure connections are waterproof. The E3 Pro can run an E3 tail light, and will also provide it with standlight power too. Obviously that means running a cable the length of your bike, which is a bit more obvious than the wire from the dynamo which you can run up the inside of your fork leg (and the inside of your fork too, depending on your fork) more or less out of sight.

Anyway, all told the E3 puts in a great performance that goes a long way toward justifying its salty £160 price tag. That's a lot for a light, especially when you have to factor in the cost of a dynamo hub too. But it's a great all night, four season light if you're prepared to spend the money. And you can get it in seven different colours too.

Verdict

High quality four-season light with a great beam pattern and no battery to worry about.