Review; Dorcy LED bicycle light (41-4001)

Bike lights tend to come in two flavors “lights to be seen by” and “lights to see with”, the former are usually small and blinky, their main function is to alert people to your presence on the road, usually weight is a factor and you’re looking for small and discreet. The latter are more weighty and industrial, weight loses out to illumination. So when the folks at Dorcy wanted to send me new light to try that carried 220 lumens I was very interested, the last premium flashlight I purchased was back in 2008 and LED technology has significantly moved on. I was specifically interested in this one as it used a wide angle feature that illuminates the road or trail rather than the sky, seeing as I want to see where I am going and not have a plane land on me this seemed like a great idea!

From Dorcy’s website

“The new Dorcy LED bicycle light and person light produces a Wide Angle Uniform Light pattern for better and safer biking visibility. Our Wide Angle Lens spreads the light only horizontally, not up in the trees or sky where you don't need it. This keeps the brightness up and lights the full width of the road or trail in front of you. In addition to providing more lighting area for the rider, it will not blind oncoming pedestrians. With the patented “Quick Release” for easy removal of the light when you are not using the bike you can use the Flashlight for personal use. The lights are made from Durable Aerospace-grade Aluminum Alloy, corrosion resistant and with excellent Lumen output, and Battery run time. Water resistant to IPX-6 Standards the weatherproof switch has three positions - Constant on/Flashing mode/Off provide. Flashlights also have a flashing mode for increased safety awareness and with the Patented Battery Cartridge holder for either end orientation for easy consumer use Clamps are tool free”

Rather the rely on a long winded and verbose post here are some photos!

 

The batteries (which are included) are installed in a unique 3xAA cartridge, this makes the light short and ticker rather than a long and thin. The clamp can be used in four different configurations depending on you cockpit set up, over under and front and rear. It’s a very simple set up and no tools are required. Alternatively you can remove the light from the clamp and it can be used as a hand held flashlight, there is a small hold at one end where you can loop a lanyard. Here are Several sets of photo’s for the actual light;

In my back yard with distances ranging from 6’, 15’ and 25’, I used my yard simply as it was darker than the street;

   

On my street, there are no street lamps but the houses have lights on them. Distances ranged from 6’, 10’, 20’ and out to about 50’

 

As you can see the “letterbox” feature works really well, illuminating the entire width of the street and that's what really matters, not only does it light up “what’s coming soon” but there is a good deal of light shone onto “what’s here now” I haven’t had a chance to take this onto the trails either running or mountain biking but I have a feeling it’s going to work very well! The light has a flashing mode too which extends that battery life from 7-8 hours for regular use to to 12 hours. Seals around the battery compartment are rated up to IPX6 which is perfect for riding and running in the rain, not so good for scuba diving but as this is called a bike light you shouldn’t be diving with it!

As i have said in the past I like products that work, and this falls squarely into that category!

Available through Dorcy’s website this light is priced at $55 which when you consider how expensive bike lights can be this is good value for money! Now as bike lights tend to come in pairs and next is the rear light!

This light was provided free of charge by the good folks at Dorcy. See previous gear reviews in the tab above. If you have a product you’d like reviewed, contact me at quadrathon@gmail.com.