Baja Designs' background in off-road motorsports lighting lends a distinctly industrial look to the Californian company's relatively new line of LED mountain bike lights. Common features include finned aluminum lamp housings, claimed waterproof construction (down to 10m), auto-dimming circuitry to prevent heat damage, burly cords and sturdy metal push-button switches.
This is backed by a lifetime warranty for everything except the hardcase li-ion battery packs. It's function-over-form design for sure but the specs are impressive enough that most users won't mind having what looks to be military hardware strapped to their bars and helmets.
The top-end Double Stryk boasts a claimed 1,800-lumen output via twin Cree XML emitters – one spot, one flood – tucked inside an extremely compact CNC-machined aluminum head. Run time on the highest setting is a modest 1.5 hours but three light output levels extend that to up to six hours while still putting out a very usable 450 lumens. Suggested retail price is US$449.95 and total system weight is 495g including the quick-release aluminum handlebar mount.
The single-beam $299.95 Stryk II and $349.95 Stryk SL share the same 925-lumen maximum claimed output, three output settings and 3/6/12-hour run time specs, differing primarily in size and weight. The more compact Stryk SL weighs 428g for a complete handlebar setup while the Stryk II tacks on another 76g. Given the lighter weight, Baja Designs pack the Stryk SL with a tidy helmet mount.
One unique feature shared by both single-beam models is the user-switchable reflector. Rather than force riders to choose between a spot or flood pattern, Baja Designs include both 6° and 20° reflectors. Swapping them is a piece of cake, with the Stryk II requiring users to just pull off the rubber bezel guard and then unscrew the plastic lens cap. The Stryk SL has four small bolts to undo but it's still a quick operation.
These lights arrived a little too late to be reviewed in time for our Lights Week but stay tuned for a more in-depth report in the coming months. For more information, visit www.bajadesigns.com.
Light output on the Baja Designs Strykr SL (background) and Strykr II is identical at 925 claimed lumens but the SL is 76g lighter and significantly more compact