NiteRider Lumina Dual 1800 light review

The Lumina Dual 1800 is NiteRider's brightest all-in-one unit, although higher-powered separate battery and light units are available.

It has a maximum claimed output of 1,800 lumens in Boost mode, which is produced by two in-line LEDs that project through a light-diffusing lens in a bid to increase the beam’s spread.

There are small cut-outs on the light to give you side visibility when or if you venture onto the roads and it has an IP64 dust and waterproof rating, too.

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Supplied with a tool-free handlebar mount that’s compatible with both 31.8mm and 35mm diameter handlebars, the light attaches to the mount with a sliding mechanism and small plastic tabs to lock it in place.

There's a a single operation button that cycles through its seven modes: five are constant, ranging from 100 lumens to 1,800, and two are flash settings. The button also doubles up as a low battery indicator, but doesn’t display which mode you’re in.

The 12.58Wh lithium-ion battery gives the light a claimed 45-minute run time at 1,800 lumens, extending to 6 hours at 350 lumens. Charging is via the supplied wall plug that has a bespoke circular connector.

The light’s body is made from hard-moulded plastic with cooling fins on both the top and sides. It has a lifetime warranty that covers defects of its mechanical components and LEDs.

NiteRider Lumina Dual 1800 performance

The Lumina Dual puts out an impressive amount of power with a brilliantly diffused beam that doesn’t have a highly-focused spot, instead lighting up the surroundings as well as it lights up the trail in front.

It also feels brighter than its claimed 1,800 lumen output, which is impressive considering its size and two-LED light source. This feeling of power has to be the way in which its power is delivered rather than outright lumens.

The side-to-side beam spread is impressive too, making it great for technical, slower, twisty terrain. It’s possible to see lines around turns and obstacles off to the side of the trail, which are well illuminated. The amount of visibility it creates is akin to much more expensive, higher lumen output lights.

To top it off, this broad spread doesn’t seem to sacrifice the light’s ability to provide adequate illumination when trails get much faster — it has a good range for flat-out riding.

That said, it doesn’t light the floor as well as it could when your front wheel lifts or you hit jumps, leaving a shadow beneath you until your front wheel heads back towards the earth. As long as you plan to keep your wheels mostly on the floor, this isn’t too much of a problem.

The LED lights emit a white/blue hue that is quite harsh but the diffused beam makes up for that.

With only a 1-hour burn time — that’s 15 minutes longer than claimed — the Lumina Dual 1800 would be best suited as a companion to a helmet-mounted light with a more focussed spot beam and a longer run time. This would make juggling the light’s battery life, and your need to see, much easier. And at £160, this is a more viable option.

Its single button is easy to use and has a fairly positive click. It’s a shame it doesn’t have a mode indicator, but with only four modes to scroll through at any one time, the mode you want is only a few clicks away.

The tool-free bar clamp is easy to attach and provides a very secure fit. Even over really rough terrain the unit refused to move, wobble or slide out of position. The slide and clip mechanism to attach it to the clamp is also easy and intuitive to use, but only when you’re not wearing gloves.

The clamp is quite bulky-looking but at only 17mm wide it doesn’t take up much space on your bars.

NiteRider Lumina Dual 1800 bottom line

The NiteRider Lumina Dual 1800 is a top-performing light in pretty much all conditions and its great power and beam spread really took me by surprise. It’s relatively cheap, compared to similar strength lights, and easy to use, ticking plenty of this tester’s boxes.

Battery run time is a bit limited in full-power mode and it doesn’t look as sophisticated or refined as other lights on the market but don’t let that put you off. It substantially outperforms its price tag and will quite happily go head to head with the big guns I’ve also tested recently.

So, whether you’re a night-time newbie or a seasoned dog of the dark, this light should be high up on your list of items to purchase.

How we tested

Testing lights objectively is a tough task. While it’s entirely possible to measure the number of lumens a light emits, there are a lot more variables that dictate how much of that light illuminates the trail. The colour of the light, its beam pattern and lens type have as much effect as the outright power.

With that in mind, we haven’t measured the number of lumens each light emits for this test. Instead, we’ve assessed how the light performs by describing the beam pattern, its colour and overall performance, while also measuring run time on the most powerful setting.