The Giant Recon HL 600 and Recon TL 200 Combo is a powerful compact bike lights set that’s hard to ignore on performance alone.
The front light delivers 600 lumens from its single LED array, producing a spotlight-style beam that bleeds outwards a little more than most. In turn, you get relatively good peripheral vision for a beam of its type, while the output is enough not to feel short-changed where the main focus of the beam is.
There’s no distinct cut-off, but the top edge of the beam is deflected slightly by the lens, and the top of the light body protrudes forwards enough to avoid glaring yourself.
The sides of the light have little cutaways for extra side visibility – as long as these aren’t obscured by drop-bar handlebars.
It only offers one flash mode, which isn’t disruptive in a ‘day flash’ kind of way, but there are three standard static modes plus a smart mode, which makes use of an onboard light sensor to adjust the power output.
The smart mode is demarcated by a flashing blue light around the power button, and sees the light put out between 100 and 200 lumens during daylight, and 300 at night and in murky conditions.
There’s an argument to say during the day you’d be better served by a powerful flash setting here, but Giant’s mode choice is also fine.
I achieved just over two hours of burn time on the highest static setting, with a staged power down occurring at around 1hr 30mins. This is broadly in line with other bike lights of its size and relative power.
Technically, the Recon HL 600 is an ageing front light given it continues to use a micro-USB charge port, but a cable is provided in the box (alongside a USB-A to USB-C cable for the rear light) so you won’t be rummaging around at home for an old cable.
The Recon TL 200 rear light pumps out 200 lumens, which is the most powerful of the lights sets I tested. You effectively only see 200 lumens as part of a flash setting, though – the standard high-flash mode, or the smart mode that, during the day, is the same as the high-flash mode.
The expected burn times are the same at six hours, although theoretically you’d get more if you started a ride in the dark and finished it in daylight (and, of course, vice versa), because at night it puts out a 30-lumen combination mode.
I tested the burn time on the most powerful static mode, which puts out a still-bright 100 lumens, and the light delivered three hours before it entered its final battery-saver setting for the final 25 minutes. This setting is still noticeably disruptive by strobe-flashing, rather than simply being a dimmed static mode.
A neat feature is the translucent strip window down each side, which helps with side-on visibility at oblique junctions.
How we tested
I tested these bike light sets using two local test loops over the course of nearly two months – one largely street-lit, criss-crossing through a local urban area, and another almost exclusively un-lit on country back lanes. Both were ridden at night (meaning some late starts and early mornings), while I also used each light set for local rides during the day.
I also ran a battery burn-down test – discharging the lights from empty on their most powerful setting. This gives a good indication of the minimum battery life you can expect and flags when power-save modes kick in.
In my experience of testing over 100 lights, there’s usually a small discrepancy in burn times from one unit of the same light to the next, so my figures are intended as indications, rather than guarantees.
All front lights featured at least a 500-lumen maximum output and each set costs under £100.
Light sets tested
- Lezyne Fusion Drive 500+ / KTV Drive Pro+
- Magicshine Allty 800 v2 / Seemee 50 v2
- BBB NanoStrike 700i / Signal 80
- Ravemen FR500 / CL01 Pro (LS07)
- Moon Rigel Lite / Helix Lite
- Giant Recon HL 600 / Recon TL 200
- Cateye AMPP 500S / Viz 150
- Sigma Buster 800 / RL 150
- Knog Blinder Pro 700 / Plus
It’s worth noting that both lights use a simple cyclical mode selection format with the single power/function button, and have mode memory features to pick up in the same mode you switched it off in.
In the box, along with the two charge cables, Giant supplies a round strap-on handlebar mount and a similar seatpost mount.
The seatpost mount features an angled shim to compensate for the seatpost angle, but the strap isn’t long enough for anything more than a chunky D-shaped post. If you have a very deep bladed seatpost, you may struggle to cinch it around far enough.
Giant Recon HL600 and TL200 Combo light set bottom line
The Giant Recon HL600 and TL200 Combo lights set is a powerful choice, with the added bonus of its light-sensing smart features should you want it to decide the best setting for your conditions.
There are very few weaknesses to note, making it a strong option all-round.
Product
| Brand | Giant |
| Price | €85.00, £74.99, $110.00 |
| Weight | 133g |
Features
| Light type | front_and_rear |
| Remote switch | no |
| Integrated battery | yes |
| Features | Giant Recon HL 600 (front) ● Weight: 87g ● Material: Plastic ● IP rating: IPX6 ● Lumens: 600 ● Runtime: 1:30-200hrs Giant Recon TL 200 (rear) |
