I, like many STW riders with kids and jobs vying for time end up doing a lot of my riding after dark - and over time have yearned for the dark nights.
As a result I have owned a lot of lights over the years* - a few years ago I went HID but soon battery and LED developments meant the new breed of lights had the upper hand. So after seeing the growing band of followers on STW I bought one of Trouties Liberator 3 lights and what a revelation - huge amounts of light when you need it and hours and hours (and hours) of light available on Low and Medium settings (which I use 90% of the time). I also use a Cateye DoubleShot Pro on my head which has a spot beam which can just about poke through the long and wide array of the Liberator.
When Chris (Troutie) offered me test rides of the Spider Eyes and the(name tbc) bar mounted light I jumped at the chance.
The new bar mounted Troute Light offers 2300 lumens on full power, about 30% more than my Liberator - it is brighter but to my untrained eye, not massively so – more of an evolution than a revolution? Performing very well – controllable and “as much light as you could need” and where you want it: compact with a small, light battery, solid connectors and with an appearance that is more conventional than my Liberator.
Now – as a potential replacement for my head-light - I love the radical looks of the Troute SpiderEyes (see photos) - easy to fit on the helmet, controllable and with a fantastic throw of light with a surprising, large square 'spot' of intensity.
I rode with this helmet light on it's own and also combined with each of the bar mounted lights.
Even on the lower settings the lights are pretty dramatic, the combined head and bar lights on full settings really allowed fast progress through our local singletrack. In effect with a total of 4000 lumens, with SpiderEyes providing a spot beam waaay down the track I was really impressed ... to the point where I got used to my own tunnel of daylight (it sounds daft but after a while I got a bit of a shock when I saw the pitch black night out of my peripheral vision!!).
Some riders consider the cheap dx imports as a disposable product and that's where in my opinion they miss the point - with limited support and limited reliability and nil or low residual value. All of my lights to date have been resold with very high residuals (even making a profit on one after a year of use). I am proud to support Troutie with my Liberator and will be buying a SpiderEyes when they’re on the market. To me, and others on STW Troute Lights represents British cottage industry at it's best.
Spider eyes : Two Cree XML U2 LEDs and two and Cree XPG R2 LEDs : output approx 2300 lumens (Settings L M H and Flashing modes)
New Bar Mounted light (name tbc) : Three Cree XML leds U2 output 2800 lumens approx .
(Settings L M H and Flashing modes)
* Moved from Cateye ABS lights in the early days – to BlackBurn X6 and X8; to Cateye TripleShot / Double Shot Pro; Niteriders of various guises and then bought a small pair of TrailTechs MR11 then a monster MR16 HID light which was great (pumping out 1700/1800 lumens, but hampered by lack of controllability and heavy batteries).
(me,when i finally save the money for a set of his lights)
