This 1200 lumens light from Uberbike Components is a big, bright headlamp that puts out a decent amount of light for a long time and at a great price.

The Uberbike Components 1200 Lumens LED Front Headlight is a single-lamp unit with a long full-power run time stated at four hours which proved to be true as we tested it on rides over the last few weeks. The entire set-up is user-friendly in that mounting the battery pack and light itself couldn’t be easier, but there are a couple of slight flaws that, although not enough to put buyers off, could do with some improvement.

At Bike Magic we’ve tried and tested a great number of lights, some of which have been good and some of which have…well they haven’t been so good. Fortunately for Uberbike, this 1200 lumens light has faired well in most testing situations. The first of these being these being the simple ‘how easy is it to set up’ test. The answer being very easy. Out of the box we charged the light and then fitted it to the handlebars, this couldn’t have been easier as Uberbike have chosen to go down the rubber o-ring road which easily stretches around the bars (spares are provided) and hoops over the light bracket to secure it in place. The battery pack is not minimal but it does size up at around the average mark (it’s an 8.4v 4400mAh Li-Ion battery) and fitting it to the top-tube of your bike is a simple affair with a large Velcro strap and soft case around the battery itself to secure it in place in a matter of seconds.

The second simple task for a bike light to achieve of course being the light output, and again the Uberbike light doesn’t fail to deliver. A large circle of light is projected and in the brightest (of four) settings we were impressed no end as to the light’s output. Some companies’ lights simply don’t illuminate the trail in the way they should for a claimed 1200 lumens LED, but this one does. By the way, that LED is an “American manufactured XM-L U2 LED” (according to Uberbike Components). It works.

Third simple achievement: battery run time. Uberbike Components claim four hours on full power. Having ridden for the best part of two weeks – that includes the daily a commute plus a couple of night rides – without needing to charge the battery we have even been left wondering if they under-estimated the run time! Finally just the other day the light gave several warning flashes and the power level dropped, with it the battery level indicator turning from green to red, and the battery was finally into its final 25% power. Impressive stuff.

With the light’s praises being sung for so many words, we have to come to its negatives at some point. Versatility is one area that the light really does fail. Supplied with a helmet mount the potential is all there, and we even mounted it at first to the helmet (the long additional power supply cable allowing the battery to be stashed in the backpack), but having donned the lid and simultaneously almost head-butted the handlebars we decided better of it. That headlamp is big; big and heavy. It’s pretty much no good even considering using it mounted on the helmet and looking at its size on there actually made us chuckle.

Did it fair well on the roughest of trails? That is a mixed answer. Yes it did in that the field of vision given by the light meant that slight wobbles over rough terrain weren’t particularly noticeable. No because the simple handlebar mount is perhaps too simple for such a big torch, and on the biggest hits the light did slip a little, needing adjustment afterwards. That was only in the most extreme of scenarios though.

The light comes with a 12 month warranty, the battery a 6 month warranty. This is a nice way to ice the cake and we can safely say that we are sold – even the slight niggle with the light slipping wouldn’t put us off, especially at under £80.

On the whole, a very impressive light especially for the price. Great power, long run time and fitting it couldn’t be simpler. We did find it slipped a little on the roughest of terrain and it’s too heavy to run as a helmet-mounted light.

Price: Currently £79.99
More information: Uberbike Components 1200 Lumens LED Front Headlight

• Features: Machined 6063 Grade-A aluminium headlight body with hardened anodized anti-abrasive finish.
• Superior 22 degree mirror finish aluminium reflector with revised reflective curve for optimized throw and spill.
• Uberbike Custom anodized aluminium bezel with logo.
• Light Source: American manufactured XM-L U2 LED, deliveres unmatched performance across all power settings.
• Modes: High> Low> Light Sense> Strobe
• Light Sensitivity: Surrounding > Light Output – 50-41 Lux > 20% Brightness, 40-31 Lux > 40% Brightness, 30-21 Lux > 60% Brightness, 20-11 Lux > 80% Brightness, 0-10 Lux > 100% Brightness.
• Battery warning indicator – Green 100%-25%, Red 25%-0%
• The Uberbike 1200 headlight kit includes: headlight unit, 8.4v 4400mAh Li-Ion battery pack with soft neoprene frame pouch and velcro straps, UK spec charger, helmet mount, battery extension cable, O-rings for standard and oversize bar fitment.
• Runtime – up to 4 hours on max output.
• Supplied with 12 months warranty on headlight, 6 months warranty on battery and charger.