BikeRay IV 1500 Lumens Light Review

Reviewed by: Essex Herts MTB -
BikeRay IV 1500 Lumen Light
This 1500 lumen light from BikeRay offers great run times, low heat & a very effective reflector. As night ride season approaches we run a detailed test.

Introduction

It's always a bit depressing having to get the lights out as the evenings close in. However with modern LED technology, the hassle & cost of night riding, is greatly reduced. As a result we are doing more & more night riding each year.

We are testing the £109.95 BikeRay IV 1500 Lumens LED Light. BikeRay have been around for some time now, & offer a range of high output lights. Here are the specs.

BikeRay IV 1500 Lumen Light
"Includes, handlebar, helmet mount, cable extension & gift bag for storage..."

BikeRay IV Light Specification

  • 1500 lumens 4 LED Cree X-PG
  • 4.4 Hours Run Time @1500 lumen
  • Handlebar & helmet mount + cable extension
  • 12 Month Manufacturers Warranty
  • Gift bag for storage
  • User guide & battery care info
  • Power Modes: Hi 100% Low 50% & Flashing
  • Reflector: Mould optical glass lens 15 degrees
  • Power supply: 6x 18650 cells - 6.6AH Battery
  • Casing Material: Aluminium Alloy 6061 Aircraft material
  • The battery is sealed & then has a third layer of heat-shrink over the top to secure the wire & ensure the seal stays tight.
  • Run time: Hi 1500 lumens 4.4 hrs; Low 600 lumens 13 hrs & Flash 1500 lumens 150hrs
  • Charging time: 4.5 hours (st&ard charger)
  • Battery Indicator: 3 step fuel gauge Green 100~75%, blue 75~30%, Red 30~5%
  • Weight: 465g fitted including battery
  • Price: £109.95 from BikeRay

BikeRay IV 1500 Lumen Light
"The BikeRay IV power /settings button is one the of the most tactile we have used..."

BikeRay IV Features & Design

  • The light comes in a smart box with clear & easy to understand instructions.
  • The inclusion of a head mount & storage bag is welcome.
  • The BikeRay's aluminium body is well crafted, with some of the most extensive cooling fins we have seen. They wrap around the body increasing the cooling area like a big heat sink.
  • The 4 Cree X-PG's are well positioned in the head, & the reflectors look smooth & well positioned. Overall it all looks tightly put together.
  • The X-PG LED's are the same size package as the XP-E, but with a larger die. Therefore the resulting beam has a little more flood. This was evident when running the light.
  • The BikeRay IV power /settings button is one the of the most tactile we have used. The little rubber indentations felt great.
  • The extension cable means that you can choose the right cable length when either bar or head mounting the lamp.
  • The battery looks to be well sealed & there is a reasonable amount rubber around it to protect it from impacts.
  • The 6.6AH battery is not very large or heavy allowing it to be mounted in a variety of positions. When bar mounting, it fitted neatly under the front of the top tube.
  • The BikeRay IV battery bag has a large Velcro loop & a secondary buckle to keep everything in place.
  • Battery Indicator on the lamp is clear & easy to understand & when riding.
  • Coming in at well under 500g the light is a very competitive weight.
  • The light is only £109.95!
  • The Cree X-PG’s aren’t the latest in LED technology, with the newer XM-L & XM-L2 offering slightly better efficiency & output.

BikeRay IV 1500 Lumen Light

BikeRay IV 1500 Lumen Light
"The centre spot is not the brightest but the spread of the light beyond that is superb...."

BikeRay IV In Use

  • The BikeRay IV charge time was as advertised. It seems to do a fast charge for the first 2 hours followed by a trickle up to 100%. As a result you get a lot of run time off only a couple hours charge.
  • The fin covered housing, does a great job of keeping the lights temperature down. It’s one of the coolest lights we have tested even after being run for a few hours.
  • The beam is very much a flood. The centre spot is not the brightest but the spread of the light beyond that is superb. We really liked the optics used on the BikeRay & they seemed to maximise the light generated by the 4 X-PG’s. Scroll to the bottom of the page for beam shots.
  • The LED's are slightly tinted with just a hint of yellow. This helps you pick up trail features & is comfortable on the eyes.
  • Unlike a lot of other lights, the blink mode is genuinely useful as its not blindingly fast. It’s a sensible speed on the Bikeray, & we used it extensively when getting to the trail head.
  • The big backlit button on the rear made it very easy to switch between modes, even when riding. It looked nice too.
  • We got 3.8 hours run time rather than the stated 4.5. That’s still excellent to be honest. The X-PG's can produce up to 493 lumens @ 4.9W. So in order to achieve 1500 lumens they would need around 15W. Over 4.4 hours & using a 8.4v battery, that needs a pack with capacity of roughly 8.0AH. That's 1.2AH more than the included pack. That may account for the 3.8 hours run time we got.
  • The 3 step fuel gauge was useful & accurate. Each stage seemed to accurately cover about a 1/3 of the battery’s life.
  • Without an elaborate test rig, its difficult to say if the Bikeray does pump out 1500 lumens. It uses 4 X-PG R5's which at 1000mA can produce 348-370 lumens each. So on paper it seems accurate. In use, its power seems to fit in between the 1000 & 2000 lumen units we have used.
  • Durability so far has been good. The lamp has gotten pretty muddy recently, and after a good wipe down is a good as new.
  • The excellent flood, comes at the expense of the lights throw, which is fairly average.
  • You will need to supplement the BikeRay IV's flood, with a light on your helmet for fast single-track riding. We always ride with 2 lights anyway.
  • Only having one button to cycle through options felt a little restrictive. It meant that sometimes you would activate the strobe, when you just wanted to switch between high & low or vice versa.

Test Info

  • Tested when - Summer, Autumn for 2 months.
  • Tester night riding experience - A couple times a week, for most of the year, for the last 7 years.
  • Level of care for kit - Left muddy & wet.
  • Other similar products used - Hope, Exposure, Ay Up, Light & Motion, SG-T2200, Magicshine.

BikeRay IV Beam Shots

BikeRay IV 1500 Lumen Light

BikeRay IV 1500 Lumen Light

Final Thoughts

The BikeRay IV is nicely made, light weight, & keeps cool. Being able to run at full power for over 3.5 hours is impressive & something not offered by many lights at this price. There are a good range of included accessories & the light is very easy to mount & position. In addition the quality of the light output is very good. It doesn't use the latest or greatest LEDs, but what you do end up with is a very broad & effective flood, which is ideal for mounting on the bars.

We would have preferred brighter centre to the beam, & you will need a head lamp in addition to the Bikeray, if your riding really fast technical terrain. However you are getting solid light, backed up by a UK company with a 12 month warranty for £109.95! Its definitely worth considering, as the bar option in your lighting set-up.

Find out more about the BikeRay IV 1500 lumen light click here.