The intelligence to vary flash and brightness offers a new paradigm in visibility. Simon Vincett reports on testing.
Rating 73%
Function 34/40
Quality 26/40
Price 6/10
Appearance 7/10
$178 ($98 each) + $27 postage to Australia
Bike lights are getting brighter and brighter, but how about smarter? Well, See.Sense. lights use light and motion sensors to respond to approaching cars and different riding situations by varying their flash and brightness. They even know—and ramp up—when you’re negotiating a roundabout. Our on-road testing of the 200-lumen front and the 120-lumen rear established this is a new paradigm of visibility for bike riders.
The lights have slow, medium and fast phases and three brightness intensities—60%, 80% and 100% of maximum lumens. The sensors respond to scenarios including intersections, swerving to avoid car doors, emergency stops, speed changes due to a hill, approaching car lights and tunnels.
Our testing found that when an approaching car reached 40m from the lights the flash switched to fastest rate and the brightness to 100%. The change itself was the most effective jolt of visibility.
Another important consideration is the visibility of the lights on an angle—to be obvious to traffic crossing the rider. In this regard See.Sense. is excellent—surpassing the visibility of the currently top-ranked lights from the annual Ride On Lights test. For following and on-coming riders, however, this spread of very bright light is a menace—they are literally blinding. Updated versions must include capping of the upward distribution of light.
Unfortunately, the lights are also a bit too smart in some ways. Instead of a switch, you twist the unit back and forth three times to turn it on or off. This takes a bit of practice to perfect, and it means you have to take the lights off your bike, which is annoying at times. See.Sense. claim no switch makes the lights easier to operate with gloved hands but mounting the lights with gloves on is just as challenging.
Impressive electronics aside, the build-quality of the lights leaves room for improvement. The front light sits at an angle on the handlebars because it has the same case as for the rear, which is shaped to account for the angle of the seat post. Most critically, the cases have relatively poor water resistance and the circuit board is un-coated, leaving it exposed to corrosion—although See.Sense. confirm that future boards will be coated. The lens aspect of the case is thoughtfully designed and seems effective.
Run time is claimed to be 12 hours. Recharge is by USB. A ‘Fuel gauge’ blinking LED shows you whether the battery is full, half-full or nearly empty when you turn the light on. The lights are also available in 120 lumen front and 90 lumen rear versions at $80 each or $142 for the set.
More info and to buy seesense.cc
Ride On content is editorially independent, but is supported financially by members of Bicycle Network. If you enjoy our articles and want to support the future publication of high-quality content, please consider helping out by becoming a member.