This is a review for the 800L and 400L combo - not 800L / 600L - my bad.

Well, I decided that I wanted more runtime over what I was getting from my L&M ARC HID, so I bit the bullet and went with the DiNotte 800L / 400L combo showing as being on sale at the DiNotte webstore.

Delivery was very quick. I was surprised to see the lights arrive in a couple of days.

Opening the package, I noticed there was a lot of extra hardware and mounts, but no directions or suggestions as to how to use them. STRIKE 1

I proceeded to remove the 400L from the helmet mount and replace the mount with an OS handlebar mount after determining how that could be done. Installation of the mount and the light on to the bike went well.

Next, I attempted to mount the 800L. I had some difficulty with this, as the mount was just a little bit too small in it's inner circumference to clamp on to the handlebar. Finally, it dawned on me that two plastic pieces within the mount could be removed. I did this and substituted a rubber strip in their place. Once again, some documentation about this would have been helpful.

Battery charging went well and without a hitch.

Battery mounting went well. I decided to stack both batteries one on top of the other and hold them that way by using one of the provided velcro straps. I mounted the batteries on the downtube of the frame just behind and below the headstock. It was mounted low enough so as not to interfere with the rear brake cable, and of course, in a way that didn't interfere with either derraileur cable.

Just for sifts and giggles, I remounted my L&M ARC HID, too. THis is what everything looked like from the front:



TEST RIDE
I took the lights out on a century ride shown here:

http://www.bikeforums.net/showpost.p...postcount=2436

Some of the roads on this century were pretty rough and just before the lunch stop the 800L started flopping around on it's mount, the hardware loosening up from the vibration. I monitored the situation closely, not wanting to stop because we were so close to the lunch stop in Glen Rock, PA, but upon arriving, I noticed that I lost a hex screw from one side of the mount anyway. I tightened the remaining hex screw. STRIKE TWO

I remembered there were other hex screws in the package of hardware that came with the lights, so I wasn't overly concerned until I got home and found out that the hex screws used for the 800L's mount is bigger than the extras. I guess I'll have to give DiNotte a call to see if I can get another one that goes with the mount. These screws really need a teflon patch on the threads or a lock or star washer to keep them from loosening up.

THE REAL TEST
During the century ride, I used the 400L in flashing mode for high traffic areas of the route and only kicked in the 800L when dusk approached. The 400L's battery performed well during the 6.5 hours of riding. It was probably on for at least 75% of the ride time. The battery was still going strong when I finished the ride.

The combination didn't really get a good test, because it never got dark enough to notice the idiosyncracies of the pair. This was left to my morning commute to work this morning.

The first thing that I noticed was that the 800L didn't have nearly as good a "throw" as my L&M ARC HID. It had lots of "spill over" with a nice pleasing white light, but it just didn't project out. There was no "hot spot" when I had it set up like I had the ARC HID. So, I decided that I would probably retain the ARC HID for it's throw and use the "spill over" from the 800L. The 400L would be used for closer in "fill" light.

On the way in, I noticed that the 800L's mount shifted. The mount really sucks. They should take a look at what Lights & Motion do for mounts as I have never had much problem with their mount. Once at work, I checked the solo hex screw and found it still to be tight, so apparently the movement was from the portion of the mount that goes around the handlebar. I gave it a couple of turn on it's latch and had to use a bit more force to close the latch. We'll see if that helps.

Anyway, that's been my experience so far. I'm not as pleased as I had hoped for. I'm reserving STRIKE THREE for the next set of morning rides with these lights. Hopefully, with as much as I payed for them, I can get them to work to my satisfaction.