reddeno

Hey folks,

I know this approaching dead-horse status, but I haven't seen any comments regarding the Trinewt vs the 600L with the WIDE lens.

From the shots on this page, I like the Trinewt's wider beam pattern better than the 600L's standard lens. Anyone able to comment on the 600L wide? Is the 100 lumen difference pretty huge? Any opinions on which has a better (read: less breakable) mounting system? Battery bulkiness?


Thanks!
Nick

thirdin77

To the OP.. did you ever decide on a light? I don't have a 600L but I do have both a Trinewt and a L&M ARC the latter which I think is comparable to a 600L in terms of battery size and mount type. I'd go with the 600L if I were you because the Trinewt's battery is pretty bulky, can't be fit under a stem or the handlebars. Further, if you have a road bike and mount the light head on the handlebars, the shifter cables will be in the path of the beam unless you get a light/accessories bar to mount on your handlebar. The 600L has a handlebar mount which raises the light head above the shifter cables and its battery is about the size of the ARC's Li-Ion battery; small enough to go under a 120+ stem or the handlebars.

reddeno

Well, I went with the Trinewt. Playing with the lights at REI, on a sunny day, with fluorescent lighting, I could tell dick sh*t about either one, except that the 600L had a bigger "spot" area. So, I basically bought the Trinewt based on the aforementioned photos.

I've managed to get around the shifter-cable issue by just strapping the cable down with the light. I like that it is "lower profile" than the 600L (unlike the rest of the DiNotte lights, it seems). Try as I might, I'm often clumsy and I was worried about smacking/breaking the thing off.

It does seem to wash out with traffic and overhead lights, but other than that I'm pretty satisfied (especially when riding with no ambient light).


Nick

CliftonGK1

It does seem to wash out with traffic and overhead lights, but other than that I'm pretty satisfied (especially when riding with no ambient light).

My commute has me switching from one type of lighted area to another quite a few times. I start in a low-level lit suburban residential area, I travel into a high-level lit strip mall area, back to low-level lit residential/golf course, to no-lights residential semi-rural, onto heavy-traffic and highly-streetlighted roadway.
I'm impressed with the TriNewt's wide pattern, but if it's washing out in traffic and streetlights that's kinda scary.
Right now I'm saving up for a 600L spot, which I'll eventually get a Y-cable and supplement with a 600L wide angle. As for mounting, I run my lights on my front rack so there's less chance of my hitting them and snapping something (like if they were on my bars.)

thirdin77

I was once got a flat at night so turned the bike upside down.. WITH MY L&M ARC STILL MOUNTED ON MY HANDLEBARS.. I kept stupidly wondering why the bike kept tipping from side to side while it was upside down, that it, until I turned the bike right side up and saw what I'd done.

Luckily the light head was left only with a small scuff on its top. I guess L&M made the light idiot-proof .

jo8243

Don't get a 600L wide for road use. It is meant for use on trails and only then with dual 600Ls.. one wide, one standard. This is what Dinnotte told me himself.

I have a 600L standard and it is plenty.

greenstork

+1 ... the 600L standard is plenty wide. The only thing you'll serve to do with the wide beam is piss off oncoming cyclists and motorists.

CliftonGK1

Good to know. I'll have to see what the light throw is like on the regular 600L and then decide what supplementation, if anything beyond the 200L helmet mount, might be needed.
I've got some screamer downhills on my morning commute (depending on the route I take), through pitch black sections of winding road with no shoulder. 40+ mph for over 2 miles, and that's with me hitting the brakes to scrub some speed. No way I'd do that with my current headlight setup. I outrun my current headlight around 22mph, so I keep my route to the hills that have streetlights, bike lines and wide shoulders.

greenstork

Aside from some of the Lupine lights and a couple of others, the 600L standard is about as powerful and long-throw as they come. That said, I'm not sure I'd feel comfortable over 24-28mph without any additional street lighting but that Dinotte.

CliftonGK1

Well, I'm really waffling between the 600L and using my current L&M Solo as a supplemental wide(r) light, and building a new wheel with a SON28 and running twin Supernova E3 lights with the L&M Solo as a backup unit.

A single E3 puts out a metric buttload (and a half) of light and comes up to full power at only 4mph. I've talked to engineers at Supernova who assure me that dual E3's can be run on a SON28 and would only require 8mph to bring up full brightness... but that a single would probably be enough.

jo8243

A 600L plus a helment mounted 200L would be an ideal setup. I occasionally wish for a helment mounted light that would light up the inside of high-speed sharp corners. Due to the way a bike turns, a headlight alone doesn't shine into the extreme inside part of a tight 90 degree turn.

It's really not a problem most of the time, though, since you're not usually blazing at 20+ mph around tight 90 degree turns at night. Plus it's more trouble to hook up yet another light on your helmet.

A single 600L will satisfy most people just fine. I'm just being picky... The standard lens 600L is an awesome light. I'm quite happy with mine.

cdotbois

I commute down a 2-3 mile stretch of an unlit country road with a decline in the dark with a 200l on the bars and one on my helmet. I regularly hit 30+ mph on it, and I feel like the lights do just fine. I might add that my eyes have well adjusted to the darkness by the time I hit that point of my ride.

I do often think about a 600l on the bars while I'm navigating in the rain or fog, however.

paulwwalters

I want 2 600l wides and 2 600l spots. Just for kicks. (Off road, of course.)