Has anyone had experience with the battery for the Niterider Lumina 500? Is it user replaceable? Does replacement have to be done by the factory technicians? How much do they charge?

This is a new product. If your light is defective, use the warranty or return it.

If I had to guess, I would say there is a 18650 battery inside. A CREE XML driven at 1.5A will produce roughly 500 lumens and with 1.5 hour run time, that would indicate a 2.25Ah battery which is within the range of a 18650.

I have no opened up one of these lights before, but if there is 18650 inside, my guess is you could probably replace it yourself but it's possible the battery is soldered in place too.

I'm considering purchasing the light. Before I do I'd like to know that either the battery is user replaceable or Niterider will replace it for a reasonable cost (once the warranty has expired).

I'd have looked at that one too, but I bought a Lezyne Super Drive just 2 weeks ago. From the pics it doesn't look like it is user replaceable, nor does it say that it is. The replaceable battery is a feature of the Lezyne light as they also sell extra batteries so you double or triple your light time. I would think that Nite Rider would sell it that way if they were.

The way these LEDs keep coming down in price and increasing in brightness anything you buy today will be obsolete by the end of the season. I'm going to buy cheap flashlight torch types from now on so I don't have a lot of money tied up in them. I guess though that 500 lumens is 500 lumens and is all I'll need anyway in NYC.

I also have my eye on the Lezyne Super Drive, and also the Cygolite Expilion. The Lezyne has a replaceable 18650 cell. The Expilion has what appears to be an 18650, but it is molded into a removable battery holder. Niterider doesn't mention anything about battery replacement, and as you say, if it were replaceable they would probably feature it in their advertising.

I have some Commuter Checks to spend, which can only be spent in person at participating bike shops. My LBS carries Niterider products. Not sure if my LBS can order the others.

How do you like your Lezyne?

The Lezyne is a nice unit. I like the aluminum body and it puts out a lot of light. I haven't used it a lot yet however. I'm not a big nighttime rider, but wanted it mostly for when I get caught out late. It'll come in handy in the fall.

And to prove my point that everything is obsolete, the Super Drive that I bought was just replaced with a new model.

I think the improvements are mostly hype and a new package. The emitter is the same.

Contact them and ask. They sent me a QR bar clip when 1 small part went missing
from a discontinued version. gratis..

It's more lumens, 500 vs. 450, and it has a regulated power supply, so the lamp stays bright until it can't light up at all. My version will dim over time.