Being the crazy early-adopter that I am, I ordered one up. Still trying to figure out what I did with my digital camera, but here's a little video:


On flashing modes, the right button gradually adjusts flash rate up or down, alternately, when held down. On steady mode, it adjusts the intensity. If you have a commute that's a mix of MUP and roads, you can set the steady-burn mode to a low intensity for the MUP section, then switch to a flashing full-power mode for the road. From my time at BikeForums, I know excessively-powerful lights aren't always welcome on the MUP, so that could come in handy.

Weight is 56 grams with a mount, which is about the same as a SuperFlash with NiMH cells. The two halves of the light are held together with three screws, so you won't get home to find only half a taillight left.

Beam pattern is similar to a SuperFlash: pretty focused. If you get one, make sure you aim it straight & level or you're wasting a lot of its potential.

Beam intensity at the center of the beam is higher than my DiNotte 300R. MUCH higher. Once I find my stupid camera, I'll get you guys some beamshots.

Summary: it looks pretty solid, and a very good buy for what they cost ($40 with USB cable, $50 with cable and wall charger).


runtime chart on box

Beamshots

The best way to view these is to right-click the links and open each one in a new browser tab. Then you can switch from tab to tab to compare them.

SuperFlash: right-click and open in new tab
Hotshot: right-click and open in new tab
DiNotte 300R: right-click and open in new tab

And how much does it cost?

$40 with just a USB cable to charge from a computer port, or $50 with the wall charger. I thought I ordered the one with just a USB cable, but there's a charger in the box, so maybe I got the wrong SKU when I was placing my order. Anyway, for something up in the DiNotte intensity range, at a price just a little higher than some AAA-powered blinkies, it appears to be a good value as long as it proves reliable, which will take some time to establish.

I bought it for $40 with charger including free delivery from modernbike.com. It's brighter than Superflash & Radbot combined. I do not see any reason why anyone would buy those lights anymore, if only for backup. Unfortunately, it can not use the Superflash bracket . Also, I am perplexed with the run time ranges. Does anyone know what they mean?

According to my box, the runtime varies with the flash rate we choose (or the intensity level, in the steady mode).

You brought up a good point about the bracket. I don't see the Hotshot listed at Cygo's spare-parts page yet, but hopefully it will get added so people can buy extra brackets for their other bikes.

Well, I understand the ranges but they just do not make any sense to me. For example:

Steady: 4.5 ~ 500 hrs

500 hours? Even 50 would be a bit too much... Or, Zoom 29 ~ 12 hrs. What sort of range is that? 29 to 120 perhaps? Yep, I believe the zero moved one row up

Beamshot links added to first post.

It would be great if it ran 50 hours on steady. I only saw one steady level, can that be adjusted?

I went to their site, and see no mention of this light. I was hoping to find a manual

Yeah, they don't seem to have it on their site, I only came across it while rummaging through a distributor's website. The intensity of the steady mode can be adjusted with the right-hand button, like this:


I'm not an MUP type of guy, but if I had a mixed MUP-and-streets commute, I'd dial the steady mode down to about 10% and use that for the MUP, then switch to a flashing mode when I hit the streets. Of the flashing modes, I like the "single" and "random" modes best... the "triple" seems to have lower intensity, and the "zoom" doesn't have the sudden punch I want.

As long as the 50 is on low. Considering that the single mode is 120 on low, the number seems to be legit. I played with the light today and it looks like the answer to my prayers for a daytime light for the city. I'd rather have two of them than one Dinotte 300R if only for redundancy. But one can get six of them for $200 from moderbike.com.

One of my other issues with the 300R is that it's rather large to put in my pocket when I stop at the grocery store. And I'm not leaving a $200 blinkie outside, either!

it doesn't happen to fit on a PBSF mount, does it?

And I'm not paying $200 for a blinkie period, especially now when this light is available. But then again, I am not riding on the highway during heavy traffic...

No, I checked Its clip is significantly narrower than a PB or PDW clip, it would fall right out.

That's what happens when the marketing department pushes to claim "under two ounces" nonsense.

Looks like a very promising light. I will be getting one next payday.

Yes - this looks to be a great light. However, your test photos appear to confirm that falls far short of a three-watt light. The Dinotte was way brighter -yes?

And I guess the price is good too - considering the battery being on board. But again, what is the "life" if repeated run till failure? This looks like it could be a "need a new one" every year light..... can you replace the battery(s)...?

My digital camera gave the scene a +1/3-stop light-metering rating with the DiNotte 300R, and a ±0 with the Hotshot. It's safe to assume the DiNotte is putting out more light overall. But you can aim the DiNotte at the wall and trace the Hotshot's beam around and it's obvious the Hotshot's centerline intensity is significantly higher. So in a highway situation, a properly-aimed Hotshot might be the brighter light from the viewer's perspective.

Since the light's held together with screws, I speculate it would be technically possible to replace the battery, but probably not very cost-effective. Li-ion has lasted quite a while in my DiNotte systems, and is also the norm in laptops and cell phones, which do get run down a lot... I don't expect trouble in that area.

I used to have Dinotte 120R which I believe was a 3W light. It had more "flood" and could be pointed down. Cygo is more concentrated and should be levelled. The question is not which one is brighter but if it's bright enough. No one is paranoid enough to put a red filter on Lupine Betty and use it as a blinky. I believe that 2W is more than bright enough in a taillight for daytime riding to be seen. I have 2W Planet bike front light that I use in blinking mode during the day with great success. As far as the battery goes, it doesn't need to be recharged every day unless you are using it in steady mode on highest level (i.e. every 4.5 hours). All other meaningful blinking modes on "high" are around 30 hours. So recharge it every couple of weeks or every month. An average Li-ion battery has around 500 cycles or five years of service before being tossed. Therefore, from this perspective, spending $40 every five years is not a big expense. Most external batteries cost more. But it would be nice if one could get a new battery for $5 & just slide it in.

MechBgon; How well does this new Cygolite project to the sides? Or perhaps I should say, how well could a another person see the light if they were coming from your side? The side visibility is the reason why I purchased the Mars4, but it seems like perhaps the Cygolite is not very good in that area like the PBSF.

Before I left work tonight, I compared the Mars 4 to the Hotshot from the side. The Mars 4 is definitely better from the side.

Thanks, I will pass on the Cygolite based on that.

With all due respect, I believe that the side visibility in tail lights is a totally bogus issue. Just look at Dinottes: they have none and one would think it would be included considering the price. The way I see things, it's important that drivers see you while at the intersections or before pulling out of parking lots. That's the function of the front light. Strap something like Fenix LD20 to you helmet and that will get their attention much faster than two secondary lights pointing in the middle of nowhere. Believe me, I've had that setup for years

That's ok you disagree, but I disagree with you too. If a car is coming from your side and could be considering running a stop or simply doesn't see you, a little added protection could save your bacon (no political meaning here, huh?). Anywho, I too wear a helmet headlight and use it in the same fashion as you, so I agree with you on that.

That's ok to disagree but if a car is running through a STOP sign and encounters you there with light or no light, chances are it'll have no time to brake anyway. So basically, it's your fault for not seeing it coming. I always slow down before crossing any street & glance BOTH ways whether it's red or green light, STOP sign or not. With the helmet light blinking, the would be perpetrators get an ample warning. But if you think that this is not enough, why don't you get couple of blinkies and strap them into the frame pointing sideways. This way, their main LEDs will be pointing in the right direction, not the secondary ones as on your Mars. A little added protection could save your bacon, can't it?