THIS SITE USES GOOGLE ANALYTICS TO ANALYSE TRAFFIC. CONTINUING TO USE THIS SITE MEANS YOU ACCEPT THE USE OF COOKIES. LEARN MORE OR SEE OUR PRIVACY POLICY
SEVEN DAY CYCLIST
CYCLING, BUT NOT USUALLY RACING
LATEST UPDATE: DECEMBER 27th
HOW DO WE DECIDE OUR OVERALL RATINGS FOR PRODUCTS WE REVIEW?
Ravemen FR300 Daytime Running Light
75g £59.99
The Ravemen FR300 Daytime Running Light is the big brother of their FR160 Daytime Running Light. An innovative design that combines a mount with some bike computers and offers 270 degree presence, it certainly helps keep the bars clear of another bit of tech and enhances daytime cycling safety – yes, I know motorists and other should be looking anyway, but this gives them a sharp prod to remind them of your presence.
Pros: mount for your GPS/computer, side-on vision, sensible modes, powerful top output, safety loop.
Cons: take care with weightier GPS devices, a lower power flash would be handy in some contexts.
Spec
The box contains the lamp, adaptors for some Wahoo computers, two charging cables – for charging between devices – a tether for additional security on the bar, and the operating manual manual/warranty. As well as the USB charging cable there is a cable to allow you to charge a device form the FR300. Handy in an emergency.
Encased in the aluminium shell is a 1200 mAh/3 Li-polymer battery. These are generally less prevalent than Li-ion batteries, but are perfectly appropriate in this case having advantage of size, shape, and rapidity of power delivery. They may be as durable as long as Li-ion batteries, but the Fr300 is not blasting out 1200lumens.
The switch is on the side, the charging point at the rear – for ease of charge or discharge on the go – with the lens curving around the front. The brackets and adaptors are removable, for substitution.
Mount 4/5
You need a suitable Garmin or Wahoo bracket to start with – Bryton computer adaptors are available as a separate purchase. Our FR300 came with the Garmin adaptors in place and Wahoo in a plastic zip-bag. It is worth noting that some light manufacturers are now offering Garmin type brackets for their lights, Kranx and Magicshine, for example.
Rock solid as the bracket is, remember this partly depends on the quality of the bracket attaching it to the bars, stem, wherever you stick it. I have used the Kranx light mount, a Magicshine mount, and out-front Garmin mounts, as well as a Garmin mouton the head set. All have held things fine, although there was more vibration with the light-weight Kranx mount and least with the Garmin mounts, in fact, so negligible as to be nothing.
Personally, there is one generic issue that I have been unable to resolve. How much this will bother you is, probably, equally a matter of preference. I prefer a GPS mounted out-front, so I can read the screen whilst keeping my eyes ahead rather than looking down at the bars. I also prefer it tilted upward toward me, but the best use of the FR300 or FR160 is to have it level. A compromise had to be made. This is less of a problem with the GPS mounted on the bars or headset, as the screen is more easily seen directly from above at the cost of diverting attention form the road ahead (the speed you ride at makes a big difference). A long paragraph on, what you may regard, as a minor point. In any case, if you are into daytime running lights, the compromise is well worth it, in my opinion.
Care and durability 4/5
Ravemen lights are, in my experience, very well-made, and this is no exception. IPX6 should mean it is impervious to rain and spray, even immersion in a shallow puddle.
The security loop can be wrapped around a suitable bike-bit to guard against dropping it when removing the GPS. Failing to give the complete half-turn, I nearly sent the Garmin Edge to the bottom of a deep puddle. I recommend using the security loop. It also allows it to be carried more easily, and I have used the light for a roadside check-over of a rear derailleur that had picked up some unwanted flora.
Sandwiched between a GPS and the mount, the FR300 is pretty well protected, but have no fear of exposing it to the elements. It has sat outside in heavy rain when I forgot to take it off at the end of a commute. A wipe over to remove dirt has been all that is necessary. That, and, more importantly, remembering to charge the battery before it discharges and you should get long-life form your FR300.
Ravemen say that it will survive impact of a one metre drop. I have not tested this, and humbly suggest that you do not either.
Switch 3/5
A firm prolonged push powers on and off; short presses toggle through the modes. All very simple. There are also automatic on and off modes for hands-free operation. Press and hold the switch for three seconds, the light flashes rapidly; it then stays on for two minutes before automatically turning off. It will power on of its own accord when it picks up vibration – such as picking up. Much of this is taken from the operating instructions, because it does what Ravemen say it does. Just be aware that leaving it in your coat pocket in the motion sensor mode will lead to inadvertent powering-on as soon as you move your jacket.
As with many lights, the switch is also the charge indicator. Red flashing during charging, gives way to steady green when charged. A single short press when the light is off enables a charge-check without activating the light. When on, the switch shows the charge. Green down to 40%, red steady down to 5%, flashing red means you have five per cent left; time to charge.
I cannot comment on Wahoo, but my Garmin Edge 1000 GPS units a slim enough not to obscure the light. Even so, missing the red flash may damage the battery, but is hardly a disaster. After all this is a day time runner or night time assistant. Larger Garmin units will obscure the FR300 entirely.
I’ve not found the switch easy to manipulate when wearing full-finger gloves. However, I’ve rarely felt the need to change mode on the fly.
Charge and run times 3.75/5
The stated charge time is 1.8 hours (one hour and forty-eight minutes). Charging from a laptop from very nearly zero. This matches my experience, but you may expect a less if you catch that red flash early. It is worth remembering that Li-polymer batteries respond well to being topped up from around 70% charge, so no need to wait for things to run low.
Run times are; high four hours (steady 200 lumens), mid seven and a half (steady 100 lumens), low fourteen and a half (50 lumens). Flashing modes run at “warning flash” nine hours (300 lumens), rapid twelve and a half hours (fast flash 100), slow twenty-four hours (100 lumens). These times are decent without being colossal, with the slow flash being especially tempting, and compare positively with other daytime runners, especially the flash modes which are my default for daytime use (partly because I generally run a dynamo light). However, you will find longer if you search hard enough.
Run time in the 200 steady mode is indeed around four hours – it gave me 4 hours and ten minutes. The three hundred lumens warning flash run for long enough me to commute (ten miles each way) for a week without charge. However, I have mostly reserved it for brighter days on the road. There much more mileage, I’ve found, from running one of the one hundred lumens flashing modes on a dull day or, during darkness, combined with a steady headlight.
Whilst the benefits of steady modes in a day-time runner have been a discussion point amongst my cycling colleagues, they do offer very good run times, and can function, if all else fails, to get you limping very slowly home.
Modes and performance 4/5
I got 4 hours and ten minutes from continuous use of the 200 lumens high steady mode. Indications suggest that this brought me to notice of other road users at around 50 to 60 metres on a sunny day, maybe a hundred metres on dull ones.
The great advantage is, of course the curved lens which gives greater side-on presence than most other blinkie or auxiliary lights. I have seen some that are much larger, but seem rather cumbersome. For me, the FR300 offers very good presence, especially at bust junctions. In the real world, of course, a reflective jacket, tyres with reflective strips round the sidewall, and so on, help as well, at night. However, it is bright enough and suitably designed to give me a lot of faith in it during daylight on overcast days.
The 300 lumens warning flash is very strong and has given presence even when the winter sun was low in the sky. In general, I have stuck to the 100 slow flash mode. This gives plenty of run time and is more than enough on overcast days.
​
​I have used the 50 lumens steady more on its own on well-lit suburban roads with light traffic. The other steady modes also serve as a main light under similar circumstances. True, it is SOS stuff, and any unlit sections, will be painfully slow, but sometimes we have to make the best of things.
Value 3.75/5
You can actually get a brighter general-purpose front light that will give you a brighter flash. However, run times are shorter or output is lower. However, two of the flashing modes on the Moon Rigel 1500 Front Light offer 52 and 116 hours run time respectively at 400 lumens. It also offers some side-on presence, although nowhere near as effectively as the FR300. Of course, it does not offer the choice of mounting a GPS/computer unit right on top. In its own right it is a good value light with plenty of tech, but in truth it is a different beast. Likewise, my old favourite commuter light, the Ravemen LR1200 – a simple powerful model although with a lot less tech than the Moon Rigel.
Most front blinkies offering a day time running mode seem to offer 50-150 lumens, and there are a lot on the market. However, the run times rarely match that of the FR300. Then there’s that handy GPS mount, too. Perhaps it is that combination that makes the FR300 hard to rate in terms of value. If you like strong day time runners and use a GPS, well, what is there not to like, even at the best part of £60.
Summary 4/5
This is a really handy light for commuting and for long-day rides when you feel the need for a little extra visibility. Even the warning flash mode will give you a hundred miles of riding – even at the desultory twelve mph that I tend to trog along at when touring. It has also been praised by much faster riders. So, a good day time runner with that extra dimension that makes it ideal for keeping your bars clear (or finding space for your next gadget).
Verdict 4/5 a grand daytime runner for the commute or longer rides.
Steve Dyster
https://www.bob-elliot.co.uk/viewdetailV2.php?target=35474
PUBLISHED DECEMBER 2024
