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SEVEN DAY CYCLIST
CYCLING, BUT NOT USUALLY RACING
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HOW DO WE DECIDE OUR OVERALL RATINGS FOR PRODUCTS WE REVIEW?
The Ravemen XR6000 Wireless Switch Control MTB Front Battery Pack Headlight (6000 Lumens)
661g £389.99
The Ravemen XR6000 Wireless Switch Control MTB Front Battery Pack Headlight (6000 Lumens) pumps out a whopping 6,000 lumens - enough for the darkest trails. Yes, there are several models offering more fire power, but I’ve been seriously impressed by the intelligent design and nine modes. Features that mean you can let rip on the trails, without grinding people’s gears on the road. Aside from the full 6,000, run times are equally practical and the wireless remote continues this user-friendly narrative.
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Pros: Practical output for road and trail duties, very solid construction, wireless remote, practical run times.
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Cons: Price, battery IPX6 weatherproofing a consideration if prone to river riding.
Materials/Specification
Build quality is extremely high - not that I’d expect anything different from Ravemen, or indeed this price point. Let’s start with the basics.
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The head unit meets IPX8 for weatherproofing (in common with the PR family) and is made from aluminium alloy with a Mill Type III hard anodised finish. Obviously, this also serves as a highly effective heat sink, meaning diodes and circuitry stand a sporting chance of leading long and happy lives.
As would be expected, there’s also a thermal cut-out for added protection. 9 diodes in total are projected through an anti-glare lens that produces a T shaped "Total internal reflection" and "Refraction" beam, much like those common in automotive applications.
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The high-low system works in much the same way, so you can quickly dip, to avoid dazzling. The 18watt battery requires 4.25 hours for a full mains charge and is encased in a “high quality plastic” which meets IPX6 for weather proofing. Another similarity with its PR cousins is the easy-to-read OLED display, so you can easily see how much juice/ride time’s left.
There’s the option of plugging in a power bank, or charging tech, although this mustn’t be performed in the wet, since water could sneak inside. We’re told the battery will sustain 500 charge cycles before dropping to 90%. Even after 1,000 it will only dip to 80%. Several years- assuming you’ve not flooded it or succumbed to similar “act of god” disaster.
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Replacements are also available when it finally expires, or you fancy a second/spare for marathon meanders. The wireless remote is very user-friendly and will also turn the light on and off. Depress for 1.5 seconds to power up and them prod once to change mode. That said; to engage the road and trail specific beams, you’ll need to press the buttons behind the headlamp.
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This also features a battery life indicator, so no call to gaze down at the battery. When reserves take a tumble, and there’s only one light illuminated, it will begin flashing and then, shortly afterward, kick down to the 500-lumen rapid flash. The one, interesting and amusing discovery was the remote also commanded the PR2000 lamp from around 3 metres. Potential mischief aside, I raised this with Ravemen and they acknowledged this can happen, and re-setting the other light’s remote will cure this. I’m pleased to report this was so.
Modes 4/5
Off road, aside from the 6,000 lumens, the next prod down is 3,000 lumens (2 hours) and low, 1500 lumens, reckoned to return 4 hours from a full charge of the 8000mAh/7.2 v battery.
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There are similarly versatile road settings too, projecting a localised flood for broad sweeps and a long-range spot for picking out the detail. The road is a more moderate but very practical 1500lumens, 1000lumens, 500 lumens and a 250 lumen Eco mode with official run times of 3.5, 5.5, 10.5 hours and 18 hrs, respectively. There's also a 6,000-lumen rapid flash, for emergencies and arguably, daylight running. We are big fans of the smaller, PR cousins but I’ve also noted the XR6000’s sequencing is more intuitive, which comes into its own when leaving the road and entering a woodland trail with little notice.
Mount 3.75/5
This is similarly well engineered from 6061 aluminium alloy and bolts directly to the light. It’s designed for 31.8 and 35mm diameters but I’ve managed to achieve rock steady tenure to 26.0 and similarly narrow diameters using beefy shims from my salvage box. The battery tethers to down tubes via long Velcro ties.
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The battery’s flat, rectangular profile is very accommodating of standard and oversized diameters. Worth keeping an eye on the Velcro mind, and I’ve also employed the Topeak Modula Java Cage as a brace. I was curious to see if the battery would settle securely in a cage - not satisfactorily. The only time I’ve experienced any movement was when shouldering the bike cyclo cross stylee and running the last two miles home, courtesy of Ursula’s expired freehub.
Output (Road) 4/5
With great power comes great responsibility. In spite of the urge to let rip, I decided to start with the road modes, initially. Quality of output is very impressive and very much in keeping with the LR and PR cousins. Regular readers will know 1300 lumens is my benchmark for pitch black roads - plenty of bite for 23mph or so.
Dropping to the 1000 wasn’t far behind. In similar could hustle along at around 20mph with the same clarity and advanced notice of holes, homicidal dogs, icy stretches. The road settings are geared to project a carpet of light, so dazzling others has been a moot point, in either of these. Other traffic spotted me at 100 metres - dipping and or slowing courteously. I've sometimes run it in conjunction with the K-lite (Bike Packer Pro V2) to conserve the battery, while still enjoying 2,300 lumens.
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Given the quality of both systems, its assertive, not aggressive and it proved particularly useful through blankets of thick, drifting fields. Continuing this theme, the XR6000’s beam pattern still offers a decent flood and sweep of verges-great for winding roads and blind bends. Staircasing down to the 500, this is still surprisingly good in the seen with sense - 50, or 60 metres great for conserving power, if you’ve been out longer than planned.
In terms of navigational clout -16, maybe 17mph through semi-rural sections. Again, good town manners to - overkill for the concrete jungle but not anti-social - you won’t be burning anyone’s retina If you’ve forgotten to click down to the lowest, 250 lumen mode, which arguably strikes the best balance for suburban stuff.
Off Road 4.25/5
The trail modes are, well, impressive. Unleashing the full 6000 brings the darkest forest trails to life and unlike some, it’s a genuine mode, rather than one for quick blast. Navigational punch enabled me to belt along as fast as my legs, gearing and bike handling skills would manage. Well, for a few minutes shy of the 1.2hours cited.
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Talking of which, run times across the board have consistently been within a few minutes of those cited in temperatures between minus 4 and plus 10 degrees. Not out of the ordinary for Ravemen but reassuring, nonetheless. Nudging down to the medium 3,000 lumens. arguably hit the sweet spot in terms of navigational prowess and run times.
Need a bit more? Nudge to the full 6000, back down when you don’t. Assuming you’ve not been toggling too hard, it will return remarkably close to 2 hours from a full charge. Again, I’ve been able to let rip and weave through single track and less churned bridlepath at 23mph plus with a brilliant view of conditions and potential, upcoming hazards.
Assuming it wasn’t belting down, or you didn’t fancy plugging in a power bank, a quick press of the remote brings the 1500 lumen low. All things being equal, navigational prowess has been to around 18, maybe 20mph in comparable contexts but while the beam pattern isn’t as sharp as the road counterparts, it's still good enough to scorch along the lanes with and hasn’t dazzled anyone thus far. Nigh on 4 hours fully charged too.
Run/Charge Times
Run times have been very faithful to those cited - within a few minutes across the board and the system’s inbuilt reserves ensured it kicked down reliably and never let me down. Charge times, zero to hero have been around the 4.25 hour mark (refuelling from the mains), slightly quicker than the 4.5 cited.
Durability/Care
To some extent, any part is only as solid as its weakest link. It’s hard to fault the XR6000’s build quality - IPX8 for the headlamp means it will survive total immersion. However, being external and designed with ports, the battery meets IPX6 and on paper at least, more vulnerable to water and ingress.
Hell ’n’ high water rides, the connectors and port covers might welcome a quick lick of silicone grease. That said; flooding and freezing conditions have made no impact whatsoever. I’ve had no issues leaving the battery in situ, smothering it in warm sudsy water when giving Ursula regular deep cleans.
Same goes for the remote but again, I’d be inclined to give its battery contacts a passing drop of silicone grease, or Vaseline, especially during winter. The CR2032 cell is still doing its thing but given the system is to some extent, reliant on an effective remote, I’d keep a couple of premium grade replacements in the wedge pack, bar bag etc just in case.
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Both battery and headlight have taken the odd, direct hit from stones and other debris thrown up along green lanes and winter trails. Not so much as a mark in 700 miles. The thermal cut out also seems suitably responsive and will kick in, should you leave the bike standing and forget to turn it off.
Value 3.5/5
On paper at least, its closest price rival is the Magicshine Monteer 8000S V2. £389.00 buys 8,000 lumens, a wireless remote reckoned to have a 15ft range and manufacturer cited run times between 2.5 and 32 hours from a fully charged 10,000mAh battery. However, it only meets IPX5 for weatherproofing, lagging behind the Ravemen XR6000 somewhat.
At the other extreme pricewise, we have the Lupine Alpha. The Alpha is the German marque’s flagship model, and many would argue, a price tag to match. £926.29 (E1080). In terms of spec, we’re talking 7200 lumens, IPX8 waterproofing (battery and headlamp), blue tooth remote and a claimed projection of 840metres.
Light & Motion Seca Enduro is £350 but lower on the specification and fire power, producing 2,500 lumens.
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USE Exposure Sixpack MK12 SYNC MK4 is encased within a beautifully machined 6063 aluminium alloy shell employs an integrated battery. It’ll produce 5250 lumens; ten modes are tuneable vi and reckoned to offer 36 hours run time. There are ten modes, tuneable via an app. However, its £495. Steve was very impressed by Exposure Race Mk17 2600 Lumens Front Light .
Summary
The Ravemen XR6000 is an excellent example of a trail lamp proper with its blend of impressive output and more significantly, decent run times. It is debatable, given the advances in optical technology whether is necessary to go beyond 3,000lumens. However, thanks to the system user-friendly remote and excellent mode sequence, even the full 6000 is practical and enabled me to explore the darkest, most mysterious trails with complete confidence.
Verdict 4/5 Solidly made and extremely capable light. Superb on the trails, yet still practical for town work.
Michael Stenning
PUBLISHED JANUARY 2024
