NiteRider is an American brand headquartered in San Diego, California that is dedicated to designing high quality performance lights for extreme sports that are waterproof, very bright, lightweight and hands free. We got an opportunity to review one the NiteRider Sentry Aero 260 Tail Light, and here’s what we think.
The Sentry Aero 260 is NiteRider’s answer to the aerodynamically shaped lights that have made their appearance in the market due to a sharp increase in the number of aerodynamic bicycles in the recent years. Anyone with an aero frame design wouldn’t want to compromise on those minor gains with a big, bulky non-aero light on their bicycle, and the NiteRider Sentry Aero 260 is cut out for that exact purpose on reducing drag and increasing aerodynamics with its star design and narrow profile, while maintaining its top-notch functionality of being a very effective and powerful safety light.
A lot of thought that has gone into the design of the Sentry 260 to improve it’s visibility and safety features while keeping the aero design intact. As a result of this, the light has a Dual LED Strip COB design that has separate LED strips for the side visibility and straight visibility. The inner LED strip is enclosed by the Red colored diffuser lens that gives out a soft but bright red glow on the sides, and the outer LED strip is placed on top and is covered only by the clear outer lens, which gives a sharp, ultra-bright beam of light that can be spotted from more than a kilometer away.
The main design aspects behind the NiteRider Sentry 260 are aero gains and compatibility on slender, narrow aero seatposts. While the aero capacity of the light has been satisfied by its tall, straight shape of its casing, the compatibility issues have been handled well by incorporat-ing a clipless mounting base that comes with interchangeable rubber mounting straps for nor-mal and aero seat posts. The mounting strap for the aero seat post is longer and flatter, mean-ing it can wrap around most of the aero seat posts that are wider and longer. Although very simple, this proves to be a very effective solution.
Embedded with an in-built, USB rechargeable Li-Po battery, the Sentry Aero 260 is capa-ble of delivering a runtime of between 5 hours to 40 hours based on the mode of operation. The light has 6 modes of operation (3 blink modes, 2 steady modes and one pulse mode) and can be switched ON/OFF by a long press on the small rubber button placed on the head of the light, and a single click on it toggles between the various modes. Weighing in at a minimal 65 grams along with the mount, it is as light as a feather and still offers an unmatched visibility an-gle of 260 degrees.
Overall Rating
The NiteRider Sentry Aero 260 Tail Light is an ideal choice for those looking for an aerodynamically superior light for their TT bikes and Aero Road bikes. Priced at Rs. 2,499 (as on 1st August 2019), it is priced almost the same as most other tail lights in the market in this segment, but still offers better value for money with its increased visi-bility index and better runtime.
Prices and Specifications/Components are subject to change by the brand, without due notice.