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 of NiteRider’s urban safety lights, the Solas 250, and here’s what we think.
The Solas 250 is one of the American Brand NiteRider’s top-end safety lights, and possibly their brightest also. With a dual LED setup that gives a combined output of more than 250 lumens, the Solas 250 outperforms most safety lights in its segment and gives a bright, crisp beam of light that makes the rider visible in almost all weather conditions. The innovative reflector lens around the LED also enhances the brightness and its fully transparent body gives a wide angle of visibility, ensuring that the rider is visible from the sides as well as the rear.
With 4 powerful modes of operation of varying levels of brightness and a DVF (Daylight Visible Flash) mode, the Solas 250 offers a wide array of illumination choices for the rider. The run-time of the Solas 250 is between 8 - 40 hours based on the mode of operation. The Solas 250 is designed to be used as a bicycle safety light as well as a wearable light with a clip-on hook that is found at the back of the light. With the clip-on hook, the light can be attached to bags, belt buckle loops, jersey pockets, etc that can be used by the rider even when he/she is off the bicycle.
The design of the Solas 250 is quite sleek, although many would assume that it has to be a bit bulky for all the power it carries. Built out of a strong plastic base and a transparent red en-casing for the twin LEDs, the Solas 250 is stronger than it looks, with its FL1 standard water-proof and dust-proof outer casing design. Weighing a meager 82 grams, this light is probably the lightest of all 250 lumen rear lights. The light is mounted onto the bicycle with an easy-mount rubber strap that makes it very convenient to fit the light on seatposts of any shape and width. The design of the mount also makes the light adjustable in various angles.
Another interesting design feature of the Niterider Solas 250 is its “Group Ride Mode” for cyclists riding in a group who want to stay visible but not distract the other riders in the pack. This mode ensures that the light does not shine directly into the eye of the rider behind, causing them discomfort. The in-built Li-Po battery that is rechargeable through a well-hidden USB port on the base of the light has a charging time of 4 hours and a run time of upto 40 hours. The ON/OFF operation of the light is controlled by a long press on the rubber button located on the head of the light, and a single short click toggles between the different visibility modes.
Overall Rating
The Solas 250 is the perfect all-weather, all-environment tail light with a high visibility index and a long-lasting battery. It is priced at Rs. 2,299 (as on 22nd August 2019) which is not too expensive for a tail light of this quality and the features it offers.
Prices and Specifications/Components are subject to change by the brand, without due notice.