Serfas True 100+ Review

A few months ago I noticed a disturbing trend on my rides.  The more I rode, the shorter the days became. I knew it was time to look for a light that could help me ride on the trails long after the sun has set. I already owned a Serfas True 500, but 500 lumens for 1.5 hrs would do very little too wet my mid week craving for dirt.

Last month I decided I need something sooner than later. The days were getting 3 minutes shorter every time I decided it was safe to go to bed. With this in mind I started doing my research on the current crop of cycling lights. Right now cycling lights are improving much like suspension designs did in the late 90's early 00's, so I knew what I bought this year would be "out dated and old news" next year. All the same I set out with a check list of "Needs" and a list of "Wants".

My needs where simple, 1000 or more lumens, an advertised run time of 3 hr or more, but I only had a budget of $200. I wanted something from this year's batch of lights, fairly lite and compact, and something that has the potential to last several years.

So I narrowed my search to 3 different lighting systems. One had mixed reviews online about both build quality and longevity, but I could buy 2 lights for $200. I decide that I really  wanted something that could stand the test of time, so that brand was out of the picture. One was relatively new to the cycling market, but had a long history of off road vehicle lights. I was hours away form pulling the trigger on that light when my mount for the True 500 broke on me, so I decided to order up another Serfas light. This way I could have two working mounts to run both lights at the same time.

After a sort search I landed on a great deal for a Serfas True 1000. There are very few reviews of this light out there, but I decided to give the light a chance. After 8 or so night rides I can now give it a good review.   

Packaging: Its nice, everyone who has ever bought a Serfas product knows this. But in the end, what dose packaging really mean? If the product is not up to snuff, then the package does not matter.

Lighting system (less 1000 battery/charger). Helmet mount, bar mount, 1000 head, 500 system

Brightness: This lighting system is a true performer in the brightness department. I have seen independent test online that confirm the claim of 1000 lumens. Heath commented that he could see the trail better using just the over throw from the 1000 then he could using his older 600 lumen lights. And this was at speed with me 10-15 feet behind him. Last night I did my first nighttime road bike group ride. A few other riders had the True 1000 with them and I was amazing at how bright these light were off in the distance.

Beam Pattern: For southern single track rides it has more than enough width and throw to keep you riding as-fast-as-your-legs-can-carry-you. I ride with my 500 on the helmet (to look around corners) and the 1000 on the handlebars. With this setup I can ride just as fast at night as I can in the day. The 1000 produces a bright "hot spot" right at my visual focal point, and cast off enough side lighting to see what's going on around me.  It's not the best pattern I've ever seen (I used a Light & Motion Seca 700 in 2011 that was marginally better), but it is by far the brightest.

Heat buildup: I always turn my lights off when I stop for longer than a few seconds, this saves battery and the head unit from building up heat. With that said, the head unit was only slightly warm  after 2 hours on full blast (doing 8 MPH avg on single track in 60 Deg weather).

Battery life: My longest ride to date has been 2.5 hr on full blast. I have yet to see the power button go red (low battery indicator), but this is far shorter than the 4 hr advertised battery life.

Gripes: The charger dose not blink, change colors, or otherwise indicate that it is charging/finished charging. The manual indicates that it should change orange when charging, then green when fully charged. I called Serfas (phone was answered by a real person!) and asked them what was up. They could not explain what was going on, but asked me to call back if it appeared that the charger was not charging the battery.  I've been charge after each ride for however long the ride was. So far so good.

Would I recommend this light? You bet!

As always I just need to Ride More, Ride Harder, and Get Faster.