Lupine Piko TL MiniMax Review

 

Also, another minor issue to mention at this point. I found it a tight fit getting the Piko to fit onto my bars when mounted next to my Garmin, which as with most is fitted to the stem. This could be overcome by reducing the amount of bar tape by 10mm or so and therefore allowing the Piko to be mounted further from the stem. Still with any light system you are going to have a full handlebar…
 

 

Is 1200 Lumens bright enough?
 
The Lupine supplied description of the Piko TL MiniMaxi states that “The slim, black lamp fits your hand nicely and is an inconspicuous companion until you switch it on and unleash 1200 lumens of pure light power”. The keyword there seems to be “unleash”. This may sound a little dramatic, but had I perhaps exercised a little more caution I might have saved myself the unpleasant experience of unleashing 1200 lumens into my naked eye. Let me explain.
 

I knew that this was a powerful light, as Simon at Cycletechreview had warned me. On taking delivery of it he had shown me just how bright it was by illuminating his 60ft garden with it. We were suitably impressed. It was like a big spot of daylight on a December evening. Why exactly I chose to shine it into a mirror when I got home, having explicitly warned by children not to play with it, I’m not entirely sure. Suffice to say it’s a mistake you’ll only make once. The sensation is like having sand in your eye, akin to mild ‘arc eye’ I suppose, and had me struggling to recognise members of my family for several minutes afterwards.

 

On the plus side, it did impress upon me just how careful one needs to be with a light this bright. Anything over even a few hundred lumens can be dangerous and one needs to be mindful of other road users used in order to avoid causing them problems. We have all come across someone coming towards us who does not realise just how anti-social their front light is.
 

Performance
 

The Piko TL MiniMaxi allows the user to choose and program from a range of settings. Factory setting is a two step mode: 1200 lumens (13W with a stated run time of 1hr 20mins) or 940 lumens (10W with a state runtime of 1hr 30mins). Battery output can be slightly improved (approx 8%) by using Eco mode, though this will reduce lumens output by a similar amount.
 

 

However, there are a range of other settings which allow you greater control over how you want to use the light. These are clearly printed on the light itself and are accessible by simply holding down the soft click on/off button, then selecting your preferred program.
 
Options available include SOS, Alpine SOS, RVLR, Strobe 15Hz, Low Start, Eco-Mode, Police-Mode, Doubleclick, and Stealth. All useful in the right environment but, as stated, my needs were simply to use as a training tool and I therefore chose to set-up a four step program, with Eco Mode which gives you 1200 lumens (1.30 hrs), 750 lumens (2.30 hrs), 470 lumens (4.30 hrs) or 50 lumens (35 hrs).
 

 
Typically I would use the minimal candlelight 50 lumen setting on lit roads whilst commuting out to my training destination and then either 470 or 750 lumen when training on unlit roads. Using this programme I never experienced battery issues during 2 – 4 hour training rides, as even on the second lowest 470 lumen setting I felt confident that I could safely see the road surface and any obstacles in front of me.
 
An indication of the battery running low is provided by the on/off button turning red, along with the beam flashing. This process will build up incrementally, so that as the battery decreases so too does the frequency of the flashes. The quality of the beam is exceptional, almost white in colour, with a wide, even spot that fades at the edges without blemishes or uneven areas.
 
Continued overleaf…
 
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