Lupine Piko TL MiniMax Review

 
Whilst the Piko TL MiniMaxi is capable of 1200 lumens there is rarely a need to employ so much power. The beam at this setting is so bright that anyone coming towards it will be temporarily blinded and pretty unhappy by the time they pass you. It is anti-social and dangerous, and as lights become more powerful that is something that riders need to be mindful of. The only time I really needed that much power was whilst riding on forest single track. You definitely do not want to come across any hidden surprises, and I alternated between 1200 – 750 lumens depending on the terrain. At 1200 lumens the light does get quite hot, though not so much that it cannot be held.
 

1200 lumens (13 w) This photo does not really do the light justice, but the illuminated mound is approximately 65 metres away. At 1200 lumens you have a large spot of what could pass as daylight in front of you. The Piko is more than up to off-road single track.
 

Scared away all the foxes!

470 Lumens (4w) About as bright as you would want to go whilst training at night on the road. The beam needs to be tilted to avoid blinding oncoming road users. It is still massively bright and clear.
 

Bright enough for night training

50 lumens (0.4w). Perfect for commuting and, with a run time of 35+ hours, recharging is not an issue.
 

A good commuter setting

For better quality images of beam brightness see the Lupine website .
 
In terms of battery run time I found the guidelines provided by Lupine to be very accurate and unaffected by variables in the temperature. I tested it in close to freezing, up to 14 degrees.
 
Continued overleaf…
 
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