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review
Lights - front
One23 Extreme Bright 1 One23 Extreme Bright 1 One23 Extreme Bright 1 One23 Extreme Bright 1 One23 Extreme Bright 1 One23 Extreme Bright 1 One23 Extreme Bright 1 One23 Extreme Bright 1 One23 Extreme Bright 1 One23 Extreme Bright 1
Beamshots - High end lights

One23 Extreme Bright 1

7
by Shaun Audane
UPDATED Thu, Oct 15, 2015 04:24

First Published Nov 18, 2010

1
£69.99

VERDICT:

7
10
Surprisingly powerful lamp well suited to suburban commuting and winter training
Weight: 
238g
Contact: 
www.todayscyclist.co.uk
How we test

At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.

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One23’s 1-watt extreme light has plenty to offer commuters and winter training bikes nervous about piling on the grams through the darker months. A choice of handlebar or helmet mounting coupled with good build quality means it’s well suited as a complementary system for a spot of rough stuff too.

Rifling through the box unearths a fetching headlamp, bijous battery, helmet mount, two Velcro straps and a smart charger. The instructions recommend an initial charge cycle of twenty hours with two and a half being more typical. Careful planning is required to achieve neat, tidy runs along the frame but the generous cabling is perfect for helmet mounting.

Similarly, the rubberised strap took some persuasion to accommodate the Univega’s super sized WTB drops but held secure despite some very spirited riding. Pressing the sensibly configured switch rewards with a very pure white flood beam, sufficient in the highest setting for storming the suburbs at 20mph and oncoming traffic certainly takes notice. The lens isn’t particularly pronounced but light bleeds potently through the translucent casing, addressing my initial misgivings around poor peripheral prowess.

That said, the optics produce a halo around the main pool of light that can prove misleading-especially negotiating areas densely populated by trees. Run times seem broadly faithful to the quoted 3, 4 &7.5 hours (High, low and flashing respectively) these could fluctuate in warmer/freezing temperatures but a battery life indicator gives plenty of warning.

Affixed to helmets, it follows rider gaze to provide a more accurate reflection of conditions ahead, essential for negotiating nocturnal green lane or singletrack and handy for map reading, puncture repair/pannier rummaging. Low mode is just good enough to see by in sub/urban contexts, harvesting an additional hour from the battery but flashing is arguably the superior economy setting, commanding the attention of other traffic from four hundred metres- a godsend in the event of main system failure or when battery life presides over steady, retina burning output.

Verdict

Surprisingly powerful lamp well suited to suburban commuting and winter training

road.cc test report

Make and model: One23 Extreme Bright 1

Size tested: One

Tell us what the product is for, and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?

"EXTREME BRIGHT 1

High Performance 1 Watt White LED

Rechargeable Nimh AA Batteries

Lighting Modes-High, Low & Flashing

Long Run Time

Handlebar Or Helmet Mounted

Low Battery Indicator

Tool Free Fitting"

Does Exactly what is says on the tin.

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

EXTREME BRIGHT 1

High Performance 1 Watt White LED

Rechargeable Nimh AA Batteries

Lighting Modes-High, Low & Flashing

Handlebar Or Helmet Mounted

Low Battery Indicator

Tool Free Fitting

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
7/10
Rate the product for performance:
 
7/10

Good propotional to its size.

Rate the product for durability:
 
7/10

Seems highly weather resistant and passed the hosepipe test so should stand up to the rough and tumble of long term daily riding.

Rate the product for weight, if applicable:
 
7/10
Rate the product for comfort, if applicable:
 
7/10

Very nice to use, positive and convenient switch, doesn't feel cumbersome when helmet mounted.

Rate the product for value:
 
7/10

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

The ONE23 1 watt extreme system is very impressive, packing a mighty punch relative to its weight. Helmet mounting is arguably neatest and the single watt feels stretched when used in isolation along unlit roads for any distance but its fine for suburban duties. The ability to run standard alkaline batteries is an absolute godsend but the charge indicator and generous burn times mean you shouldn't get caught short too often. Cursory inspection suggested periperal illimination mightn't be so good but as with its bigger 3watt sibling, the beam bleeds through the white casing.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

Compact design, good power to weight ratio and frugal run times.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

Nothing

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes

Would you consider buying the product? Yes but living in the sticks, it would be as a secondary system.

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes

Overall rating: 7/10

About the tester

Age: 37  Height: 1m 81  Weight: 70 kilos

I usually ride: Rough Stuff Tourer Based around 4130 Univega mtb Frameset  My best bike is: 1955 Holdsworth Road Path and several others including cross & traditional road

I've been riding for: Over 20 years  I ride: Most days  I would class myself as: Experienced

I regularly do the following types of riding: cyclo cross, commuting, touring, fixed/singlespeed, mtb,

Rechargeable LED
One23 Extreme Bright 1
One23
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Shaun Audane

Shaun Audane is a freelance writer/product tester with over twenty-eight years riding experience, the last twelve (120,000 miles) spent putting bikes and kit through their paces for a variety of publications. Previous generations of his family worked at manufacturing's sharp end, thus Shaun can weld, has a sound understanding of frame building practice and a preference for steel or titanium framesets.
Citing Richard Ballantine and an Au pair as his earliest cycling influences, he is presently writing a cycling book with particular focus upon women, families and disabled audiences (Having been a registered care manager and coached children at Herne Hill Velodrome in earlier careers)

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1 comments

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el.dudino | 14 years ago
0 likes

What I'd like to see is this compared to a Hope Vision 1. Lots of people use them and it seems to be the benchmark at this price-range (RRP on the hope is higher but offers mean they end up at a similar price).

It would be good to have some kind of standard comparative light in a similar price range.

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