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review
£24.99
VERDICT:
Bright and easy to use, with good battery life – a very good commuting option
Bright
Easy to operate
Lacks punch for fog
Weight:
27g
Contact:
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.
What the road.cc scores meanGood scores are more common than bad, because fortunately good products are more common than bad.
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The Kryptonite Incite XR USB Rear light is bright, easy to fit and easy to operate. The battery life is decent too, making this a great option at £25.
The Incite XR Rear is well suited to being your weekday commuting bike light thanks to a solid run-time, easy operation and good side visibility.
> Find your nearest dealer here
Usually, we see the brightness of bike lights measured in lumens. Kryptonite measures its rear lights in Lux and this Incite XR is given a value of 0.06. Some of you might be familiar with Lux, but if you're not, it is a measure of the amount of light that hits a surface at a given distance. Well, that is a rudimentary explanation... but in real terms, I found the Incite XR to be perfectly bright enough for city commuting.
The high steady flash runs for pretty much bang on the claimed 20 hours and this, combined with the brightness of this setting, meant that I simply left the light there for all of my riding.
While I found the light to be good in most conditions, I would have liked something with a little more punch on my weekend rides. There were a few foggy days when I'd have preferred something like the Giant Recon TL 200 which has a much stronger 200-lumen day-flash mode.
The XR Rear gets the expected memory function that starts the light in the last setting that you used. With the easy-to-find single button, it makes the light a doddle to live with.
> Buyer’s Guide: 19 of the best rear lights for 2021
Mounting the light is also super easy and I found that it worked on both round and aero seatposts without issue.
The side illumination ports, as Kryptonite is calling them, are good for giving you additional visibility, though Kryptonite makes no claims about the angle range that side visibility extends to.
> Buyer’s Guide: The best front lights for cycling
Although £25 isn't a huge amount to pay for a rear bike light, you can get a lot brighter for just a tenner more. That Giant Recon 200 I mentioned would be my pick if you're looking to mix commutes with weekend rides. The extra power is nice to have on faster roads and it comes with a decent increase in battery life too.
However, if you're looking for an easy-to-use rear light for the daily commute then the Kryptonite Incite XR rear light is a very good option.
Verdict
Bright and easy to use, with good battery life – a very good commuting option
road.cc test report
Make and model: Kryptonite Incite XR USB Rear
Size tested: 5 Modes
Tell us what the light 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?
Kryptonite doesn't actually have a description for the Incite XR, but it's a rear light that will suit urban riders and commuters.
Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the light?
Kryptonite lists these details:
Light guide for INCREASED VISIBILITY AND SAFETY
MEMORY FUNCTION remembers the last mode used
Fully USB RECHARGEABLE
Compact size
Bracket with flexible mounting option
.06 LUX
5 Modes
Run time on Eco = 36 hrs
Run time on High Steady = 20 hrs
Rate the light for quality of construction:
8/10
Rate the light for design and ease of use. How simple was the light to use?
9/10
Rate the light for the design and usability of the clamping system/s
9/10
Rate the light for waterproofing. How did it stand up to the elements?
7/10
No issues, and it's seen a lot of rain.
Rate the light for battery life. How long did it last? How long did it take to recharge?
9/10
Rate the light for performance:
7/10
Rate the light for durability:
6/10
Rate the light for weight:
6/10
Rate the light for value:
5/10
Tell us how the light performed overall when used for its designed purpose
It easily lasted well over a week of 15-minute commutes between charges. I'd say that makes it easy to live with and means that it performs well.
Tell us what you particularly liked about the light
The single button is easy to find with gloves on and easy to use. That means that I could turn the light on while moving – I'm good at forgetting to turn lights on.
Tell us what you particularly disliked about the light
It lacks punch for fast roads and in the fog.
How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?
Its rrp of £25 is about what I'd expect to pay, but there are far brighter lights for around a tenner more.
Did you enjoy using the light? Yes
Would you consider buying the light? No, I'd have a more powerful light for my weekend rides.
Would you recommend the light to a friend? Yes
Use this box to explain your overall score
Bright, easy to use and good battery life make this a great commuter light. It just lacks a little bit of power for faster roads and fog.
About the tester
Age: 24
I usually ride: Cannondale Supersix Di2 My best bike is:
I've been riding for: 5-10 years I ride: Most days I would class myself as: Expert
I regularly do the following types of riding: road racing, time trialling, cyclo cross, commuting, club rides, general fitness riding, I specialise in the Cafe Ride!
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Add new comment
9 comments
"Fully USB RECHARGEABLE". As opposed to partially USB rechargeable? TBH I think the "fully" is a given. What we really need to know is, which type? Micro-USB, or USB-C?
"Some of you might be familiar with Lux, but if you're not, it is a measure of the amount of light that hits a surface at a given distance." Indeed, so without giving the distance the number is meaningless. I presume they are doing this to escape the brightness arms-race?
If I do a Google search for "Kryptonite Incite XR USB Rear" the first hit is an ad for "Kryptonite Incite Series - Fully USB Rechargeable"... so I guess we know where that came from. Agreed, it's a superfluous modifier.
It looks like Kryptonite uses lux hitting the street at 10 m. That makes some sense for a front light, but I don't care if the rear one illuminates the street at 10 meters, I want it to illuminate eyeballs at 100 meters. Any light directed down is wasted.
Yea that USB thing is the marketing spiel that we include for every product. It's a micro-USB FWIW.
I'm also confused about why they used LUX. Like you say Siracha, I'd imagine it is to avoid giving a figure.
They crease me up, these light manufacturers. I'm happy to pay the markup they charge over Alibaba, but not if it condemns me to cable purgatory for the life of their product. I'm not paying extra to forever be swapping out cables or finding myself with the wrong one. USB-C is where it's at!
Yes. Micro USB, easy to insert the right way up, third try, every time.
I hate all cycling related USB sockets with a passion I can barely voice. Fiddly enough in daylight they are a nightmare in a dimly lit shed on a dark evening. Bring back the good old co-axial version is my war cry. Catchy eh?
At least micro-USB is more common than the propriety USB charges some lights still ship with!
Personally I still have more micro-USB cables and more micro-USB-powered devices than USB-C, so I'm not too fussed. I also have a couple of micro-to-C adapters so one cable can do both.
Fair enough, but the direction of travel is clear. By and by you will have ever fewer mico-usb devices to contend with. Why pay new money to set yourself back a few years from the day when everything works off the same standard? I'll just use my Wilko special on AAA batteries until they get their act together. TBH, it's a fekin' insult that brand name devices should try this on.
I suppose it's a matter of priorities - if I need a new light or other device, and there's one that ticks all the boxes except for having micro-USB, then that's not going to be a dealbreaker for me. But I readily accept I'm not on the cutting edge of technology (I still use an iPod with a 30-pin connection on a daily basis) so the day when everything in my house works on the same standard is a long way off anyway!