2013 Exposure Lights Diablo Mk.4 & Blaze Taillight Review on Slowtwitch.com

We recently had a nice review on the 2013 Exposure Diablo and Blaze lights from Greg Kopecky over at Slowtwitch.com.

Exposure Diablo and Blaze

Written by: Greg Kopecky
Added: Tue Mar 12 2013

This is our review of two lights from UK-based Exposure. They are known for very bright LED bicycle lights. What makes them different from the rest? They’re bright - and they do not have external battery packs. Exposure says that their proprietary LED technology allows them to achieve run times and brightness comparable to the competition’s brightest external battery systems.

At first, I was skeptical. I love the completely self-contained lights, as they’re very convenient to swap between bikes and helmets – but they’ve never lived up to my hopes in terms of brightness or run time. We reviewed the compact and light weight Blackburn Scorch, which is similar in size and weight to the Exposure Diablo. It’s convenient, and fairly bright at 140 lumens, but is limited to only one hour of burn time (at max output). It also does not have a helmet mount option.

Would Exposure live up to the hype? Let’s find out.


Diablo Mk4 - $299

The Diablo Mk4 is the top-of-the-heap in helmet lights from Exposure. It weighs only 104 grams, and is 4.5” (11.5cm) long.

It comes in this very nice padded case, and includes a helmet mount and wall charger:

NOTE: The charger you get depends on the country you buy from. If you’re in the USA, buy from a US-based shop (so you get a US wall charger). The US distributor is Ibex sports, who supplies directly to retail bike stores. If you’re in Australia or Germany or the UK, buy from a local shop that got it from their local distributor – so you get the right wall charger.


Exposure quotes a maximum output of 1,100 lumens. No, that is not a typo. Eleven hundred.

Keep in mind that the 1,100 lumen setting is ‘full blast’, and only lasts for one hour. The real beauty of the Diablo is what they call the OMS, or Optimum Mode Selector:

The light has a chart printed on it (also shown in the user manual and on the Exposure website). What does all of that mean?

Each of the rows is a different setting, with 8 options total. Within that setting, there are two or three levels of brightness, and sometimes an additional flashing mode. The numbers listed within each row represent the approximate burn time for each particular setting.

For example, the top row is setting 1. This is the default mode (i.e. if you take the light out of the package and double click to turn it on, it will be in this mode). The first mode is H, and lasts for one hour. If you click the button again, it goes in to M – good for three hours. One more click brings you to L, which is good for 6 hours.

There is only one button to move through all of the settings, located on the back of the light (next to the charger input):

To turn on flash mode, you must have the light already on. Hold the button for about 1 second and release – the light will flash once briefly – and you’re set. To turn the light off, hold the main button for about three seconds – it will flash twice and turn off.

To activate the different modes, you must start with the light off. Hold the main button until the lamp flashes several times. Next, you will see the button begin to flash slowly. Each flash represents a new mode. For example, if you want to select mode 3, hold the button, wait until the button flashes three times, and immediately release the button. You’ve selected mode 3. Then, simply double click the light to turn it on.

When you turn the light off, it remembers your last setting. While that may all seem complicated, I got the hang of it in about a day.

Exposure provided this handy chart, which shows the lumen rating for each setting:

That chart is what you should be concerned with as a triathlete. Want to go on a four hour training ride that might include 20 minutes worth of stops? Select mode 1 in the low setting, and you get 380 lumens of visibility for your entire ride. That’s a LOT of lumens for such a small light and such a long time.

The chart does not show the run times for flash modes, but the Exposure staff explained to me that this would be about 1 hour less than the Low setting (so, five hours for mode 1 flashing). The light remains in low brightness, and flashes to the medium brightness (380 lumens steady, 540 lumens peak at flash – for setting 1 flash).


Must you use the Diablo as a helmet light? What if you want to put it on your handlebars? While the Diablo does come with a very easy-to-use helmet mount (pictured here on my Bell Gage):

…there is also an optional 31.8mm handlebar mount:

In the past, I was rather anti-helmet-light. I always had external-battery systems – and a cord running down my back. I dare say that the Diablo made me in to a helmet-light convert. I don’t have to worry about mounting lights on different bikes because it’s always on the helmet. Once it’s there, I barely notice the ~100 gram weight. There are no wires, no battery packs, and no fuss.

Similar to our review of the Blackburn Scorch, we wanted to show you the approximate real-world brightness of the Diablo. There photos were done in similar conditions to the Scorch – indoors, and in the same location.

First up, we have the Scorch on the left and the Diablo on the right:

As you can see, they are similar size.

In the following photo, the Blackburn Scorch (140 lumens) is on the left, and the Diablo is on the right – in setting 1 Low (180 lumens):

The two beams are very comparable. The 180 lumen setting on the Diablo was simply the option closest to the Blackburn. The key difference is run time (and price) – the $70 Blackburn runs for 1 hour; the $300 Exposure runs for 6 hours.

Next, I put the Diablo up against my very bright and very heavy Light and Motion Arc:

The Light and Motion claims 675 lumens of maximum output, and I measured the run time at about 2.5 hours.

Compared to the Diablo in setting 1 Medium (540 lumens for three hours), the brightness looked very similar. Both the center beam and overall spread were quite even between the two.


Just for kicks, I put the Diablo up to full blast (1,100 lumens) against the Light and Motion:

The photo doesn’t do it justice. For such a small light, it is astoundingly bright. I’ve found myself using the light around the house as a flashlight – but I almost never use it in the highest setting. It’s simply too bright. As a mechanic’s note, it is a great light for fishing cables through internally routed frames.


Blaze - $159

The Blaze is the newest rear light option from Exposure.

The Blaze comes with a wall charger and seatpost mount (shown above). The mount itself is VERY simple and effective – clip the light in to the black mount, and wrap the rubber strap around your seatpost. If you have an aero seatpost, you can make a simple PVC adapter – the instructions for which are linked at the bottom of this page.

Exposure quotes a maximum output of 80 lumens. Similar to the Diablo, the light has a chart with all of the different OMS settings:

I almost always use the Blaze in setting 1 – flash. With 12 hours of burn time and a peak 80 lumens, it serves my needs for almost any ride.

The top of the Blaze has a simple clear cover for the on/off button and the charger port:

The only question I had about the Blaze was simple – is it bright enough? Are 80 lumens sufficient? My other two tail lights that I use regularly are the DiNotte 140R (140 lumens), and their self-contained 300R (300 lumens).

In this photo, I compare the DiNotte 300R (on ‘high’) with the Blaze. Comparing rear lights is generally more difficult than fronts, as the beam spread tends to be much wider (we want to ‘be seen’ from the rear, rather than see a specific path on the road):

That probably looks like a whole bunch of red, so I’ll give you my subjective take. The Blaze appeared to be about as bright as the 300R – but with a smaller beam focus. While the 300R spreads a ton of light in all directions, the Blaze focuses more in a ‘straight back’ direction. For all intents and purposes, I think this maximizes the 80 lumens it has, but probably is less visible from odd angles and long distances. In all fairness, the Blaze is still head and shoulders above any off-the-shelf blinky tail light powered by two AA batteries.

My favorite attributes of the Blaze are the size, simplicity, and mounting system. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – the most important thing about any light is that you use it. If you’re in a hurry to get out the door, the Blaze takes no time to grab and install. It has become my go-to for any race or business trip that involves cycling.

2013 Diablo Mk.4 Review from KDAY Racing

Thanks to KDAY RACING for the review - This copied from his blog post.


the diablo mk4


Wednesday, November 21, 2012, 6:42:24 PM
KDAY

For the past few seasons I’ve been fortunate to work with the folk at Exposure Lights USA, testing and demoing new products. The first time I strapped on the Diablo MK2, I was completely blown away. I had no idea how such a little light could be so bright. It was essentually all I needed for the trail riding here on the Wasatch Front. With this little light, I could rip the trails for over an hour on high beam. 900 lumens! And I could hardly tell it was mounted on my helmet. Add a single or triple cell battery and you’re looking at over three hours of high beam action.


Since that first ride, I’ve used a number Exposures lights and am always impressed with how dependable, durable and easy to use they are. My favorite combo is the Diablo mounted on my helmet with the MaxXd mounted on the bars. It’s pretty much lumen overkill, and blinding to those oncoming riders and hikers on the trail, but well worth it.

For 2013, Exposure launched a number of new innovative lights with smart technology that raises the bar and continues to lead & light the way. The perfect Go-To light, The Diablo, got a small and extremely bright upgrade and it’s all kept in the same, sleek package. From 900 lumens to 1,100 lumens, the Diablo MK4 is simply the best light, wrapped in the best package.

From the moment we hit the trail head, everyone was talking about the little light on my helmet that was making their, bulky, 800–1,000 lumen lights look dim and outdated. It quickly proved its worth and shined well above the rest.

 
During the 25 Hours of Frog Hollow mountain bike race, in Southern Utah, a few athletes from the Kuhl Rockymountain Cycling team, ran laps with lights from Exposure. One of the pro riders, Chris Holley, was heard saying: “There seems to be a big difference in the 1,100 lumens from the Diablo, compared to my other set of lights. That Diablo is so much brighter and the beam is much wider.”

Have you ever been night riding before and always wondered what’s beyond the trail? What’s learking in the bushes and trees? Well, if you’re using the Diablo MK4, you’ll have no doubt that, that sound you heard, was in fact a sasquach. And, there’s no need to worry, because the 1,100 lumens will probably spook it off before it even thinks to come after you.

Ryan Blaney, another Kuhl Rockymountain athlete that participated in the 25 Hours of Frog Hollow had this to say about the Diablo MK4: “Pound for pound the best light on the market. I recently confirmed this at the annual 25 hrs of frog hollow in southern Utah. The course had tight high speed single track that was tough to track properly in the light let alone the dark. having the diablo mounted on my helmet was the ultimate advantage in finding these turns in the dark. It was practically weightless and the on the fly adjustment is the icing on the cake. The size and brightness of this light make it unbeatable. Many of the competitors make 1k lumen lights, but it seems 1k lumens is a relative rating because they just aren’t as bright. The others also come with baggage like batteries and cords, which often prove to be an issue. There is nothing the same size that is even in its league.”

The all new Diablo MK4 features, as I mentioned before, 1,100 lumens, it weights only 108g and is fully self contained, CNC machined aerospace quality aluminum body (AKA: It’s tough as nails and water resistent) and comes with three different light settings that can burn for up to 24 hours depending on the OMS setting.

To top it off, Exposure packages it up in a clean, sturdy case to keep it organized and together which makes for easy packing in nearly any bike or gear bag.

This is by far, pound for pound, the best light in the tightest package, I’ve ever used. The Diablo MK4 gets my vote as the highest quality and most versital light on the market.



2013 Diablo MK4 Specks:

Diablo Mk4 Technical Information

Weight: 108g

Output: 1100 lumens

Power: 3100mAh Lithium Ion battery

Burn time: 1 — 24hrs (depending on OMS selection)

Emitter: 3 Cree XPG R5 LEDs.

Cable Free Design (CFD): A primary feature unique to Exposure Lights removes the hassle of cables and straps.

Utilising the critically acclaimed Exposure Lights Helmet Mount.

Function button: 3 colour Mode and Fuel Gauge indicator that doubles as the OMS display.

Intelligent Thermal Management (ITM): Patented technology that combats the loss in efficiency of LEDs at
elevated temperatures, maintaining optimum output keeping you shining ‘Brighter for Longer’.

Smart Port Technology Plus (SPT+): Patented technology that enables a wide range of accessories to be used; Additional rear lights, back-up power supplies, remote switches and even charging other USB devices direct from your light.

Collimated Lens Technology: Exposure Lights use these high-tech resin lenses which have been extensively researched. These lenses are specifically designed to maximise light collection from the LEDs and efficiently produce an optimum beam pattern for cycling ensuring no light is wasted.

Weatherproof Body: CNC machined aerospace grade aluminium body with efficient heat transfer design. Fully manufactured in the UK.

Gold plated charge port: The charge port is gold plated for corrosion resistance, more efficient conductivity and it is sealed to a greater level adding protection to you light.

Storm Cap: The Smart Port in protected by a silicone cover to stop muddy gloves pushing dirt into the port.

Includes: Helmet mount, Lanyard and Smart Charger

2013 Exposure Lights Diablo Mk.4 Review

Bikerumor.com has just put out a reveiw of the 2013 Exposure Lights Diablo Mk.4. Chek it out here.

 

Join us this weekend at NEMBA's Wicked Ride of the East. Come check out the 2013 Exposure Lights. This is a favorite of ours, looking forward to the Chili and riding. See you there!

 

Exposure Lights - 12 Hours of Millstone, VT

Exposure Lights USA will be at the upcoming 12 Hours of Millstone, July 28th in Websterville, VT. We will have a limited number of rental lights available for anyone who is in need or interested in trying them out. We will have Diablo and Maxx D lights available.


Please email us to reserve your light or for more information.


Thanks!

Bike to Work Week Day 2, 3, & 4.

What a great celebratory week for riding bicycles! I'm pretty pumped about my own personal participation in National Bike Week. So far I've commuted 105 miles, climbed over 4,000 feet of elevation, and have burned about 4,000 calories. Plus, I've got an extra 6 hours of ride time. Oh and the there is at least one Strava PR and a couple of silver medals! I've purposely taken some different routes everyday giving me a nice change of scenery on every ride.

Like this...

Bike to Work Week day two - this beautifully colored field!

...and this, just down river from our office.

Bike to Work Week day three - a bit rainy.
Diablo in low power & Flare flashing as daytime running lights!

When I got home on day three, I ate homemade Mexican food!

Salsa, Chips and Guac! Yummo!

Day Four! Sunshine, Safe Routes and Geared Bikes! My regular road bike is about six pounds lighter than my SS Cross bike, so it was a fast commute today.

 Yay for Bikes!

For the last Bike week ride tomorrow, we'll be doing the Tour de Breakfast. You'll see what I mean in the next blog post, but in the greater surrounding towns there are spots along well traveled bike commutes that have a breakfast for riders, it's the 10th annual rider breakfast. There is a big group that gathers every year and tries to make a stop at as many locations as possible between 7-10 am. It should be a great time!

Thanks for reading, 

~Steve

Demo an Exposure Light at the 2012 Sea Otter

Did you wish you had a new light this past Winter - Been thinking of buying one of the latest generation LEDs? Going 24 hour racing? Now is a great time to 'try before you buy' with no obligation.

Reading reviews doesn't always tell the whole story, but taking one out in the dark will give you valuable feedback when you are ready to replace the old light!

Again this year, we will be offering free overnight demos
Thursday - Saturday, April 19-21, to Sea Otter attendees. Whether you are camping or staying in a hotel, grab a light to check out and 'try before you buy'. Exposure Lights pioneered the cable free design, with LED based, high output, super bright lighting systems for cyclists. They continue to lead the market with the current range.
Take the opportunity to check out the 2012 lights including the Diablo, Maxx D, Six Pack and Toro.

To obtain a confirmed reservation on a specific night, please email us with your preferred date and we'll confirm your reservation and provide you further details and instructions by email.

Sorry, demos limited to those over 21 years old with proper ID and credit card for security.

We are in booth #303 in the first grass expo pod closest to the food court.
Look for the Exposure Lights tent and flags.
See you there!
Steve & James at Exposure Lights USA.

The Brits win in Patagonia again!

Exposure Lights sponsored UK team adidas TERREX have won the 2011 Patagonia Expedition Race and successfully defend their title in this most extreme of endurance events. The win makes it 3 in a row for the top British Team at the event. The race involved kayaking, mountain biking, running and climbing a 500KM course through the wildest parts of Chilean Patagonia.

The team were equipped with the Exposure Lights Joystick Mk.5 with triple cell batteries for unrivaled burn times and versatile multi-sport use in the dark (bike/run/canoe/climb etc.). The team also armed themselves with the Diablo Mk.2 light for when the navigation became more difficult. Keeping their kit weight to an absolute minimum for the event was again part of the winning strategy.

Sunset from the Swamp

As the sun was setting, my heart rate was racing. As fast as I could pedal, I descended in the dust of the four riders ahead of me, while railing all the right lines with only a couple of near misses causing me to scrub a little speed here and there. At the bottom of the hill is this lovely swampy, marshy area.  Going no where fast, the swamp is thriving habitat for many insects, animals and aquatic life, not to mention how scenic and serene it looks.  Last night, the mosquito's were voracious.  At one point near this spot, I must have counted (until my eyes crossed) 15-20 Dragon Flies, (I am sure there were more) they were all flying quickly around eating up the skeeters by the hundreds, which made me happy!  Summer life, bugs feasting, frogs swimming, the fox hunting, the deer grazing and the riders riding, with night time fast approaching. Stopping here to breathe a breath of life and enjoy a still moment, adds peace and harmony to ones mind, it's why I ride!

Why do you ride? 

Our Charge station for the 24 Hours of Great Glen.

Some people ride to race, speaking of racing, we are headed to the 15th annual 24 Hours of Great Glen next week.  We're getting our stuff in order to attend the event and support riders who need charging for their lights and racers who have taken us up on our rental / demo program.  There are still a few lights available for rent, so get in touch with us through our website.

One important component to our success in staying up for over 36 hours in a row will surely be our Coffee Press. Since we're camping, we would normally bring our little camping style titanium press, but I think we will go "full on-caffeine mode" and include the 12 cup stainless press. Stop by for some coffee!


See you there!
Steve

Exposure Lights Diablo review from Velo News tech editor Zack Vestal

This appeared in the April issue of Velo News, page 64 "Commuter Gear".

"The Diablo headlight is a compact, powerful and sophisticated front light. It's petite and versatile for commuting, but adequately powerful for threading a little singletrack after work.  In contrast to the Light and Motion Stella series or the MiNewt from NiteRider, Diablo is a self contained unit, with the lamp and the battery housed in a machined aluminum body similar to a small flashlight.  Other companies make self-contained lamp and battery lights, but at 700 lumens claimed output on "high," the Diablo is much brighter than anything we've found of its type. Plus, at just 130 grams with the included aluminum quick-release handlebar bracket, it's very light. 

One cool feature is the Smart Port, which functions as an input jack for piggyback batteries to extend burn time, a jack for a handlebar mounted remote on/off switch, or an output jack to power an accessory helmet or seatpost mounted rear light.

The Diablo has four light settings (high,medium, low and flashing) toggled via a single on/off button on the rear of the light body. Claimed burn time on high is one hour, but in a test burn I coaxed almost 90 minutes out of it. Running the light at lower output extends the burn time significantly. Time to full charge is about four hours. Burn times and basic operating information is conveniently etched on the light body. The on/off button doubles as a charge/low battery indicator light. 

After a few months of commuting in all conditions, I've found it to be a sweet little light. It's visibly brighter than other lights I've used, and throws a nice focused beam with just enough dispersion for peripheral vision. Plus, the flashing mode is great for safety in high traffic intersections. The construction is bomber. I love the absence of battery cables and heft, especially when used with the included helmet mount. The aluminum handlebar bracket works well, too, but installation requires a 4mm Allen wrench. It's quite secure, but I switch bikes frequently, so I need to swap the bracket from bike to bike, which isn't quick.  Additional handlebar brackets are available separately." - Z.V.

Exposure Lights Diablo named a Spring Cycling Essential by Outside Magazine

Exposure Lights Diablo helmet and bar light was named the only "Outside Editors' Choice" out of ten different bike products selected as "Essential" gear in the March issue "The Essentials - The best gear, Tested"

As the cycling editors said: "When spring showers make a mess of your favorite streets and trails, fight back."

Check out the Diablo review at Outside Magazine's website 

Hit the ground spinning this Spring with the Diablo and the whole range of Exposure Lights bicycle lights at http://www.ibexsports.com/

Exposure Lights help Team Helly Hansen win the Wenger Patagonian Expedition Race title for the second year running!

Congratulations to Team Helly Hansen on their incredible win, again. Andy Wilson explains how the team used Exposure Lights to their advantage in this really testing race
 

"We used MaxX-Ds on the bikes, and Joysticks in headstraps on the trekking stages supplemented with a Diablo whose awesome power was invaluable in searching out the best route in the difficult mountain stages...we used the Diablo a lot to trail find at night in the mountains which meant we could move when I´m sure a lot of other teams would have to stop... or get lost..."

For the full race report

A Quick Video on a Icy Exposure Lights Night ride- Bike Crash included!

Here is a short video from a recent frozen night ride with Exposure Lights!


Exposure Lights Night Ice Ride- Bike Crash! from Steve Jacques on Vimeo.

2010 Exposure Lights Diablo

Diablo
New for 2010!


Featuring the most advanced LED available – the new P7 that produces up to 700 lumens of retina searing brightness.
Diablo is the 'uber' evolution of our widely acclaimed Joystick model offering you the brightest light available in the smallest and lightest weight package and still kept it cable-free for your riding enjoyment!


Comes standard with both our micro adjust ball joint helmet mount and a quick release handlebar mount (to make even more use of a cable free light for repairs, map reading etc) Use it on two bikes – helmet for off road and bar for road.


Specifications:
Weight: 102g (light only)
Output: 700 Lumens
Emitter: Single Seoul P7
Functions: MaXx / High / Low / Flashing
Burn Times: 1 hr / 3hrs / 10hrs/ days! !
Dimensions: Diameter at widest point 35mm/ Length 115mm

Features:
Includes helmet mount with full tilt "Joystick" ball joint articulating adjustment
Collimated lens with dual beam optics long and wide beam pattern.
Fully sealed against the elements
Cable Free- Fully contained design
Lithium-ion rechargeable battery
Fuel Gauge battery life indicator and light level indicator
Emergency reserve fuel tank
Accepts Smart Port Technology accessories such as Piggyback batteries and a Red Eye rear light. Sophisticated CNC machined alloy body, anodized and laser etched for rugged durability
Lanyard included in packaging
Comes with branded protective zip up storage case.
Exclusive USA compatible 2 pin Smart charger with charge level indicator.

Warranty:
Exposure Lights are not available through bike stores. Purchase direct from IBEX Sports, the exclusive authorized US importer to ensure you get the correct charger and for technical and warranty support.
LEDs lifetime
Complete light including battery: 2 Years.

Buy Now
Accessories other users have purchased for this light:
White Eye
Red Eye
Red Eye Micro
Bar mount
1 cell Piggyback battery

14 day Money Back Guarantee!
We're confident that Exposure Lights will exceed your expectations but, if you want to see for yourself why over 10 reputable magazines have given the lights the top ratings, please follow our common sense return policy by clicking here.

Win a 2010 Exposure Lights Diablo!

We're giving away a 2010 Exposure Lights Diablo valued at $250!

To enter, all you have to do is, become a fan of Exposure Lights USA on Facebook, go to the Discussions tab, and post under the discussion "Hey! Make me the winner!", and simply tell us which single feature about Exposure Lights most interests you.

Interbike 2009 Diablo Overview

Our very own James, here at Interbike 2009 discussing and displaying the 2010 Exposure Lights Diablo. Video Courtesy of Bike Magazine