The Serfas Thunderbolt became one of our favorite lights last year with its small, rechargeable package and serious Lumen power. It's an LED array that is visible from a very wide viewing angle, making it a perfect 'to be seen' commuter light.
This year, the Thunderbolt evolves with a matching tail light and a clear housing for both headlight and tail light versions. The clear housing for the lights transmits the light through the housing, giving extra brightness and more degree angles of visibility.
The tail light version is of course useful, as it allows the rider to be very visible from behind. The unique shape of this light allows it to be attached to almost any part of the bike.
Of course the light is rechargeable with lithium batteries integrated into the light. The batteries are not very big for a light this bright, so run time is only 1:15 hours at the constant high mode. High Flash mode delivers a decent 4 hours of run time.
Integrating Sphere Measured Lumens
This light measured 82 Lumens in an integrating sphere. Claimed Lumens by the manufacturer is 90 Lumens. The Lumen-hour graph below shows how the light performs over the first three minutes of its battery cycle. Compare all Lumen Tests here »
Strengths
- 40 grams and tiny
- Really high visibility, especially with the clear housing
- 80-90 Lumens of actual output is excellent for a light of this size
- Light is pretty versatile and can be used for other purposes such us a camping light
Weaknesses
- 1:15 in constant High mode is pretty short
- At this price point, the competition is catching up with much brighter lights with longer run times.
Specifications
- Price: $40
- Claimed Lumens: 90 Lumens
- Measured Lumens: 82 Lumens (some light leakage in the integrating sphere occurred due to the light's unusual shape
- Lumens per $: 2.05 Lumens
- Lumens per gram: 2.05 Lumens
- Time on High: 1:15 Hours
- Charge Time: n/a Hours
- Mounted Weight: 40 grams
- Category: Commuter
Overall Rating
For more information visit www.serfas.com.
This article is part of Mtbr and RoadBikeReview's 2015 Lights Shootout. To see all the bike lights tested CLICK HERE.