Control your bike lights with a single button - Trek Commuter Pro RT Connected Headlight Review

[@sugarbagels]

bless them for the ability to disable the flash mode. somebody out there in ux is actually listening. this is a genuinely intriguing set of lights

[@TheSweetCyclists]

Yea, flash mode can be frustrating when your riding at night. Other lights like Magicshine or Outbound Lighting separate flash mode with double presses or holds which I think is a better approach then a full disable mode. Flash mode is pretty nice for daytime riding.

[@JitinMisra]

@@TheSweetCyclistswhat do you think of this compare to magicshine rn 1500?

[@TheSweetCyclists]

The Magicshine RN 1500 is more affordable, but it lacks the anti-glare beam design and taillight control the Trek offers. If those aren't important to you, then the Magicshine is the better deal.@@JitinMisra

[@ilovephotography1254]

Thank you for your continuing series on the"Cut-off Beam Headlights"... This new Trek light appears to be an ok first step. However, this light needs to have more output and the Amber bleeding with the white light beam is just wrong. I would hope that Trek could make a light that is with a clear side window (eliminating the Amber bleed) and with a higher light output. On pitch black nights, I often go down steep hills at high speeds. In the interest of my safety, I need that extra power to be available. I did buy and then return the Outbound Detour. I really wanted to love this light, however the light beam had areas of inconsistency that I found to be distracting and a deal breaker. I simply want a consistent flat beam, with plenty of power on demand. Lightskin appears to have promising light. It's not sold, backed and supported in US by any retailer and is expensive. That makes buying it a gamble. That being said, If they had US retailers and I could get my hands on demo to see if the light performed well for my needs, I would not hesitate to pay the price for my ability to ride safely. The idea of a cutoff light has appealed to me for a long time. Maybe I need to go on Amazon's Germany site for results? Even though I'm in the US, Amazon Prime in Europe has the same return policy.

[@TheSweetCyclists]

Good points. The side amber cutouts are definitely too bright and bleed into the beam. Have you looked into the Lupine SL lights? They are pricey but have crisp project lenses and fully serviceable designs. We have the review for the SL AF (kzbin.info/www/bejne/gZO7qKSVmc6joMk) and are working on the SL Mono review which is similar but has an integrated battery that we'll be dropping soon.

[@tonioyendis4464]

Excellent!

[@drdomestos]

If the Flare RT used USB C charging it would be almost the perfect lighting set. It still surprises me that paired front/rear lighting sets with the ability to turn both on at the same time is not the de-facto standard given the technology to do it has been around for years.

[@TheSweetCyclists]

Hopefully the next version of the Bontrager Flare RT and Ion RT light will be USB-C, both of the models are fairly dated already. I definitely agree with you though, being able to turn both lights on and off together makes so much sense. Imaging getting into your car and having separate switches for your headlight and taillight.

[@JitinMisra]

@@TheSweetCyclistsI want the lights to be controlled by bike computer .. so if I turn off/on bike computer it does same for lights

[@TheSweetCyclists]

I'm not sure if there is a fully connected bike computer + light + taillight combination on the market yet. The Trek Bontrager RT lights can be paired with the RIDETime Elite computer which lets you turn them all off together - but you still manually them on.@@JitinMisra

[@migueltrujillo5932]

@@JitinMisra bet those bikes with computers are expensive

[@JitinMisra]

@@migueltrujillo5932 my wahoo element bolt v2 got an update a few months ago that allows it to control my garmin varia and bontrager ion 200 front light . It’s pretty neat !

[@Enzo-ox9uf]

If possible, can you make a review for Enfitnix lights?

[@JogBird]

because of the lens pattern, this needs to be mounted vertically with the controls on top.. it cannot be mounted below a garmin or otherwise upside-down

[@TheSweetCyclists]

Yes - that's a downside of beam cut off lights. Trek does offer a Blendr mount (www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/equipment/cycling-components/bike-stems-accessories/bike-stem-parts-accessories/bontrager-blendr-low-commuter-light-mount/p/36285/) that uses the bottom mounting spot of a compatible Blendr stem. You can put it underneath a computer if you own the right accessories.

[@johnr5545]

Thanks god bless

[@nunyabusiness4226]

I just purchased this today, I’m about to go out on a night ride and try it out. The one thing I can say now that I would like to see improved is the mount. The mount does not allow any left/right swivel. This is a problem for me because my handle bars are curved and this puts the light on a weird angle that I don’t like.

[@TheSweetCyclists]

Hope you enjoy it. Yes - the handlebar mount is pretty basic. Trek offers a Blendr mount that lets you place the light under your stem which is a cleaner way to install it on your bike - www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/equipment/cycling-components/bike-stems-accessories/bike-stem-parts-accessories/bontrager-blendr-low-commuter-light-mount/p/36285/?colorCode=black

[@bradfa]

Does this headlight support pass-thru charging? Like can you connect a USB power bank to the headlight so that it charges while running in order to get a longer run-time? The Outbound Detour supports this.

[@TheSweetCyclists]

Just tried it out - surprisingly it does not. The light shuts off when it's plugged into power and won't turn on. The Outbound Lightning Detour does support the pass through which is a nice option for very long rides.

[@bradfa]

@@TheSweetCyclists thank you for trying this! Super helpful!

[@johnr5545]

Nice job god bless

[@errz]

Will you be reviewing Farina smart light?

[@TheSweetCyclists]

The Farina is definitely a cool looking light but the company Smart Bike Lights hasn't been responsive and has gotten a lot of negative feedback - I would be weary about buying products from them.

[@philparatrooper]

There was no mention of ant+ connection to garmin head units. Is it possible to turn on your garmin and all the lights turn on?

[@TheSweetCyclists]

Good question - yes, the Commuter Pro RT has the same light control integration as the Ion / Flare RT so you can pair them with a Garmin computer.

[@SLuMKillakilla666]

I've seen Soo many people complaining about it falling off the bracket is this true? Just ordered the set and now I'm worried

[@TheSweetCyclists]

I haven't run into that issue, is it possible people aren't sliding it far enough back for it to lock in place? Trek also offers various Blendr mounts for this light (it shares same mounting as other Trek lights) so you can skip the handlebar mount and put this in front of your stem instead.

[@chrissinclair8705]

This looks like a very nice little light. A little pricey but the cutoff is very nice. I'm going to send this video to my friend as he has a patented Chinese "A$$hole beam" technology which is annoying as all hell let me tell you. At least he has the good sense to basically point it directly in front of him 6 feet in front of him but it's basically dangerous as he can't see anything on the road at any sort of normal speed and if he tilts it up even just a bit the glare is horrible and blinding. Spend more than $30 please gentlemen. Damn Amazon. I'll point him to your channel and get him to go through your reviews of some real bike lights instead of buying the "1000000" lumen special on Amazon for $30. The even sadder thing is he put it on a $2000 e-bike. Like c'mon buddy, stop drinking for a month and put the money into something that doesn't napalm the pedestrians.

[@jing713]

A$$hole beam 😂😂😂

[@chrispace9916]

Can you pair the Commuter Pro with all the other RT headlights?

[@TheSweetCyclists]

Yes, you can even sync it with any of the RT lights. I don't have two Commuter Pro RT headlights, but I wouldn't be surprised if you could also connect two of them together as well.

[@sim999]

How to update firmware?

[@TheSweetCyclists]

I'm not sure if there is a way to do that - have you heard something different? Trek has an app called "Trek Accessories" but that only seems to be designed to work with the CarBack radar.

[@edvilleangol3279]

Can it connect with the Garmin edge 1030 ?

[@TheSweetCyclists]

I don't have a device to test it, but Bontrager has a Light Control App (apps.garmin.com/apps/ef431dbd-f403-487c-85d5-685447dc393b?tid=0) that should work across the RT lights. I'm not sure if you could pair the taillight to the Commuter Pro RT and a Garmin headunit at the same time though.

[@edvilleangol3279]

I asked an employee from Trek bike store, he said yes and I purchased the rt trek light and it works with it.

[@TheSweetCyclists]

Can you confirm if you can connect a taillight to the Commuter Pro RT and the Garmin at the same time?@@edvilleangol3279

[@edvilleangol3279]

Yes I can

[@sim999]

Front light USB-C, and rear Flare RT - micro USB, Wtf?. Or I get old model Flare RT

[@TheSweetCyclists]

I don't believe Trek has updated the Flare / Ion RT lights aside from rebranding them from Bontrager to Trek yet. Hopefully they do an update and add USB-C charging to bring it up to modern standards.

[@EagleEye-MJG]

The amount of money Trek is asking for this light, is silly in comparison to what the market has been offering for the past Two Years. The obnoxious amount of Lumens & Battery Life you can get for the same price is comical.

[@TheSweetCyclists]

I agree, the full retail price for the headlight / taillight set just seems too high to me. Trek has sales fairly regularly so if you can buy these for 15-30% off then it's a lot more reasonable or the one button headlight and taillight control.

[@josephrowlett3269]

Its nice - aint going to lie - but Trek is gouging Americans - As a result i do not buy anything Trek-

[@johnr5545]

Thanks god bless