Gloworm XSV Premium Bike Light Review

We tested the 3,600 lumen Gloworm XSV bike light on the trails at night. This light packs smart features like adjustable brightness modes, swappable optics and beam patterns, and standardized cables and connectors.
Read the full review here:
www.singletracks.com/mtb-gear...
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[@schadlarry]

Just bought it at Chain Reaction on sale for $235 USD. Been using a NR1100 which is a 900 lumen light that might last 1.5 hours, which always has me racing the clock. If I run the XSV at 50% at 1900 lumens it will last almost five hours according to Gloworms spec sheet. I like the remote option. Saw another review where he switched the optics to honeycomb - spot - honeycomb and got a wider beam pattern.

[@msgesus4518]

I have an older model gloworm xs. Use it as a bar mount and pair with a relatively cheap helmet light. It's a workhorse, you can replace the battery not like integrated lights, I have a mode for climbing which uses barely any battery, it has a battery indicator so you don't get caught out, and the customer support is amazing if anything breaks. It was hella expensive but I've had it for 5 years and was a great investment if you are serious about getting into night riding.

[@Saccojoe]

Northern Mn. here. Stopped looking at lumens… focusing 😉 more on beam pattern. How reliable is the swapping of lens? Not a fan of iffy connections. Have you ever taken a look at OutBoundLighting lights?

[@singletracks]

Swapping the lens is easy and doesn't involve opening sensitive parts of the light.

[@MiloLife]

I exited the chat at $400

[@davidmstephenson69]

Good job you missed that train.

[@sdevane75]

That certainly didn't look close to 3600lumens.. more like 1-1600

[@singletracks]

Hmm. Might be hard to tell from the video? On my night ride last night I had the light in "low" mode all night and more than one person complained that it was so bright it was hurting their eyes. Then I turned it on high to show how bright it can really get haha

[@boodles07]

Incorrect. The lumens are true as advertised.

[@GT-bx1jp]

$400 headlight...ha ha...maybe if I had a $4000 bike. It all depends whether you need to trail ride at night. I'll limit my trail rides during daytime and buy a $100 light set for night rides under street lights.

[@singletracks]

A $100 light can work for riding trails just fine as long as you aren't riding too fast. More expensive lights tend to be brighter, last longer, and offer other performance benefits. It's sorta like how race-oriented bikes tend to cost much more than everyday trail bikes. The XSV is basically a race-oriented light.

[@cliffjones1061]

"Premium" and then fumbles around with the home depot Velcro strap lol what a joke. And who cares about lumens anymore are you stuck in 2016? You can get better light with less lumens.

[@singletracks]

LOL, agreed the velcro strap is not premium. "The big thing that mountain bikers like to focus on is lumen count." I tried to say that sarcastically, guess that didn't come through haha.

[@cliffjones1061]

@@singletracks might try saying next time "the big thing with outdated mountain bike light manufactures is they like to play the I have more lumens than you game and this light has X many!"

[@singletracks]

@@cliffjones1061 Agreed. If you read the light reviews on Singletracks, we've been saying the same thing in various ways over the years. Savvy consumers recognize that this isn't the most important #, but most bike light consumers aren't there yet, so the brands will continue to focus on the lumen count. It's sorta like digital camera companies and megapixel counts in the early 2000s. In the written review of this light, we ribbed Gloworm a bit for stating their lumens are "real" rather than "theoretical" which is pretty funny. Actually, we blame MTBR and their annual bike light shootout where they tested brightness at a university lab to get the EXACT, REAL lumens for every light LOL. "Brand XYZ says their light is 1,000 lumens, but our test shows it's actually 838!"

[@mihaics23]

Who ever spend 400 USD or euro on this bike light ?! 😳 🤔 🤦‍♂️ Have you ever heard about SolarStorm X2 or SolarStorm X3 Bicycle Light ? 🤔 😁 I think not . With 400 USD or euro you can buy almost 10 SolarStorm bike lights 🤦‍♂️ I have two of these bike lights