NiteRider Lumina Micro 900 front light review

The NiteRider Lumina Micro 900 front light is the latest offering in NiteRider’s popular Lumina range.

At 900 lumens, this is one of the least powerful lights NiteRider makes.

However, weighing only 130 grams with a lengthy battery life and simple functionality, it's well suited as a commuting or helmet light.

NiteRider Lumina Micro 900 specifications and details

The NiteRider Lumina Micro 900 is positioned as a light for commuting, light road rides or use as a helmet light.

It has five different modes – Low, Medium, High, Boost, Flash and Walk. The last of these is designed for use in the daylight.

The button on top of the light turns it on and off, and switches between modes.

This also functions as a battery indicator – it starts blue but goes red as the battery nears empty.

The NiteRider Lumina feels quite solid to hold, even though it weighs only 130g.

It’s made with a fibreglass case that is claimed to be water- and dust-proof.

It is charged by a micro USB port on the base of the light, and this is hidden by a rubber cover to prevent water and dirt ingress.

NiteRider Lumina Micro 900 performance

My first thought when using the NiteRider Lumina Micro 900 was what a relief it was to have a light with an easy-to-use mount.

Instead of the usual fiddly mount with a 4mm screw that needs a tool to tighten, or a rubber band that can break or get lost, the NiteRider comes with a plastic mount with a quick-release screw that you can wind in and out to tighten.

This makes it simple to mount and take on and off if you need to swap it between bikes.

The light itself is very easy to use. There are five modes to switch between, with three different light levels, plus flashing modes.

I started off by cycling on some suburban streets and was pleased with the beam. It illuminates the road well, and no light spills out to the sides.

The colour of the beam was a bit of a surprise – it's quite a lot bluer than other lights on the market; the colour is close to daylight.

However, once I was used to this, I found it worked well and differentiated from streetlights.

I then experimented by taking the Lumina Micro 900 to some darker roads. At twilight, it gave out enough light to see, but if you're planning to ride at night on country roads, you’ll want a brighter light than this one.

It would work well as an additional light, such as a helmet light, and will ensure you're seen by oncoming traffic. However, it's not necessarily bright enough for use in deep countryside.

NiteRider markets this light as a potential helmet light. However, you have to buy the helmet mount as an extra, for $19.99.

The spec suggests the run time for the NiteRider on full-beam is only an hour and a half, but I found that to be a vast under-estimation.

My light ran at full beam for three and a half hours, although in the last hour, it was only shining with the lower 650 lumens and started flickering. Still, that’s an impressive run time.

The button on the top goes red when the battery is getting near to empty, to remind you to charge.

The Lumina Micro 900 has one huge downside, though. While it’s easy to use, the mount has a set of rails that the light slides onto, with two indents that enable the light to click into place, thereby fastening it onto the mount.

This design is poorly made and flimsy, and does not grip the light with enough force to withstand much bumping. I would not recommend this light for any sort of off-road use, therefore.

It bumped off on potholed roads, uneven tarmac and cobbles.

The result of the light tumbling off so many times during testing was a chipped body, and the rails that it slides onto have snapped, rendering it useless.

This is a pretty significant flaw for an otherwise good product.

NiteRider Lumina Micro 900 bottom line

The NiteRider Lumina Micro 900 is a compact, easy-to-use and reliable light that will see you through urban riding, commuting and even some twilight rides into the countryside.

However, its mounting design is flimsy and does not hold the light properly over bumpy terrain. If you decide to buy this light, I would suggest using additional tape to secure it to the mount.