Troutie very kindly sent me his prototype XML cutie to have a play with, here are a few notes from last nights fist ride

first impressions out of the box, the light unit is very very light weight even though compared to my Liberator it’s quite big, the battery however is over twice the size of the Libs battery, but then this is a prototype. it fitted well to the side of my headtube and didn’t interfere with pedalling and stayed put over rough ground

2011-08-20_17-17-39_10.jpg by rOcKeTdOgUk, on Flickr

it gives off a white/slightly yellow light which seems easier on the eye than more “bluer” lights i’ve used (i am however a little colourblind!) the beam is quite wide without much fade at the edges, the Liberator does qive a wider spread at the periferal sides of vision, but then is is a totally different LED layout (round v rectangular)

low beam

NB low by rOcKeTdOgUk, on Flickr

medium beam

NB med by rOcKeTdOgUk, on Flickr

boost

NB boost by rOcKeTdOgUk, on Flickr

for wide open fields and roads the low beam is more than enough, in the woods medium gave excellent vision ahead with plenty of distance to react to trail obstacles with out the “tunnel vision” you get with some lights, the boost beam is pretty insane, lighting up the woods like daylight and i’ll be honest was a bit too much and took away some of the thrill and psuedo danger of night riding, nice to have but i’d say 95% of the time you just wouldn’t use it
i was out around 2.5hrs playing with all the levels and the cutie was on for the whole time and showed no sign of losing power (i’m sure Troutie can give you the burn times
edit:full will go for about 2 hours
medium will go for about 8 hours
low will go for 33 hours
to conclude, it’s an awesome light, it’ll tackle any offroad riding with ease with plenty of battery life for a decent length ride in the dark and if you were just usung it to commute it would ensure you were seen by other road users and give you plenty of spread to pic up kerbs and verges on unlit roads, my only minuse is the size of the battery but as this might not be the battery that comes with the light as standard it’s a minor quibble.

oh and one more thing, this rabbit was alive before it got caught in the Cutie’s beam…and when we checked it, it was cooked! 😉

cutie killed a bunny by rOcKeTdOgUk, on Flickr

Posted 10 years ago

Awwww. Loving the light tho!
*wonders if I would get away with getting one?**
**nah, probably not..**

Posted 10 years ago

oh and one more thing, this rabbit was alive before it got caught in the Cutie’s beam…and when we checked it, it was cooked!

<wipes coffee off keyboard> 😉

Posted 10 years ago

Just a couple of questions, do we have an indication as to price yet? and will there be a helmet attachment available?

Posted 10 years ago

And why does it have such a daft name?

Posted 10 years ago

I think it is in relation to the brand name for the optics used.

Posted 10 years ago

Tomaso has hit it but thats not its name will be some thing else when I think of a name .

possibly a helmet mount sometime and no idea of a price yet

Cool write up RD Spider eyes Next when Bigface gets back from his Bivvy
eekend

Posted 10 years ago

Chris, did you get my email regarding spidereyes?
Iain

Posted 10 years ago

I did Iain and sent a reply which seems to have not arrived

Yes you can have it after Rocketdog gets his paws on it
mail him your address.

Posted 10 years ago

Thanks Chris, I’ll mail Rocketdog

Posted 10 years ago

Rocketdog.
If you had to choose one light for nightrides would you choose the liberator or the cutie ?
Wondering if its worth holding out for the cutie.
Cheers

Posted 10 years ago

there’s not a lot of difference but i like the compactness of the Liberator, don’t forget though the cutie design may change

Posted 10 years ago

Cheers,

I thought the pics that troutie posted on another post comparing different lights looked like the cutie was brighter and had a better spread or light?

also like the size of the liberator so that might swing if not a huge difference in light.

Posted 10 years ago

Nibby why not send rocketdog your address and have a spin with the light

Posted 10 years ago

Trout … I’m fairly new t’forumworld … This may be a naive question and the lights look really great, will these be available for purchase (or am I missing something obvious?).

Posted 10 years ago

Popartpoem

I hope to bring a light like this as either a diy kit or built up for sale soon certainly before the clocks alter .

I have all components just waiting for the machine shop now .

It wont be this shape though be nicer

Posted 10 years ago

Anyone else want to try this light mail Rocketdog and he will forward it to you .

Posted 10 years ago

Email sent. Cheers, Scooper

Posted 10 years ago

OK scooper please can you mail me also with your name and address plus phone so I know Where it has gone .

Posted 10 years ago

Never mind the light , did you enjoy your fist ride RD 😯

Posted 10 years ago

cutie posted to scooper yesterday

Posted 10 years ago

Bit tidier now

Posted 10 years ago

Nice bit of kit.

Posted 10 years ago

trout that new housing looks ace.

Have you got your mmmbop built up again? i thought you were tearing about on a mega?

Posted 10 years ago

What happened was when the MMbop frames were being sold cheap I got another one and built up a bike for the missus but she only rides rarely
so I have the use of that one as well as the mega .

new housings fresh from the machine shop . the first protos .
A bit of a retro look which I am testing before having a run made .

so easy to build that there will be a self build kit coming soon .
as well as some built up

Posted 10 years ago

Wow, really like the look of the new housing/casing unit. Any clue as to how much as a built unit?

Posted 10 years ago

trout,

I realise it is being particularly picky but one of the things i really liked about your prototype was the bar mount! Although you can’t really see it in rocketdogs pic it has your logo on it which is a neat touch and really set the lights apart as one of yours.

I could see reasoning behind it if it was sold as a diy kit :-
* possibility of the light being built not being to your standards
* depending on construction it could make the housing hellish expensive

however if you go down the route of selling complete builds i think it would be a great shame to loose that bit of brand identity.

Also in my mind it just looks a more secure solution for fixing the light to the bar.

Posted 10 years ago

Troutie – what ‘size’ battery is rocketdog quoting for those run times?

Posted 10 years ago

Stuey

It is a 14.8 volt 4.4 amp hour smudge pack .

Rusty Mac

The mount is just one I had there will be a newer mount though not Aluminium

Plenty of room for some laser etching on the light body

Posted 10 years ago

How does this compare to the Liberator then? Price and lumens wise?

And will it be anodised? 😀

Posted 10 years ago

Chris that is very very tidy , any idea on cost yet

Posted 10 years ago

Price I am waiting for a cost from the machine shop but expect it to be around the Libs price but will need an endurance battery if using full for any length of time

Lib measured at 1700 lumens
triple xml was measured at 2800 lumens

Posted 10 years ago

“Fist ride” 😯 😕

Trout how do you feel about your lights being used for sexual deviancy?

Doesn’t the heat make the mintyarselard go all runny

More seriously looks quite smart that.

Posted 10 years ago

Hi Chris, I know your a busy man, did you get chance to have a look at those Fireball lights my missus dropped off?

Cheers Jason

Posted 10 years ago

If you want it tested on the rocky southern alps, please feel free to send me one 😉

Posted 10 years ago

and now this has arrived to play with

Spidereyes by rOcKeTdOgUk, on Flickr

Posted 10 years ago

Chris, mail sent regardig Cutie.

Posted 10 years ago

Those spider eyes look like a DIY light thread I’ve been watching on mtbr for the last 4 months. Looks as though both will be the perfect helmet light.

Posted 10 years ago

It certainly weighs next to nowt

Posted 10 years ago

I love the look of the Spider Eyes, just need them in black…

Posted 10 years ago