First Look: The 2016 Light & Motion Seca 2000 Race

The night riding season is well and truly upon us. With the late sunrises and early sunsets of winter, comes the need for artificial lighting to help us escape onto the singletrack when free time permits. But night riding isn’t just a winter sport, as it can also be the perfect way to beat the midday summer heat for those of us who ride in warmer climates. It’s also an essential component for 12 and 24-hour racing, which although be less popular in Australia than it was a few years ago, is still one of the most exciting race formats you can tackle on two wheels.

Those reasons aside, I chose to night ride because I find it exhilarating. I love riding singletrack with the pure focus and determination that night riding demands from you. Familiar trails take on a whole new dimension when hidden under dancing shadows, and you’ve gotta be just a little more on your game than usual. Night riding is also a great way to unlock more available hours in the day for riding. In fact, Light & Motion themselves put it quite eloquently on their website; “(It’s) the only upgrade for your bike that will give you hours of extra riding time every day.” To help me tap into those additional hours, I recently received the brand-new Seca 2000 light to put to the test on the trail.

“The ultimate light for night-riding, the Seca delivers an unparalleled level of quality, performance, and reliability. Custom optics harness the power of a 6 LED array using the best parts available to throw a beautifully controlled beam pattern. Discreet fin cooling system ensures that the light delivers a consistent level of light output through the duration of the run-time. Certified to the FL-1 Standard, the Seca is an engineering marvel that remains far ahead of the competition.” – Light & Motion

• 2000 Lumen Output certified to the FL-1 Standard
• A 6 LED array using the best CREE LEDs and enhanced firmware
• Custom engineered bi-conic reflector optimizes the light to provide a smooth, even beam pattern with a wide, far-reaching spread of light that focuses the light where you need it.
• Beam pattern was engineered to maximize riders’ depth perception with optics that eliminate the snowball effect, without wasting any light
• Battery: 3 Cell Lithium-Ion Rechargeable
• Lumens: 2000 (High), 1100 (Medium), 575 (Low)
• Run Time: 1.5 hours (High), 3 hours (Medium), 6 hours (Low)
• Charge Time: 2.5 hours
• Claimed System Weight: 343 grams
• Includes: Handlebar mount/helmet mount, battery strap, Mini L 1.5 Charger & zippered bag
• RRP: $649.95

In the last issue of AMB, I finished off my long-term review of the Light & Motion Seca 1500, which I’ve been using for the past 2 years as my go-to mountain bike light. The Seca 2000 shares the same battery, the same mounting system and the same head unit as its little brother, but pumps up the power to a claimed 2000 Lumens. Interestingly, claimed run times are actually the same between the Seca 2000 and my old Seca 1500, which is a case of having improved electronics and new CREE LED’s that are able to punch out more power with more efficiency. I’ll be running some comparisons between the two Seca lights over the next couple of months to find out if the price difference is worth it for the extra Lumens.

Power is nothing without control. 6 powerful CREE LED’s are positioned behind a bi-conic reflector that is designed to produce a balanced spread of light. As with all of their bicycle and diving lights, Light & Motion manufacturer this head-unit in their Californian factory.

Careful attention to heat management ensures that those LED’s maintain a consistent output throughout the battery’s burn time. The rear of the head unit features multiple heat sinks to maximise airflow.

The head unit features an integrated rubber strap that you can either mount to your handlebar, or to the rounded helmet bracket.

At 130 grams, the head unit is impressively lightweight. Given our confirmed weights for the battery and head unit, Light & Motion’s claimed system weight of 343 grams seems bang-on.

I’ll be putting the Seca 2000 through the ringer over the next few months, with a schedule packed with mid-week trail riding, commuting and 12/24 hour racing that should help to unearth any potential weaknesses of this US-manufactured lightset. The specs are certainly impressive on paper thought, and I really dig all of the in-house testing that Light & Motion conduct in order to prove their power claims.

For more information about the Light & Motion range, head to Jet Black Products