2014 Lights Shootout, Bike Light, Light & Motion, Lights, Lights Shootout, Seca 2000 Race - October 20, 2013

Review: Light & Motion Seca 2000 Race

This used to be the Seca 400 many moons ago and it grew up to be the Seca 1400 with 1400 Lumens. It was plenty bright but the price was too much at $700. Last year, they increased the brightness and efficiency to put out 1700 Lumens in a beam pattern that puts the light where you need it. The latest incarnation of this groundbreaking head unit is a 2000 Lumen powerhouse for $500.

But the real story is still the beam pattern as much of the light is pointed to the ground and the sides. Very little of the light is wasted into empty space. So hats off to Light & Motion for reviving one the best designed light heads ever made in the bike market.

But the design is old and it really is due for a redesign. Light form factors have moved on now to smaller head units, shorter cords (or no cords at all) and more integrated batteries that can be mounted on the stem.

The Taz 1000 and Taz 1200 are good alternatives, as they sport a similar beam pattern but in a flashlight package.

Specifications

Price: $500
Claimed Lumens: 2000 Lumens
Measured Lumens: 2022 Lumens
Measured MTBR Lux: 170 Lux
Lumens per $: 4.04 Lumens
Lumens per gram: 5.90 Lumens
Time on High: 1:30 Hours
Charge Time: 2:30 Hours
Mounted Weight: 343 grams
Category: High End

Strengths

Beam pattern, beam pattern
Light is not wasted on the top where it usually doesn’t reflect off anything
Excellent battery and charger
Mount is desceptively simple yet effective. It is very easy to adjust or transfer to another bike.
Excellent packaging as they’re using older, unused boxes to save resources

Weaknesses

Extra long cable and huge connector is not ideal
No ideal helmet light in the Light & Motion line to complement it

Mounting

Handlebar mounting is done with very slick strap that can be tightened based on the rider’s preference. The same strap is used for standard and oversized handlebars. At first we found the strap too long and found the excess bothersome but we realized we can loop the strap back in the pin and tuck it neatly. It can be aimed left to right.

Mtbr Light Meter Measurements

This light measured 170 Lux on our ambient light measurement facility. The light output measurement is performed by placing a Lux light meter beside the light. Both are pointed at the ceiling (five feet above) of a dark room. This measurement uses the ambient light produced by the bike light.

Integrating Sphere Measured Lumens

This light measured 2022 Lumens in an integrating sphere. Claimed Lumens by the manufacturer is 2000 Lumens. The Lumen-hour graph below shows how the light performs over the first three minutes of its battery cycle.

Compare all Lumen Tests here »

Tunnel Beam Pattern Photo

The location is useful since it has walls and a ceiling that can display a bike light beam pattern. The walls have a lot of graffiti on them and actually show detail when they are lit up by a light with a wide angle. Cones and targets are set up with the far target set up at 120 feet.