# Niterider MiNewt X2 Dual quick peek



## cydswipe (Mar 7, 2002)

So I got this light system last week. It's 2 LED lights run from a single battery. The main reason I posted this was I was really taken aback as to how small it really is. I don't have a LBS that stocks this brand so I couldn't hold it or see it berfore I bought it. The catalog and online stock photos made it seem, well, bigger. However, it does a heck of a job of throwing bright light, 300 lumens, out. I really like the light on both the battery and the line light around the lights themselves that give you the ammount of charge in the battery. Blue = good to go, Red=less than 15% of the battery power left. I've used the high and low setting. There isn't a lot of noticible differance between the 2. I don't use the flash mode. My ride is only about an hour round trip, so I have plenty of battery. The battery is light weight and has a rubbery grove on the one side and a velcro strap that holds it tight to the stem. The rubber rings that hold the lamp to your handlebar work pretty good too. I just thought since the days are getting shorter this would be a good look at a light that maybe you haven't seen like this.


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## g8keyper (Jun 30, 2008)

I looked at one of these today online. Have you had the chance to use it very much? How long are the batteries really lasting? 

I read your rides are usually short, but figured you probably have better info than most the people trying to sell them online.

Thanks!!


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## rufus (Feb 3, 2004)

Boy, that is tiny. The battery pack especially, from pictures on the website I was expecting somethig bigger, like paperback book size.


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## bigbill (Feb 15, 2005)

I am curious to the "real life" experiences Newt users. When I look at a website for lights, the first place I look is battery life. My commute requires 3-3.5 hours of capacity. The commute is usually 2:40 for the round trip, but the battery sits during the day and capacity will fall off a little due to self discharge. I am not interested in owning two chargers. I currently use a NR Blowtorch HID and universal tail light. That combination is good for around three hours. I have been using this system for three years and have noticed a little fall-off in battery capacity. A new battery is close to the cost of a decent LED system. 

What I am interested in is the real life experiences of the users of LED systems. The people who leave the house in the morning with a fully charged battery and how long and well the battery performs on the evening trip home. I live in the PNW, within a few weeks I will be burning a headlight in both directions.


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## CommuterDawg (May 15, 2007)

I own one of these and the battery life is about 2 to 2 1/2 hours - thats mostly at the "high" setting. I mostly use them for night riding on my mountain bike along with a Dinotte LED headlamp. I do use them on my commuter but my commute is only an hour or so each way so I don't ride long enough to run out the battery. I purchased an extra battery to deal with the relatively short battery life. I just swap it out when on longer night rides. An extra battery was ~90 bucks.

Great light but the one issue is the short battery life. However, I don't find that an issue as long as I have my spare battery  

CD


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## FatTireFred (Jan 31, 2005)

bigbill said:


> I am curious to the "real life" experiences Newt users. When I look at a website for lights, the first place I look is battery life. My commute requires 3-3.5 hours of capacity. The commute is usually 2:40 for the round trip, but the battery sits during the day and capacity will fall off a little due to self discharge. I am not interested in owning two chargers. I currently use a NR Blowtorch HID and universal tail light. That combination is good for around three hours. I have been using this system for three years and have noticed a little fall-off in battery capacity. A new battery is close to the cost of a decent LED system.
> 
> What I am interested in is the real life experiences of the users of LED systems. The people who leave the house in the morning with a fully charged battery and how long and well the battery performs on the evening trip home. I live in the PNW, within a few weeks I will be burning a headlight in both directions.




you might check out the light board at mtbr


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## PaulRivers (Sep 11, 2006)

bigbill said:


> I am curious to the "real life" experiences Newt users. When I look at a website for lights, the first place I look is battery life. My commute requires 3-3.5 hours of capacity. The commute is usually 2:40 for the round trip, but the battery sits during the day and capacity will fall off a little due to self discharge. I am not interested in owning two chargers. I currently use a NR Blowtorch HID and universal tail light. That combination is good for around three hours. I have been using this system for three years and have noticed a little fall-off in battery capacity. A new battery is close to the cost of a decent LED system.
> 
> What I am interested in is the real life experiences of the users of LED systems. The people who leave the house in the morning with a fully charged battery and how long and well the battery performs on the evening trip home. I live in the PNW, within a few weeks I will be burning a headlight in both directions.


fyi, I have a different light, but if I leave my light connected to me batteries and off, it still slowly drains the batteries. Have you tried disconnecting the light from the battery when you're at the office? Just thought maybe it might be helpful. Good luck!


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## blakcloud (Apr 13, 2006)

I have the MiNewt X2 single version and I don't get half the battery life that is claimed. I get one hour on high and that's it. Mostly I use the flashing just to conserve battery life. The light ended up shorting out and I sent it back under warranty. NR was great at servicing it and sending it back to me. I also asked them to check the battery because of the low burn times I was getting, but they said the battery was fine. 

Would I buy the light again? The answer is no. Yes the size is small and it is bright but the battery life is just not long enough for me. I would rather carry a larger battery for longer life. My commute is 1 hour and 10 minutes and the light will not last that long on high, I have to switch to a lower power or flashing to get home. And I hate the rubber band that holds it on the bars. It is hard to put on when your hands are cold (I ride all winter) and the hook is too small. I would prefer a dedicated mount for my bike. 

I am glad the OP likes the light and like him, I was surprised at the size of the light and battery. Other people may like this light but I would never buy it again without some major improvements.


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## cydswipe (Mar 7, 2002)

blakcloud said:


> I have the MiNewt X2 single version and I don't get half the battery life that is claimed. I get one hour on high and that's it. Mostly I use the flashing just to conserve battery life. The light ended up shorting out and I sent it back under warranty. NR was great at servicing it and sending it back to me. I also asked them to check the battery because of the low burn times I was getting, but they said the battery was fine.
> 
> Would I buy the light again? The answer is no. Yes the size is small and it is bright but the battery life is just not long enough for me. I would rather carry a larger battery for longer life. My commute is 1 hour and 10 minutes and the light will not last that long on high, I have to switch to a lower power or flashing to get home. And I hate the rubber band that holds it on the bars. It is hard to put on when your hands are cold (I ride all winter) and the hook is too small. I would prefer a dedicated mount for my bike.
> 
> I am glad the OP likes the light and like him, I was surprised at the size of the light and battery. Other people may like this light but I would never buy it again without some major improvements.



I agree about the mount for the lamps. I like the idea of the straps, but, they require a phillips head screwdriver for mounting and adjusting them on the fly isn't easy. I think they are about impossible in the dark. I'm still getting over an hour with the battery on high. I've gone an hour and 45 min. with it on high with no problems. As soon as I can figure out how to take pics at night with it, I'll post some shots compared to the Cateye EL-530 that I use as a back-up now.


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## jaimeS (Nov 18, 2005)

bigbill said:


> What I am interested in is the real life experiences of the users of LED systems. The people who leave the house in the morning with a fully charged battery and how long and well the battery performs on the evening trip home. I live in the PNW, within a few weeks I will be burning a headlight in both directions.


I use a Dinotte 200L mounted to my helmet as a secondary light to a NR Flight that's on my handle bar. The 200L alone doesn't put out enough light to make my commute comfortable, but I thought I'd write about it anyway, as Dinotte has many other more powerful LED options and their quality is top notch.

The 200L can be powered off 4 AA batteries or purchased with a lithium battery option which should provide a longer run time. I've got the AA version w/ some generic rechargeable batteries. It can be run on high for about 1 1/2 hours before the light automatically switches to low. I only run the lights for an hour on my morning commute, and recharge the batteries every night, so the battery life has never been an issue.


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## Sledgehammer03 (Mar 7, 2006)

Blackcloud - Probably the cooler temperature of a TO winter dragging your battery life down, but you knew that. I have been running a single since last winter, and have now complaints. I don't usually ride below 20F. total ride time is max 2.5 hours, and I don't usually need the light the whole time.


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## Chain (Dec 28, 2006)

Does the venting on the beer can actually do anything?


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## PaulRivers (Sep 11, 2006)

The cool thing about the Dinotte AA light is that if you need more runtime, it's relatively trivial to carry a 2nd set of $10 AA batteries with you and swap them. Especially if it's a ride to work / ride home thing.

The catch is that you probably need a 2nd battery charger then, which is another $20. Hmm...now that I wrote that, it's also a pain to put in and take out 8 AA batteries every day. I guess it's kind of one of those cost vs. convenience things. I got the big dinotte light (600L) and it came with the big battery back that I strap to the frame, and I have to admit it is rather convenient to just put the charger by where I keep the frame and (without removing the battery pack) just plug the pack into the charger when I get home. Hmm.


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## Sledgehammer03 (Mar 7, 2006)

Chain said:


> Does the venting on the beer can actually do anything?


I find Coors best if you use your key to make a big hole near the bottom, then pop the top.


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## DukeNeverwinter (Aug 12, 2008)

I use the minewt x2 dual to commute and really like the amount of light it produces. coming from a niterider 10w this light certainly produces more output.


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## Mr. Versatile (Nov 24, 2005)

I've got the Minewtx2, and I like it very much. It's really bright, extremely small, and light weight, easy to install & use. On full power, which is all I ever use, I get 1 1/2 - 1 3/4 hrs. The battery charges in only a couple of hours, so if a round trip is a consideration, you could always carry the charger with you. Even it you cant take your bike inside, you could take the battery in and charge it. Both the charger & battery are small & light. If it take you more than ten seconds to either remove or reinstall the battery, you're a 1st class klutz.


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## g8keyper (Jun 30, 2008)

I bought the USB Niterider today and used it tonight; it is very bright and so small. I used it for about 1.5 hours tonight and it was plenty strong. Like it so far.


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## Chris H (Jul 7, 2005)

I know it's not the MiNewt, but I've had the SOL for at least a year now. Pretty similar to the single system MiNewt, battery is about the same size as well. 

I get about 6 hours or so off a single charge. Another guy I ride with has the SOL as well. He gets about the same burn time as I do. Granted it only throws out about 110 Lumens or so, but it's more than enough for any commuting I do. Probably 3 times as much light as the Dyno Hub on the Big Dummy throws out and I ride it at night just as much if not more.


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## cpcritter (Sep 24, 2008)

I have been using the MiNewt for almost a year. I use the bright mode for my early morning commute and night rides, I use the flash mode for daylight commute home. Because of the size, the ease to move from one bike to another and the amount of light it produces it is one of my best purchases ever.


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## Squidward (Dec 18, 2005)

g8keyper said:


> I bought the USB Niterider today and used it tonight; it is very bright and so small. I used it for about 1.5 hours tonight and it was plenty strong. Like it so far.


I, too, have the USB and I'm very happy with my purchase. What's really nice about it is that if you drain the battery on your commute to the office you can always plug it into a spare USB port on your computer to charge it before heading home. No need to have a second charger at work to charge this light there. So far, I have not had to do this as I leave my house about 40 minutes before sunrise and the light is on for about 30 minutes before I turn it off so I've only charged it twice since getting it over two weeks ago. My ride home is easily an hour before sundown so no need to turn it on except for today because it was really foggy for the second half of my ride home. I'm just waiting for the battery to drain completely before I charge it again.


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## FatTireFred (Jan 31, 2005)

this is a tough one... seems to me that if the usb is your choice (and if you already have rechargeables), then a led torch (e.g., fenix or dx special) makes more sense. a good bit cheaper (<$60 for fenix, 20-30 or less for dx jobs), same amount of light, self-contained, smaller overall, etc.


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## crossracer (Jun 21, 2004)

Two things wrong with the newt, IMHO, and you can take them for what they are worth.

One, the newt doesnt put out enough light for me, i feel like i am "outrunning the light" on my commute. That is not a fault, however anthing over 15 mph and its an issue. 

Two, i really dislike the rubberband mounting system on this system. Being a shop mechanic i quickly adapted a traditional 2 screw reflector bracket to hold the system securly in place. If you ever want to see it send me a private message and i will send pictures. 

However all that said i love the light, it works beautifulon the trail.


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## cpcritter (Sep 24, 2008)

crossracer said:


> Two things wrong with the newt, IMHO, and you can take them for what they are worth.
> 
> One, the newt doesnt put out enough light for me, i feel like i am "outrunning the light" on my commute. That is not a fault, however anthing over 15 mph and its an issue.
> 
> Two, i really dislike the rubberband mounting system on this system. Being a shop mechanic i quickly adapted a traditional 2 screw reflector bracket to hold the system securly in place. If you ever want to see it send me a private message and i will send pictures.


I agree with Crossroads on both points. However, it's a well made $170ish rechargable 150 lumens light. Some people may need more. 

BTW-If your mount can be easily switched between bikes I would love to see it.


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## jcolley (Jul 11, 2007)

I also have the single version and love the light. My morning commute is about 40 minutes and my afternoon is about 45. I typically go 2 days without charging it with no problems. I have done 1 day commuting, 7 day vacation, and another day where I forgot to charge it. It does show some self-discharge, but no too bad.

My worst day was a morning commute w/ 2 previous round-trips on the battery. That didn't make it in to work without dying...


I initially thought that flash mode would save some power, but that isn't the case. The duty cycle flashing gives a higher average power output than the low beam, so it actually lasts longer on low-beam...


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## FatTireFred (Jan 31, 2005)

cpcritter said:


> I agree with Crossroads on both points. However, it's a well made $170ish rechargable 150 lumens light. Some people may need more.
> 
> BTW-If your mount can be easily switched between bikes I would love to see it.




$170 for only 150 lumen?! dang, you're prob better off spending 200 for scar's amoeba


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## cpcritter (Sep 24, 2008)

*Amoeba*



FatTireFred said:


> $170 for only 150 lumen?! dang, you're prob better off spending 200 for scar's amoeba


Yea, I didn't know about that light. I really like the look though and if I read it right 500 lumens? I would have spent a little more for it, assuming run times, durability and a flash feature are comparable.

I do get a complaint from pedestrian on my early morning bike trail portion of my commute. Seems that an old lady is offended by the bright light, I started knocking it down to low beam. She would probably complain if it was too dim also.


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## FatTireFred (Jan 31, 2005)

cpcritter said:


> I do get a complaint from pedestrian on my early morning bike trail portion of my commute. Seems that an old lady is offended by the bright light, I started knocking it down to low beam. She would probably complain if it was too dim also.




easy fix... ask her if she would rather you not see her and run into her


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## H.Bicycletus (Apr 16, 2006)

I've been using the x2 Dual for a couple of weeks now. . .I get just over an hour on full power and it's not even cold yet. . .

I like the light output fine. . .it's plenty bright for 17mph rides in the dark. . .I do supplement that with a Fenix L2D on my helmet, but that's mostly for getting drivers' attention.


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