While you can commute through the city glare-free in low beam mode, the high beam function unleashes a broad carpet of light with 1600 lumens. If you want, you can also control the headlamp via an app on your mobile phone or smartwatch, giving you an exact lighting time to the minute. At maximum level, the 54 Wh battery provides around two hours of light plus two hours of reserve light. If you use the highly polished battery for at least 50 per cent in long-life mode, you even get a guarantee of up to five years. An automatic light sensor in the battery for driving through tunnels and a coming home function like in a car are nice additional functions of the M99.
As the competition for powerful rechargeable lights with StVZO is limited, we compared the Supernova with the Lupine SL AF with 1300 lumens for 466 euros. Because Supernova works with a reflector and Lupine with a lens, the light patterns are very different. While the Supernova has a significantly larger light spot and is not as sharply defined at the edges, the spot on the Lupine is smaller but appears to be drawn with a ruler at the edges, which is somewhat irritating when riding in a cradle. On the other hand, the Lupine illuminates more homogeneously and has no spots like the Supernova. In the high beam mode, the M99 fades a little higher and the wired remote control offers better feedback.
PLUS. Smart battery control; large-area illumination; precise lighting time to the minute via app; high-quality workmanship
MINUS High price; voluminous lamp housing; somewhat inhomogeneous light pattern due to the reflector
Weight Lamp with battery 501 grams
Price 539 Euro
You can find this article in BIKE 3/2020. You can read the entire digital edition in the BIKE app (iTunes and Google Play) or the print edition in the DK shop reorder - while stocks last:
Stefan Frey
Editor
