Exposure

MaXx-D Mk7 Headlight

As well-established bike nerds, we are especially enthusiastic about products from companies also run by well-established bike nerds, and a shining example of this is anything that comes from our light-minded friends at Exposure. Pieces like the British-engineered and manufactured Exposure MaXx-D Mk7 Headlight are remarkable showcases of technology packed into small and beautiful packages, and even a cursory glance at them makes this clear.

Never mind the beautifully CNC-machined and laser-etched body. Let's start with a big number: 2400. That's the quantity of lumens that the MaXx-D is capable of producing via its 4 XML LEDs. That's roughly triple the output of standard car headlight. That is massively bright. Toggling those LEDs are various programmable light functions, available via the Optimized Mode Selector. An interface called Capacitive Switching means that the entire backcap of the light acts as a touch-sensitive button, making the changing of those modes easy, even if you're wearing thick winter gloves. And our favorite lighting feature? Reflex Technology, an intricate series of accelerometers and yaw sensors, not only accurately assesses your speed, but also your angle of travel. While trudging uphill, for example, the light is smart enough to reduce its beam, keeping your field of vision bright while conserving battery power and reducing the unit's heat output. Pointed downhill, the light will feel you rocketing over the steep terrain and open floodgates to light the way at full blast.

You'd probably think the MaXx-D comes with a clunky external battery and dangling cable that you'll have to awkwardly tape or zip-tie to your frameset somehow, but you'd be wrong. Hiding behind the collimated lens that precisely disperses an even beam pattern, the MaXx-D, like all Exposure lights, efficiently utilizes a compact, rechargeable internal Li-ion battery. The entire self-contained light weighs in at 292 grams, dramatically lighter than almost any unit nearly as bright. The OLED Status Display, or OLS, not only gives a battery life countdown, it displays program and mode information, and while charging, lets you know precisely how much more time you'll need until the light is fully charged.

The Exposure MaXx-D Headlight comes in one size and one color only. It's rechargeable via the included USB cable, and the light includes a quick-release handlebar mount which can accommodate virtually any handlebar diameter.