Specialized Stix Sport Combo lightset review

For commuters and other riders wanting “to be seen” lights, Specialized’s Stix front and rear lightset is neatly designed. The lights are particularly unobtrusive, with a rubber strap at the end of each light to attach it securely to the bars and the seatpost. This allows you to position the front light in front of your stem faceplate, so that it’s well out of the way and doesn’t take up any space on the bar tops.

There are a total of six different modes and the lights flash quite brightly, with a claimed output of 70 lumens for the front and 14 lumens for the rear light. It’s plenty to get you seen, but not enough to ride by, although Specialized also sells a three LED version of each light if you want more output – up to 105 lumens for the front light and 20 at the back.

I found that in constant mode both lights give up after less than three hours. Select a flashing mode though and there’s more than enough staying power for longer rides.

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The rear mount tends to leave the light pointing down, although this isn’t such a problem as the two LEDs are visible from quite a wide angle. The mount isn’t really designed to attach to a saddle pack’s light loop or other luggage though, so putting the light anywhere else but the seatpost is a bit tricky.

Flip up the end of the strap and there’s a USB plug beneath, allowing the light unit to be pulled out for recharging while leaving the strap in place. One problem with this arrangement is that the USB plug can get quite grimy – particularly at the back. If you just try to plug it into a USB socket without cleaning it, this can result in poor contact and the lights not charging up.

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I found it was easy to rinse off the grime and wipe the USB plug with a paper towel though, as the units seem to be well-sealed. This got the units charging effectively. When they’re charging, the LEDs on the lights flash to indicate the charge status. This gets a bit distracting if you are using your computer: I covered them up with a sheet of paper.