EXPOSURE SIRIUS MK9

£100 Compact and lightweight The beam is strong with consistent-quality focus that makes it easy on the eyes

The latest offering from Exposure, the UK-based lights brand, is the svelte little Sirius MK9, which has been specifically designed to meet the needs of road and urban riders.

While the beam pattern has less spread than the Bontrager, there’s plenty enough peripheral illumination that you don’t feel like you are riding into a tunnel, and the light has a strong, consistent-quality focus that makes it easy on the eyes. The housing is shaped to give a harder cut-off at the top of the beam, to prevent dazzling other road users, and also has side cut-outs to provide be-seen side visibility. Do however take care to position the light in the bracket the right way up or all that directional functionality will be lost.

The bracket itself is easy to secure to your handlebar with the supplied strong rubber O-ring, and the light just pushes and satisfactorily clicks into place. Despite the simplicity of the operation, it holds solid and security has never been an issue through testing. Like the Bontrager Ion, the mount has no lateral adjustment. You can buy a plethora of other mounting options – for the stem, helmet or in combination with a bike computer. It’s worth noting that the light weight of this model makes it a firm choice for helmet-mounting, where you will hardly be aware of its presence.

The Sirius MK9 has four modes: High, Medium, Low and Exposure’s DayBright pulse. There are also eight programmes that give a mix of run times of the different modes. Select the programme with the combination that’s best for you and the likelihood of battery anxiety is all but gone. It sounds complicated, but honestly it’s really not. To remind you, the programmes and run times are etched onto the body of the light. A rather helpful indicator on the back of the light moves through green/amber/red to indicate remaining battery life.

To charge the Sirius MK9 you use the dedicated cable, so no ubiquitous micro USB charging here – if you have a long commute and need to recharge in the day you’ll have to remember to take it with you. A rubber seal protects the charge point when not in use. It creates a good seal but needs lining up exactly to push into place – perfecting the technique will save much swearing! The light has a high IP6 water-resistance rating.

A worthwhile investment, this new MK9 is lightweight, well-made

(in the UK) and comes armed with a high-quality beam, making it an excellent all-round choice for general road and commuting use.