Exposure’s Sirius 11 bike headlight was designed to be the ultimate balance between output, weight and runtime. It’s one of the brand’s mid-sized headlights with a distinctive cylindrical aluminium exterior and enough output for daytime and nighttime riding. The Exposure Sirius 11 retails for $132 and offers 1300 lumen of output from a single LED. As with other Exposure products, the lights can be serviced by Exposure even outside the warranty period. The headlight offers 1-130 hour runtime depending on the mode with a USB-C charging port and IP67 rating. One of the highlight features of the headlight is the fuel gauge which uses multi-colored LEDs to indicate the battery status.
The Exposure Sirius 11 bike headlight combines a high quality aluminum construction with bright 1300 lumen output for daytime or nighttime visibility.
| Retail Price | $132 |
| Rating | 8.5 / 10 |
| Measured Weight (in g) | 94 (headlight), 11 (handlebar mount) |
| Likes | + Serviceable design that can be sent back to Exposure for repairs or battery replacement + Seven level battery indicator with multi-colored LED + Robust anodized aluminum construction and fast USB-C charging |
| Dislikes | – Basic lens that creates glare for oncoming traffic instead of a sharp beam cutoff bike headlights – Confusing user interface with a configuration menu that can accidentally be entered by holding the power button instead of double pressing to turn the light on |
| Where to Buy (US) | Exposure Lights |
UNBOXING
The Exposure Sirius 11 bike headlight comes in a small cardboard box with a simple graphic of the taillight printed on the exterior. Inside the box you’ll find:
- Sirius 11 headlight
- Handlebar mount w/ rubber strap
- USB-C charging cable
- Instruction manual
We found the packaging design to be well thought out and eco-friendly with a cardboard inner divider cut exactly to shape of the light and the mount instead of plastic bags or additional materials.
MOUNTING
As with other Exposure lights, the headlight has a unique cylindrical design with a corresponding clip-style mounts. Exposure includes a simple handlebar mount for the Exposure with a plastic body and rubber strap. The strap wraps around round handlebars and feels well made with an Exposure logo printed on it. A flexible plastic clips onto the headlight to hold it in place securely while leaving the controls easy to access. The clip-style mount also means you can flip the headlight underneath your bar while still keeping the headlight pointed upright with the anti-glare portion on top. Exposure also includes a number of optional mounting adapters to attach the headlight to GoPro or aero bars but they cost about $15 each. Note, the headlight has a symmetric beam which means the position of the headlight in the mount does not affect the light output.
FIT & FINISH
Visually, the Exposure Sirius 11 has Exposure’s distinctive cylindrical design that looks more like a flash light than a bike light. The Sirius 11 has a polished silver exterior with flared out edge pieces that have ridges cut out at both ends to make it easier to hold the light. There is basic branding printed on the sides in white along with safety information and a cheat sheet for the power settings on the bottom. While the beam design is symmetrical, you could use the light rotated at any angle, the housing extends slightly further on top of the light to prevent glare when you are out of the saddle.
On the rear of the light there is a single metal power button and a black gasket protecting the USB-C charging port. LED indicators reflect the current battery status of the headlight. Despite this light being serviceable by Exposure, you can send the light back for repairs, there is no exposed hardware or bolts on the exterior of the light. The light also achieves an excellent IP67 rating which means you can ride with it in any weather without worrying about water ingress.
Exposure has used a single CREE XHP35.2 LED for the headlight along with an integrated 4000 mAh battery. It’s a basic lens design with a single LED that creates a symmetric cone shaped beam. The light has 270 degree visibility with the raised lens that reflects light to ensure you are visible from side angles. Compared to other headlights on the market with anti-glare lens designs, the Sirius 11 is a bit dated but works well. The round beam is particularly helpful for dark trails or higher speed riding as it illuminates everything around you even as you go around corners. You can choose from six different constant output modes or three levels of a daytime flash mode. The flash mode has a bespoke pattern with irregular flash intervals to help attract attention.
USER INTERFACE
The Exposure Sirius shares the same user interface design as other Exposure lights with a single power button and configurable settings on the device. It’s a bit confusing to use at first as the light uses a double press click to turn it on, a single press to check the battery, and a hold to enter the configuration options with the light off. Pressing the button once will illuminate the LED either green, orange or red in either solid or pulsing patterns to indicate up to 7 different battery levels. It is a nice upgrade that has a 10-15% granularity in battery percentage compared to most lights such as the Magicshine EVO headlights, that show a green indicator for 20-100% battery.
With the light on, a single press cycles through the three modes: high, medium and flash. Note, the LED indicator is also used to briefly show the mode for a few seconds each time the output mode is changed with green being “high”, amber as “low” and red as “flash”. Turning the light is a little confusing as you have to hold the light until it flashes twice, otherwise the light just changes modes. While the light only has three output modes, there are actually nine settings as you can change the power profile between three settings: high, medium, low.
LIGHT OUTPUT
Exposure has preprogrammed the Sirius 11 with nine possible output modes spread across three power profiles. It’s a slightly confusing design that requires using the configuration menu to switch between profiles and a single press to cycle through the high / low / flash setting within each profile. The result of this is that you have six constant modes that range from the full output 1300 lumens / 1 hour runtime to a dim 65 lumen / 24 hour eco mode. Within each profile there is a high and low constant mode that is about double the power (e.g. 1300 lumen or 570 in the highest output profile). That lets you do some basic adjustments while riding while allowing you to adjust the profile to match the type of riding you are doing.
Unlike most of the bike headlights we see from Lupine or even Magicshine, the Sirius 11 has a basic symmetric cone shape beam that creates glare for oncoming traffic. At full output the light is very bright with a bright center section and enough spread to light up almost two lanes. The runtimes are limited at higher settings due to the smaller size of the light, but it should be sufficient for short or moderate rides. As far as flash modes there are again three settings (i.e.. one per power profile) with daytime flash in the two highest settings (700 lumen / 12 hr and 300 lumen / 24 hr) and a standard flash in the eco power profile mode (400 lumen / 130 hr). The daytime flash modes have an erratic pattern that is great for daytime riding. Even with the simple clip-on mount design the light worked well over rough roads and had a nice balance between power, runtime and size for road cycling.
THE VERDICT
Overall, we found the Exposure Sirius 11 to be a bright and well made headlight. Exposure has taken their classic combination of serviceability, durable construction and configurability to create a mid-sized headlight for day or nighttime use. With 1300 lumen output, it’s a bright light that’s still small enough to be used on a road or commuter bike. We were impressed with the anodized aluminum exterior which looks and feels premium as well as the granular multi-level battery status indicator LEDs. While the configurable power levels isn’t particularly intuitive with a hold and count number of flashes design, it’s a nice alternative to phone apps that can become obsolete. Our only other complaint would be that the headlight has a basic cone beam which creates glare for oncoming traffic. That said, the Exposure Sirius offers excellent visibility with a durable design that can actually be serviced and repaired.
Disclaimer: The product for this review was provided by Exposure Lights. The views expressed on this website are solely those of the authors and are here to help people make an informed choice before a purchase. The authors or the blog itself does not get any monetary compensation from the product manufacturer or third-party websites/vendor links that are posted here.