Knog’s Cobber lights have been a popular option with cyclists thanks to their unique curved shape with bright wrap-around COB LED design. The Knog Cobber Reflex Adaptive bike light set takes the Cobber lights to the next level with brake, motion and tilt sensing to automatically adjust the output mode. Knog sells the lights individually for $79.99 or as a headlight and taillight combination for a slight discount at $149.99. The headlight is capable of 350 lumen output while the taillight is 250 lumen. Both lights have the same unique curved design that offers 330 degree visibility and eye-catching animated COB LED illumination patterns.
The Knog Cobber Reflex bike light set combines a wide curved COB LED design with fun animations and smart sensors.
| Retail Price | $149.99 (set) / $79.99 (individually) |
| Rating | 8.8 / 10 |
| Measured Weight (in g) | 49 (each light) |
| Likes | + Unique form factor that is easy to mount anywhere on a bike + Bright COB LED grid design with curved body for excellent side visibility + Reflex feature is a fun to play with |
| Dislikes | – Premium price for the output – Default brake and tilt sensors settings are sensitive out of the box |
| Where to Buy (US) | Knog |
UNBOXING
The Knog Cobber Reflex Adaptive bike light set come mounted on a eco-friendly piece of cardboard with branding printed on it. Opening up the cardboard will reveal a hidden compartment with additional accessories. All told you’ll find:
- Cobber Reflex headlight and taillight
- 2x short / medium / long mounting straps + thin long strap
There is no USB-C charging cable included with the light, something that is consistent with other eco friendly products as most people already own USB cables.
MOUNTING
Knog has utilized a simple strap style mount for both of the Cobber Reflex lights. The mounting hook is molded into the body of the lights with a flexible rubber strap included. Unlike most strap mounts, the Knog strap has a hook attachment on one end that makes the mount more secure and easy to to attach. The body of the lights has a curved rubber shape that makes it easier for the lights to work with different shaped seatposts including aero seat posts.
Knog includes straps in small, medium and large sizes (they are also sold for $3.99 a piece which is helpful if you were to damage or snap the strap) to accommodate different bike setups. There is also a very long thin strap included for mounting the headlight to forks which tend to have a larger circumference. Note, you can also mount the headlight horizontally but you would need to use the Mode Maker 2.0 web app to access an “eye saver” mode to disable the upper portion of the LEDs and reduce glare.
FIT & FINISH
Visually, the Knog Cobber Reflex retains the Cobber’s signature wrap-around design that achieves a 330 degree beam. The headlight and taillight are identical in terms of dimensions and are easy to tell apart with the red taillight lens vs the clear lens with yellow background on the headlight. From a side angle you can see both lights have an ellipse like shape that helps spread the COB LED illumination around for side and rear visibility. The lights have a single back-lit power button on the top and a rubber cover concealing a USB-C port on the bottom for charging. Branding is limited to Knog printed on the bottom of the lights and safety information printed on the backside. The twin pack version of these lights are the same as the individual lights but offer a $10 discount over purchasing them separately.
The Reflex lights use a grid of COB LEDs placed in a dense grid for both lights. Depending on the mode, the LEDs are illuminated in animated patterns or all illuminated together to maximize output. Out of the box, both of the lights seem to have the same 7 modes: high, low , side flash, peak flash, tilt reflex, zoom, and eco flash. The tilt mode is the only mode that uses the angle sensor to adjust the COB LEDs to reflect the current angle based on the relative change from the angle the lights were turned on in. It’s a fun but border-line gimmick feature that could help with visibility when you are going around fast corners. The taillight also has a brake sensor which is only active in the low and eco flash mode that switches the output to the high mode if braking is detected.
USER INTERFACE
To operate the Cobber lights, there is a single power button on top of each light. It’s also illuminated to show either green (>50%), orange (25-50%) or red (<25%) to reflect the current battery level. A short press will show the battery status, while a long press turns the light on and off. Doing a single press with the light on cycles through the available modes, with built-in mode memory to ensure the light always turns on in the same mode it was shut off in. There is also a lock mode that is convenient when traveling with the lights that can be enabled by holding the power button for 5 seconds while the light is off. You need to use the Mode Maker 2.0 web app to change any other settings.
MODE MAKER 2.0
You can use Knog’s Mode Maker 2.0 web app to re-order, add new modes and customize each mode setting by connecting the lights via USB to a computer. After logging into the site and connecting a headlight or taillight, you’ll be greeted to a retro black and green interface that shows a rotating 3D representation of the light. You can assign different profiles to each light with different modes, mode ordering and individual mode settings to optimize them for visibility, runtime or specific rides. The Mode Maker 2.0 also lets you adjust all the smart settings from the auto sleep to the sensitivity of the tilt and brake sensors. Hovering over each mode with your mouse lets you see an animation of the mode while pressing the upload button will send the light modes to the light. While it is a fun way to personalize the light output but something we expect only a small percentage of users would use.
LIGHT OUTPUT
The Cobber lights have seven output modes preprogrammed with two flash options and five flash modes. You have to use the light or the Mode Maker 2.0 to see the actual mode names, as the Knog website and packaging each list different modes or have typos with duplicate modes. With all the confusion, it’s not exactly clear what the lumen output and claimed runtimes are for each mode. What we do know is that the two constant modes are high and low with 150 lumens for the headlight, 75 lumen for the taillight and 2 hour runtime for both. There are also two flash modes with Side Flash which animates the LEDs from the center to the outer edges and Peak Flash, also called Hype by Knog, which flashes everything on and off together. The Hype mode is the highest output mode that puts out the full 350 lumen on the headlight and 250 lumen on the taillight with a claimed 8 hour runtime for both.
The more interesting mode is the Reflex mode which uses the tilt sensor to highlight different rectangular patches of the LEDs. As you tilt the light to the left the LED regions move leftward to mimic the movement. By default, the tilt sensor is quite sensitive so as you are riding you’ll get more of an erratic flash as the LEDs regions flicker back and forth with each pedal stroke. But wait there is more, there is a Zoom flash mode that animates the LEDs from left to right and an Eco Flash with a lower output on/off flash. The Eco Flash mode achieves the highest runtime with 70 hour of runtime and 40 lumen output for the front and 20 lumen for the taillight.
The wide grid of COB LEDs on the Cobber lights make them highly visible for everything but longer distances where a focused beam is needed. That means won’t be as visible as the Knog Blinder R-150 or the Trek Flare R from long distance. For night time riding we’d also recommend a focused beam headlight such as the Knog Blinder Road 400 as the Cobber only has COB LEDs which only illuminate a short distance from the bike. However, for slower speeds or urban riding where there are lots of street lights you can use the Cobber headlight for shorter night time rides. In our opinion, the Cobber light set is a great be-seen add-on to any bike as they are easy to mount and have great side visibility.
THE VERDICT
Overall, we found the Knog Cobber Reflex Adaptive bike light set to be well made with excellent visibility. Knog has taken their classic Cobber light design and added several smart features and customization options to create a feature rich version of the lights. Admittedly, some of the features like the Reflex tilt feature is more fun to play with than practical in real-world riding. The bright grid of COB LEDs and the large curved body of the Cobber lights make the light visible from any angle. We also liked the unique animation patterns of the flash modes which light up different regions of the COB LEDs. The main downside of these lights is the premium price and the fact that the brake and tilt are sensitive with the default settings. That said, the Knog Cobber Reflex Adapter are bright bike lights with unique features.
Disclaimer: The product for this review was provided by Knog. 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.