The RAVEMEN NT101 is marketed as the ultimate city bike and offers an impressive array of features to help people see you and protect your bike. It’s a large light that is designed to be installed on bike racks or seat posts and features turn signals, a horn and even a motion-based alarm. Despite the number of features, the NT101 has a retail price of only $44.95 which includes a seat post and bike rack mount. RAVEMEN includes a six button wireless remote as a convenient way to operate the NT101 with dedicated buttons for the features. The NT101 even includes red laser lane indicators in addition to the 160 lumen main LED indicators. Surprisingly, there is no app with the NT101 as all the features are accessed through the remote or button on the taillight.
The RAVEMEN NT101 is a budget friendly taillight that includes everything from bright turn signals to an motion based alarm.
| Retail Price | $44.95 |
| Rating | 8.5 / 10 |
| Measured Weight (in g) | 241 (taillight), 27 (seat post mount), 27 (remote) |
| Likes | + Bright 160 lumen output from LEDs + Impressive range of features for budget price + Turn signals are bright and well separated |
| Dislikes | – Bulky size due to all the features – No indicator that alarm is armed or phone notifications – Complicated user interface for setting adjustments |
| Where to Buy (US) | RAVEMEN |
UNBOXING
The RAVEMEN NT101 comes in a compact orange and black cardboard box with a glossy graphic of the taillight on the front. Inside the box you’ll find:
- NT101 taillight
- Wireless remote + rubber strap + CR2032 battery
- Seatpost mount + bolts + allen key
- Bike rack adapter
- Protective rubber strip
- USB-C charging cable
- Warranty card
- Instruction manual
RAVEMEN has done a nice job packing all the accessories and the light into a cardboard holder to keep everything securely in place.
MOUNTING
The RAVEMEN NT101 comes with two mounting options right out of the box that let you install the taillight on a seat post or a bike rack. As the taillight is so large, the seat post mount has a two bolt clamp on design instead of a normal flimsy rubber strap. It has a thick plastic design with a slide-in receiver built into it that matches the slot on the back of the taillight. The taillight can be removed from the mount by pushing on the plastic tab and sliding the taillight out. This lets you remove the light from the bike and leaves the bolt-on clamp on the seat post which is convenient for charging to light or if you are a commuter. RAVEMEN also includes a bike rack bracket with a simpler slot / receiver design that can be bolted onto a compatible bike rack. If you have a bike rack, this is a better mounting option as the wide size of the taillight looks a bit odd on a seat post.
FIT & FINISH
Visually, the RAVEMEN NT101 is a big taillight that features a wide lens with an array of LEDs behind it. This isn’t your average taillight though, RAVEMEN has added nearly every bike accessory feature available on the market. The wide design helps make the turn signal feature more functional and visible as the orange lights are separated by about 2 inches. With its clear lens and curved shape the NT101 looks very similar to a Dodge Charger’s rear taillight design that mimics car taillight designs. The body of the taillight is plastic with simple RAVEMEN branding on the body and a rubber button on top. The light has a IPX4 water rating which is decent given all the cutouts in the body where water could potentially get in.
On the underside of the body you’ll notice a circular cutout which covers an electronic horn cutout and gold colored circular housings within the side grooves. These are the lane lasers which project a bright red laser downward onto the ground and help define a safe area around your bike in low light conditions. Pressing the power button while the taillight is off triggers the battery indicator which activates a green, blue or blinking blue LED that provides a 3 level battery status. The blue color is a confusing choice though and easy to misinterpret if you do not read the user manual.
As far as light output, the NT101 has a 32 LED setup that is evenly spaced behind a clear lens. Unlike more modern COB LEDs with a dense grid of LEDs, the NT101 has each LED spaced out with the red illumination only visible when you turn the LED on. There are also four orange LEDs on each side of the taillight that are exclusively used for the turn signal mode and the unique hazard light mode. RAVEMEN has added curved lens cutouts in front of the turn signals to help disperse the turn signal while the rest of the lens just has a subtle textured finish. In the highest output mode the NT101 puts out a bright 160 lumen output with runtimes that range from 7 to 24 hours.
USER INTERFACE
The NT101 has a single power button on top of the housing that can be held to turn the light on or off and pressed to cycle through the six available modes arranged in a ring. To access all the other features you’ll need to use the included wireless remote. It’s a fairly large wireless remote with six labeled buttons. The top button is the power button that can be held to turn the light on and off while the left and right buttons are to activate the corresponding turn signal. The turn signals automatically timeout so you don’t forget that they are on and by default have an audible clicking noise. Holding either turn signal button for 2 seconds toggles the sound setting on or off.
There is also an alarm button on the bottom which can be held to arm or disarm the alarm. It’s a confusing design though as the remote does not indicate whether the alarm is on. At the center of the ring is a horn button which can be pressed to honk the electronic horn. Finally, there is a button on the bottom for the laser lane indicators. Surprisingly, RAVEMEN does not have an app for the NT101 and relies on long holds to toggle some of the more advanced features. For example, you can adjust the alarm sensitivity but it’s a confusing set of long holds and short presses to access the mode that’s easy to accidently trigger.
LASER LANE INDICATORS
The other feature of the NT101 is the laser lane indicators which projects two laser lanes below the taillight. It’s a feature you’ve likely seen on a lot of Kickstarter lights and is meant to make it safer to ride at night. Whether it actually makes you safer is debatable as most cars probably wouldn’t notice the lasers on the ground. The red laser isn’t quite daytime bright though, so you will want to reserve it for low visibility conditions. RAVEMEN has also made the laser light mode something you always have to turn on manually as the laser lights are always defaulted to off when you power on the light. There is mode memory for the main illumination mode, but the turn signal and lasers are always turned off which makes sense.
BRAKE DETECTION
RAVEMEN has also added a brake detection and auto on-off feature that utilizes the built in vibration sensor. The mode has to be manually enabled by holding the power button until the light blinks. It’s a very sensitive sensor and will switch to a 100 lumen constant mode for two seconds to help with visibility. Enabling the brake detection mode also enables the auto-on and off feature which switches the light to a standby mode if no vibrations are detected for 2 minutes. The light automatically turns on if vibration is detected which is convenient if you forget to turn the light off. As with most brake sensors, the calibration isn’t perfect and will result in false positives that can reduce the runtime.
HORN & ALARM
One of the unusual features of the NT101 is the integrated electronic horn. While we have seen bike light and horn combinations, this is the first taillight and horn combination we’ve seen. RAVEMEN claims a 120db loud horn, but it doesn’t sound that loud in person and has that artificial smoke alarm sound that most electronic horns have. Unlike a traditional brass bike bell such as the Portland Design Works Alexander Graham, which have a crisp ding sound, the horn may cause people to turn around in confusion. It’s still loud enough to help people hear you coming, which is convenient when you are riding on trails with pedestrians or slow cyclists. Note, the horn sort of works with the light powered off but it has a lag or doesn’t emit a sound until you press it multiple times.
The final feature of the NT101 is the vibration-based alarm which takes advantage of the same speaker the horn uses. Unlike other bike alarms which have built-in trackers or Bluetooth alerts that would send you a phone notification, the NT101 only triggers a loud audible alarm based on vibrations. It is a very confusing feature though as there is no clear indicator when the alarm mode is active. The easiest way to use it is to hold the alarm button for two seconds while the light is on. You’ll hear a loud horn beep and the taillight will shut off which indicates it has been armed. If the NT101 detects a vibration it will then trigger a loud 90s style alarm sequence that cycles through some annoying chirps and beeps.
The alarm automatically shuts off if additional motion hasn’t been detected. You can also disarm the alarm by holding the alarm button for two seconds which turns the light back on and emits two beeps. RAVEMEN has also added the ability to adjust the sensitivity of the alarm by doing a confusing 5 second long button press and then 1-10 button presses within a 10 second window. It’s a mode we expect many cyclists might accidentally trigger while activating the alarm or trying to disarm it if it wasn’t set. We’d recommend sticking to a well designed U-lock and cable lock and not relying on this alarm feature for bike security.
LIGHT OUTPUT
RAVEMEN programs the NT101 with six output modes that include three constant options and three flashing modes. The constant modes are low (15 lumen / 24 hr runtime), medium (25 lumen / 14 hr) and high (50 lumen / 7 hr). As far as flash modes, there is a daytime flash that puts out the maximum 160 lumen and has a 14 hr runtime. There are also two more conservative flash options with a slow flash (100 lumen / 10 hr) and a hazard mode (115 lumen / 17 hr). The hazard mode is an interesting option that mimics a car’s hazard mode that flashes the orange signal LEDs while holding the red LEDs at a constant level. The NT101 also has a turn signal mode which is the same as hazard mode but only flashes one side of the turn signals.
THE VERDICT
Overall, we found the RAVEMEN NT101 to be a feature packed taillight at a budget price. RAVEMEN didn’t hold back with the NT101 and added turn signals, an electronic horn and alarm on top of the standard taillight functions and brake detection features. As a result, the NT101 is a big light with a secure bolt-on mounting design with a wide profile that helps differentiate the turn signals. We were impressed with the amount of functions RAVEMEN was able to include and the bright 160 lumen output. While we’re not sure the laser lane indicators will actually improve safety, they certainly look cool in low light conditions. As far as negatives, we found the NT101 to be bulky and found the alarm to be confusing and impractical to use. That said, the RAVEMEN NT101 is a budget taillight with all the bells and whistles for commuting or urban riding.
Disclaimer: The product for this review was provided by RAVEMEN. 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.