If you thought 500 lumens wasn’t enough for a bike taillight, then you’ll be happy to know that Ravemen has upped the game. The new Ravemen TR400 and TR600 bike taillights are sleeker, higher output and smarter bike taillights. Retail price for the TR400 is $49.95 while the TR600 is $59.95. The TR400 puts out an impressive 400 lumens with 2.6 km visibility while the TR600 is rated for 600 lumen and 3.2 km visibility. Both taillights feature an ambient light sensor for a smart mode to switch between daytime flash and breath mode depending on the environment as well as a brake sensor. The taillights feature USB-C charging ports with a large 2000 mAh internal battery.
The Ravemen TR400 and TR600 feature a more modern exterior design along with absurdly bright output in their daytime flash modes.
| Retail Price | $49.95 (TR400) / $59.95 (TR600) |
| Rating | 9.5 / 10 |
| Measured Weight (in g) | 86 (each taillight), 14 (seat post mount), 3 (saddle rail mount) |
| Likes | + Budget friendly for 150 lumen output + Translucent lens provides great side visibility + Includes mounts for seatpost, saddle and body clips with the light |
| Dislikes | – Poorly calibrated brake sensor – Lacks a multi-level battery status indicator |
| Where to Buy (US) | Ravemen (TR400), Ravemen (TR600) |
UNBOXING
The Ravemen TR400 and TR600 taillights each comes in a compact cardboard box with orange and black branding that matches the Ravemen logo. A cutout on the front of the box allows you to touch and interact with the tailligh0st. Inside each box you’ll find:
- TR taillight
- Seatpost mount
- Saddle mount w/ 2 zip ties
- USB-C charging cable
- Instruction manual
- Warranty card
We’re happy to see RAVEMEN include both the saddle and seat post mounts with the taillight instead of offering them separately at an additional cost.
MOUNTING
Ravemen has utilized a miniaturized Garmin style mount attached to the rear of the taillight. It has the same raised tab with a quarter turn motion to attach or remove it from the mount as standard Garmin mounts, it’s just smaller to fit the smaller body of the taillight. This mount is actually the same size as what is used by Magicshine so you can interchange mounts between the two brands. Out of the box, there are two mounts: a seat post mount or a saddle rail mount. The seat post mount is a standard plastic mount with a rubber strap that is secured with a hook. Different cutouts in the rubber backing accommodate round, D and aero seatpost shapes. A plastic saddle rail mount is also included which snaps onto round seat rails with included zip ties for additional security. Both mounts work well to hold the light securely on the make while still making it easy to install and remove.
FIT & FINISH
Visually, the Ravemen TR400 and TR600 taillights have a sleeker and more modern design compared to the previous TR series. Each light has a tall and narrow design with three LEDs and a clear design that looks white with the light off and red with it on. Both of the lights have the same 2000 mAh battery and 43 x 26 x 66 mm (1.8 x 1 x 2.6 inches) dimensions that can hide behind a seatpost. Additionally, the TR taillights have metal bodies with branding on the sides, an illuminated power button on top and a USB-C port on the bottom. Thanks to the thick rubber cover, the taillight achieves an impressive IPX6 rating which makes it a great choice for riding in wet weather. The TR400 has a bike line graphic on the side while the TR600 has a topographical graphic in its place.
Ravemen has gone with a three LED setup arranged in a column for both the TR400 and the TR600. The three LEDs are always synchronized for all seven output modes, unlike some KNOG lights which have complex animations, and are capable of impressive output for both models. Looking closer at the lens you can see it has an interesting raised lip profile with frosting. That results in a nice side visibility as the edges reflect the light while most of the output of the LEDs is focused back to ensure you are visible from long distances away. For both lights, the maximum 400 and 600 lumen outputs are limited to the daytime flash modes while the constant modes are 50 or 100 lumen. There is also an ambient light sensor which you can see as the small circular cutout between the top two LEDs.
USER INTERFACE
The Ravemen TR400 and TR600 have a simple single button user interface with a backlight. It’s an upgraded button compared to previous lights that is easier to use and has a more visible LED indicator. Pressing the button with the light off will turn the light green (>30% battery), red (10 – 30%) or flashing red (<10%) to reflect the battery status. Holding the button for 1.5 seconds turns the light and off, while a single press cycles through the seven modes with the light on. There are also two smart features: a smart auto-mode that uses the ambient light sensor and a brake sensing option.
Enabling the auto-mode locks the taillight in either day flash if brighter conditions are detected or breath mode during low visibility. Note, wIth the smart mode enabled you cannot manually change the output mode. You can also toggle the feature on or off by holding the button for 3 seconds with the light on. The brake sensing mode switches to taillight 100 lumen mode for a few seconds when braking is detected) in any mode. Holding the button with the light off for 3 seconds toggles the brake sensor and the associated auto on-off (i.e. the light goes to standby mode after 2 minutes if no vibrations are detected).
LIGHT OUTPUT
Ravemen has programmed both TR lights with seven output modes that includes three constant modes and four flash options. The three LEDs are always illuminated together which creates a wide illumination region. The constant modes are a low, medium and high which range from 10 to 50 lumen for the TR400 and 20 to 100 lumen for the TR600. Runtimes are 10.5 – 40 hr for the TR400 which is longer than the 5.5 – 22.5 hr for the higher output TR600. The most exciting flash mode is the daytime flash which achieves the full output of 400 lumen / 17 hr for the TR400 and 600 / 11 hr for the TR600. It is an erratic flash pattern that does a on/off that alternatives between bright and full power. It’s hard to visually tell the TR400 apart from the TR600 as both lights are blindingly bright and visible from long distances.
There are also lower power flash modes which offer long runtimes with fast flash (100 lumen / 40 hr), breathing (6 lumen / 170 hr – a slow ramping up and down) and a slow flash (2 lumen / 350 hr) which offers the maximum runtime. The lumen output and runtimes are the same for both the TR400 and TR600 in these flash modes which makes sense for the purpose of the lights. We liked the auto smart mode as we almost always ride with daytime flash during the day and like the breath mode at nigh for additional visibility without blinding others. As with other Ravemen lights, the brake sensor is nice to see but will reduce runtime due to false positives so we’d recommend leaving it disabled.
In our opinion, the TR400 is more than bright enough with a daytime flash that is the brightest we’ve seen and keeps you visible from miles away. Compared to the Magicshine Seemee 300 or Seemee 400, the TR light lens design isn’t quite as advanced and lack the downward LED which helps illuminate the road underneath your bike. The “OptiTrace” feature is something that even Outbound Lighting has added to the Outbound Lighting Blade taillight and is a feature that would be nice to see on future TR lights.
THE VERDICT
Overall, we found the Ravemen TR400 and TR600 taillights to be bright and well designed smart bike taillights. Ravemen has taken their previous TR300 and TR500 pair and updated the appearance to be more modern as well as add new features like a multi-level battery indicator and ambient light sensor. The result is sleeker taillights that are absurdly bright and have improved usability. We liked the clear lens design and raised lip which creates a large surface area that also has great side visibility. The lights also have long runtimes which allow you to do long rides or multiple rides a week between charges. One downside of these lights is that they are too bright to use in daytime flash in any sort of group ride. That said, if you’re looking for the brightest taillight possible at an affordable price then the Ravemen TR400 and TR600 are hard to beat.
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.