Specialized Flux 1250 Headlight
- MSRP: $140
- Buy from Specialized and Performance Bike
Specialized makes a variety of bike gear and equipment, and their bright ideas end up on a lot of bikes. The Specialized Flux 1250 cycling light boasts 1250 lumens spread across a wide and distal beam pattern and comes with plenty of mounts to go around.
Mounts for the Specialized Flux 1250
Are bike lights just flashlights if they don’t come with any useful mounts? I think so. Luckily, Specialized includes four versatile mounting types that all clip onto the light itself via the breakaway system. This system helps prevent the light from snagging on a branch when wearing it on the helmet mount.
Two of the included mounts have GoPro prongs that are universal and work with the included hook-and-loop helmet strap or any GoPro mount system. Those two, two-prong GoPro style mounts position the light a bit differently depending on where you plan on placing it.
If you don’t have an integrated GoPro or Garmin/GoPro mount on your cockpit, the included quick-release bar mount clamp with rubber spacers works on 22.2, 25.4, and 31.8mm bars. I’m bummed it did not include a 35mm bar clamp mount, but this can be bought separately from a third party. If you ever need spare or extra Specialized Flux system mounts, they are all available for purchase from their website a la carte.
Fow those who do have a plethora of GoPro accessory mounts, the combinations are limitless. I will say that the breakaway mounts were not precisely molded. Two of them were easy to clip out but rattled around a bit, and one was difficult to clip out but did not rattle. Perhaps these were missed by quality control.
Another interesting feature is that the light can be clipped in the flipped position, allowing you to place the on/off button either on the left or right side depending on your preference.
Brightness
The Specialized Flux 1250 has two LEDs, each with different optics: one produces a narrow beam while the other has a wide beam. These two merge together to give you a steady 1250 lumens on high mode.
The focused narrow beam is more of a vertical rectangle rather than a circular beam, and this vertical beam throws more light at what’s ahead and closest to you.
The wide flare beam shines a horizontal light giving you more peripheral coverage, which comes in handy on turns or blind corners, but overall shines the light more evenly leaving you with less eye strain.
For its compact size, you get plenty of light to shine your way around roads and trails. If you’re smashing down hill on your night rides like the millennium falcon at hyperspeed, then you might want something brighter or with an external battery pack to compliment the Flux 1250 on your helmet. Is it the brightest light in the market? No, but if you have two of these, one bike mounted and another helmet mounted, it should make for some fun and safe times on those night rides.
Specialized Flux 1250 light modes
The light mode system on the Flux 1250 is simple and quick to use. I was operating it without even reading the instruction manual (weird flex, I know). Having a primary and secondary mode makes for a less frustrating process when riding. I mostly stayed on the primary mode, leaving me with just 3 clicks to toggle through. If you ever find yourself needing the secondary mode, it’s as easy and quick to jump to it as it is to go back to primary mode. The toggle on/off button is easy to find and click with any finger.
Battery life and charging
The Specialized Flux 1250 comes with a Micro-USB rechargeable 3400mAh Li-ion internal battery (cable included) giving you up to 20 hours of lighting on the super low 60-lumen mode. So far, the battery estimated run times have stayed true based on the run time chart. Though there is no USB-C port, the battery charged much faster than my other Micro-USB lights.
A weather-proof silicone flap covers the Micro-USB port as this is an IPX7-rated light. You can easily charge it with an external battery or car charger while on the go. I was able to turn the light on while connected to power, but the blinking charging LED light would stop blinking, so I don’t think you can use it while simultaneously charging, if that crossed your mind.
Speaking of the colored LED next to the on/off button: a solid green color indicates 100%-50% battery remaining, orange 50%-20%, red 20%-5%, and flashing red 5%-0%. The LED is quite small but effective in letting you know how much juice you have left.
Right out of the box, the Flux 1250 impressed me with its sleek design that fit in the palm of my hand.
Final verdict
Pros and cons of the Specialized Flux 1250 bike light
Pros
- 4 versatile mounts included(GoPro mounts)
- Easy to toggle modes(Primary and Secondary)
- IPX7 waterproof
Cons
- Thumb screw difficult to turn when removing light without gloves
- Breakaway design mount can rattle
- No future proof USB-C port
Conclusion
I like my bike equipment to be simple and for it to just work. So far, this light does just that and has made riding at night more enjoyable and safe. The easy toggle modes make for quick adjustment while pedaling. Equally important is the very long lasting battery when using the medium or low modes. Plus, the variety of mounts included are the icing on the cake.
If Specialized can just improve the quality control on those clip mounts so that they don’t rattle at all, replace the thumb screw for a different one, and add a USB-C port, it would make this an almost perfect light system. I’m even considering another one of these or maybe its smaller sibling, the Flux 850 when I’m feeling a little rowdy out riding at night. If you haven’t gotten a night light by now, check this one out.
- Price: $140
- Buy from Specialized.
