The Light and Motion Stella 500 is lightweight and compact, but difficult to operate and equipped with an unnecessarily long cable for handlebar mounting.
Five hundred lumens is our recommended minimum for riding on entirely unlit roads and while some, by dint of the vagaries of lumen measurement and the efficiency of the beam, meet this criteria, the Stella 500 did not. The 19mm diameter of the lens was not necessarily an insurmountable disadvantage; it might have cast a tightly focused and penetrating beam, but sadly this was not the case.
We’re not opposed in principle to designs that house lamp and battery in separate units, uniting them with a cable – Hope’s excellent RS1 offers an excellent example of how efficiently it can work – but the Stella 500 was less well-realised. The 127cm cable proved far too long for a handlebar mounting, and we were forced to coil the excess and secure it with a zip tie to prevent it from becoming entangled in other parts of the bike.
More impressive was the robustness of the battery and cable, however. While tough, the proportions of the battery meant that it was not cumbersome. An intelligently designed bracket on its upper surface meant that it didn’t foul the external cable routings on our Kinesis Racelight TK3 test rig. The cable offered a secure connection and was easy to orientate thanks to an unmissable silver arrow on one side. Most importantly, the light met the claimed 2.75 hour run time on maximum output, and perhaps even exceeded it. The Stella 500 was still burning as we pulled back onto the driveway after a little more than three hours in the saddle.
More disappointing, however, was the power button, which as well as turning the light on and off also provided access to the six modes. Or not. The 14mm diameter of the button made operation difficult enough when wearing winter gloves, but the hard plastic cover that protects the switch only made it more challenging – frustratingly so, even when clearly positioned on the handlebar. Users who opt for the head-mount option, and who will operate the unit ‘blind’, might suffer worse difficulties.
Conclusion
Light and Motion indirectly bill the Stella 500 as an all-rounder, suitable for activities as diverse as road cycling and rock climbing, and what might be considered versatile in the context of other tasks perhaps fatally undermines its use to the road man. The length of the cable would almost certainly be of use to those needing a helmet mount and for climbers and mountain bikers, perhaps more likely to encounter circumstances where the power button is accidentally pressed, its robustness may be an advantage.
For the simpler needs of the road cyclist, however, the Stella 500 misses the mark, in our opinion. The same investment would net you Hope’s excellent R1 LED, while an additional £30 would secure your ownership of Light and Motion’s integrated Taz 1000, the bigger brother of the Taz 800 that impressed us so much back along.
Price: £150
Colour: black
Website: Light and Motion
UK distributor: Madison
