The Exposure BoostR + ReAKT & Peloton is a very high quality rear light. While expensive compared to most rear lights on the market the build quality is exceptional, the user interface brilliantly easy, and the battery life very good for the size and weight.
Pros
+
Simple user interface once set up properly
+
Good smart features for group riding
+
Decent battery life for the size
Cons
-
Only a mount for round seatposts is included
-
High RRP compared to most other options
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When choosing which of the best bike lights you want to fit, the tendency is to focus on the front one. It’s what helps you see and be seen, and as it’s normally the more expensive purchase of the pair it’s only natural that it draws the attention.
Rear lights really shouldn’t be an afterthought though. Danger - by which I mean cars and other large road users - tends to come from behind, and so enhancing your rearward visibility, especially when out on country roads, should be just as much a priority.
I’ve been testing out a load of rear lights. The Magicshine SEEMEE300 has impressed me greatly, as has the Knog Mid Cobber for different reasons. The Exposure BoostR + ReAKT & Peloton has been my longest-serving test light, and I’ve had it on the go for two winter seasons now, so I really should get around to telling you why I saw fit to put it into my buyer’s guide.
The short version is that I really rate the build quality, the battery life, and the extra features, as well as the really simple user interface. The mounts however left me a little cold, and given the price of competitor lights it’s a relatively large outlay.
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A small form factor, but the BoostR packs a punch beyond its size.(Image credit: Will Jones)
The control scheme is laser etched onto the underside. (Image credit: Will Jones)
The charging port hides under the rubber flap. Mine is micro-USB, but it has since been updated to USB-C.(Image credit: Will Jones)
Design and aesthetics
Unlike most rear bike lights, the Exposure BoostR + ReAKT & Peloton is an elongated cylinder that’s longer than it is wide. The body is machined from aluminium, which is then anodised red (a classy touch it must be said), with a single large bulb at the end. The BoostR can mount either via a clip that grabs the cylindrical body, in the case of the under saddle mount, or the bayonet end at the base slots into a ¼ turn mount that attaches to your seatpost.
Just behind the clear lamp is a black rubber band, which you can lift up using a little tab to reveal the charging port. My unit is micro-USB, but this has since been updated to USB-C. You can remove the band entirely to reveal the single button, but there isn’t really a situation that you’d need to do this beyond just technical curiosity.
The single bulb sits at the base of a reflective cone, with a perspex cover textured with tiny spheres designed to diffuse the red light, rather than allowing it to be a single giant beam. There is a bit of side visibility, but not anything engineered in as with the Knog Mid Cobber or the Magicshine SEEMEE300, just the fact that the clear perspex extends out beyond the body to allow some light to escape sideways.
Like Exposure’s front lights - the Exposure Strada and Exposure Race for example - the mode selector is a two-tier system. You hold the single button down and count the flashes to select one of three power tiers depending on the run time you want, then when you switch the light on (double press) you only get to choose solid or flashing. Once you’ve locked in your preferred tier of brightnesses - I opted for the brightest, as I rarely ride more than 6 hours in the dark - it’s very simple.
You also use this ‘hold the button down and count the flashes’ system to turn on the extra features. These are the ‘ReAKT & Peloton’ settings that makeup half of ‘Exposure BoostR + ReAKT & Peloton’. ReAKT enables the BoostR to automatically adjust to ambient lighting, brightening in streetlit areas to maintain maximum visibility. This feature also allows it to operate as a brake light, flaring up to a maximum of 150 lumens when you decelerate.
Peloton mode is for group riding, and when switched on the BoostR will automatically dim when a light is shone onto it from the rider behind, in much the same way as the Exposure Strada reacts to car headlights. Given the quite dazzling nature of the light BoostR at full brightness, this is certainly a handy addition.
As for the stats, Exposure doesn’t actually quote a lumen figure for each mode, only runtimes. The maximum brightness when it flares up under braking is 150, but it’s less than this in general use. The shortest runtime, for the solid beam at the highest intensity, is a claimed 6 hours, and with the pulse mode on and set to the dimmest setting you’ll allegedly get 48 hours of use. There isn’t any mention of how much the ReAKT and Peloton modes affect this though, as the brake light functionality especially will likely reduce this to some degree.
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The mounting is a little unusual, and can spin around relatively easily. (Image credit: Will Jones)
There is some side visibility, but it's never dazzling. (Image credit: Will Jones)
From the rear though it is supremely bright, beyond what the lumen count suggests. (Image credit: Will Jones)
Performance
Overall I’ve been very impressed with the Exposure BoostR + ReAKT & Peloton. The build quality is excellent, which is a real hallmark of Exposure lights, backed up by a really good repair service should anything terrible happen, and once you’ve chosen a setup you like, which was for me the brightest pair with ReAKT turned on to act as a brake light, it’s beautifully simple to use. Just switch it on, select from solid or flash, and away you go.
One of my biggest bugbears with bike lights, front and back, is overly complex modes. The Magicshine Ray 2600B front light was criminal for this, and while I really do rate the Magicshine SEEMEE300 very highly, the modes options are plentiful and hard to distinguish at a glance, so I end up just picking a random option and hoping for the best. The BoostR, despite the initial faff of selecting which pair you’d like, is preferable to me.
In terms of the brightness and visibility, I’ve not been left wanting. When I first received the light I was very swiftly asked if I could switch it off on a gravel ride at night, so dazzling was it for the rider behind. Shortly I ended up behind someone also running a BoostR, and very quickly understood the issue. It may be a single bulb, and it may not have the absolute lumen count of something like the Lezyne Strip Drive Pro 400+, but it is absolutely blinding nonetheless. Peloton mode would alleviate this, but I really do rate the brake light functionality more highly, and so for group rides, I just swapped the brightness down to the lowest setting. Sadly you cannot have both ReAKT and Peloton at the same time, but only one (or neither, if you want to get the longest battery life). This is a little bit of a letdown, but for riders who regularly head out on group rides all winter, I do think the Peloton mode is valuable. I tend to be a solo rider most of the time, as it’s a lot easier to concentrate on testing.
Where I think the BoostR lacks slightly is in the mounting department. In the box, you get a seatpost mount, but nothing more, and it is only compatible with round seatposts. It’s secure, and properly angled so the light stays horizontal, but it does have an annoying habit of twisting around throughout the ride. Other mounts are available - my preference is the saddle rail mount usually - including those for aero seatposts, but cheaper lights like the Knog Mid Cobber and the Magicshine SEEMEE300 come with these in the box.
I have no issue with the battery life, against the quoted numbers. Even at full power, most of us aren’t going to be riding for more than 6 hours in the dark regularly, and 48 hours of use is ample for more or less any situation. There is a battery indicator, but in order to use it you do have to turn the light on and then off, and it will light green, amber, red, or flashing red to indicate the remaining charge.
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Sadly only a mount for round seatposts is included, and you'll have to pay extra if you have an aero post. (Image credit: Will Jones)
Simply press the bayonet end in here and rotate to lock it in place. It's very secure, even off-road. (Image credit: Will Jones)
Value
This is the most expensive rear light I’ve tested to date, excluding radar options like the Garmin Varia. I’m not going to fall into the trap of equating it being expensive with necessarily being poor value, as there are things that do well to justify the price. I know from experience that the aftersale support is brilliant, having failed to kill the Exposure Strada in an incident, and the build quality is unmatched.
The battery life isn’t class-leading, but for a light of this size and brightness, the battery life is exceptional. The additional features, too, do offer extra value over and above ‘dumb’ lights.
I do think that paying £100 / $110 and only getting one mount in the box does leave a little to be desired though, so a mixed bag on the value front.
Verdict
The Exposure BoostR + ReAKT & Peloton is a very high-quality rear bike light. It’s well made, offers brilliant visibility and battery life for such a small form factor, and once you’ve got the setup you want dialled in the user interface is beautifully simple and easy.
It is more expensive than most options out there, but for that extra outlay, you get added usability in group ride scenarios, smart features, and a solid aluminium body, plus a quality after-sales service. Exposure lights have a reputation for quality for a reason, and the BoostR hasn’t scuppered this, but I’d like to see at least an aero seatpost mount in the box too.
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Testing scorecard and notes
Design and aesthetics
Quality design, well executed, well made, but the mounts do let it down a little. The extra features do help though.
8/10
Light quality
Dazzling from behind, and makes good use of the lumens with little light wasted sideways. Not much by the way of side visibility though.
8/10
Control Scheme
Once it's set up its brilliantly simple.
9/10
Battery life and charging
More than enough for basically anyone. If you need more then get a dynamo. Only really bested by the SEEMEE300.
9/10
Value
It does have a high RRP in the context of the market as a whole, and if you want extra mounts it'll cost ya.
Will joined the Cyclingnews team as a reviews writer in 2022, having previously written for Cyclist, BikeRadar and Advntr. He’s tried his hand at most cycling disciplines, from the standard mix of road, gravel, and mountain bike, to the more unusual like bike polo and tracklocross. He’s made his own bike frames, covered tech news from the biggest races on the planet, and published countless premium galleries thanks to his excellent photographic eye. Also, given he doesn’t ever ride indoors he’s become a real expert on foul-weather riding gear. His collection of bikes is a real smorgasbord, with everything from vintage-style steel tourers through to superlight flat bar hill climb machines.
