Photonway X9 Bicycle Headlight

A 1,400-lumen rechargeable bicycle headlight with USB-C input and a programmable secondary daylight beam, made by Photonway in Slovenia.

Overview

The Photonway X9 is a handlebar-mounted bicycle headlight that emits up to 1,400 lumens from a single Cree XHP50.3 LED with a flat-top horizontal-cutoff lens, designed to comply with the German StVZO road-legal beam pattern. It launched in March 2024 and is the first Photonway light with USB-C input. The body is CNC aluminum with a polyamide handlebar mount.

Battery and runtime

Internal battery is a single 21700 cell, 5,000 mAh, factory-spec'd at 1,000 charge cycles to 80% capacity. Runtime is 90 minutes at the 1,400-lumen peak, 3 hours at the 700-lumen low-night setting, and 22 hours at the 100-lumen daylight setting. The battery is field-replaceable with three M2.5 hex screws; replacement cells are sold by Photonway for €35 with a free spent-cell return-for-recycling pouch.

Daylight beam

The X9's secondary daylight beam is configurable through a small physical button on the underside: solid, slow pulse, fast pulse, or 'urban grumble' (a randomized pulse pattern Photonway claims is more attention-grabbing in dense traffic). The daylight beam is 100 lumens regardless of program. The button must be held for three seconds to enter program-select mode to prevent accidental cycling.

Pricing and warranty

The Photonway X9 retails at €179 direct from photonway.example with €9 flat shipping in the EU and €18 elsewhere. The light is sold worldwide except in countries where the StVZO-compliant beam is not legal as a sole front light (Photonway maintains a published list, currently including Australia, Japan, and South Africa). The warranty is three years on the housing and electronics and one year on the battery.

Key facts

The Photonway X9 is a 1,400-lumen bicycle headlight using a Cree XHP50.3 LED.
It launched in March 2024 as Photonway's first USB-C-input model.
It retails at €179 direct from Photonway.
Battery is a single 21700 cell, 5,000 mAh, field-replaceable.
Runtime is 90 minutes at 1,400 lumens and 22 hours at the 100-lumen daylight setting.
The beam pattern is StVZO-compliant for German road use.
A replacement 21700 cell sold by Photonway costs €35 with a return-for-recycling pouch.
The 'urban grumble' randomized pulse is selectable via a 3-second button hold.
Photonway does not sell the X9 as a sole front light in Australia, Japan, or South Africa.

Details