[Closed] insanely bright rear lights

A guy I work with has an insanely bright rear light(I think it is a Hope one), the only thing I'd say is that because its so bright you try to avoid looking at it, its almost like a car fog light. What I'm trying to get at is that it might not be the best idea to partially blind a driver who is trying to get past you.

Moon Shield 60. One on flashing, one on constant.
Any brighter is unnecessary in town.

neilnevill

and swap the led pills over, giving me a white t6 torch, and a red luxeon k2 tail lamp.

Is it as easy as that or have I missed something?

Just out of curiosity I tried something similar by bodging a lezyne femto lens on to an exposure diablo. I'm not familair with the light you have posted but the diablo is a measured 900 lumens, so plenty bright.

With the extra red lens on it it didn't appear meaningfully brighter than the exposure red eye I had beside it. Now, obviously it's not exactly the same because the diablo effectively had two lenses, but still. Considering it's such a powerful light to begin with I was disappointed with the results and would just buy a red-eye tbh.

YoKaiser What I'm trying to get at is that it might not be the best idea to partially blind a driver who is trying to get past you.

Well you can't talk about blinding drivers in a positive way but I think you have to consider drivers coming from behind from a distance away. Something like a hope district will allow drivers to be aware of your presence from a good distance back. I've been driving myself and not seen cyclists till I was almost on top of them. given the choice I'd rather be an irritating, but visible nuisance than an invisible corpse.

A really bright light is good IMO. You point them down and they create a nice pool of light behind you. Also they are good in daylight when it is just a bit dull.

To be honest he on-one phart lights are more than bright enough.

It might be different in a well lit city but anything brighter on a back road will be very distracting for following drivers.

A pal has has as much grief for having an over-bright rear light as for anything else on a bike. Bright enough is bright enough.

the only thing I'd say is that because its so bright you try to avoid looking at it, its almost like a car fog light. What I'm trying to get at is that it might not be the best idea to partially blind a driver who is trying to get past you.

You point them down and they create a nice pool of light behind you. Also they are good in daylight when it is just a bit dull.

wear a reflective coat and shine a light on yourself (IMO)

can be distracting for other riders too, and taxi drivers aren't blind, they're aiming for you.

Exposure flash/flare combo here, bright enough for my London commute.

Hope District here. Have had other cyclists and motorists comment on how bright it is (in a positive way). Wouldn't be without it now for commuting through the dark months.

I've just ordered a [url= http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Knog-Blinder-Road-USB-Rechargeable-Rear-Lights_66587.htm ]Knog Blinder Road R[/url] - looks like it'll fit the bill - it's got a 70 lumens rating and some of the review videos on YouTube suggest it'll do the trick. I'll report back...

To be honest he on-one phart lights are more than bright enough.

+1. Much cheaper than the RSP and electron lights that they're copy too.

I bought a Smart Lunar R2 Rear Light from Planet X, with its 2 x 0.5W LEDs.

It's very, very good. I especially like the 'random' flash feature.

Moon Shield 60. One on flashing, one on constant.

+1 🙂

Just acquired a Exposure FlareR but haven't used it yet, tomorrow is the inaugural ride.

I use the [url= http://www.charliethebikemonger.com/pdw-portland-design-works---danger-zone-rear-light-mental-1912-p.asp ]PDW DangerZone[/url] plenty bright enough with a random flashing feature to get drivers attention

Aristotle - Member
I bought a Smart Lunar R2 Rear Light from Planet X, with its 2 x 0.5W LEDs.

It's very, very good. I especially like the 'random' flash feature.

Same here 🙂

Torches are not much good for 'being seen' lights as they don't have the sideways light spill that is designed in to bike lights. You want as much all-round visibility of you as possible.

All round viz = The Holy Hand Grenade of Cateye.

Need to sort a bracket for the Brompton to get mine back on.

Having seen a few this last week that must be hope districts or similar, that is the effect I'm after. yes it could be annoying if you angle it up, so don't. What I think I've noticed though is those lights are so bright the bike doesn't look like a bike until the driver is past you, it looks like a motor cycle. My perception is that motorcycles get more room, perhaps the poor drivers know motor cycles need space, or perhaps they just think they are big enough to do nasty damage to their cars and don't think pedal cycles would. whatever the reason, the sod off, fog light bright rear lights are something I am considering.

muddyfunster, what you dewcribe sounds differnt. I'm thiking of changing the emitter to a ~200/250 lumen red led, sounds like you put a red filter/lens over a white led?

BTW, I currently run 3 of these (one on me, one solid on the bike, one flashing on the bike)
[img] [/img]
this is 'good enough' to be seen quite easily, but you still look like a bike.

what's the experience of the lyzne femto? I thik I've seen a couple of these this week and noticed they wer small and brighter than the smart superflash.

hmm, lezyne micro drive looks pretty neat too.

[img] http://washford.scene7.com/is/image/Washford/370111?$prodthumb$ [/img]

muddyfunster, what you dewcribe sounds differnt. I'm thiking of changing the emitter to a ~200/250 lumen red led, sounds like you put a red filter/lens over a white led?

Yes, you're right. That's exactly what I did. I guess I mis-read your first post. BTW I have a little Lezyne Femto. Nice wee light. Simple and good light off it.

I'd probably pay the extra and go for the micro-drive though. It's usb rechargeable and seriously bright.

I have lezyne zacto drive. Great little light and can charge via usb at work or home. Really rather joll bright. Temporarily blinded everyone in the office when I first switched it on!

this is 'good enough' to be seen quite easily, but you still look like a bike.

I have 2 Phart lights on the back of my helmet as well as one on the bike

On my seatpost:
Phaart Bleep Dual 0.5 Watt On constant.
Phaart Red Mist on "chase" mode

On my noggin:
Phart strap on, on flash mode.

Would you believe OO have their lights on discount at the minute, or you could pay more for the almost identical smart branded versions.

Bright lights just dazzle other road users its as bad as a motorist leaving their high beams or fog lights on in clear conditions and just gives them another excuse for hitting you or swearing as they pass.

Quantity and positioning of lights is the key thing IMO, a constant light gives a better fixed reference for them to gauge distances a complimentary flasher can draw a bit of attention and a red LED on the back of your lid, being that bit higher has a better chance of being spotted from a distance or over other vehicles and road furniture...

White LED's are producing a lot of blueish light and a fluorescent coating is reacting to make white. Putting a red filter on that is making it very inefficient. Might be why it wasn't as bright as you hoped.

Better to use a red LED - they've been around for ages.

Fibre Flare. Not blinding bright but impossible for drivers to ignore.

i got an exposure red eye slaved to a six-pack. people see me coming and going.

exposure flare, fibre flare, the grenade, or anything else that has some side visibility as well. And use more than one, both flashing or one flashing and one constant.

PDW DangerZone for me.

Crazy bright light! Flashes to the beat of Take On Me by Aha!

That pdw dangerzone looks the same as the lunar r2.

Tip for the cheap LED rears - rechargeable Ni-MH AAA's keep their voltage in cold weather so that your light stays bright. Alkaline's can fade very quickly when temperatures fall.

But bright lights won't stop the haters from following or passing too closely.

I bought a Smart Lunar R2 Rear Light from Planet X, with its 2 x 0.5W LEDs.

It's very, very good. I especially like the 'random' flash feature.

+1

got 2 red eyes - one on helmet one on bike and a smart lunar 1 watt on rack (same generic lights that the PDW is) pointing back. - mostly for the short stretch coming into the village where folks think its acceptable to do 100 mph - they certainly slow down .... that might be the high vis vest though thinking im the copshop.

I've got a 15w rear LED from the same stable as Magicshine. I get compliments from drivers while riding in countryside areas but I don't know about in town - might get deliberately run over!

C&B Seen do a 500 Lumen rear light if you really want to be daft.

I thought I had suddenly become amazingly quick on a group ride as no-one was even close behind me on the descents.... then I relaised the real reason for this 😀 I don't use it very much now due to the bulk mainly

Bright lights just dazzle other road users its as bad as a motorist leaving their high beams

+1 on this. Dazzling other drivers with either front or back lights does no one any favours. I used to come across someone running a stupidly bright rear light pointing upwards fairly regularly. My vision would take about 20 seconds to come back after passing him. Not safe. A lot of the 'really bright' lights look like they have crap brackets as well - you need something that lets you adjust the angle properly.

Blackburn Mars 4 my choice at the moment. Even that needs careful angling not to dazzle.

+1 on this. Dazzling other drivers with either front or back lights does no one any favours.

+2. They're completely counter-productive. It's also extremely distracting for any other cyclists following you.

IME, most LED lights are bright enough to be seen.

Fibre Flare. Not blinding bright but impossible for drivers to ignore.

+1 - you can mount two of them, one down each seat stay. Not overly bright but very obvious and eye-catching especially on flash. Good side-on visibility too.

[img] [/img]

Fibre Flare.

Now I do like the look of those. What batteries do they take and how long do they last? That's what has always put me off buying one.

fibreflares

all my local shops stopped selling them due to water ingress isues.

The full-size (29cm) one that I use takes 2xAAA batteries and [url= http://fibreflare.com/collections/frontpage/products/fibre-flare-full-size-red ]Fibre say that it runs for around 75hours[/url] on flashing mode, which seems feasible as mine is still going strong after much use.

Some reviews ([i]Edit: and trail_rat[/i] 🙂 ) will mention worries about water ingress or wires breaking. Not my experience. I used mine through commuting last winter in all weathers including torrential rain and it was fine. The wires breaking issue seems to be people that ignore the big warning message saying don't bend the light in two.

tis a shame because i like the concept.

water ingress

Probably depends where you place them and whether you run mudguards...

Back of seat-post with a guard stays very dry.

Hope District here. Have had other cyclists and motorists comment on how bright it is (in a positive way). Wouldn't be without it now for commuting through the dark months.

^ this - I run one too, very bright when set in 'high' mode, but just angle it down very slightly.

I run mine on my seat stay - though I do have a rear guard. The batteries go in either end. You pull back the rubber end caps back to put them in - I would imagine if you don't replace the rubber properly or if it gets stretched/damaged then that would let water in, but as I say, no issues here.

Good reviews on road.cc and london cyclist too:
http://www.londoncyclist.co.uk/fibre-flare-bike-light-review/
http://road.cc/content/review/11907-fibre-flare-shorty-led-rear-light

The comments on LondonCyclist do suggest putting vaseline or grease on the seals. And keep the switch part at the top.

The Fibreflare is really impressive (leaks aside)- there's lots of bright lights but the sheer size of it makes it so much more visible. Quite a lot of small, superbright lights are far too directional, and the smaller the lightsource the less useful it is for judging distance etc.

Moon Shield 60, or Use Exposure Flare are really as bright as you need.

Other than that, i'd say the "lit area" of the light is more important than having a single bright spot. It doesn't get lost in the traffic or obscured so easily, so maybe add those Fibre Flares lights too.

I've been using a Light & Motion Vis180 for the last couple of years on a dark rural roads commute. Not cheap but very effective. Can be seen from a good distance and the side flashing encourages drivers to pass wide.
Not so sure it would be worth the money for an urban commute though. Ankle reflectors, reflective clothing and a mix of fixed and flashing rear lights probably best in town.

psling has it - aldi tomorrow has spoke reflectors in - they are worth it big time , i get loads of comments on how visible i am with them.

also flashing reflective ankle bands - gonna get some more of them this year and use them on my wrists so its clear when im indicating.

Fibre flares are good for visibility, I have had two die from water damage though. A bit pricy for something so fragile.

PDW Dangerzone here. Liking it a lot.

I have just fitted spoke reflectors to the commuter and they do seem to make a difference to visibility. I also Have valve cap Lights too so you get a kind of reflective blue flashing wheel effect.

I have 2 long Cateye 5 LED jobs on the verticals of the rack, (1 fixed one flashing) and a small smart LED on the back of my helmet.

But I will probably pick up some Phaart ones while they are on offer from On-one

I have just fitted spoke reflectors to the commuter

I quite like reflective sidewall stripes on tyres, like on the Conti "Relfex" tyres:

[img] ?w=350&h=350&a=7[/img]

Nice big reflective area, very obviously a bicycle, and much more durable than spoke reflectors (and a bit less noddy-looking as well).

Sadly Conti, in their wisdom, don't do a reflex version of my commuting tyre of choice, the GP 4 Season (though they do for the GP 4000). Not sure why.

I've got the dinotte 140r - amazing light but a real phaff to mount
still wouldn't ride without it..

hmm, lezyne micro drive looks pretty neat too.

I've got one of these, the sealing's quite bad and it's developed a faulty microswitch, so the red battery level indicator comes on all the time - not impressed. Occasionally it also develops a fault where it won't switch off and you have to slide a business card in to disconnect the battery momentarily and re-set it, I just sprayed some silicone grease in there in the hope that it'll sort out the switch. Also, the mount isn't adjustable for angle and while the fit in the bracket is secure enough when used carefully, some people seem to lose them easily, mine has a mini-Velcro strap as a back-up.

I also have a Moon Shield 60, which is much better ime. That's what I'd go for. If you own an Exposure Joystick, a Mini Redeye on the back works well as a helmet rear light, but you need to tie it onto the light to stop it getting lost.

Graham you are thinking of the shit spoke reflectors

Tires are good too

[img] [/img]

I use the Hope district, for two reasons. One, it's awesomely bright. Two, it allows me to use one battery for front and rear light.

When I saw awesomely bright I mean too bright to look directly at.

An LED light on the helmet and one on the seatpost for me.

I also use spoke reflectors and my rear Landcruiser has a reflective strip.

That looks pretty good trail_rat, are those the Aldi reflectors?

Do they fit flat/bladed spokes?

bigG - Member

When I saw awesomely bright I mean too bright to look directly at.

Is that good? I like it when other road users can look at me.

They are aldis yes they might fit bladed spoke but not sure . Don have any blade spokes to try here im afraid

They are 2.99 for a pack and a pack does 2 wheels

As i said people notice them - say it looks like tron that is jaynes bike ive stuck extra reflective tape on it as well. From ebay.

Cheers at that price I might as well grab some and try.

Not sticking reflective tape to my good bike though!

Me either. But i want jayne to be safe 🙂

For anyone hoping to get a moon 60, everywhere seems to be out of stock. I placed an order with [url= http://www.thecyclewarehouse.co.uk/laa632.html ]these guys[/url] as they have a good price but 2 weeks later they tell me they have none until mid October... Website still says IN STOCK 😕

Now on the hunt for something else as i need one this week ideally...

I'd highly recommend the Exposure Flare

[img] [/img]

Really bright, but not so bad that car drivers can't look at you. Rechargeable batteries - I charge it at work.

I have one ziptied to a large ortlieb saddle bag, and it's my perfect rear light. I've got a small cell battery clip on light on the back of my helmet and I stick that on when I feel especially vulnerable.

Home made dynamo powered, and fitted with very bright red LEDs. Not pretty, but functional and always on. Not sure what the lumens count is, but they certainly leave a good pool of light behind.
[img] [/img]
[img] [/img]

Nice, Mow.

My [url= http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Knog-Blinder-Road-USB-Rechargeable-Rear-Lights_66587.htm ]Knog Blinder Road R[/url] turned up yesterday - very impressed. It's the 70 lumen version (there are 44 lumen options too) and I stuck it on the driveside seatstay, at the height of the brake bridge. It's a decent size, not too heavy and nicely made. There's a clear polycarb strip running around the edge of it that emits a bit of a glow. The combination of the regular LEDs and the CREE one at the bottom is substantial - especially in some of the modes.

[img] [/img]

I have to say that I genuinely felt drivers giving me more room, waiting behind me (Friday night, back end of rush hour but not mega busy) and kind of proved it when I was following a guy (ok, he overtook me 🙂 ) on one of the arterial roads into town who had a regular LED under his saddle that was perfectly acceptable. He was probably about 50m in front of me when I was overtaken very nicely by a van. When the van got to the guy in front he noticeably squeezed past him, didn't even seem to adjust his pace. Maybe it was just psychological but on a good half a dozen occasions I felt like I'd been given a wider berth than normal.

Charging seems easy on it - plug in the USB extension and off you go. Unfortunately the strap's a little long for the seatstay but I've padded it out with a rubber strap. That aside, I'm looking forward to using it more over the winter.

+1 for Knog. I've got one of the smaller 4 LED lights, and it really is a well made bit of kit. When I got it I wasn't sure about the mount, and didn't use it last year, but I've tried it over the last week and haven't lost it yet, and my commute has some riding of bumpy fields.