Tailights

[Marty Moose]

Hi

One for the fans of the MagicShine front lights, DealExtreme now have a "matching" tail-light ... 3W 3-Mode LED Bike Tail Light Set for US$57.60.



Andrew

Anyone have one of these ??

[ajh003]

Yep sure do
All good so far - very happy
VERY BRIGHT - VERY VISIBLE
I actually have both this rear light and the 900 lumen magicshine running from a Y adapter on one battery into my rear Pannier bags etc
Working very well
I will say that the battery that came with the front light was a DUDD
I am still waiting for them to resolve this
Communication is at times difficult and limited
But it is all looking ok now
Hence....I run em both of the one good battery

[Caelum]

Where are you based Spork?

Launceston, Tas.

My home town

Just moved back to WA in the last month

[Marty Moose]

Yep sure do
All good so far - very happy
VERY BRIGHT - VERY VISIBLE
I actually have both this rear light and the 900 lumen magicshine running from a Y adapter on one battery into my rear Pannier bags etc
Working very well
I will say that the battery that came with the front light was a DUDD
I am still waiting for them to resolve this
Communication is at times difficult and limited
But it is all looking ok now
Hence....I run em both of the one good battery

Thanks AJH Might just be getting one then.

MM

[Baldy]

Thumbs up for the Blackburn Mars 4.0. Ive had two of them on the rack of my commute/utility/touring bike for a while now, no problems in the wet and I get comments all the time about them. People asking what type they are and impressed with how effective they are.

I dont usually like to talk stuff up but for the price these are very good.

cheers

[Doorknob]

I put a dolphin torch in a red carry bag and throw in my back tray. Works a treat from all reports

[csd]

I use a Niterider Cherry bomb, and have been pretty happy with it so far. It's been through plenty or rain and has held up fine, and is much brighter than my old Cateye.

[ajh003]

Marty I just rode Sunny Coast to Brisbane with a few diversions - almost 5 hrs of Rear Tailight and it still shows Green on the front one
It must be that the front one draws so much more cos I barely used it to conserve the battery to make sure my rear shone out all the way
Very happy with the result again
Being 3 watt it is way more powerful than even the Radbot 1w and way more visible
As I commute so daily I'm very concerned about being rear ended, although the ever intentional close calls from the "Commodore" brigade never changes unfortunately

[wombatK]

Very happy with the result again
Being 3 watt it is way more powerful than even the Radbot 1w and way more visible
As I commute so daily I'm very concerned about being rear ended, although the ever intentional close calls from the "Commodore" brigade never changes unfortunately

Fellow riders complain about the brightness of my 1 watt Tioga Big Eye tail-light being - so I'm wondering could a tail light be so bright as to distract rather than attract attention and become a negative.

If a driver looks away from you when passing because your tail light is too bright, and misjudges how close he is to you, you could get rear ended because of your light. I did a check driving behind my son riding with the Big Eye, and at least for me, it didn't become distracting like this.

Have you tried driving behind someone with your 3W light to see if this could be a problem ?

[Aushiker]

Hi

If anyone is chasing a Dinotte 140R-aa-r rear light, there is one on eBay currently.

Andrew

[m@]

Very happy with the result again
Being 3 watt it is way more powerful than even the Radbot 1w and way more visible
As I commute so daily I'm very concerned about being rear ended, although the ever intentional close calls from the "Commodore" brigade never changes unfortunately

Fellow riders complain about the brightness of my 1 watt Tioga Big Eye tail-light being - so I'm wondering could a tail light be so bright as to distract rather than attract attention and become a negative.

If a driver looks away from you when passing because your tail light is too bright, and misjudges how close he is to you, you could get rear ended because of your light. I did a check driving behind my son riding with the Big Eye, and at least for me, it didn't become distracting like this.

Have you tried driving behind someone with your 3W light to see if this could be a problem ?

I'd hazard a guess that you're much less likely to be hit from behind by a driver who has seen you than one who hasn't... A good defuser should solve any dazzling problems though.

[The Womble]

Do thrse fancy Dolphin torches actually work? Am I better iff looling for dolphins at night with a more budget frwindly option? And are they actually rasier or harder to hunt after dark? To my knowledge they arent really adapted specifically to swimming after the sun sets any more than normal fish etc.

[The Womble]

Retarded iphone peice of crap!

[zero]

Very happy with the result again
Being 3 watt it is way more powerful than even the Radbot 1w and way more visible
As I commute so daily I'm very concerned about being rear ended, although the ever intentional close calls from the "Commodore" brigade never changes unfortunately

Fellow riders complain about the brightness of my 1 watt Tioga Big Eye tail-light being - so I'm wondering could a tail light be so bright as to distract rather than attract attention and become a negative.

If a driver looks away from you when passing because your tail light is too bright, and misjudges how close he is to you, you could get rear ended because of your light. I did a check driving behind my son riding with the Big Eye, and at least for me, it didn't become distracting like this.

Have you tried driving behind someone with your 3W light to see if this could be a problem ?

A car brake light is 20w, and most car tail lights are at least 5w -> and there are at least 2 of each.

A red 3w led (given leds are twice as good as traditional bulbs) might be slightly more powerful than 1 car tail light but still hopelessly outclassed by the brake light. Its not going to dazzle anyone into hitting a rider. My experience with the 8w headlight is the brighter the light, the more the car driver underestimates the distance (which is a good thing).

[wombatK]

A car brake light is 20w, and most car tail lights are at least 5w -> and there are at least 2 of each.

A red 3w led (given leds are twice as good as traditional bulbs) might be slightly more powerful than 1 car tail light but still hopelessly outclassed by the brake light. Its not going to dazzle anyone into hitting a rider. My experience with the 8w headlight is the brighter the light, the more the car driver underestimates the distance (which is a good thing).

Unfortunately the watts you are talking about are the input power requirement of the bulb.

The efficiency with which electrical energy is converted into light is markedly different between an incandescent light bulb and a LED. So comparing watts which are input is not informative.

It would be more useful to compare the light output using something like the metric unit for reporting the perceived power of a light - which is the lumen. Unfortunately, few suppliers or retailers of lights (either LEDs or incandescents) seem to bother with publishing useful data like lumen output. The magicshine supplier gives absolutely no quantitative performance specs. So we can only make some rough comparisons.

The bicycle light is not a braking light. It should be rated approximately the same as the light intensity for the red clearance tail-light on a motor bike - which is typically a single 5W (input) incandescent.

LEDs produce 5 to 10 times more light per watt than an incandescent (depending on the type of LED). So a 3W LED could be equivalent to a tail light with a 25 to 50 W incandescent. That would make it much brighter than a typical car or motor cycle brake light, and very much brighter than a tail light.

What you need to consider is how much brighter than a car brake light could it be without bringing the risk that drivers will look away from you and not see you should you or they wander or have to suddenly deviate from the course they are expecting (e.g. to avoid a pothole).

This is something that the ADR regulation for motor vehicles probably need to be more specific about. Daytime running lights have strict lumen output limits - possibly in recognition that many will be manufactured using LED arrays and have a potential to dazzle in counter-productive ways. The same kind of consideration needs to be given to tail-lights given the cheap high-powered LEDs now appearing in the market.

[ajh003]

Have you tried driving behind someone with your 3W light to see if this could be a problem ?

Hi WombatK
This sounds like a good idea
After using several Good QUality Rear lights and even trying out the Radbot 1w rear - there is not doubt that these magicshines are significantly brighter
I will report back after getting someone to ride past for me...
You can select to intermittent flash the centre LED then the outer ring of LED's (My preferred setting)
I would doubt that is anywhere near as bright as constant ALL ON
Anyway, I will check it out
But, practically for reliability and for longevity of charge - I am delighted so far

[Aushiker]

Hi

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIhEV3cPzKE&hd=1[/youtube]

Andrew

[Arlberg]

An interesting independant tailight brightness test here.

http://www.ivanhoecycles.com.au//bike-l ... at_255.php

[jasonc]

An interesting independant tailight brightness test here.

http://www.ivanhoecycles.com.au//bike-l ... at_255.php

my radbot 1000 does well then. considering I paid $34 delivered for it

[Robert H]

I just got a Tioga Dual Eye light but it came without packaging and I can not for the life of me work out how to open it.
Can anyone help me out? Cheers.

[Robert H]

Never mind. I just had to commit to opening it with a knife. I am not sure if this is the proper/recommended method but it worked

[CoffsGal]

I just got a Tioga Dual Eye light but it came without packaging and I can not for the life of me work out how to open it.
Can anyone help me out? Cheers.

I don't have one of these lights, but on similar types there is a spot on one end to insert a coin (maybe $2 or 10c) and then twist the coin to lever the cover off.

[Aushiker]

For those looking at battery powered taillights it looks like the Bicycles Community Blog has a pretty comprehensive review of taillights.



Andrew

[coffeeandwine]

For completeness, here is one i saw on another BNA thread Getting dark in the mornings..., looks pretty effective and approx $99.

[gobsec]

Like the other Dinotte users have posted, once you have one you wouldn't have it any other way. Whereas most of the Dinotte posters seem to use the 140, I use the 300R. I chose that because it has a large surface area and has a self-contained rechargeable battery (uses standard USB charger). I have been using this for about eighteen months.

Like the other posters I find myself attracting comments from other road users about its brightness, and I know from their path of travel behind me that motorists are very aware of the light as they come up behind.

As one post said, it is best to point it slightly downwards so that it creates a pool of light on the road. There is still plenty of light shining backwards, and it is easier to stay friends with the others in your group ride.

As well as the light you get multiple brackets for almost any conceivable fitting situation.

As someone who enjoys riding at night, my enjoyment is enhanced by knowing just how visible I am.