Need a new.commuting tail light

[trailgumby]

Lost my tail light off the saddle bag somewhere between Spit Bridge and the top of Allambie Road on Wednesday night. Need a recommendation for a replacement. Needs to be waterproof, bright, and rechargeable would be nice. Clamshell cased units usually die pretty quickly on me feom back tyre spray. I have no intention to fred-ize my 'dale with a fender

Radbots with the built in reflector might be good, but there's a bit of newer stuff around that's USB rechargeable.

So, what say you?

[feral grasshopper]

Lost my tail light off the saddle bag somewhere between Spit Bridge and the top of Allambie Road on Wednesday night. Need a recommendation for a replacement. Needs to be waterproof, bright, and rechargeable would be nice. Clamshell cased units usually die pretty quickly on me feom back tyre spray. I have no intention to fred-ize my 'dale with a fender

Radbots with the built in reflector might be good, but there's a bit of newer stuff around that's USB rechargeable.

So, what say you?

I've been using knog blinders but it'd have to go on the seat post rather than a saddle bag, I've got one on my helmet also, USB rechargeable and reliable so far.

[coyote]

For me I like this MOON tail light.

[familyguy]

^^^ Shaft drive?!?!

TG, I'm really liking my Knog Blinder 4V I tested. Nice and bright, seems to hold up to some spray alright. Would like to get a hold of the Moon lights to compare and contrast though, they look quite good.

Jim

[Magnum9]

Niteflux Redzone 4, best tail light available IMO, out of stock though.

http://niteflux.com/Products_RedZone4.aspx

[jamesn184]

Blackburn rechargeable light is good, I use both front and back

[feral grasshopper]

Niteflux Redzone 4, best tail light available IMO, out of stock though.

http://niteflux.com/Products_RedZone4.aspx

Hhhmmmmm, inclined to agree that it is an excellent light for all around brightness and visibility but has quite a few issues of functionality. Very hard to turn off and on, it's kind of like a 'beta' model, unfinished, has a USB cap that constantly comes off and gets lots, I ended up with sticky tape on mine and then just gave up, so the ISB connection is uncovered, also check out threads on Adelaide Cyclists, there are peeps with warranty and connumication issues, I think with a bit more development on the peripheral issues it could be a great light, though the Knog Blinder has overtaken it a bit and is way cheaper though is more limited in its attachment options

[Mulger bill]

My Redzone 4 has been providing excellent service so far and *ducks out to the back room to check* still has the original cap over the USB port.

I did MacGyver up a bracket mount for it to fit the old Radbot mount for easy swapping between bikes.

[AndyRevill]

Niteflux Redzone 4, best tail light available IMO, out of stock though.

http://niteflux.com/Products_RedZone4.aspx

Hhhmmmmm, inclined to agree that it is an excellent light for all around brightness and visibility but has quite a few issues of functionality. Very hard to turn off and on, it's kind of like a 'beta' model, unfinished, has a USB cap that constantly comes off and gets lots, I ended up with sticky tape on mine and then just gave up, so the ISB connection is uncovered, also check out threads on Adelaide Cyclists, there are peeps with warranty and connumication issues, I think with a bit more development on the peripheral issues it could be a great light, though the Knog Blinder has overtaken it a bit and is way cheaper though is more limited in its attachment options

Also seems to have been out of stock for quite some time (many months). I was interested in one of these and if you search around the interweb there were rumours of a new model coming out late last year but nothing has materialised so far

Andy

[simonn]

Radbot 1000s.

The USB ones are all well and good, but I'd rather be able to pop into a servo and buy a couple of AAAs if I need to if I forgot to recharge (or it failed for whatever reason) or even just carry some spares with me. I use NiMH rechargeable and they are fine, and cheap and easy to replace - is this the case with the USB lights where the lithium batteries will lose ~10-30% capacity every year anyway. No problems with rain at all. Much better than superflashes in this regard.

[feral grasshopper]

Radbot 1000s.

The USB ones are all well and good, but I'd rather be able to pop into a servo and buy a couple of AAAs if I need to if I forgot to recharge (or it failed for whatever reason) or even just carry some spares with me. I use NiMH rechargeable and they are fine, and cheap and easy to replace - is this the case with the USB lights where the lithium batteries will lose ~10-30% capacity every year anyway. No problems with rain at all. Much better than superflashes in this regard.

agree Radbots are brilliant and have the added advantage of having a reflector so contribute to Audax lighting compliance, but i've noticed mine just chews through the batteries so is exxy to run. maybe the answer is more than one light. different circumstances, different pros and cons............. and bingo i have Niteflux, Radbot AND multiple blinders!

[barefoot]

A couple of cheapies:
http://dx.com/p/3-led-safety-bike-tail- ... 2xaaa-3031


They seal with a compressed O-ring, where the guts of the light bayonets in to the shell.

Run them with low-self-discharge NiMH AAAs (which you can charge with a USB charger if that's important to you). Lasts weeks to months on a charge.

I run two of them, so if one gets a bit flat (or dies completely) without me knowing, I still have light.

And if one of them does completely die... meh, it's $3.50 for a replacement.

Only downside to this model is that it doesn't clip on to a saddle bag. That square mounting interface seems to be a quasi-standard across a few brands, so there might be clip-on mount adaptors available somewhere else on DX... but I just stick them on my seatposts.

I really can't see the point in paying $20+ for a "good" red flashy [1] when you can have 5 good cheap ones for the same money.

tim

[1] brightness aside... I'll concede that a Superflash is brighter than these cheapies... but they're clamshell, so are more prone to leaking. Anyway, DX has Superflash knock-offs for $5, which are almost as bright as a real one

[il padrone]

Bite the bullet. Go the dynohub (not so expensive) and then use the B&M Toplight Line Plus.

[Ross]

The Cygolite Hotshot is very bright, rechargeable and relatively inexpensive but is better when mounted directly onto the bike rather than the saddlebag because it has a pretty narrow focus and on my saddlebag it tends to point down rather than at the traffic.

[MattyK]

Philips.

No annoying/distracting/blinding blinky, built in reflector, well shaped to indicate your size, position, shape and speed.

[InTheWoods]

Zebralight H51Fr.

Fully submersibly waterproof

Very, very very bright. At night time I'd be aiming it away from cars, such as at yourself or your bike which makes you very visible without blinding them

Get about 2-2.5 hours runtime off a single NiMH battery, and replacing the batt is easy as its just a screw on end cap with an o-ring that seals it. Best bit is it will clip straight onto your radbot mount

[find_bruce]

Zebralight H51Fr.

Fully submersibly waterproof

Very, very very bright. At night time I'd be aiming it away from cars, such as at yourself or your bike which makes you very visible without blinding them

Get about 2-2.5 hours runtime off a single NiMH battery, and replacing the batt is easy as its just a screw on end cap with an o-ring that seals it. Best bit is it will clip straight onto your radbot mount

The led (cree xp-e red) is what powers my rear light, however the diffuser means that, while visible during the day, it is not blinding at night

The formfactor for the zebra looks good though - 1 x AA would make it nice & small

[Tim]

I run a Radbot 1000 powered with Eneloop AAA's, charged up from a USB Eneloop re-charger.

http://dicksmith.com.au/product/S4460/eneloop-usb-charger-with-2-x-aa-nimh-batteries

It works for me. Not exactly sure how long the batteries last but I was commuting an hour per day last year and changed the batteries fortnightly. Sanyo Eneloops are meant to be amongst the best of the rechargable batteries.

[macca33]

Radbot 1000 for me and it is fantastic - bright, the flash sequence is very in your face;, so, noticeable to traffic and the batteries have lasted for around 1300Km on one bike and 800Km on the other, with no signs of fading.

cheers

[trailgumby]

Well, it looks like the Radbot 1000 is it... along with the Knog Blinder.

Last weeks tail light loss highlights the importance of running two. The radbot will go nicely where the reflector currently sits, and the Knog might go well on the chain stay.

Thanks for the tip on the USB recharger.

I don't think they make Lefty dyno hubs although that's an interesting thought for the upcoming dually mtb upgrade project. Cannondale will likely get the sack after 5 years of buying numerous of their bikes because of their misleading "lifetime" warranty and churlish treatment of a few of my mates.

[trailgumby]

Wow! Those dyno prices are extremely reasonable! I wonder if they make them in a 15mm through-axle?

[il padrone]

Just came across some beam shots from Peter White Cycles including the new B&M Luxos U


dLumotec Oval


iQ Cyo RT


Luxos U


I have a Luxos U on back-order

[find_bruce]

Wow! Those dyno prices are extremely reasonable! I wonder if they make them in a 15mm through-axle?

Good news, SON make a dynamo with a 1mm through axle.

Bad news the price is less reasonable - RRP €269

Just came across some beam shots from Peter White Cycles including the new B&M Luxos U

Some pretty impresive features, including the USB plug. As always Peter White cycles has excellent photos, but it seems Wouter Scholten was less impressed with the B&M photos & the performance of the Luxos B - luxos U review still to come

In the middle is a strong hotspot, or perhaps hotcone, which is distracting. The evenness of the beam (on the road) is still nowhere near the quality of the Philips LED bike light/Saferide 80 battery lamp. The intensity of the beam outside that hotspot is a bit too low. The beam is pretty wide and nicely lights up the road I tried it on including the green on the left/right, though at not enough intensity compared to the hotspot

[il padrone]

The Luxos B lacks most of the features of the Luxos U, including the panorama beam apparently (puzzlingly) so if he describes the B as being a wide beam, the U is even wider. I'm pretty confident I will be happy with it.

Never have liked the Philips light's profile - silly I know

[find_bruce]

The Luxos B lacks most of the features of the Luxos U, including the panorama beam apparently (puzzlingly) so if he describes the B as being a wide beam, the U is even wider. I'm pretty confident I will be happy with it.

Are you sure ?

These next two photos were taken with the same 45mm focal length lens as all of the other photos. However, the Luxos beam is wider than this lens can capture. So I also took a few shots with a 24mm wide angle lens. They can be seen further down the page. Since even with the 24mm lens, you can't really see how wide this beam is, I then used an even wider lens ... a 16mm (108 degree) wide angle lens ...

Here's the beam at high speed. The Luxos B has the same beam as this.

My emphasis.

The Peter White photo clearly shows the uneven light distribution Wouter complains about. To be fair, the "hotspot" of the Luxos U appears to be at least as wide as the full width of other dynamo lights.

Never have liked the Philips light's profile - silly I know

We all have out prejudices I have to say despite Wouter's, I am seriously thinking about how I can fit the Luxos U into my cycling budget by the time it starts getting dark. Of course it also means getting a dynamo but that is already on my wishlist.