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Brightest rear light, fairly reasonable in cost?
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I've taken to commuting on my cross bike as much as possible, and it's typically dark during both commutes this time of year.

I'm in Chicago, so a super bright, tree-root catching, bobcat-stunning front light isn't crucial, but a good rear light is.

The Cygolite HotShot seems quite bright for the price, but the mount & casing are quite cheapy. The Knog Blinder is also bright at $60, but I've had many a Knog jelly mount fail in the past.

Any other suggestions for an obnoxiously bright, seatpost-mounted, rechargeable light, under $100?
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Re: Brightest rear light, fairly reasonable in cost? [grosso27] [ In reply to ]
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I run a hotshot. have not had any problems with the mount or otherwise in the almost 2 years I have had it.

I skiped the knog because it does not appear to have a way to adjust the angle.
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Re: Brightest rear light, fairly reasonable in cost? [grosso27] [ In reply to ]
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Exposure Tracer. It's 75 lumens. Steady or pulse modes. USB rechargeable. Around $55. Can be mounted on your seat post or on your saddle rails. With the saddle rail mount you'd still be less than $100.
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Re: Brightest rear light, fairly reasonable in cost? [grosso27] [ In reply to ]
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I made one using information from this

http://forums.mtbr.com/...il-light-820885.html

thread for less than $30. It's so bright my riding buddy begs to lead when we ride early in the morning when I have it on strobe mode. Cars think you're some sort of rescue vehicle. I fear it might cause seizures if the wrong people were exposed to it.

Hugh

Genetics load the gun, lifestyle pulls the trigger.
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Re: Brightest rear light, fairly reasonable in cost? [grosso27] [ In reply to ]
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Nite Flux, you can't even use it in the brightest setting during the night. http://www.niteflux.com/
It gives bright light to many different angles, not just for straight behind.

Tiago
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Sponsors: : Blueseventy :
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Re: Brightest rear light, fairly reasonable in cost? [BrzilianTri] [ In reply to ]
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Serfas tl 60 is the brightest low cost tail light. There are some independent tests that have recommended it. i have one it is like a fire engine light at day time.
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Re: Brightest rear light, fairly reasonable in cost? [grosso27] [ In reply to ]
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Vis180 from light and motion. Rechargeable, super bright, red and yellow lights, and has an option for an aero seat post mount. Spot on $100 but totally worth it in my mind.

"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro."
Hunter S. Thompson
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Re: Brightest rear light, fairly reasonable in cost? [endosch2] [ In reply to ]
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x2 on the Serfas - an awesome light. It's extremely weather resistant, too.

Jimmy
http://www.Riccitello.com
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Re: Brightest rear light, fairly reasonable in cost? [grosso27] [ In reply to ]
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Nightrider Solas. 2 watts. USB rechargeable and around $30 right now.
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Re: Brightest rear light, fairly reasonable in cost? [BrzilianTri] [ In reply to ]
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BrzilianTri wrote:
Nite Flux, you can't even use it in the brightest setting during the night.
http://www.niteflux.com/
It gives bright light to many different angles, not just for straight behind.


Brings up a good point.

Most good lights are bright enough nowadays.

I think size (# of diodes) and visibility from the sides as well as the back are more important than blinding brightness (I don't want a blind driver behind me).

I have the Cateye TL-LD1100 for commuting.

No affiliation with them, just like that it runs on 2 AA for up to 100 hrs.


Last edited by: windschatten: Nov 22, 14 20:18
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Re: Brightest rear light, fairly reasonable in cost? [grosso27] [ In reply to ]
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I'm quite pleased with the Planet Bike Super Flash Turbo. Got the this from Amazon for $28 and free shipping (because I bought other things that upped my grand total). I've used the 1/2 watt Super Flash in the past, but this 1 watt version just upped the ante, imo. It hurts too look at it it's so bright. I use rechargeable AAA batteries. You could get noticed more by getting three of these, mounting one on the seat post and the other two on each seat stay. I did this with three 1/2 watts where I put two on the seat stays on steady mode and the one on the seat post on flash.
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Re: Brightest rear light, fairly reasonable in cost? [Recoverie] [ In reply to ]
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I've been extremely pleased with the Serfas UTL-6. It's very bright, and the rubber mounting straps will mount to just about anything. It's also super easy to move between bikes. I've even mounted it onto the xlab sonic wing on my tri bike.
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Re: Brightest rear light, fairly reasonable in cost? [tri-tele] [ In reply to ]
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tri-tele wrote:
Vis180 from light and motion. Rechargeable, super bright, red and yellow lights, and has an option for an aero seat post mount. Spot on $100 but totally worth it in my mind.

I agree. Not the cheapest, but good warranty support. I run one of these with a Serfas Thunderbolt on my seatstay with a Blackburn Flea on my helmet.

"Most of my heroes don't appear on no stamps"
Blog = http://extrememomentum.com|Photos = http://wheelgoodphotos.com
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Re: Brightest rear light, fairly reasonable in cost? [grosso27] [ In reply to ]
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Brand: moon
Model: shield
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Re: Brightest rear light, fairly reasonable in cost? [grosso27] [ In reply to ]
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recently picked up the serfas thunderbolt at my lbs. it's super bright and uses an usb cable for charging.
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Re: Brightest rear light, fairly reasonable in cost? [JimmyRiccitello] [ In reply to ]
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JimmyRiccitello wrote:
x2 on the Serfas - an awesome light. It's extremely weather resistant, too.


Im a light junkie. Serfas tl 60 is a great light compatible with aero seat posts. Amazon.com has a ton of reviews. There is a performance bike axiom 60, basically identical for half the price. I have both and they are so bright, that other riders behind me ask me to angle it down or turn off. Both are 60 lumens. This is also a super light weight light, so it's a good balance between weight and brightness. You could attach the light to your helmet and seat post, for double brightness and additional angles to be seen.

Serfas makes an 80 lumen model, but it's quite a bit bulkier. I also have the Dinotte 300R- which is even brighter, brighter than a car taillight, but it's a bit bulkier, heavier, and probably too bright. Dinotte has a new, lighter weight and even brighter model than the 300R. It's more than $100, but superbly bright at 200 lumens, which is Rey bright for a red taillight.

http://store.dinottelighting.com/...in-battery-p111.aspx
Last edited by: mcycle: Nov 23, 14 20:30
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Re: Brightest rear light, fairly reasonable in cost? [grosso27] [ In reply to ]
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http://www.aliexpress.com/...tail/1461897105.html

2x Cree XP-E red leds. You can set it to have both constantly on or one on and the other flashing.

Needs an external 8.4v battery like high powered headlights. I have it and my headlight hooked up to an eight cell brick in a saddle bag with my patch kit, levers, and CO2 cartridges.

battery: http://www.ebay.com/...e=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

headlight: http://www.ebay.com/...e=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

I commute around an hour each way, just after dawn in the morning and well after dark at night, with the mileage split between unlit bike paths and in urban traffic.

This light set up is amazing! Better than anything else I've experienced.

Speaking to the tail light specifically, the angle of my seat tube points it down a bit so it creates a giant red ellipse, around 8' across, behind you on the ground. Very noticeable to overtaking traffic. The light itself is still super visible even with the angle. It is the brightest tail light I could find that could be bought. The only way to get a brighter one is to make your own with three or more XP-E emitters. There are only a couple of annoyances: it could be a bit smaller, and once you turn it on the only way to turn it off is to unplug from the battery. When you plug it into the battery, the rear light flashes then stays off until you switch it on. After turning it on, pressing the button just cycles it between two-on and one-on-one-flash.

The headlight is brighter than some car lights, is quite small, and has a three led power meter on the backside. It switches between off-low-med-high. I kinda wish it had a strobe function, but that is the only annoyance I have with it.

With the eight cell pack, headlight on high, and tail light set to one-on-one-flash, I can go almost two hours before the power meter drops one led. I haven't done a full rundown test yet because the headlight gets pretty damn hot if it doesn't have airflow around it and I'd rather not ruin the light.
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Re: Brightest rear light, fairly reasonable in cost? [SummitAK] [ In reply to ]
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X2 on the Solas.

Nite Rider Solas

USB rechargable and super bright.

I actually had a guy complain that my lights are going to give someone a ceisure as I got home one time. What this guy doesn't understand is it prevents drivers from running my over me when I ride home. I feel 10 times safer on my commute home. There's no way someone can say they don't see me!

I bought a combo that comes with the Lumina 250 and Solas for just over $100 CDN + Tax. This is one of the best bike investments I've made, worth every penny.
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Re: Brightest rear light, fairly reasonable in cost? [grosso27] [ In reply to ]
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I've taken to commuting on my cross bike as much as possible, and it's typically dark during both commutes this time of year.

Just wanted to mention that a *bright* taillight is extremely important any time you are heading towards the sun when it is near the horizon. It isn't just for nighttime. It shows up better than you'd think because your body creates a shadow. A motorist may not see you otherwise with the sun in their eyes.

It amazes me how many cyclists ignore the fact that in certain situations they are very hard to see. The motorist might be technically wrong and get a ticket when they run over you, but that won't help when you are dead.

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Re: Brightest rear light, fairly reasonable in cost? [BrzilianTri] [ In reply to ]
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This looks really good as a rear light. I'm going to make the investment. Any suggestions on a head light?
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Re: Brightest rear light, fairly reasonable in cost? [grosso27] [ In reply to ]
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I nearly didn't reply because you asked for the "brightest" rear light, and not the "most visible" (visiblest?!).

Not the brightest, but these are popular around my parts over here in the UK. They are not particularly bright, but they catch the attention of the driver because they are unexpected. You don't expect to see this shape up ahead, so your brain tells you to slow down until you figure out what you are looking at. At least that's what I think might happen.

Anyway, I think these are pretty good, especially for commuting in traffic.

http://fibreflare.com/
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Re: Brightest rear light, fairly reasonable in cost? [grosso27] [ In reply to ]
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grosso27 wrote:
The Knog Blinder is also bright at $60, but I've had many a Knog jelly mount fail in the past.

Any other suggestions for an obnoxiously bright, seatpost-mounted, rechargeable light, under $100?

I've got the Knog Blinder (the one with four vertically stacked LEDs) for $40 discounted and it held up fine over the last year. The rubber is a thick, relatively non-stretch variety with seems nowhere near the limit on 27.2 and 30.9mm seatposts. Recharging without a cable is a huge bonus. Visible as fuck, this thing is seizure-inducingly obnoxious and very bright.

ZONE3 - We Last Longer
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Re: Brightest rear light, fairly reasonable in cost? [peted] [ In reply to ]
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I don't really bike at night so I only use one of these for the front.
http://www.blackburndesign.com/lights/flea-2-0-front-rear-usb-combo.html#.VHNRGPnF8To



Tiago
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Sponsors: : Blueseventy :
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Re: Brightest rear light, fairly reasonable in cost? [grosso27] [ In reply to ]
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We use the light and motion - vis 180 on the seat post and the vis 180 micro on our helmets. You can never have enough blinkies!
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Re: Brightest rear light, fairly reasonable in cost? [grosso27] [ In reply to ]
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Nitecore MH1A + Red Filter = 550 lumen, blinking rear light with usb charging or 1 AA for $70
Another one up front without the filter; these 2 lights served me well last 14 months on daily 40 miles commute

Once you start looking outside "bike" specific light, tons of options open up; much better bang for the bucks
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