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Video Comparison of Dinotte 400R and other tail lights
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Just picked up the Dinotte 400R tail light and I was curious to see if it was nearly $200 better than my standard battery powered tail lights. I wanted a light you could see in the daytime, so I took some cell phone video of 4 different lights on a sunny afternoon. Link is here:



Or, if you want to save yourself about 2 minutes of watching, in my opinion, from 100 yards, the Dinotte is the clear winner, the Cateye Opticube is still visible, and the Cateye TL-LD600 and Planet Bike Superflash are barely visible in bright sun from this distance.

I think it's important to have a light that is as bright as a car light; drivers just aren't looking for bikes (they probably aren't looking for anything but their cell phone, actually) and I want something that can be seen from far enough away to give the driver time to react. If they have to be 10 yards from me to see it, that's too late. I plan to take the Dinotte on all my rides from now on.

A side note, if you have a mounting bracket for each of your bikes, swapping the 400R between bikes is quick. And, I had some before-the-sale questions and found Dinotte's customer support to be quite good. I have no affiliation with Dinotte in any way.

Anyway, I thought some of you might enjoy this.
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Re: Video Comparison of Dinotte 400R and other tail lights [2wheels] [ In reply to ]
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Thank you for that! My son had a near miss yesterday with a car that blew past him on a local climb. I'm thinking that a good rear light might make riding a little bit safer. $200 might be a small price to pay.

Any comments on battery life?

Jed

"If you want to ride by the Force, you had better make sure that you are a real Jedi." - FastYellow (6/13/2011)
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Re: Video Comparison of Dinotte 400R and other tail lights [trijedi] [ In reply to ]
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According to Dinotte the light will go for 12 hours in slow pulse mode, and 6 hours in rapid pulse or strobe mode. If you leave it on continuously it lasts 2.5 hours at full power, 5 hours at 50% and 24 hours at 10%. I will likely only use it in the daytime and in blinking mode, so battery life should not be an issue for me. If you have serious battery needs they also make a 4 cell battery that doubles those numbers, but it's bigger and heavier.
Last edited by: 2wheels: Apr 6, 12 15:18
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Re: Video Comparison of Dinotte 400R and other tail lights [2wheels] [ In reply to ]
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The Dinottes are awesome. I never leave home without my 140-R. Drivers give you a wide berth. I'd have to turn it way down if I used it at night - it would blind drivers.
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Re: Video Comparison of Dinotte 400R and other tail lights [2wheels] [ In reply to ]
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The DiNottes are great lights, no doubt, but I don't think you're quite right in saying you need a light as bright as a Dinotte or car light to ride at night.

The most cost effective bang for buck solutions are either the Planet Bike Superflash ($30) or Mars 3.0 ($25) blinkies, which are 2 x AA clip ons. No they're not as bright as Dinotte, but they're shockingly bright at night and readily visible at dusk. As long as the batteries are topped off, they're nearly impossible to miss - if you get hit with one of these, it's doubtful a Dinotte would help.

The only situation where I would consider a Dinotte as 'must-have' lighting, would be if you are riding at night on a very high speed highway with traffic speed of over 60mph on average, thus needing a very, very far distance between the car seeing you and responding. Like on a remote country road at night, or some parts of the PCH. (Why are you even out there at night on a high speed road, anyway?)

At <50mph, the PBSF or Mars are easily bright enough - I've seen a lot of them in the SOCal area while driving these speeds, and they are more than adequate. I think Dinotte rear lights are fantastic, but I've got no plans to buy one because these blinkies are so great.
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Re: Video Comparison of Dinotte 400R and other tail lights [2wheels] [ In reply to ]
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2wheels wrote:
drivers just aren't looking for bikes (they probably aren't looking for anything but their cell phone, actually)

Sad, but true.

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Re: Video Comparison of Dinotte 400R and other tail lights [2wheels] [ In reply to ]
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I really wanted to hone in on the midi guitar or lack of cowbell, but then I lamented how slowtwitch of me that would be. So on a more serious note, thanks much for the note and, does anyone have enough experience with the 300r to say if it's in this league?
Last edited by: perullo: Apr 6, 12 20:38
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Re: Video Comparison of Dinotte 400R and other tail lights [perullo] [ In reply to ]
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I have not seen them both, but according to Dinotte the 300R is not quite as bright as the 400R. I am guessing it is still really bright. I went with the 400R because I wanted maximum daytime visibility.
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Re: Video Comparison of Dinotte 400R and other tail lights [2wheels] [ In reply to ]
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Thanks for ruining my perceived visibility with my $25 Superflash. Might need to invest in a brighter back light for daytime use.
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Re: Video Comparison of Dinotte 400R and other tail lights [2wheels] [ In reply to ]
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Great video comparison.

Now I'm torn between choosing the Dinotte or the PB Turbo Superflash. I've used three regular Superflash's on my commuter bike, and was considering the turbo for my new Madone. But after seeing this video, I'm thinking of making myself more seen to motorists and dropping the $200 for the Dinotte. I've spent $65 for the three PB lights and have had no close calls with vehicles since using them collectively since last fall (one light before that for two years).
Last edited by: Recoverie: May 11, 12 20:04
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Re: Video Comparison of Dinotte 400R and other tail lights [Recoverie] [ In reply to ]
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Personally I would not worry about spending the $200, that is a drop in the bucket compared to the medical costs of someone running over you with their car!

Since I got the Dinotte I later saw this video, looks like the DesignShine is even brighter than the Dinotte?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVisFnaKjso
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Re: Video Comparison of Dinotte 400R and other tail lights [2wheels] [ In reply to ]
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Here's another comparison that speaks highly of another inexpensive light - the Hotshot:

http://gizmodo.com/...t-bicycle-tail-light
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Re: Video Comparison of Dinotte 400R and other tail lights [2wheels] [ In reply to ]
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worth checking out the USE Flare also.
Flash (pulsing) or static, replaceable/rechargeable battery
75 lumen (very bright)
a bracket is available to mount on saddle rails on a TT bike too

'to give anything less than the best is to sacrifice the gift'...Pre
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