recommend a rear light

The Rookie

A few drivers at work have said my rear light isn't really good enough for dark country lanes (will try new batteries first!), but if I'm buying a new one what would people recommend?
Ideas
1/ Exposure flare - good reviews meant to be 'silly bright'
2/ Smart R2 - same bike radar rating, slightly cheaper to buy
3/ Topeak redlite mega - best review on bikeradar but frankly I can't find anywhere in the UK that actually sells it!

Any other suggestions?

Simon

cyberknight

I have a smart r2 and i find it one of the best lights i have used, the rsp asrtum is very similar as it mounts the lights horizontally rather than vertically.

For commuting on unlit roads i also have lights on each pannier bag clip, or you could mount extra lights on the chainstays + your helmet if you wear one.

The exposure flare is very bright but if you want to get really bright ............

Magicshine , mind you these tend to be shipped from hong kong for this price and will take at least a month tocome, a uk will be quicker but a lot more expensive.
http://www.bestofferbuy.com/magicshine- ... goim1bqlf1

iPete

No questions has to be a Hope District, illuminates the road behind you, no doubt great for country lanes. Have had drivers genuinely complement me on how visible I am and no complaints of being blinded. Also teams up with nicely with a Hope 2/4.

I'm also getting an unprecedented amount of space, respect and generally safer passing since fitting it.

You may baulk at the price but they should last years and I've easily lost or broken the equivalent in cheap lights.

There are Chinese alternatives and the exposure flares, from what I've seen, are nearly as good and certainly not silly bright, the pulse feature is also excellent.

DrLex

Moon Shield 60; cheaper than Exposure+charger+rechargeable battery.

fossyant

If you want AAA, then the Smart R1/R2, RSP Astrum, Mars 4.0, Nightrider Cherrybomb. You need at least two rears incase batteries go flat.

If you want really bright then it's the Hope, Magicshine MJ-818 and Exposure Flare.

I've got two magicshines and two Smart R1's (superflash) on - you can see me, the road is red behind me. Only ever had one complaint about the magicshines (grumpy milkfloat driver) - everyone else had said they were awesome (mostly cyclists).

bails87

Another vote for the MJ-818, I've got one and it's excellent, you can see road signs 100m+ behind you flashing red, and it illuminates a patch of road behind you.

Otherwise, I was driving and was behind someone with an R2, I was behind a pick up (the bike was in front of the pick up) and saw it reflecting off the road, under the truck, well before I could directly see the cyclist. So I'd say that would be good.

Change the batteries first though, I bet that's the problem. I've done it a few times, where I've thought "hmmm, that's still quite bright" and then I've put new batteries in and nearly blinded myself! That was with the Smart R1.

I've also got a Cateye TLD610, and tbh I'm disappointed with the battery life, brightness, poor bracket and cheap feel. Other than that it's great.....

rolf_f

No questions - Smart R1 or R2. I have up to three on the back depending on mood/bike/weather conditions!

Do use mudguards though and do avoid mounting them low on seatstays.

And as Fossyant says - at least two. And make them of equal power too. If your backup isn't as strong as your main, why is your main so strong?!

bails87 wrote:

Change the batteries first though, I bet that's the problem. I've done it a few times, where I've thought "hmmm, that's still quite bright" and then I've put new batteries in and nearly blinded myself! That was with the Smart R1.

Yeah - keeps happening to me. The batteries last so long you don't notice when they are going off and they do still look painfully bright when they are well on their way out.

The Rookie

OK thanks, found the Smart R1 at a good price (price isn't everything BUT if you can get what you want cheaper......) so will go with that meantime I'll stick new batteries in first!

Simon

welkman

Magishine is brilliant, mine has be on the bike attatched to the pannier rack for a whole year and is still going strong. I have mine paired with the front light and running off one battery. The advantage of having the front and the rear is that they both come with batteries so you can always have one on charge.

dodgerdog

Blackburn 4.0 works great for me

Kieran_Burns

Hope district 3 for me - utterly insane amount of light at the back of the bike - the roads are red on my commute!

As said earlier - I get WAY more room when cycling at night, you just look so much bigger on the road with bright lights

keyser__soze

Both R1s I've had have had a nasty habit of turning off in rain. The R2 seems much better.

The Rookie

OK, back to drawing board from the R1 then!

Simon

rolf_f

The Beginner wrote:

OK, back to drawing board from the R1 then!

Simon

Should be fine provided mudguards fitted etc. I use both and notice no difference. I don't really think the seals on the R2 look noticeably better than the R1.

cougie

I'm quite taken with this one = http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/i/q/LIS ... rear_light

I ride with this on the bike and two Smarts on my backpack.

And make sure you change the batteries today. Dont put off stuff like this if you're planning on riding home tonight.

Koncordski

Kieran_Burns wrote:

Hope district 3 for me - utterly insane amount of light at the back of the bike - the roads are red on my commute!

As said earlier - I get WAY more room when cycling at night, you just look so much bigger on the road with bright lights

Awesome light, totally bombproof and doesn't stop working in even the heaviest downpours. 10/10.

The Rookie

The hope looks nice but I could get 3 Moon Shields or 2 Exposure's for the price (with change!)

Simon

fenboy369

http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/i/q/LIS ... rear_light

I like the fact that the two smaller LED's are on all the time even if the 1 watt bad boy is set to flash.
I run one on each chain stay (flashing) and one on the seat post (solid). A little bit of Vaseline on the seal keeps them properly watertight. And they are really visable. The past few weeks I've been asked by several people at work where to get them from and complimented by lots of other drivers at work who say they can see them from miles away. (The longest straight on my commute is 1 mile long and people have said that they can easily see me from that distance.) And at £12 from Planet X its a no-brainer for me.

bails87

I've got a couple of R1s, used them MTBing in the winter and I've never had them switch off. I put some vaseline around the seals though.

The Rookie

OK, back to a toss up between vaselined R1's and the moon shield!

Simon

spasypaddy

that district is incredibly expensive. exposure flare for me, 2nd year using it and still love it.

bails87

Yeh, when the OP said he could get 3 or 4 normal lights for the price of the District, I guess he was going on it costing ~£85, which is for the head unit only and not the £140 price of the whole kit!

Kieran_Burns

If you already have Hope kit you can share the battery - works out very well.

wyadvd

I have the dinotte 300R . Its the same as a district but has two emmitters side by side. very bright (300 lumens of light output) but designed to be pointed down to illuminate the road/ the opposite side of a blind corner that you are going round. USB rechargeable 3 hrs life on full. 24hrs on low. no separate battery pack.

available here:

http://www.dinottelighting.com/LED_bike ... attery.htm

bails87

Kieran_Burns wrote:

If you already have Hope kit you can share the battery - works out very well.

Yeah but if you don't.....

Kieran_Burns

bails87 wrote:

Kieran_Burns wrote:

If you already have Hope kit you can share the battery - works out very well.

Yeah but if you don't.....

..you should...

Rock solid lights and bloody bright. None of this namby pamby "oh it's a bit damp and the seals have gone" rubbish.

buy cheap, pay twice....

The Rookie

I don't!

Tossing up now between the R1 and the Moon Shield, I can get 2 R1's for the one Moon Shield but have a 'not quite good enough' Torch as well as secondary light.

Simon

bails87

Kieran_Burns wrote:

bails87 wrote:

Kieran_Burns wrote:

If you already have Hope kit you can share the battery - works out very well.

Yeah but if you don't.....

..you should...

Rock solid lights and bloody bright. None of this namby pamby "oh it's a bit damp and the seals have gone" rubbish.

buy cheap,

Sounds like the Magicshine!

I'm sure the Hope is excellent, but still....£140!

spasypaddy

Kieran_Burns wrote:

bails87 wrote:

Kieran_Burns wrote:

If you already have Hope kit you can share the battery - works out very well.

Yeah but if you don't.....

..you should...

Rock solid lights and bloody bright. None of this namby pamby "oh it's a bit damp and the seals have gone" rubbish.

buy cheap, pay twice....

ah a hope fanboy

im an exposure fanboy so i'll battle with you. BATTLE!

Kieran_Burns

spasypaddy wrote:

Kieran_Burns wrote:

bails87 wrote:

Kieran_Burns wrote:

If you already have Hope kit you can share the battery - works out very well.

Yeah but if you don't.....

..you should...

Rock solid lights and bloody bright. None of this namby pamby "oh it's a bit damp and the seals have gone" rubbish.

buy cheap, pay twice....

ah a hope fanboy

im an exposure fanboy so i'll battle with you. BATTLE!

I hope you'll expose yourself somewhere else

rolf_f

Kieran_Burns wrote:

buy cheap, pay twice....

But Smart R1,R2s are fine if you use mudguards. And you could buy 14 for the price of one Hope. Much as I like to support UK manufacturing, however you look at it 3 or four R1/R2s are a better bet for the money than one Hope rear let alone the 14 you could buy for the same money. If you had 14 R2s hanging off the back of your bike, nobody would get within 100 yards of you

I mean, come on - £140 is the price of a 531 frame bike!!