Money no object best rear light for saddle bag

spasypaddy

so you can use it on the arione seat pack like ive shown. and just keep the flare on the areo bike

asprilla

spasypaddy wrote:

so you can use it on the arione seat pack like ive shown. and just keep the flare on the areo bike

My other bikes don't have aero seat posts so I can just put it on the seatpost. I really wanted to replace my Flare as I've had a number of occasions where a pothole as changed the setting from flashing to constant and then I've got home to find it ran out of juice somewhere on the way home.

dilemna

Asprilla wrote:

spasypaddy wrote:

so you can use it on the arione seat pack like ive shown. and just keep the flare on the areo bike

My other bikes don't have aero seat posts so I can just put it on the seatpost. I really wanted to replace my Flare as I've had a number of occasions where a pothole as changed the setting from flashing to constant and then I've got home to find it ran out of juice somewhere on the way home.

Good. Flashing lights are a menace.

paul_mck

for my aero seatpost I got some stuff called thermoplastic granules. you heat them in water then mould them into any shape you want. you then stick it to the seatpost to mould round it and leave a flat back, then push the light against it. drop the plastic into cold water and it solidifies into the shape. da da mount anything you want on the seatpost. Just mount the light as normal with supplied straps or cableties.

how good it looks depends on how much time you spend moulding it. Ive some pics somewhere but the granules cost very little (1/2 kilo bag) and are pretty useful. If you mess it up just drop back into hot water again and it goes soft (around 60-70degrees).

asprilla

dilemna wrote:

Asprilla wrote:

spasypaddy wrote:

so you can use it on the arione seat pack like ive shown. and just keep the flare on the areo bike

My other bikes don't have aero seat posts so I can just put it on the seatpost. I really wanted to replace my Flare as I've had a number of occasions where a pothole as changed the setting from flashing to constant and then I've got home to find it ran out of juice somewhere on the way home.

Good. Flashing lights are a menace.

Ok. By menace I assume you mean that they are better at attracting attention and marking you out as a cyclist?

/dons tin hat.

paul_mck

flashing all the way, else you look like a faraway motorbike

asprilla

paul_mck wrote:

for my aero seatpost I got some stuff called thermoplastic granules. you heat them in water then mould them into any shape you want. you then stick it to the seatpost to mould round it and leave a flat back, then push the light against it. drop the plastic into cold water and it solidifies into the shape. da da mount anything you want on the seatpost. Just mount the light as normal with supplied straps or cableties.

how good it looks depends on how much time you spend moulding it. Ive some pics somewhere but the granules cost very little (1/2 kilo bag) and are pretty useful. If you mess it up just drop back into hot water again and it goes soft (around 60-70degrees).

Amazing! And they come in pretty colours!

I need these in my life.

DrLex

paul_mck wrote:

flashing all the way, else you look like a faraway motorbike

I take the view that two are required, due to the chances of one dying/jumping ship.
Oh, and Sugru is a great 'make-it-fit' option.

paul_mck

I can honestly say I see no need for two lights. One good flasher is ample along with a visible top/jacket (red/yellow/hi vis whatever).

slowbike

paul_mck wrote:

I can honestly say I see no need for two lights. One good flasher is ample along with a visible top/jacket (red/yellow/hi vis whatever).

What if one fails on route ... ?

paul_mck

what if I get hit by a meteor?

asprilla

paul_mck wrote:

what if I get hit by a meteor?

It's happened to me a few times. Li-ion batteries give good output before they fail so you don't get the gradual dimming warning you that they need a recharge.

Now I use a seatpost mount and a helmet light.

paul_mck

apologies for being flippant Id usually tuck a couple of spare batteries in my bag and my commute isnt massively far (7miles) along main roads.

monkimark

i always have a backup rear light because you can't see them when you're riding so you don't know if the batteries have died.
Now that it's starting to get dark earlier I've added these I like the fact that the give a bit of added width, although who knows if they have any effect on

DrLex

Coincidentally, my Smart made a crazed leap for freedom this morning, after a good road bump. You're thinking "oh, the idiot didn't securely fix it in to the mount", as was my first thought. Turns out the clip section of the lamp had detached from the lamp unit, as it was still in the mount. Time for a bit of araldite.

veronese68

A few years ago I had a small Smart light detach itself, probably my fault though, I heard it fall and stopped. It was still flashing after the third car drove over it, although the red lens had detached and it was now trying to be a front light. I left it to die a horrible wet death all alone.

iPete

Wish I'd got good lights from the off...

3x Smart 1/2 Watts = £45
1 x blackburn 3.0 = £15
£60 of lights that died or made a bid for freedom (+ all the others I've forgotten and about £15 re-chargeable's)

vs

Hope District with Battery = £125
The scales of economy aren't winning yet but that's a bunch of cheap lights vs one hard ass mother that's still going after year round use for 2.5 years or 1,500+ hours.

awavey

how do you get the light to stop pointing downwards though, as Ive got a Topeak saddle bag with a nice clipholder for my CatEye which fits great, but the weight of the light (which is only afew pounds its not stupidly heavy) pulls down and with the slight angle of the bag the light ends up probably 20degrees off being really where I want it. I keep thinking if I fitted the clip upside down it would work,but then I risk the light falling off.

tempted to ditch the mudguard and go back to a seat post fitting

slowbike

paul_mck wrote:

apologies for being flippant Id usually tuck a couple of spare batteries in my bag and my commute isnt massively far (7miles) along main roads.

Mines 11 miles and along a country A road - it can get very dark with cars coming quickly around the corners - I need to be seen quickly and effectively. There is no path for walking. You can't always tell if a rear light has failed - mine are now on the back of the rack and I can't see them whilst riding. Failure might not be the battery - water ingress or physical detachment can also occur. I'd be stuffed without one!
The second one doesn't have to be expensive.

I've found the cateye ones with mounts to be pretty good so far - so that's my main back light - the others are supplementary - I'll see how the Smart one goes this winter.

Main problem seems to be mounting - not enough space on the seat tube or - like me - I have a rack bag on the back that obscures any light on the tube. Racks don't have large enough sections for many light fittings. The Smart Lunar lights came with 2 fittings - one that fits the rack tubes and one for the seat post. I'm mounting the other lights on the rack with a bit of round conduit found lying around.

Kieran_Burns

iPete wrote:

Wish I'd got good lights from the off...

3x Smart 1/2 Watts = £45
1 x blackburn 3.0 = £15
£60 of lights that died or made a bid for freedom (+ all the others I've forgotten and about £15 re-chargeable's)

vs

Hope District with Battery = £125
The scales of economy aren't winning yet but that's a bunch of cheap lights vs one hard ass mother that's still going after year round use for 2.5 years or 1,500+ hours.

I went for the "stupidly expensive but never going to fail" approach as well (i.e. District 3) and never regretted it

As to knowing it's failed... it's so damn bright, the reflected light off your frame / wheels / the moon mean that the FRONT forks have a light red glow on them

Fireblade96

I got a bunch of Smart 1/2w rear lights in someone's sale a couple of years ago for around £5 each. I figure I can afford to lose one or have it break. They're plenty bright enough for my part town / part rural commute.

I tend to use two - one on the seat stay, one on the seat post. One on flash, one on steady.
That way I'm covered if one expires en route, which has happened - sometimes one turns itelf on when in my rucsack pocket, but I've never had both do it.

rolf_f

awavey wrote:

I keep thinking if I fitted the clip upside down it would work,but then I risk the light falling off.

You can take a thick rubber band (eg the red ones the posties use) and wrap it round the light and through the loop in such a way as it can't come off. Need to check the state of the elastic band occasionally though as they do perish.

What I like about the Smart light approach is that they are cheap enough that if you have several bikes, you can just plaster them all across your collection without swapping them around. Not a big deal perhaps but every faff saved is a good thing!