Recommendations for a rear bike light

joey54321

My (imo, rubbish) NiteRider sentinel is likely going to die soon as the rubber grommet that keeps it waterproof is detached from the light and been lost. There are so many annoying things with this light though, I am not too disappointed.

So I am looking for a new rear light which a few criteria:

-bright enough to be seen at distance, I commute 10 miles each way and some of that is on a national speed limit single carriageway road (there is literally no other way, the office is on this road).

- easy to install/remove with big winter gloves on, either via undoing the strap or removing from the bracket.

- quick to change between bikes

- battery to last long enough for 2 days (40 miles) in case I forget to charge it

- preferably doesn't cost the earth

Cheers!

craigus89

I've got one of these, done me well for over a year now and is nice and bright, meets all your requirements.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/lezyne-strip-drive-pro-300/

shirley_basso

Moon Nebula and get a spare saddle rail mount.

svetty

Exposure TraceR meets your criteria...

ugo.santalucia

For the rear, something with AAA batteries is plenty. I use a cheap Cateye... the batteries last for months. I have used it for overnight Audax rides, so it must be good enough... if you don't trust one, carry two of them

https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/cat ... prod123988

joey54321

Thanks for all the suggestions, lots match my own thoughts/shortlist.

I have thought of a couple more "criteria" or frustrations with my current light:

- Ease of telling when the battery is low (my current light flashes red when off in low battery mode, so I often cycle through it thinking it is a 'mode', it means I have to stop on each 'mode' as I cycle through).

- Good mount so that when using offroad I don't lose the light (the exposure, in particular, I am concerned with regarding this point).

simon_e

Cateye LD610 (2xAAA). Fit to seat post with SP6 clamp and bracket part no. #544-0980. Decent rechargeables should last at least a week between charges.

I like my Lezyne Micro, its focussed 30 lumens is pretty good and even the 15L Femto' mode is surprisingly good. Minor niggles: it needs recharging more often than I'd like (I've been spoilt by the Cateye) and its shape means it won't fit in some USB slots so I use a 3-pin mobile phone charger. Lezyne Zecto 80 might be worth a look, my wife's older version is bright and it's easy to check the charge status.

Would advise you run two units, with one steady and one flashing, particularly on busy, fast roads. On my wet/winter bike I have an old Cateye TL150 (now superseded by the Omni 5) on constant and Rapid 3 on flash, both are small so plenty of room on the seat post using SP6 clamps. You can fit all these Cateye lights to the seat rails with the RM-1 bracket.

ugo.santalucia

joey54321 wrote:

Thanks for all the suggestions, lots match my own thoughts/shortlist.

I have thought of a couple more "criteria" or frustrations with my current light:

- Ease of telling when the battery is low (my current light flashes red when off in low battery mode, so I often cycle through it thinking it is a 'mode', it means I have to stop on each 'mode' as I cycle through).

- Good mount so that when using offroad I don't lose the light (the exposure, in particular, I am concerned with regarding this point).

Hence my suggestion to carry a spare light, I normally do. The Cateye mount is pretty bulletproof

keef66

I have a Moon Comet Xpro which would appear to tick all your boxes, apart from the charge indicator.

I bought it to replace an old Cateye holy hand grenade that went bouncing down the road without telling me. (Daylight, so it was annoying because it didn't need to be on the bike, but possibly fortunate, because had it happened at night I'd have been riding around without a rear light...)

Anyhow, it might have been a blessing in disguise because it's scared me into running 2 or more rear lights now, and LED technology has improved out of all recognition in the last few years. The Moon thing is tiny; a bit smaller than a finger of KitKat, but it is outrageously bright, lasts for days, and has more modes than I'll ever use.

It's paired with cheaper AAA powered Smart Lunar jobs I got for pennies from Planet X

fenix

SeeSense Ace.

bobones

Garmin Varia Radar RTL510 - a rear light and radar detector in one. It's like having eyes on the back of your head. The light is plenty bright, has multiples modes, and the flashing intensifies as vehicles approach. Works best with a recent Garmin computer as head unit. Garmin head unit alerts you as vehicles approach, and when battery is low. Only £99 from Wiggle at the moment.

One of the best cycling purchases I have ever made, and I paid £170 for mine!

https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2018/04/gar ... eview.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=az6_XX9bIMs

joey54321

bobones wrote:

Garmin Varia Radar RTL510 - a rear light and radar detector in one. It's like having eyes on the back of your head. The light is plenty bright, has multiples modes, and the flashing intensifies as vehicles approach. Works best with a recent Garmin computer as head unit. Garmin head unit alerts you as vehicles approach, and when battery is low. Only £99 from Wiggle at the moment.

One of the best cycling purchases I have ever made, and I paid £170 for mine!

https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2018/04/gar ... eview.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=az6_XX9bIMs

Can't say I see the point of the radar, I am in a near constant stream of traffic unless I am on a bridleway, so it'd either be going off every few seconds or not at all and as such £100 is too much for a rear light for me. Can you elaborate on why you think its so good? Have I missed something?

stueys

joey54321 wrote:

bobones wrote:

Garmin Varia Radar RTL510 - a rear light and radar detector in one. It's like having eyes on the back of your head. The light is plenty bright, has multiples modes, and the flashing intensifies as vehicles approach. Works best with a recent Garmin computer as head unit. Garmin head unit alerts you as vehicles approach, and when battery is low. Only £99 from Wiggle at the moment.

One of the best cycling purchases I have ever made, and I paid £170 for mine!

https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2018/04/gar ... eview.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=az6_XX9bIMs

Can't say I see the point of the radar, I am in a near constant stream of traffic unless I am on a bridleway, so it'd either be going off every few seconds or not at all and as such £100 is too much for a rear light for me. Can you elaborate on why you think its so good? Have I missed something?

I've run Varia for the last 2 or 3 years across both versions. I think it's a great device, but I don't use it when riding through central London for exactly that reasons - there's always a car behind you. Riding at weekends in the Chilterns though I wouldn't be without it.

bobones

joey54321 wrote:

bobones wrote:

Garmin Varia Radar RTL510 - a rear light and radar detector in one. It's like having eyes on the back of your head. The light is plenty bright, has multiples modes, and the flashing intensifies as vehicles approach. Works best with a recent Garmin computer as head unit. Garmin head unit alerts you as vehicles approach, and when battery is low. Only £99 from Wiggle at the moment.

One of the best cycling purchases I have ever made, and I paid £170 for mine!

https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2018/04/gar ... eview.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=az6_XX9bIMs

Can't say I see the point of the radar, I am in a near constant stream of traffic unless I am on a bridleway, so it'd either be going off every few seconds or not at all and as such £100 is too much for a rear light for me. Can you elaborate on why you think its so good? Have I missed something?

It actually shows each vehicle as a dot moving up the edge of your screen, so it tells you how far away they are, how many are behind you, and if they're travelling at a high speed. This allows you to better judge when to turn round for a look, when to take up primary position, when to move a bit closer to the kerb, when to change lanes, when it's safe to piss about in the middle of the road. The light also intensifies as vehicles approach so gives them additional warning about your presence. Read the review and watch the video. I was not convinced that I needed one at all, and bought it on a whim to take on holiday, but now that I have it, it's indispensable.

craigus89

bobones wrote:

It actually shows each vehicle as a dot moving up the edge of your screen, so it tells you how far away they are, how many are behind you, and if they're travelling at a high speed. This allows you to better judge when to turn round for a look, when to take up primary position, when to move a bit closer to the kerb, when to change lanes, when it's safe to wee-wee about in the middle of the road. The light also intensifies as vehicles approach so gives them additional warning about your presence. Read the review and watch the video. I was not convinced that I needed one at all, and bought it on a whim to take on holiday, but now that I have it, it's indispensable.

So have you stopped looking behind you now that you have the radar? I would assume not, as that would be reckless. In which case all of that is information I can glean by looking behind me.

thistle_

Someone I ride with recommended the Lezyne Zecto Drive which I've had for a few months now.

Plus points:
On a medium steady setting the battery seems to last for at least 4 hours (2-3 days worth of commuting for me)
It charges via USB, so I can keep a spare cable in the office to charge it up
It has a power gauge on the side - press the button once and it will tell you how much power is left
The rubber strap is easy to use with gloves, and simple
Seems to be good quality and well sealed
It's small, light and looks good (IMO)

Bad points
On a high setting, even flashing the battery only lasts about 2 hours
I still haven't figured out what the LEDs on the battery guage mean apart from "not flat" and "almost flat"
It's expensive.

PlanetX seem to be selling a copy of the light for less money, I'm not sure how it stacks up in terms of quality.

bobones

Craigus89 wrote:

bobones wrote:

It actually shows each vehicle as a dot moving up the edge of your screen, so it tells you how far away they are, how many are behind you, and if they're travelling at a high speed. This allows you to better judge when to turn round for a look, when to take up primary position, when to move a bit closer to the kerb, when to change lanes, when it's safe to wee-wee about in the middle of the road. The light also intensifies as vehicles approach so gives them additional warning about your presence. Read the review and watch the video. I was not convinced that I needed one at all, and bought it on a whim to take on holiday, but now that I have it, it's indispensable.

So have you stopped looking behind you now that you have the radar? I would assume not, as that would be reckless. In which case all of that is information I can glean by looking behind me.

No, I haven't stopped turning around: in fact, I quite often turn around when a car is detected just to let the driver know that I've spotted them. Conversely, I don't bother turning round to check if the road is clear when I can see from the radar that there are vehicles behind me. It doesn't replace your eyes, it augments them, and helps you make better judgements, which enhances your safety. You'd need eyes on the back of your head or be turning round every few seconds to get anything like the same information. Anyway, I don't really care if you or everyone else thinks it's a waste of money: I've got one and I know it's great.

joey54321

Craigus89 wrote:

So have you stopped looking behind you now that you have the radar? I would assume not, as that would be reckless. In which case all of that is information I can glean by looking behind me.

I guess the advantage is you know when NOT to look behind you as there is no point.

I can see one point on my commute where this would be useful, down a main road there is a slip road to turn right so I have to cross the lane of busy traffic. While looking round I am inherently less balanced/stable so it as a little danger. This would perhaps help indicate when there is a space gap that I can then look to confirm and then move across.

craigus89

bobones wrote:

Craigus89 wrote:

bobones wrote:

It actually shows each vehicle as a dot moving up the edge of your screen, so it tells you how far away they are, how many are behind you, and if they're travelling at a high speed. This allows you to better judge when to turn round for a look, when to take up primary position, when to move a bit closer to the kerb, when to change lanes, when it's safe to wee-wee about in the middle of the road. The light also intensifies as vehicles approach so gives them additional warning about your presence. Read the review and watch the video. I was not convinced that I needed one at all, and bought it on a whim to take on holiday, but now that I have it, it's indispensable.

So have you stopped looking behind you now that you have the radar? I would assume not, as that would be reckless. In which case all of that is information I can glean by looking behind me.

No, I haven't stopped turning around: in fact, I quite often turn around when a car is detected just to let the driver know that I've spotted them. Conversely, I don't bother turning round to check if the road is clear when I can see from the radar that there are vehicles behind me. It doesn't replace your eyes, it augments them, and helps you make better judgements, which enhances your safety. You'd need eyes on the back of your head or be turning round every few seconds to get anything like the same information. Anyway, I don't really care if you or everyone else thinks it's a waste of money: I've got one and I know it's great.

How exactly does it enhance your safety? What information do you get from it that makes you act differently than you would if you didn't have it? Aside from the fact that you like to turn round to let drivers know you see them, which you can now do, I can't see what it would make me do differently.

bobones

Craigus89 wrote:

How exactly does it enhance your safety? What information do you get from it that makes you act differently than you would if you didn't have it? Aside from the fact that you like to turn round to let drivers know you see them, which you can now do, I can't see what it would make me do differently.

You have more information to make judgements about when it's safe to manoeuvre or turn around to look, and where best to be positioned on the road, and more information is always good. You don't get surprised when you don't hear a car approaching, and you can safely swerve to avoid a last second pothole because you already know there's nothing behind you. When changing lanes in a busy road to turn right, you can wait until it's clear and then turn around to look, rather than looking back every few seconds and possibly straying off line. It makes me feel safer and more in control, but whether I am actually safer is impossible to tell: I haven't been hit by a car before or since getting one! It's one of these things you cannot appreciate until you use it yourself. It's also a great light!

kingrollo

bobones wrote:

Craigus89 wrote:

bobones wrote:

It actually shows each vehicle as a dot moving up the edge of your screen, so it tells you how far away they are, how many are behind you, and if they're travelling at a high speed. This allows you to better judge when to turn round for a look, when to take up primary position, when to move a bit closer to the kerb, when to change lanes, when it's safe to wee-wee about in the middle of the road. The light also intensifies as vehicles approach so gives them additional warning about your presence. Read the review and watch the video. I was not convinced that I needed one at all, and bought it on a whim to take on holiday, but now that I have it, it's indispensable.

So have you stopped looking behind you now that you have the radar? I would assume not, as that would be reckless. In which case all of that is information I can glean by looking behind me.

No, I haven't stopped turning around: in fact, I quite often turn around when a car is detected just to let the driver know that I've spotted them. Conversely, I don't bother turning round to check if the road is clear when I can see from the radar that there are vehicles behind me. It doesn't replace your eyes, it augments them, and helps you make better judgements, which enhances your safety. You'd need eyes on the back of your head or be turning round every few seconds to get anything like the same information. Anyway, I don't really care if you or everyone else thinks it's a waste of money: I've got one and I know it's great.

an unwritten forum rule is that none of these safety gadgets make you any safer.......consider yourself thouroughly told off.

exlaser

As a regular commuter. The best advice I can give is , always have at least two rear lights. That way you don’t have to worry about battery life

gaffer_slow

Bontrager Flare R. You *really* can see it (very brightly) from over a kilometre away. it's like magic.

cycleclinic

My fav light is the Leyzene micro drive rear. Bright and long battery life. Everyone sees me at might and passes properly well nearly everyone. Those that dont are simply ignorant.

step83

Been using a Cateye TL LD600 for years, recently got a See.Sense Ace so thats now my primary light with the cateye now only my commuter along with the built in rear light on my Lazer Z1.

Cannot fault the cateye and the "spare power" is a pair of AAA batteries you can keep in the saddle bag or whatever you carry things in.
Another neat plus is its super narrow so no chance of it catching and as said the cateye mounting system is faultless.

bendip

thecycleclinic wrote:

My fav light is the Leyzene micro drive rear. Bright and long battery life. Everyone sees me at might and passes properly well nearly everyone. Those that dont are simply ignorant.

i've had one for a couple of years..hardly used it cos every time i got home it was never pointing to the rear..no matter how tightly i fastened it to the seatpost..i was thinking of getting a strip of adhesive grip tape (skateboarders stuff) and putting it the post then giving it another go...or has anyone found a better solution to stop it rotating ?

craigus89

bendip wrote:

thecycleclinic wrote:

My fav light is the Leyzene micro drive rear. Bright and long battery life. Everyone sees me at might and passes properly well nearly everyone. Those that dont are simply ignorant.

i've had one for a couple of years..hardly used it cos every time i got home it was never pointing to the rear..no matter how tightly i fastened it to the seatpost..i was thinking of getting a strip of adhesive grip tape (skateboarders stuff) and putting it the post then giving it another go...or has anyone found a better solution to stop it rotating ?

Mine doesn't rotate, do your thighs hit it when your pedalling perhaps?

cougie

Pound shops sell rolls of anti slip plastic. Like people use on dashboards to stop phones slipping around. A cut of that would stop it moving.

Grip tape sounds like it would abrade stuff.

bendip

Craigus89 wrote:

bendip wrote:

thecycleclinic wrote:

My fav light is the Leyzene micro drive rear. Bright and long battery life. Everyone sees me at might and passes properly well nearly everyone. Those that dont are simply ignorant.

i've had one for a couple of years..hardly used it cos every time i got home it was never pointing to the rear..no matter how tightly i fastened it to the seatpost..i was thinking of getting a strip of adhesive grip tape (skateboarders stuff) and putting it the post then giving it another go...or has anyone found a better solution to stop it rotating ?

Mine doesn't rotate, do your thighs hit it when your pedalling perhaps?

I'd like to tell you my thighs are Chris Hoy clones.. but they ain't.. to be honest I've never noticed any contact while pedalling..though I've other rear lights I'm keen to get some use out of it

bendip

cougie wrote:

Pound shops sell rolls of anti slip plastic. Like people use on dashboards to stop phones slipping around. A cut of that would stop it moving.

Grip tape sounds like it would abrade stuff.

Cheers.. I'll give that a go

joey54321

I think I've narrowed it down to the Bontrager Flare R (old one, rediced to £20) or the Exposure TraceR (for £30).