I've recently started riding at night and I've come to realize that those little red LED blinkies, which are fine when used in low-traffic situations where it is quite dark, are not so good in traffic. The much larger red taillights of cars, coupled with light pollution from headlights, renders the little blinkie quite invisible. I know a lot of folks will argue this, but consider that many drivers are 1)older, 2)fatigued, 3)possibly inebriated and then you get the picture. I would like some recommendations on brighter rear lights. I see that DiNotte makes one for $140 or so but I'd rather stop well before reaching that price range if possible.

Thanks.

-soma5

My favorite less expensive rear light is the PlanetBike Superflash. In strobe mode, it's probably about as bright a rear taillight as you're going to find without going into Dinotte territory. My current commuting setup has the Superflash strapped to the back of my helmet; On the back of the rack I have a PlanetBike 3-led light (pretty bright as conventional blinkies go) on steady and a Cateye LD-600 on random flash. Haven't been hit yet :eek:. (This combo also keeps away elephants. I have not seen an elephant during my commute while using these lights. I also haven't seen any elephants on any other bike ride, so YMMV ;) )

I have a Dinotte 200L up front which has become my light of choice (it replaced a 10W Planet Bike Alias which is now on my fixie). I should have bought a Dinotte taillight at the same time when they had their no-charger/batteries sale.

A Mars 3.0 would be better than a PBSF in this situation. But I don't know if you would find it adequate. The new Cateye TL-LD610 and LD1100 are supposed to be very bright compared to previous models. Do a search on this forum and you will see some reviews.

I have just used steady red 1w led strapped to my helmet. I used a broken led, so my next light will be much brighter.

Another vote for the Superflash. As far as cheap-ish, battery-powered lights go, it's pretty good!

The Niterider rear tail-light used to be the gold standard before the DiNotte, and it's still quite good. I have one, and I feel pretty safe in traffic. I might go for the DiNotte anyway, though. Or wait for just-as-good but less expensive competitors to emerge, which is inevitable.

As far as the cheaper lights go, I would consider the PBSF and Mars 3.0 pretty well tied but different. The PBSF seems to be ultimately brighter but is confined to a fairly narrow viewing angle. At much of an angle the Mars seems better. Keep in mind I've never had the two together at the same time (I' know...), but I'm pretty confident. Tried them apart a few times each

Now that I have a good way to mount one on a helmet, I am going to buy a PBSF to augment my Mars 3.0. One on bike, one on helmet...not sure which will go where. Up high on the helmet is good though, especially in traffic. In many instances, I'll bet it would help more than a Dinotte alone on your seatpost.

Attach two or three SuperFlashes behind your rear rack. That way, you'll get:
– a bright enough taillight, that compares favourably to the intensity of car brake lights;
– a wide "resulting taillight", which is very useful for visibility;
– redundancy.

Attach two or three SuperFlashes behind your rear rack.


+1 Gagnon

I have two superflashes and a dinotte. If I were on a limited budget, I would go with three superflashes. They are bright, great mount and great battery life and an excellent value.

2-3 Superflashes here
two on seat, one on back or one on seat and one on back/pack

Having both the Planet Bike Super Flash and and Cateye TL-1100 I can confirm that the Cateye is much more visible, especially in low light conditions.

Having both the Planet Bike Super Flash and and Cateye TL-1100 I can confirm that the Cateye is much more visible, especially in low light conditions.

I also just picked up a TL-1100 and I think it is bright enough for me. It was reasonably priced at $37 too.

I used to think my PB Blinky1 was plenty bright. Then I thought my Cateye LD-1000 was bright enough. And along came the SuperFlash, and it was good enough. But now that I have my Dinotte, I have seen the light! Uh, what was the question?

Now that I have a good way to mount one on a helmet, I am going to buy a PBSF to augment my Mars 3.0. One on bike, one on helmet...not sure which will go where. Up high on the helmet is good though, especially in traffic. In many instances, I'll bet it would help more than a Dinotte alone on your seatpost.

I'd put the PBSF on the bike and the Mars on the helmet. Since you've already noticed that the PBSF has a narrower viewing angle, it would do a better job while aimed in a specific direction, and a stable platform like the bike would be better than the helmet.

The Dinotte (and any others in its class) is pretty amazing, though.

After I got a Dinotte for myself, I bought one for my wife's commuter to replace the 5 blinkies I thought was "good enough." After seeing how bright it was and how much better cars could see me, I couldn't let her ride with anything less.

After I got a Dinotte for myself, I bought one for my wife's commuter to replace the 5 blinkies I thought was "good enough." After seeing how bright it was and how much better cars could see me, I couldn't let her ride with anything less.

What 5 blinkies did you have that were not good enough? If they were older models or really cheap I could understand. But if you had 2 or more Mars 3.0's, PBSF's, Cateye TL-LD600's, Knog Frog's, etc., I cannot imagine them not providing overwhelmingly safe illumination.

I have just used steady red 1w led strapped to my helmet. I used a broken led, so my next light will be much brighter.

Here you go.

Seoul 2.5-watt RED LED on star circuit board from mouser.com $4.60 + shipping.
http://www.mouser.com/search/refine.aspx?Ntt=889-r32282

3W 19-Mode Universal Regulated Circuit Board for Flashlights. $4.26, shipping is free!
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.7882

Doing it yourself, priceless!:D

One Mars 3.0, two of the $6 Performance blinky jobs, some other generic one on the helmet, and a Target special. I'm sure when a car gets close enough that it was enough to get noticed. But I didn't realize how much further you could get a car's attention with the Dinotte.
Still, tons of cyclists do just fine without one.

I use the CatEye LD1000 and get feedback that I can be seen. It's pretty bright and at $35 +/- it's tough to beat. At this price I've considered getting a second and mounting one on each of my bags.

One Mars 3.0, two of the $6 Performance blinky jobs, some other generic one on the helmet, and a Target special. I'm sure when a car gets close enough that it was enough to get noticed. But I didn't realize how much further you could get a car's attention with the Dinotte.
Still, tons of cyclists do just fine without one.

Check the "Are lumens cumulative?" thread -- it may be that a bunch of dimmer lights just aren't as visible as even just one brighter light.

The Niterider rear tail-light used to be the gold standard before the DiNotte, and it's still quite good. I have one, and I feel pretty safe in traffic. I might go for the DiNotte anyway, though. Or wait for just-as-good but less expensive competitors to emerge, which is inevitable.
I have the universal tailight by Niterider, and I'm quite happy with it.

The Niterider rear tail-light used to be the gold standard before the DiNotte, and it's still quite good. I have one, and I feel pretty safe in traffic. I might go for the DiNotte anyway, though. Or wait for just-as-good but less expensive competitors to emerge, which is inevitable.

Don't believe the add copy from Nightrider that is published in mail order catalogues, it's around 8 years old, maybe more. It was true when it was first printed. That has not been true for a few years.
The PB Superflash is much better from all angles, so is the Cateye TL-LD 1000. That makes the new version of that Cateye even better. And so are a few others.

Anyone have pics of the nitrider taillight in action?

I have the Cateye TL-LD1000 on two of my bikes and I'm very happy with them. In fact so much so I ordered the TL-LD1100 to replace my MARS3 on another bike. I'm not real happy about the MARS mounting. In NY state the law requires that either the front or the rear light must be seen for 200 ft from the sides in addition to the front and rear visibility that is also by law required. Now I have never seen anyone get stopped or bothered by the PD for not having the side visibility , but it is a very good feature. My better half and I often ride together and we use them in the daylight and plain and simple ...they work well.
Update 11/14: The 1100 blows them all away at under $40. Twice as bright as the 1000.

Anyone have pics of the nitrider taillight in action?

There are plenty in the forums this same thing gets discussed every year. There are even videos.

You might want to consider a nice solid beam surrounded by a pair of PB Superflashes. Maybe $70 total investment, and I have a really hard time believing you'd be missed.

I think retinal damage to the driver behind you is more likely. ;)

I have 3 PB superflashers....but just ordered the fenix red filter for my p3d. So I'm planning to use the fenix in steady mode and flash the PB's.... :P

Here you go.

Seoul 2.5-watt RED LED on star circuit board from mouser.com $4.60 + shipping.
http://www.mouser.com/search/refine.aspx?Ntt=889-r32282

3W 19-Mode Universal Regulated Circuit Board for Flashlights. $4.26, shipping is free!
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.7882

Doing it yourself, priceless!:D

Yeah i would use a regulator circuit if i could get them cheap over here in Finland.

And i don't have the skills to make my own, well an efficient one.

I've considered building a triple tail light LED system using reflectors like the IMS20 (http://theledguy.chainreactionweb.com/index.php?cPath=48_50_64) for nice long range penetration and uber eye searing. Tho I am still looking into that as I am thinking of having the top two 20mm reflectors as spots and the bottom one in this triangle close formation being a 20mm but wide angle reflector for close-mid range searing and coverage. Perhaps I've gotten a bit mad with the idea but heck it's your safety on the line here. Ever since I got the Dinotte tail light when I put thaton HIGH in solid mode everyone takes the left lane about 10 car lengths away on two lane streets or gives WIDE passes on single lane streets. Obviously this is only good on the roads as on the bike path and trails it's a waste of the light and no one would wnat to ride with or behind you for obvious reasons. :D;)

The Niterider rear tail-light used to be the gold standard before the DiNotte, and it's still quite good. I have one, and I feel pretty safe in traffic. I might go for the DiNotte anyway, though. Or wait for just-as-good but less expensive competitors to emerge, which is inevitable.

Yeah but why wait? Will your safety be more important in the future than it is now? Besides, unless you're well-connected to the players in the bike and other recreational lighting market, there's no telling if there even is someone who wants to compete with Dinotte for our $$$. The inevitability of a new product seems plausible but it is still presumed.

I vote for a Xenon strobe, lots of reflective tape, and white clothing.

Previous posters have made excellent recommendations, so I won't go there. Which ever light you end up going with, make sure that you place it in a visible location. I constantly see this guy who uses a good CatEye tail light, but his HUGE seat pack covers the light almost completely, rendering it useless. After you get the light of your choice mounted, step back and see how effective it's positioning is.

my $0.02.

I use the CatEye LD1000 and get feedback that I can be seen. It's pretty bright and at $35 +/- it's tough to beat. At this price I've considered getting a second and mounting one on each of my bags.

I have one and it's VERY bright. If you set both the arrays to "steady on" it makes a good flashlight.

BTW, do they make high power LEDs in yellow? I'm getting tired of being flashed by brights from behind in my car. I'd like to make something to flash em back with !!!

I'm getting tired of being flashed by brights from behind in my car.

Slower traffic keep right. ;)

LD1000 x2 + superflash x2 + 4 other rear facing lights keeps me safe.

For the money, the superflash is the best deal around. It can be found for ~$19 no tax no shipping if you google.
The LD1000 and it's replacement are nice, too, but they go for ~$40.

The Superflash is a bright rear light if viewed from directly behind, problem is that once you go off center the light becomes increasing dimmer to almost non-noticable from the side. The Cateye 1000 solves that problem but it eats batteries fairly quickly and is pricey. I own the Cateye LD600 and mounted it vertically; this light is very bright not only from the rear, but even to the side; this light cost only about $15 and I have mounted 3 on my bike to form a triangle. A triangle of light is more noticable then one single light, thus for about $45 you would be very will lit up from behind as well as from the sides.

Also bar end lights are pretty decent as well, they give off some side light as well. Combined the bar with the rears and you would be extremily noticable. In fact I bet you that if you looked around at other cyclists in your area at night you will find that most have no rear lights and the few that do have a single dim cheap $3 blinky; thus you would be the brightest on the road.

I am a year-round commuter in New England, travelling part of the way on a busy highway, the rest on very dark and lonely country roads where people drive a whole lot faster than they should. I decided my safety was well worth the money, and I took the leap and purchased a DiNotte taillight. It is preposterously bright: so much so that a neighbor told me she thought I was an ambulance when she saw me from a distance. I have since bought a DiNotte helmet light and a fork-mounted headlight as well. Not cheap, but well worth the safety and peace of mind.

I am a year-round commuter in New England, travelling part of the way on a busy highway, the rest on very dark and lonely country roads where people drive a whole lot faster than they should. I decided my safety was well worth the money, and I took the leap and purchased a DiNotte taillight. It is preposterously bright: so much so that a neighbor told me she thought I was an ambulance when she saw me from a distance. I have since bought a DiNotte helmet light and a fork-mounted headlight as well. Not cheap, but well worth the safety and peace of mind.This summer I had a chance to ride with Brainsan who had a Dinotte Taillight, as well as the 600L. Yes, this taillight was so "preposterously" bright that we couldn't ride in back of him. I later was riding in NYC in traffic and a few cars came dangerously close to me doing the usual quick lane changes. Needless to say, I understood why people buy this light, I got one myself - it is the best choice for safety!

this just in


the Dinotte works great during the day. another case
of ..."it's far better than any previous light"

get an $6 walmart taillight and a 10aa battery holder $5, it will power the light for over an hour and be just as bright as a car brake light. plenty bright to be seen during daylight

That Xenon strobe I mentioned can cost less then $10 and run off of a 9 volt battery or wire into any 6 to 15_ volt system. One of these days I've got to put my tail light and 100 watt headlight on You-tube.

If it's not bright enough for sunglasses, it's not bright enough. :)

2 PlanetBike Blinkies on strobe, 1 mounted on the support arm for my rack on each side of the tire. A Dahon (sp?) rear light mounted to the rack. 2 flashing and 1 constant does draw attention.