Electronics, Lighting, & Gadgets - Rack mounted rear light

I am searching for recommendations for a bright rack mounted rear light (battery powered). I recently received a Tubus Cargo rack and want to make use of the light mounts to have a permanently installed rear light. However, most of the permanently installed rear lights that I have seen have been weak in comparison to, for example, the PBSF. Any recommendations would be appreciated.

Planet Bike sells a Tailight Rack Bracket for your Superflash. Bracket cost is $5.00. http://ecom1.planetbike.com/3108.html

You could also get one of their Rack Blinky 5's for $20 that included the bracket and the light but it's not a Superflash. http://ecom1.planetbike.com/3018_1.html

Thank you for the suggestion on the PBSF adapter. I have seen these adapters. The reason that I would like to go with a permanently mounted light is that my PBSFs and other lights have an annoying habit of "disappearing", i.e. someone keeps taking them. I want a bolt-on light that would take longer to remove, hence discouraging convenient theft.

The lights that I do know of that are battery powered and mount via bolts are:

Busch & Muller 4D Toplight
Spanninga Ultra
Spanninga Eclipse
Spanninga Vectra

I do not know which of these lights is the brightest and if there may be another well-made light fitting the criteria, i.e. battery powered, bolt-on, etc. All suggestions are appreciated.

Thank you for the suggestion on the PBSF adapter. I have seen these adapters. The reason that I would like to go with a permanently mounted light is that my PBSFs and other lights have an annoying habit of "disappearing", i.e. someone keeps taking them. I want a bolt-on light that would take longer to remove, hence discouraging convenient theft.

The lights that I do know of that are battery powered and mount via bolts are:

Busch & Muller 4D Toplight
Spanninga Ultra
Spanninga Eclipse
Spanninga Vectra

I do not know which of these lights is the brightest and if there may be another well-made light fitting the criteria, i.e. battery powered, bolt-on, etc. All suggestions are appreciated.

Your Super Flashes may not be disappearing because of theft. The mount on the PBSF isn't the most robust and they can slip out of the bracket. I've lost a couple this way and parts of them when they fell apart on the rack. Slip a ziptie around them and that will hold them together and hold them on the bike.

The Busch and Muller is okay but it isn't that bright. Especially when compared to the Planet Bike.

The PBSPs and a couple of headlights have definitely been stolen rather than having fallen off the bike. The lights are being taken off the bike when locked in front of the house behind an eight foot tall locked fence / gate. I am pretty sure who the perp is but have been unable to catch them in the act. Stuff that is not bolted down or locked inside tends to "go walking" around here . . . I would like to find something that bolts on and is at least as bright as the PBSP. Thanks for your comments.

How about the 4aa trailer taillight at lowes? Its decently large, but you could fashion a permanent bracket for it. Its about $18 IIRC?

Permanently mounting a taillight with a bolt may, or may not, solve your problem. If the would be thief cannot steal the light, they may resort to vandalism. Which would still leave you without a tail light. I would look into a quick release mount. This way you can take the light off and keep it with you.

Take a look at the Mars 2.0. My little bro has one and it is a pretty descent little tail light. He had me install it for him and I seem to recall a rack mount included.

Other than the ones you've listed, the Cateye TL-LD500-R allows you to bolt the light directly to your bike rack:
http://www.amazon.com/Cateye-TL-LD500-R-Bicycle-Safety-Light/dp/B000R5NRAS/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=toys-and-games&qid=1253426653&sr=8-2

I cannot compare it to the super flash, but it's not as bright as the Planet Bike Rack Blinky 5.


However, I think you just haven't thought of another option - if you really like the PBSF you could simply glue it into the Planet Bike rack mount.

Think about it for a second - you don't have to take it off the mount to change batteries, doing that requires prying the light open which you can do with the light on the mount. And if you do need to remove it for some reason (say the light malfunctions), you can just unscrew the planet bike rack mount from the rack. You'd be out a $5 rack mount, but who cares right? :-)

Unfortunately, none of this prevents the thief from either bringing a screwdriver and unscrewing it, though you could go all the way and put glue or solder in the heads of the screws that hold on the rack mount, or you could just say that since the light is glued to the rack mount it's going to be kind of obvious if this person puts it on their bike that it's your light. But it also doesn't prevent a thief from stealing the batteries out of the light. Don't know of any way around that one - you gotta be able to remove the batteries yourself to recharge them. I don't know of any tail light you can simply plug in to recharge.

Or you could simply take the rear light on and off the bike every time you ride. Well, by "simply" I suppose I really mean "annoyingly". :-)

Thank you all for the comments and suggestions. I am going to stick with the PBSF for the time being and see a way to attach one or two of the PBSFs with a self-tapping screw through the light mount holes on the Cargo. There are actually two thieves . . . one of whom is no longer around and the second is a maintenance person who is not likely to be a problem again.

In looking for a solution, I sure was tempted by the DiNotte 400 and wondered whether the bolt holes would match up with the 50 / 80 mm spacing on the Cargo. Also, eventually, I anticipate purchasing a SON dynohub, which opens up some more options. The bike is a Austro Diamler Vent Noir that I purchased earlier this year from a Craigslist ad. Thanks again for the help.

The PBSPs and a couple of headlights have definitely been stolen rather than having fallen off the bike. The lights are being taken off the bike when locked in front of the house behind an eight foot tall locked fence / gate. I am pretty sure who the perp is but have been unable to catch them in the act. Stuff that is not bolted down or locked inside tends to "go walking" around here . . . I would like to find something that bolts on and is at least as bright as the PBSP. Thanks for your comments.

Ziptie it in place anyway. If you can't slide it off easily, people probably won't steal it;)

I agree, it's an accessory that is badly needed, to make rear lights easy to mount in a place where they can be seen.

The PBSF mount is almost a good idea, except that it necessitates removal of the reflector, which is a requirement in many jurisdictions.

It would be nice to leave the reflector, center rear, and mount other lights on either side,(on the sides of the rack-rear of the panniers) with an option to have the actual light more toward the rear, or up.

Get a dinotte 140 and make your own mount. I've considered adapting one from a riflescope mount (30mm diam).

Get a DiNotte 300L rear light and bolt it right through. The holes are not the standard width, but you can drill out the rack to accommodate the DiNottes bolt pattern.

Get a DiNotte 300L rear light and bolt it right through. The holes are not the standard width, but you can drill out the rack to accommodate the DiNottes bolt pattern.

LOL, yeah that makes sense! :p

Problem - Cheap tail light stolen off bike, want light that attaches more permanently to bike
Solution - But a $280 tail light. Put it on the bike with screws, which can be removed if you try hard enough. Also, requires external battery which is next to impossible to mount securely so you'll have to take it off and inside with you every time, and it will need recharging pretty much every ride. Lol - so much easier than taking the PBSF off the mount every time you go inside! :roflmao2::p