rmfnla

Just added this and rode with it for the first time today:

Bicycle 3 LED Front Tail Warning USB Light Taillight Rechargeable White Lamp | eBay

Super bright (CREE leds), USB rechargeable, two flash modes, easy to mount, and under ten bucks... so far I love it!

Tim_Iowa

I'm a huge fan of the dynamo lights I put on two of my bikes. I've noticed a big difference in driver behavior from before (two battery lights) to after (Luxos U dynamo light). Everyone yields to me now.

PatrickGSR94

No good, bikes need to have a red light facing the rear. I've seen people occasionally using a white light facing rear on a bike and it's really annoying, and of course illegal.

You can put a red filter over it, but that greatly reduces brightness because you're filtering out all visible wavelengths except the red portion of the spectrum. It's better to run a light that uses actual red LED's.

rmfnla

No, it's on the front.

They make the same thing in red for the rear.

It's from China (what isn't? ) so the language of the listing title is a bit flawed.

It's a headlight...

noglider 

No, the picture shows the "tail light" on the seatpost, facing away from the handlebars, so they are marketing it as a tail light.

I agree with the endorsement for Cygolite. These products are made in the USA, if that counts. The mount is solid. I don't know if other brands have the "steady flash" feature, but it seems pretty useful.

I bought a Cygolite Streak 350 last week. It seems to be a new model. So far, so good, but I think someone riding in the oncoming direction was telling me I had it aimed too high. I have to learn how to use it. It has a round beam, which is less than ideal but normal for lights in the US market. Grr.

I prefer dynamo powered lights and use them most of the time. I got this battery powered light for my road racing bike. Dynamo powered lights are really good.

2manybikes

The steady flash is on a few lights I own. It's nothing special.

About the white light facing backwards on the seat post...........I've done a few searches and looked at lots different web pages. There are all kinds of things written wrong on bike light and head light pages. Even different prices for the same thing. Try searching " Deal extreme"
And "Amazon" For an amazing amount lights. Good and bad mixed. I bought a few from both places.

noglider 

Fair points, @2manybikes.

For whatever it's worth, I think I've spent more money on cheap bad lights than on good lights. I hope this lesson is useful for some. I've seen some good reviews for cheap lights, but clearly, some are easier to please than others. Lights designed to mount on bicycles prove to be more trouble free for me. I tried using a powerful flashlight and a handlebar flashlight mount. Yeah, it was super bright, but the beam was awful. And I had to take the light off, disassemble, and remove the cell to charge it. I like things to require as little labor as possible. That's why dynamo lights are best for me most of the time.

Here is my article on my current dynamo system which I've been using for over two years. The cost to me was about $160 for dynamo hub and both lights, and I haven't had to plug it in or think about it for all this time.

Leebo

Don't forget some wheel lights for better side visibility.

2manybikes

I have done the same thing. Unfortunately twice !!

There are a few people that come to the bike shop that can't afford a tube, never mind a light. So I started giving away some lights. I think I like giving them away more than I did buying them. That still leaves me with a backup light for the backup light.

noglider 

Good for you. Do you work at the bike shop?

rmfnla

Here's the same light from a different seller shown on the handlebars:

Cycling Bicycle Bike 3 LED Front Tail Warning USB Light 4 Modes White Lamp | eBay

Picky, picky, picky...

rmfnla

I tried a few like that as well.

One of them worked OK except the mode would change if I hit a bump (so I guess it actually didn't work OK)...

San Pedro

After my ride home last night I had to remount the light on my helmet as it was facing about a yard in front of my tire... If I can't get it right, I'll pick up a nice light with as good of a mounting system as I can talk my wife into (have lost a light due to poor mount), and use two lights on the bar, one flashing and one steady. The flash to be noticed, and the steady so drivers can gauge my speed a little bit better.

Also, I avoided the overpass that was on my route last night and this morning, and I think that has made my commute safer too, but bumpier as well.

PatrickGSR94

+1 on the Cygolite mount, one of the best ones out there, amongst ones I've tried.

As for the beam I aim it so that the far end of the "hot spot" is visible on the ground, as far away from me as I can get it while still being able to see it. Seems to work well.

2manybikes

I think you are addressing me? Part time I do.
I make sure the owner, who knows these guys better then I do, decides when someone can't buy a light and there is no chance of a sale, before handing out one of my old lights. Some of the regulars are special needs, a couple are homeless. Some are just out of money and they need the bike to get around. Some are on some kind of assistance.
A couple of the special needs guys break a light once in a while. One guy rides all the way across the city in the dark, even without a light. We try to help him if possible, somehow he breaks his lights. He's been coming to that shop for maybe 15 years, along with a couple others. They are steady customers and pay for things like
a chain and a cassette, every couple of years etc. They come on the Wednesday night slow ride once in a while. Depending on what the parent or guardian says.
I ride home with one guy who is not allowed to ride home in the dark alone.
He has a 35 lb bike with tons of junk on it, at least 40 lb total. Last week I could not catch him on the big uphill. I was on my 17 lb Litespeed with Ksyriums.

canadian deacon

[QUOTE=bikemig;18238031]+ 1 on light and motion products.QUOTE]

+2.

Light and motion's reflectors are well designed such that a lower lumen rating may light your path better than a higher lumen but cheaper light.

Sy Reene

A few good reviews of the Cygolites.. and was about to purchase one. However, the Q&As on Amazon etc, seem to indicate that the clamps do not fit around a standard "oversize" 31.8mm road handlebar. Maybe a separate clamp purchase is necessary? Seems like a gross oversight of Cygolite if this is true, but can anyone here verify?

CommuteCommando

I run night riders front an back. I usually set the head lite to the lowest setting. Still plenty bright, and the battery lasts longer.

a1penguin

That is why I find the Cygolite Dash (not Metro), with the stretchy rubberband style mount to be a better choice.

Sy Reene

Are you sure you mean the Metro? I was referring to the Metro, eg. this Q&A on the Metro 550: Amazon.com: Questions And Answers: The clamp doesn't seem big enough to fit my handlebars... Either of my bikes. Even all the way open it doesn't reach around. what am I doing wrong?

OTOH, I was also looking at the Cygolite Dash which seems to have the rubber band.

Bike Gremlin

That light is bright enough. Brighter light won't help with the problems of drivers pulling out in front of you. I've tried 2 lights, one really bright, one regular cateye. Doesn't help. Even on the motorcycle that has 2 big front lights, people pull in in front of you.

This is the reason it happens:


So bicycle is both less visible and when seen, it is not consciously noticed, same as motorcycles in the video.

My tip would be - the light you have is pretty good and there's no need to waste money on stronger lights - they won't help.

noglider 

I agree with @Slaninar. There is a point of diminishing returns for brightness. This video has influenced me. I saw it a while back. I do a lot of squiggling now on my bike so I can be noticed. I believe it helps.

kickstart

Although I favor dyno lights, I also have some battery lights as backups, and for my vintage bikes.

I rally like the Cygolite Dash as far as battery lights go. Small, secure, easy to mount/dismount, useful range of modes.

noglider 

I agree with the principal of backup lights, but I'm curious. Have you ever had to bring in a battery light because a dynamo light has failed? I haven't, not once. I have had plenty of battery lights drain or fall off the mounts and fail in other ways that having backup would have been a good thing.

Once I noticed my dynamo tail light wasn't working. One of the wires had fallen out of the light. That's the only failure I have had.

a1penguin

Oh yes, I goofed. Edited the post. Thanks!