noglider 

Sometimes I do the same, using those two models. They blink out of sync, which I suspect helps. My most common setup is:

- Dynamo powered headlight, Philips Saferide
- NiteIze spokelit in rear wheel
- Dynamo tail light which burns steadily
- Cygolite Hotshot

A headlight is useful for warning cross traffic of my presence.

TransitBiker

What of rear bottle dyno light? Need bottle dyno tire? Worth it?

- Andy

enigmaT120

My front generator hub powers both a headlight (supposed to be up to 400 lumins) and a steady on tail light. I use battery powered blinkies on the rear as well, as all my riding is on 55 mph back roads.

Dream Cyclery

Niterider Solas

fietsbob

Guess its all about cheap battery lights bought online .

chaadster

There are comparatively few tail lights that mount to seatrails; I can only think of 2, and you've got one of them. There are scads of seatpost mountable lights, and yes, you want them up high.

I think helmet mounted is best for urban riding, particularly considering situations where there is a row of cars back and turning and overtaking going on. Downsides are aiming and having it pointed where you need it when you need it, suggest they're best used in conjunction with a fixed tailight. The Torch T1 helmet with integrated lights solves those issues, though.

As for seatpost mounted lights, I a fan of USB rechargeables, especially the Knog Road R and several of the Lezyne units, some of which also have very low overall height, helpful if post space is quite limited. The Light &Motion Vis180 is also nice, but rather ugly.

I really like the quick mounting strap type mounts, because they're easy to move between bikes and completely gone when I don't want them there, unlike clamp mount types.

Of the battery powered lights, I've got to second the PDW Dangerzone, which I just love for the flash patterns and brightness. I should add that the Lezyne Zecto has a really cool integrated clip/strap mount that lets you move seamlessly from post mount to clothes or seatpack as needed.

KCBikeCommuter

I have the Niterider Solas as well. Very bright, multiple flash patterns, wide beam and USB rechargeable.

spare_wheel

hot shots are definitely the brightest narrow beam tail-light that does not cost >$100. however, i recently bought a 30 led serfas thunderbolt for better wide coverage. it's a huge frigging bar of light with lots of spill on the sides. a great complement to the hotshot!

PS: PDW danger zones are weak 0.5 watt lights while the hotshot and solas are 2w with newer and more efficient leds.

Robert C

Another user of the PDW Danger Zone here. I have it mounted to the rack and it works well.

I am also not sold on USB recharging. I can keep a set of spare rechargeable batteries in my pannier and every other time I replace the batteries in my GPS (eTrex 20) I swap the batteries in the tail light. I consider the USB recharging a negative and don't want it.

chaadster

In fairness, the DZ is AA powered, while the Solas 2W is USB lithium, a distinct advantage in the energy department. I made the distinction, as others here have, because each type has advantages and appeal to different riders and situations, despite Li-ion should produce a brighter light.

Yet, despite the energy advantage, the Solas is not rhat much brighter. Check the link to see a review and brightness test that finds the DZ only 500 lux off the Solas, which ain't too shabby for battery powered.

https://bicycles.blogoverflow.com/201...lights-review/

spare_wheel

lux ratings for a perfectly aligned sensor at 20 cm are an irrelevant measurement for a "be seen" tail light. for example, the hotshot has a 23000 lux rating (3x the solas) while the serfas thunderbolt has a lux rating of 350 because it's diffuse by design.

chaadster

I'm not sure what your point is as it relates to the Solas and DZ, but the testing protocol used a collector to minimize the effect of light design. In any case, it's a standardized test and as such, a much more objective assessment than eyeing them, and suggests to me that calling anything about the DZ as "weak" is misplaced.

spare_wheel

The test you cited suggested that the hotshot was 3.5x better than the danger zone. This is completely nonsensical.

Lux is a beyond silly measurement for tail lights.

Standardized by an anonymous blog poster on the internet who apparently believes that a lux measurment of diffuse and focused lights at 20 cm is a...um...semi-objective measure.

chaadster

Lux is beyond silly? What would you describe as a better measure of light comparison and evaluating comparative intensity? What was your basis for calling the DZ weak?

kickstart

Lumen is the measured brilliance of the source, Lux is the measured brilliance as perceived.
The former defines the potential, the latter defines whats actually seen.

chaadster

Exactly my point, so hopefully spare_wheel will be able to explain what it is about lux that makes it "beyond silly."

a1penguin

Lumen (unit) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"The difference between the units lumen and lux is that the lux takes into account the area over which the luminous flux is spread. A flux of 1000 lumens, concentrated into an area of one square metre, lights up that square metre with an illuminance of 1000 lux. The same 1000 lumens, spread out over ten square metres, produces a dimmer illuminance of only 100 lux."

Think about a 100 watt laser vs a 100 watt light bulb.

long john

I use the cat eye reflex auto I like its old school looking like a reflector. Works great and looks good blinking on top of my x mass tree.

spare_wheel

nice selective quote, chaadster. the whole point of a tail light is to be *be seen* not to light up some arbitrary detector placed 20 cm away from a focused or diffuse emitter. the test is a joke. measuring lux at 15 meters is a great test for a light up the road head light. measuring lux at 20 cm is a great test for a reading light.

spare_wheel

And which tail light would you rather have?

I like the hotshot but it's biggest flaw is that it's overly focused. And it is this flaw that causes it to score so well on the "reading light" lux test cited above.

I actually agree with the cited blog that the solas is probably a better light on it's own due to it's diffuser (which causes it score poorly on the reading light test). That being said, the solas has a miserable battery life in comparison to the hot shot. I think using a hotshot in combination with a diffuse light is a great combo.


PS: The pdw danger zone also shares the same flaw as the hotshot -- an overly narrow focus.

chaadster

Selective? It's what you said. Again, I'll ask you what you'd measure to assess intensity if lux is beyond silly?

Or did you misspeak, and mean you just don't like the testing protocol? I've got no problem with the idea a better test could be devised, but within the context of this test, assuming it was rigorous, we've still got max lux ratings of 6500 vs. 7000 for the DZ and Solas respectively, from guy who has done some actual measurements and who further concluded the DZ is "plenty bright."

I have no idea what kind of testing you've done, or measurements you've made to arrive at your conclusions; perhaps you'd elaborate on that? Or, if you have any third party test results that would corroborate your "weak" finding for the DZ, perhaps you could share that?

Really, go ahead and explain yourself. It sure looked to me like you concluded the DZ was weak because of the lower wattage, which I should hasten to add is not a measurement of brightness.

bikemig 

I like using a focused light along with a more diffuse one and rely on 3 rear lights (2 diffuse--seatpost and helmet--one focused, one my messenger bag) plus reflectors.

spare_wheel

hey chaadster, let's just bury the hatchet on this. i simply did not like the test you cited. i think that most >$25 tail lights are sufficient for the vast majority of commuters. heck, in the city a good quality rear reflector is likely more than sufficient (and in some circumstances better than a tail light). imo, the newer super-bright lights are most useful as day flashers or for riding on unlit high-speed roads.

PatrickGSR94

I run 2 Hotshots, and invariably one dies before the other because one stays on steady during low-light or dark commutes. But if one is out when I arrive at work, I can charge one or both of them from my computer at my desk. No need to have chargers in multiple locations, or carry spare batteries, etc.

If you run at least 2 rear lights, the battery swapping/charging thing is a non-issue, really.

chaadster

Yeah, that's cool, and those are points that we can agree on as well! Thanks.