Topeak Whitelite -- does it stay on the bars?
 

Hello everyone. I've been reading through the threads here and it seems like most of you are commuters or do something which requires a pretty serious lighting setup. I live in the city (Toronto) and I really just need a blinky which is bright enough to light up speed-bumps in neighborhoods where the street-lamps are spaced out. Also, I need something that is light, so I can throw it in my bag all the time, and can be quick-released so it won't get stolen. I'd prefer not to have a bracket sitting on my bars all the time.

I've found a light, the Topeak Whitelite, that seems to fit all of these criteria. It's bright enough for my use, it is lightweight, and it snaps on an off easily with a rubber strap release.

http://img74.imageshack.us/img74/6215/whitelitezy6.jpg

A lot of guys over at the Single-speed/Fixed forum seem to like this light. (I would post this thread there, but it obviously has nothing to do with single-speed or fixed.) I was playing with this light in the store the other day, and I thought that the attachment mechanism seemed a bit... I dunno, insecure? My worry is that I will jump a curb or inadvertently hit a pothole and the light will detach and end up who-knows-where. Has anybody here used this light, and if so, have they had this problem? Or am I just paranoid?

Hi, yep I have one of these, and it had no problems staying on the bars going over all sorts of bumps on my daily commute. It looks a bit flimsy from the photo, but the rubber stretches and locks in to the holes pretty well.

I've been using 2 of these for a while. Funny enough, I mostly ride a fixed gear. ;)

Anways - they are bright for being small, they stay on very securely (i never even take them off anymore when I lock my bike, but then again, I live in a mostly civilized place!), and they have a blink mode.

The bad part is they eat batteries, use small 2032 3v cell batteries, which can be pricy, and they have the bad habit of refusing to shut off when they get wet.

Overall, I like them. I'm considering modding them to take an external battery pack sometime soon.

I had mine pop loose, so I fitted a rubber band cut from an old tube on the bar. The rubber band crosses over the rubber strap.

The head light is bright enough to notice when flashing during the day. I have the redlight taillight, too, it works great. Both use CR2032 coin batteries.

I got 17 CR2032 batteries from batterybob.com for 97 cents each, free shipping.