JeffB502

Here's a couple videos of my rear lights (2 Dinottes, 3 superflashes)

Both Dinottes on high, one superflash constant on, 2 superflashes flashing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVtIb7T7WI0
Both Dinottes on "burst flash", one superflash constant on, 2 superflashes flashing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hncak2gbDOY

The negative thing I could say about the Dinottes is I don't like having to charge the batteries every night, but that little bit of time every night is well worth it.

ViperZ

^^^ Nice work!

The Super flashes aren't too terribly lost in the red quagmire of photons

flipped4bikes

The SuperFlash is bright, but you have to see the Dinotte light for yourself. The Dinotte is so bright it's almost absurd. I still have the SF mounted and use it in conjunction with the Dinotte, but only as a backup in case the Dinotte goes out. I've used the 140L twice already, and have experienced the Dinotte Tail Light Effect: motorists give me more space when passing than ever before. And this has happened on a early evening commute ride AND a morning commute as the sun was coming up.

The best way I can describe the Dinotte 140L is this way: European cars have a bright rear fog light when turned on that is way brighter than the normal rear lights. That is what the Dinotte tail light is.

JeffB502

Heh yeah...I'll keep them for now. Not too much extra hassle (I park my bike inside a secure room at work so I don't have to worry about locking up/removing accessories) and like nomo4me mentioned earlier, if I'm ever out long enough to run out the batteries on the Dinottes I've still got plenty of juice in the superflashes to get me home.

I also angled the superflashes up a bit higher, just in case the drivers of the full size trucks (53' trailer, 18 wheels, etc.) that are approaching me from behind on the unlit 2-lane no shoulder 55mph speed limit section of my nighttime ride home from work don't get the full force of the Dinottes.

On a similar topic, I saw a guy riding a bike down the road mentioned above with no lights at all tonight. I think I'm going to start carrying around my old viewpoint flashpoint taillight with some fresh batteries installed, and give it to the first ninja cyclist I can stop (hopefully that guy). When the batteries eventually run out, at least it has a reflector, lol...maybe one day it'll save me from colliding with one of them.

Anybody else with a 140L give away any of their old taillights to people that needed one?

ViperZ

You are lucky you can park in a secure room. I have to lock up in a common compound downtown. It is a locked compound, but anyone with a key could make off with my lights. As such, the HID Alias, and Super Flash is a staple of my commuter.


Ninja cyclist I love that term. No I haven't but that is a great gesture

edzo

you are a sick man. the videos don't do it justice.

you know that was far more insane than the camera can describe

ViperZ

With out a doubt

flipped4bikes

Holy cow Jeff, anyone ever mistake you for a cop or other public safety vehicle? Question: are the SuperFlashes that visible in conjunction to the Dinottes? I've had the Dinotte on constant high and to my eyes the SF I have is overpowered and I can barely discern it.

JeffB502

I did have a truck driver pull over for me, but that was from my front white strobes I use during the day, which nobody is required to pull over for (forward facing solid or flashing red is the only light vehicles are required to yield to here). That was a funny one...he was driving about 10mph so I was riding fairly close to his rear bumper, on the right side of the road making sure he could see me in his passenger's side mirror. He stopped in the middle of the lane nowhere near an intersection. I decided to pass him on the left since he seemed lost and might decide to pull over to the dirt shoulder. As I was passing him on the left he rolled his window down. I stopped expecting him to ask me for directions...there was an awkward pause then he asked me why I pulled him over. I explained I wasn't pulling him over and we both had a laugh. He told me to go ahead since I was the faster vehicle, and we continued on our ways. FWIW during the day on the front I use a Cygolite TridenX in slow flash and a Fenix P3D in strobe on the bars, and a Fenix P3D in strobe on the helmet.

As far as the Dinotte/SF combination, I think the greater the distance from the Dinotte, the more noticable the SF becomes. If they're right next to each other, probably useless. But a Dinotte on the seatpost on constant on and a superflash flashing on each seatstay would probably be more effective than the Dinotte by itself.

flipped4bikes

Jeff, LOL! Great story. Dang it, now I have buy more SFs!

hopperja

I bought the combo. headlight (200 lumen) and tail light (140 lumen) in this last weekend's sale. I've been using a NiteRider Digital Evolution - which has served me well - for the past couple of years. In fact, I picked up the NR at an REI garage sale for $30 new! Regardless, I couldn't pass up the DiNotte sale, especially for the rear light.

I ordered my DiNottes late Saturday evening. They shipped Monday, and arrived Wednesday. This is amazingly fast, IMO, as they had to travel 2800 miles to get to me (NH -> WA). True to form, I not only received the two lights, but several extra o-rings, as well as two extra battery holders. They arrived quickly and I received the extra parts I was hoping for. This says alot about their customer service.

Early this morning I went on my first ride using both lights. The headlight is every bit as bright as my NR on 15 watts. The fastest I went was 21mph, and I had plenty of light for this. From what I've read in others' posts, as well as over at MTBR.com, it should be fine for singletrack. In fact, I plan on using it on the bars, and my NR on my helmet, the next time I venture out for a night trail ride (which unfortunately is few and far between as I have 3 young children at home).

The tail light, as dozens of others have said, is amazingly bright. It seems people gave me more room, but of course this is very subjective, so I can't say for sure. I can say, however, that as cars passed I looked at their tail lights to see how bright they are. Not one projected a beam of red light onto the ground like my DiNotte. I bet I have the brightest tail light not just for bicycles, but for any other vehicle as well. It is amazingly bright. Is it worth $169 (regular price)? I'm not sure, I've only had it on one ride; others say it is worth it at double the price. It has everything going for it (lightweight, cheap and easy to replace batteries, bright, easy mounting, etc.), so I'm sure I'll feel the same as others with additional use/time.

Regarding mounting, I have a Jandd Expedition rear rack. I can't mount the tail light to my seatpost because I have a Adam's trail-a-bike hitch there. To mount the DiNotte I zip-tied a 6.5" piece of 1/2" pvc conduit to the end of the rear rack. This gave me a nice, properly sized mounting spot. I then put the battery pack in my little toolbag (it's an old seatpost bag) I have on top of the rack. This setup seems to work very well.

curveship

I just stumbled on this board the other day for the Dinotte deal (wow those lights are great!), but I have to throw in my 2c here: having so many strobing lights that people mistake you for a public safety vehicle is not cool. The drivers you blind and/or confuse may not be as charitable to the next biker they meet.

flipped4bikes

No it's not cool to imitate a public safety vehicle. But given that a bicycle is a very narrow platform to mount lights, wouldn't it be hard to mistake a well lit bike for one? No one AFAIK are using blue lights.

I will say that some of the setups seen on this forum can be extreme. Maybe.

hopperja

Many other posters have said about the DiNotte tail light they prefer to use it in solid mode at night, and flashing during the day. Solid mode not only gets noticed because it's so bright, but also likely leads drivers to believe it's a bright motorcycle tail light. I think it's unlikely that in solid mode it would be confused with an emergency vehicle.

edzo

+1.

no need to strobe the tail light except maybe in daylight.

curveship

Agreed. Like you, I've been running mine on solid medium most of the time. My comment was directed at JeffB502.

JeffB502

Curveship: FWIW, in the city I ride the emergency vehicle rear lighting is as follows:

Police:
While on traffic stop not blocking roadway: Red xenon strobes in taillight housings, set for alternating flash (3 left, 3 right, repeat) and amber traffic advisor portion of LED lightbar on flash (center modules lit, outer modules lit, repeat)
Stopped blocking traffic lane(s) or responding to a code 3 call: Above plus red & blue LEDs flashing on either side of traffic advisor on light bar

Police Motorcycles:
Red and blue flashing LEDs (rectangular shaped units of multiple LEDs), accompanied by amber flashing hazard lights (don't see many of them around here, and they only seem to operate during daylight hours).

Ambulance:
4 large, square lights near top of vehicle, 2 red, 2 amber, slowly turning off and on in an alternating pattern.

Fire:
Amber rotating beacon on top left corner, red rotating beacon on top right corner, and amber LED traffic advisor on rear middle of truck set on random flashing mode.

All of the emergency vehicles around here seem to have rear amber flashing lights operating whenever their emergency light system is activated. I think it would be really hard to mistake me for any of those vehicles, even when I run 4 of my 5 lights flashing, since I am much smaller and I don't run any amber flashers. The flash pattern on the Dinotte is also very unique in that the light is never off. Even the "low" output between flashes is about as bright as the SF on constant on. No emergency vehicles that I have seen have flashing LEDs that modulate between lo/hi power.

Some people have mentioned that the Dinotte looks like a motorcycle taillight or a bright fog taillight on a car. On the 55mph road I ride, I want people to know as soon as they see my lights that I am a bicycle, not a motorcycle or other vehicle capable of being operated at their speed. Most people around here seem to associate rear-facing red flashing LEDs with the rear end of a bicycle, so I always run at least 2 of my lights in some kind of flash mode.

People have said it's hard to track lateral position on the roadway/judge distance from a flashing light at night. That's why I always leave at least the rack tab mounted SF on constant on. The unique flash pattern of the Dinottes gives motorists 2 more solid points of reference since they are always generating light. I also use liberal amounts of reflective material on my bicycle and myself.

Almost all of my commute involves roads with speed limits of 40 mph or higher. Traffic is usually light, with vehicles traveling above the posted speed limits. Most of my interactions with motorists at night are very short...it's not like they're stuck behind me staring at my taillights for a minute or more.

Everybody's night riding is different, so what works for some may not work for others. Just explaining my logic here. The lights are a recent purchase so I'm still figuring out what's going to work best for me.

If you were talking about the truck driver story, I just want to make clear I only run my front lights on strobe during the day. Strobing headlights at night would be way too distracting. I started doing this after nearly being taken out by a pickup truck driver making a mid-block left turn into my path as I was cruising along at 25mph with a nice tailwind in the center of the right lane (2 lanes each way). I also had a vehicle on the 2 lane 55mph section of my commute coming at me head on in my lane as it was passing, causing me to swerve to the right and nearly off the road. I had a high vis vest on in both situations, but that by itself doesn't seem to be enough since I had my fair share of people try to kill me when that was my only daylight safety equipment.

With the front white strobe lights, if somebody starts to pull out in front of me from side streets, driveways, etc., I can point my helmet mounted light at the driver and that usually gets their attention. The handlebar mounted strobes get the attention of oncoming traffic so they don't try to turn left in front of me or come head on at me to make a pass. The 3 strobing white lights up front and 2 Dinottes strobing out back has definitely improved my daylight visibility and probably saved me from additional close calls.

In California, emergency vehicles are required to have a forward facing solid or flashing red light operating when they are running code 3, and that is the only light vehicles are required to yield to. Anybody that pulls over for flashing white lights simply doesn't know the rules of the road and should probably study a DMV drivers handbook before they pull away from the curb.

FWIW, it's illegal to use flashing lights on any vehicle in California (with many exceptions but none for bicycles)
see:https://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/waisgate?WAISdocID=9933509026+0+0+0&WAISaction=retrieve

Even though that is the case, the local police never give me any problems with my lights, probably because they have more problems with the ninjas riding around on sidewalks with no lights at all colliding with cars at driveways and crosswalks.

flipped4bikes

This may be my fault. I jokingly referred to Jeffs set up as an emergency vehicle. Of course it isn't. I never meant to imply that it was a good idea to imitate one purposely. And if Jeffs ride requires him to be on a 55 mph road at night, then I definitely have no issue with his light setup. I'd rather have him go home alive rather and be mistaken for a emergency vehicle than dead and not seen at all.

I will say that using the Dinotte has influenced motorists in regards to passing me. I get noticed and I get more space when they pass. Worth every penny.

curveship

JeffB502: Hey, I'm not trying to be an @ss. I carry a picture of my 2 year old with me when I ride, as a reminder to be safe.

I think most drivers have a much simpler understanding of what lights mean:

steady -- normal vehicle
1/2 sec on, 1/2 sec off -- vehicle with emergency lights, pay attention and be careful
strobes of any color and arrangement -- emergency vehicle

I'd like to see the Dinotte taillight do the 1/2 sec pattern. It's my opinion, and only my opinion, that running two Dinotte taillights on strobe is a little abusive.

Of course, the good part of this whole discussion is that bike lights have finally reached a point where the old adage "just because you can doesn't mean you should" is becoming relevant.

ggg300

https://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/vc/tocd11c1a4.htm

Stay away from blue lights in CA.

freedomguy22

I just got the dinotte tail light this week. With one superflash and one Dinotte, I went to a dark alley and tried every combo I could, standing behind my bike from about 100 yards. For me I think the dinotte on the seatpost on strobe mode and the SF on the seatstay in constant mode is the best bang for your buck.

Zero_Enigma

I believe the PB Superflash optic is a 3 degree to give that hot burning light where as the Dinotte is more a 25 degree flood. How do I know this? I have a mate of mine with Cree 3 degree optics and I ordered Luxeon III red-orange LED's with 5, 15, and 25 degree optics. With the 5 degree optic the red-orange is literally blinding and your eyes will be seeing spots for about 2 mins. I plan on testing the LuxIII with 25degree comparing to the Dinotte and see which is brighter.

indygreg

To me, the Dinotte taillight is the best taillight and for me it is a requirement for riding day or night.

Here is my take, FWIW:

Most people judge their lights incorrectly. Take taillights and other non-forward projecting lights . . .what I mean is not the light you use to see, but all lights you use to be seen from the back and side.

People have $30 taillights or decorate themselves in some $10 little LEDs. They ride with each other and everyone says 'wow, those are bright'. They are making judgments in total darkness and at 10 feet or less. IMHO, that is meaningless.
Do it from a car doing 40 in the following conditions:
Total daylight
Dusk
Night, with light noise (streetlights, other cars, your headlights, etc)

Those little LEDs that some cover themselves with are 100% worthless in these conditions. The cheaper taillights are not good (at best) in the darker situations and worthless in the day.

The Dinotte is different. It is like a car with its brake lights on. It makes a difference in all those conditions.

Test for yourself . . . have a friend ride a bike and you use a car in all these conditions. Bottom line, what a light looks like at 10 feet is utterly meaningless. At that point in the real world it is too late.

flipped4bikes

What indygreg said. If you look at a blinky long enough close up, like the PB SuperFlash, yup you'll conclude it's plenty bright. Now, does a motorist give enough time and attention to what's happening on the road? No way. The Dinotte tail light pretty much reduces inattention by giving the motorist more time to recognize the light from longer distances with its brightness.

indygreg

exactly. The issue IMHO is that drivers, even somewhat good ones, take their eyes off the road from time to time. If a driver is perfect and is watching ahead with no breaks, they will see you unless you are completely hidden. I believe the key is if they see you in one of their looks forward. Even distracted drivers look forward every few seconds (at least most do). Otherwise they would drive off the road or across it. So they look up, then at the radio, then up, then at their cell phone, etc. You often have a very very short time to make it into their mind's eye. The longer the distance you can be seen, the more likely they will see you in one of their scans.