EsoxLucius

Need a rear light which can be readily seen in daylight and is relatively inexpensive.

Portland Design Works Radbot 1000?

unterhausen

it's a good choice. Put it on the slow blink, very visible and the batteries last a long time

davidad

It isn't cheap, but if being seen is important the Dinotte is unsurpassed. Brighter than a cars brake lights.

FunkyStickman

Dinottes will blind you in broad daylight. I do run a blinkie and a dyno taillight at all times, even during the day. Can't hurt.

Cyclist0383

I've had the PBSF, Cateye TL-1100, Blackburn Mars 4, and the Radbot 1000. The Radbot is by far the most visible in daylight.

FWIW, I now use a Dinotte 300R. It's brilliant.

smasha

there's a difference between "visible" and "conspicuous". do you want to by seen by people who are looking for you? or do you want to be seen by drivers who are doing more important things... TXTing, eating, putting on makeup, etc?

i've got a radbot-1000 and it's certainly visible in daylight, but for only 8x the price you can get a magic-shine or dinotte.

i suspect the PBSF-turbo is on par with the radbot-1000. soon i'll have a turbo and some other comparable blinkies here and i'll do some videos. but i'm still staying at the top of the low end (~$30US)... it's a big jump to the high end.

10 Wheels

I had a car driver stop me on my last ride.

He wanted to know what my tail light was?

He wants one for his motorcycle.

https://www.youtube.com/user/LogNotch.../4/_biD3qxVjME

EsoxLucius

What kind was it?

10 Wheels

https://store.dinottelighting.com/sha...t=products.asp

ItsJustMe

Magicshine. As bright as the Dinotte 140L, easily visible in the daylight. $30 if you already have a magicshine light. Way cheaper than the Dinotte even if you have to buy the battery.

As mentioned above, "visible" isn't good enough. The light must DEMAND ATTENTION from people who aren't actually looking for bikes. People who are already paying attention to the road aren't the people you need to worry about. Regular old blinkies don't cut it IMO, not even the radbot.

Seanholio

I used a Lightman xenon strobe on my bike for a long time. The amber lens makes for an incredibly visible warning light. I was under the impression that these were more compliant with the law than a red flasher, but now that I checked the CVC, I can't find anything permitting rear lights for slow moving vehicles or bicycles. Fooey on legislators and bureaucrats.

Anyone have a lightman and a DiNotte and a RadBot to compare the three?

RepWI

Contact your state representative and state senator with your concern. Do though ask the question, what regulations are you willing to accept? I would hope nobody is being ticketed for having lights on a bike in your state, are they?

jds669

I haven't heard of anyone in California being ticketed for having blinking lights, red or white, assuming they are on the right end of the bike.

10 Wheels

I have a Lightman Strobe. Got it as a gift. While it has good reviews, it is not very good as it cannot be seen from a great distance.

Guessing the Dinotte is 4 Times better.

ItsJustMe

Is there anything prohibiting them?

Seanholio

California Vehicle Code 25250 can be argued from either side. The first part of 25250 states "Flashing lights are prohibited on vehicles except as otherwise permitted."

25251. (a) Flashing lights are permitted on vehicles as follows:
[...]
(3) To warn other motorists of accidents or hazards on a roadway, turn signal lamps may be flashed as warning lights while the vehicle is approaching, overtaking, or passing the accident or hazard on the roadway if the front turn signal lamps at each side are being flashed simultaneously and the rear turn signal lamps at each side are being flashed simultaneously.

There are many subsections dealing with very specific vehicles and situations, such as funeral processions and parking enforcement vehicles, however there are none allowing them on bicycles specifically. Because 25250 specifies "vehicles" bicycles are included.

Finally yes, there have been cyclists cited for this. It's a pretty silly citation to issue, though, and I think there would need to be special circumstances such that the officer was looking for something to cite the cyclist for.

smasha

when was the last time you saw a bicycle with turn signals? on that basis, the statute seems completely irrelevant to bicycles (or issuing a ticket to a cyclist).

is there a statute about slow moving vehicles?

i would have thought that all 50 states have statutes requiring at least one front and rear light when riding at night/darkness, blinking, flashing and/or steady.

edit: strictly interpreting that, i guess i'd have to wave my arms up and down

hopperja

While I'm sure the Magicshine tail light is an excellent value, and it is a significant step above the PBSF or Radbot, it is most definitely not as bright as the DiNotte 140L. You can see pictures here, for example.

If/when I upgrade from my DiNotte 140L, I'm seriously considering the Hahn Tronix BRL. It's as bright or brighter than the DiNotte 400R (which is really 280 lumens, not 400 as the name implies).

ItsJustMe

I had both at the same time. The brightness was the same to my eyes, though I didn't really test thoroughly. I couldn't see any photos on the link you sent. I think MTBR requires you to sign up to see attachments, or something.

The nice thing about the MS is that I could get four of them for what the cheapest Dinotte 140L (the AA version) cost. I'm pretty sure four of them would attract way more attention than the Dinotte, and I could make a semicircle of them and get excellent side visibility.

rumrunn6

planet bike bike super flash

Richard Cranium

I reviewed a MS tail light and Dinotte- out on the road. I rode behind a couple of cyclists that were using each light.

In my estimation the two tail lights are extremely close is "steady red light" power. However, clearly the MS tail light was out "pulsing" the Dinotte in flash mode.

I wonder if the reason the MS was brighter was because the Dinotte was an "AA" powered version - not Lithium Ion.

Seanholio

There are laws for slow-moving vehicles, but only stating that they must display the SMV triangle on the back and travel in the rightmost lane.

The California Vehicle Code does require that bicycles be equipped with a headlight and rear reflector at night. Nothing about a flashing light. It's very amusing, so I'll just do what I do and challenge any tickets I get for an "illegal light"

ragnar.jensen 

That was me comparing the MagicShine tail light to the Dinotte 140 on MTBR. I still have both lights and can say that the Dinotte is definitely brighter. Mine is the lithium version.

Dinotte:


MagicShine:


Dinotte:


MagicShine:


That said, the MS light is still silly bright and if the comparison would be for "best-bang-for-buck" it would win hands down. I was so satisfied with the MS that I've bought a couple more since then.

Northwestrider

Dinotte, and I'm looking forward to taking a look at PB superflash turbo, but I don't think it'll hold a candle to the Dinotte. But it is a whole lot more affordable.

10 Wheels

Bite the bullet and get The Dinnotte.... You will not regret it.
Have you seen one in person?