scrantr

I found this monster in the automotive section of Meijer for $12.99. It's made in China
by/for some outfit calling itself CMI. The construction is of decent quality, and it's just
amazingly bright. 15 LEDs face outward, plus 2 aimed sidways (17 total). It uses 4 AA
batteries, and claims 50 hours run time. Continuous "on" and two different blink cycles.
It has clip on the back, similar to bike-specific blinkies, plus a metal loop or prop for standing
on the ground. The back is covered with "refrigerator magnet" material so it will stick to
a disabled car's sheet metal. The moisture seals appear to be of good quality. Now I gotta
figure out how to secure it to my commuter's rear rack. It's approx 12cm x 8cm x 4cm deep.
That's 4.7" x 3" x 1.5" for Americans.

PWRDbyTRD

Nice...do you have pix of it at night

operator

That's not going to show anything of worth.

scrantr

Take it as "what the manufacturer says," but the packaging claims visibility to 1 mile.
It's pretty ridiculously bright, and very visible off-axis horizontally.

reich17

I think it's a great find, thanks for the tip.

2manybikes

I have used that light, I also have one like it with 27 LEDs. There are bike taillights the size of a D battery with only 3 aaa or two aa batteries that are brighter, and they come with bike mounts.

One is much brighter from the side too. You get a brighter light, less weight, better battery life, less batteries to buy, a bike bracket included, and more visibility from a Cateye TL-LD 1000 or a Performance flare (even brighter than the Cateye from behind).

Sorry about that, I bought one too. I compared it to the other lights myself.
you might want to see this.

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...=Cat+eye+light

Who What

Hey 2manybikes. Thanks for all the taillight tests. You made us see the light! :-)

I picked up your favourite Flare taillight at a Performance shop today (https://www.performancebike.com/shop/....cfm?SKU=17696) for just 11 bucks.

I found the seat post clamp does not allow the light to be pointed horizontally. It can only be adjusted by 15' up or down, which is less than the angle on my seat post. So it points down to the street about ten feet behind my bike.

I guess there's no point having a light with a relatively narrow beam if you can't point it straight at the drivers. Did you have the same experience or did they change out the mounting bracket recently? On another thread I saw you custom made your own bracket. Was this for the same reason?

2manybikes

A "brilliant" observation.

Yes, I had the same problem and just took it apart and bolted it onto a reflector bracket. It was so easy and the light is so cheap and bright that I thought it was worth the trouble. I hope my other thread makes it easy to understand. All bike shops should have reflector brackets lying around. You should be able to get what you need for free.

When I first read about that light it was advertised in a British bike magazine and came with a bracket that did not have that problem. I also have seen it under other names with the "good" bracket. I thought it would come with it from performance. BLT sells it under another name with the better bracket. I even called Performance to explain, the explanation I got was use the flexible elastic bracket. That works for a while, but on a long ride the light sags down too.

2manybikes

The light in this thread looks like the outer case or housing is made by the same company when you see it in person, but it's not the same. The Realight has 27 LED’s. The one in this thread also only lasted for a few bike rides and then started to not flash correctly and then died. There are at least three sizes that I have seen.

I have the Realight. I used it for a two or three years with no problems. That is after I switched to rechargeable batteries. It eats batteries like crazy. It's rugged and waterproof. I actually went there and looked at it first. Don't get me wrong, it's a good light it was ahead of it's time when it first came out. But it has been obsolete. It's heavy with 4 aa batteries.

I actually bought my new Cateye TL LD 1000 from Harris (where Sheldon Brown is) and I have had the opportunity to run them side by side in the dark. It's hard to imagine how much more visible a light the size of a D battery is than the 4" x 6" Realight until you see it.