Originally Posted by
pdlamb
The Hotshot works well, the Superflash works well. Rather than worry about selecting the Absolute Best Light(TM), get two or three. Any Best Light looks pretty dark when the battery runs down, so make sure you've still got one working well when that happens.
This. For a tail light, run one flashing light, one steady beam. Get them as far apart as possible by mounting one to the seatpost and the other to a seatstay. A flashing light gets drivers' attention, and a steady beam makes it easier for them to judge your location.
Originally Posted by
IcySwan1
The Garmin Varia rtl515 works well for me as a solo rider. It has various settings, but I use the flashing mode since nobody is on my wheel. Some of my other rear lights do that, too. The Bontager Flare is nice. But the Varia has a feature I use more and more: the radar feature. Granted, it needs either a Garmin head unit or your phone app, but it is great at picking up traffic behind me. It gives visual and audible cues. I do use a mirror, but the Varia is very accurate.
Doesn't need to be a Garmin head unit -- most recent gps computers will work with a Varia tail light. Use it on the seatpost as one of your two tail lights. Just one caveat, though: if you are in an urban area, with lots of vehicles, Varia is far less useful as it will just show cars continually coming up behind you. It is most useful if you are occasionally passed by vehicles, i.e. in situations where you may not be expecting them. Then, the alert is truly useful.