I require one on mine as well - I use 2 rear lights because the d!@#@! things don't give you any warning before the battery dies and I've gotten home to find out one of them turned off because it ran out of battery. There's simply a limited amount of space on the back of my bike for lights, and I don't have room for 2 lights plus an additional reflect on any of my bikes.

RE batteries dying: if you're waiting for them to die, you're waiting far too long. In my experience they get dim way before they die.

The right answer is to use rechargable batteries and recharge them once a month or so. Ideally use low-self-discharge NiMH cells. By charging them when they're not dead yet you'll not only make them last longer but your lights will be brighter.

Mine don't...I think they use "regulated" power or something...makes them consistently bright regardless of charge, but when they die that's it.

I just had it happen this week - the light seemed normally bright when I turned it on, 30 minutes later I noticed it was completely dead, wouldn't turn back on, with new batteries it worked again. :-(

Yeah, that's what I've been using. My plan had been to recharge them all in the spring and fall, but then I wouldn't get around to it. Kinda my own fault, lol...but I still find it very annoying. Wish it had some sort of low battery indicator.

EDIT: You know...actually, this last time I think what I wrote above might be wrong...I think this last time it turned out one of the batteries had been knocked out of connection somehow...hmm. My last one didn't seem unusually dim, but I'll try to keep an eye out in the future, it seemed like they didn't get dim but I'm not 100% sure now...

Carry some back ups.

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/h...s/18lights.jpg

Other than the rack mount...
 

How would you mount a light to the rack? I've toyed with the idea of mounting a light to the seat stay, but the rack strut would partially block it, and the rack stays are too narrow to mount a light to. Or am I missing something?

Hair ties and q-tips.

I use alkaline only because I get them free at work. On my PBSF 1/2 watt model, they do get dim enough that I can change the battery before they go dead. However, on my PDW1000, they are fine even to the point where I turn them off. Then the next day when I turn them back on, they are super dim. I get get no warning with the PDW. Good thing those have bult in reflector on them.

I have yet to try the PBSF or the PDW1000 with rechargable.

Is that your bike? With that many lights, you're better off buying one dinotte and saving some money.

Not mine.

For the best, kick ass and take names bright n' BIG light none but this one will do!! :thumb:

I won't trust all the dinky butt "bicycle" lights but I do this one!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...c_sfl_title_3?
ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

This baby is "6 inches long 4 inches wide/tall 2 inches thick" Big! :p

Features....
1.)26 Super Bright LED's LED Magnifiers 360º Illumination Fast Flash or Constant On
2.)Seat-Post Mounting Bracket Self Supporting Stand Magnetic Back
3.)Polycarbonate Lens Rugged Construction Extremely Versatile
4.)Accessory Components Available Easy Access to Batteries

Hope this rider has stock in a battery company!!

I don't like flashers. Blinky lights distract drivers, and a distracted driver is a deadly driver. I like steady lights, visible, but not blinding - but someone needs to come out with a steady + slow pulse mode - the pulse to attract attention, the steady light so drivers and other cyclists can judge direction and speed.

I disagree. Flashers differentiate the rider from the background of other red lights, and having used them ever since the original VistaLite LED taillight (so that's about 20 years), I do not see signs of a problem. In fact, my DiNotte and Nova BULL ultra-output taillights have drawn unsolicited praise (and nothing else) from motorists. They generally want to either thank me for being easy to see, or want to know what it is and where to get it.

For an example of differentiating oneself from the background, skip to about 6 minutes into this video. 45mph zone, seven lanes, rain, glare, pitch dark. Yeah, I'll be running flashing mode...

#t=361s

Biology says you're wrong. Humans, like most dinural binocular mammals, are positive-phototaxis organisms. This means we instinctively seek light - it helps us see better. If an unusual light catches our eye, we instinctively move toward it.

If you have a random blinkey thing on your bike, and an inattentive driver, you can see where this is going. Cops and tow-truck drivers can all tell you the same thing - once they turn on the flashers, the close calls start to happen.

Modern emergency flashers all do predictable patterns, usually an arrow-shape pointing around the cruiser or tow-truck.

This is why I want a steady light plus slow pulse.

why on earth was the first sentence necessary? Especially since you had to clarify it in the next!
For an alternative to simple blinking there is the Blackburn MARS 3, it has a wiggle pattern and there is chrome behind the red lens

The Radbot 1000 has slow pulse mode.

I would think 'the close calls start to happen' then because that is when they are stopped on or beside the roadway.

I don't agree with the blinky=bad thing either. I ride with a Dinotte 400R which is incredibly bright. I run it in the most obnoxious flash pattern it has. What happens is when cars come up behind me, they slow way down and move as far away from me as they can get which is exactly what I want. My "close calls" dropped way off when I started using this light.

J.

I use a Dinnotte 140L going on three years now.

Watching in my mirror I see the vehicles moving left away from me way back.

I Get stopped every week by drivers giving the thumbs up and asking, what is that light.

I made small hand out card, with all of the details of the light.

Do you run yours during the day too? If so, does that also seem to be helpful?

J.

I bought it to use for day riding.

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/h...Dinotteone.jpg

lol, I've found something similar once I bought a pickup truck and a really loud obnoxious horn! Every time I see a biker about 500 feet up the road, I just start laying on the horn swerving wildly (inside my lane, to be safe of course). Those bikers slow way down and move as far away from me as they can get which is exactly what I want - often stopping completely and carrying their bike up onto the curb until I go by. I would encourage everyone to do the same in the interest of car/bike saftey. My "close calls" have also dropped way, way off since I started doing this!

which, incidentally, is common Minnesota driver behavior anyhow.

J.

I have the DX SuperFlash clone, and last week I switched from the seizure flash (very PBSF-like) to the slow flash where all 3 LEDs flash about once a second. I like it better.

As far as I can tell, the MagicShine taillight has the same driver and lens as the Dinotte 140L. It costs $30 if you already have a MagicShine headlight and battery, something like $60 if you need the battery and charger too.