Looking to buy a rear light for those raining days where visibility is low. Had some close call lately and would like to be more visible.

What are your thoughts about the blackburn flea rear light? Should I also get the front too? My work hours are during the day so I don't ride at night time. Basically it is just add-on safety on dark cloudy days or raining days.

Thanks

I have the older (battery hookup, not USB) version, front and rear, and I really like them. They're easy to swap between bikes or take off when you lock up somewhere. They're fine for be-seen lights, I have a better headlight for nighttime but for what you're looking for they'd work well. I used the rear coming in this morning in the fog, in fact

+1

For what you want them for, I think they do a good job. I don't do a huge amount of night time riding in the summer. I'm in the city so the streets are lit and I'm more interested in being seen than lighting my way. I have better lights for the darker winter months.

Aside from not outputting a ton of light, the other downside is that the runtime is limited, - at least for the headlight. I don't have the 2.0 version, - that may be a tad better. It's plenty enough to get me home but if I end up using it a couple of days straight, I need to recharge it. It charges quickly. The older version also didn't let you know when the battery was starting to run down. That may have changed to.

Basically, you'll be happy with the light if you understand it's limitations up front.

Excellent. Thanks guys!

I figure that I will get the combo front/back unit. Used it for now and should I decide to keep riding when Fall comes when daylight is shorter, I'll just use the front one as my helmet headlight and get a more powerful light to replace it.

Get both ! you can find them on Ebay for 35 bux a pair. I love my fleas lol Had the front one for about a year and recently got the back one. The front one has a velcro strap that fits anything, the back I believe comes with a strap as well but the cool thing is that it has a clip so it can be attached to anything. When commuting I have it attached to my bag, when on the road bike I have it on the side of my jersey.

I have the Blackburn Flea 2.0 USB lights, both front and rear. They are mounted on my Bell Muni helmet. For what they are, I think they're excellent lights. I wouldn't be using the lights as my only lights for night use, but for your use, I think the fleas sound like a great fit.

The lights do not fit directly into a USB port. A small dongle is provided, that fits into a USB port. The Fleas attach to the dongle. I purposely bought my front and rear Flea lights separately, to make sure that I got two dongles. One dongle is used at home. The other stays at work. As a bonus, one light also included a solar charger. I am currently working on a way to attach the charger to my backpack, so I can charge my Fleas as i ride in the sunshine.

I have the usb front light. I originally bought it because of it's small size and the velcro strap which fits on my 31.8mm bars AND on my smaller bullhorns on my other bike. In L.A. there's enough street lights so that I don't really "need" a light for seeing the road, but it's bright enough on high (there's two steady light settings) to see the road on dark streets if i'm not going too fast.

The only downsides is I have to charge it almost daily to make sure it's always got power for my both my rides (morning/night), and the other downside is if it does die, there's no warning. It just turns off. I assume the back is the same.. not sure. I always carry a backup light in my backpack, but haven't had to use it in a while.

Well you guys sold me on it. Thanks for all the inputs.

I like the idea of these lights (USB charging) but I can't imagine a use for them. Aren't they not very bright? Can someone post a picture of one lit up? But please, dont put the camera lens right in front of the light. Maybe turn the light on, mounted to your bike, then walk 20 feet back or something.

If they are meant to just notify drivers you are around, that makes sense, but I can't imagine these puny LED's are lighting anything past a meter in front of them.

for a comparison with one of the older models of Flea lights, check out this link. Jus tlook for the Blackburn Flea about 2/3 of the way down the page. https://eddys.com/articles/how-bright...t-light-ig493/

If you'd read the op's post, you'd notice that he/she wants them for that reason.

I have to say though, the flea is small, but I wouldn't consider it 'puny', at least for the type of light it is.

I suspect they're decent as "be seen" lights. I base that on getting a front Flea shortly before DST started. It's aggravating on flash, because you find out where all the reflective surfaces are within a block. Doesn't do much of a job of lighting up the road surface in suburbs with solid "on", though.

I'm curious what sort of close calls the OP has had. I run 2-3 blinkies in back, and don't have problems. PB Superflash is highly visible (until it gets wet). Anything on the front, from a be-seen to 15W halogen (or equivalent) seems to alert oncoming or waiting traffic. I usually have fewer problems at night than I do during the day!