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Rack-mounted rear blinky light

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Old 09-16-11 | 02:43 PM
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Rack-mounted rear blinky light

Hi -- I've recently ordered an axiom journey rear rack and it has some kind of long tab incorporated onto it for a light mount.

does anyone know a good light that would secure onto this rack? My old light is not LED and I'm thinking LED is the way to go now....





thanks,
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Old 09-16-11 | 03:03 PM
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Oh, yeah. Dinotte 300R.

https://store.dinottelighting.com/sha...unt2=355918526

I had one on my rack for a while.

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Old 09-16-11 | 03:07 PM
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I have the PDW 1000 and it attaches great to the rear fender. Good light.

https://www.ridepdw.com/goods/lights/...%E2%84%A2-1000
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Old 09-16-11 | 03:24 PM
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Planet Bike makes two that I know have the attachment to go on rear racks
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Old 09-16-11 | 05:31 PM
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I have the same rack on two bikes. On one I have a Blackburn Mars 4.0, but it needed to be modified slightly to fit properly. On the other, I have a PDW Radbot 1000, which is what I would recommend.
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Old 09-16-11 | 05:37 PM
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B&M 4D Toplight is one the that gets recommended quite a bit. I think I'll ask Santa for one.

Right now, I'm running with a NR Cherrybomb zip tied to the rack mounting plate.
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Old 09-16-11 | 05:41 PM
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I have a Blackburn Mars 4 that I mounted on a Blackburn rack. I wrapped it around the point at the back where 2 rods are welded parallel and cranked it down.
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Old 09-16-11 | 05:59 PM
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Originally Posted by gmt13
I have a Blackburn Mars 4 that I mounted on a Blackburn rack. I wrapped it around the point at the back where 2 rods are welded parallel and cranked it down.
I don't know about the Blackburn rack, but 10 seconds of work with a sharp knife, and that Mars 4.0 will fit beautifully on the Journey rack. As it comes, it will only mount cleanly upside down.
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Old 09-16-11 | 06:25 PM
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It doesn't like rechargeables (voltage is too low), but it loves the Energizer Ultimate Lithium batteries.
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Old 09-17-11 | 05:38 AM
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Update: ordered a couple of the RADBOT lights based on the first recommendation -- they look extremely bright!

Thanks guys -- TB
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Old 09-17-11 | 07:52 AM
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I also run the Journey Rack with the Radbot 1000 light. Great combo. I suggest getting rechargeable batteries for the Radbot.
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Old 09-17-11 | 08:48 AM
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Bikes: N+1=5

While video at night can be deceptive, here's some good ones:

Planet bike compared to Radbot 1000
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxnYHRINovU

Here's a Blackburn Mars 4 vs a Dinotte 400R (the 300R is about 25% less bright)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElnMZNOH2mg

What is notable is that most of these little AAA or AA rear taillights are not particularly useful. A car coming up on you at night is just not going to identify you as a bike they just see a little blinky light. THe bigger uber powerful taillights are going to cause them to slow down and go wide around you. It's a huge difference in safety. The Dinotte 300R is a super bright (300 lumens) tail light that is self contained.

The Radbot 1000 is just starting to get into the range of usability, IMO. I'd get several of them. The Light and Motion vis180 is next but all of them are small time compared to any of the Dinotte tail lights.

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Old 09-17-11 | 09:12 AM
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I got a cat eye tl-ld 500 something, Oval shape it screws on directly to
a reflector mount, type, 2cm vertical holes

The newer one, rectangular, fits a clip on the bracket then QR fits the Light itself

Both 2 AAA.

Last edited by fietsbob; 09-17-11 at 09:18 AM.
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Old 09-17-11 | 11:58 AM
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Portland Desigh Works RadBot 1000 comes with a suitable rack mount

The PDW RADBOT 1000 comes with this rack mount (plus a seat mount AND a seat stay mount; at least mine have & the PDW site states this under the light's "Details" tab). The RADBOT is also a decent tail light.

Some of their other models might also come this way, but the Details on their danger zone light does not list a rack mount, so best check before ordering other models. However, you can buy the rack mount as a part and Planet Bike offers a similar (identical?) one as a part.
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Old 09-17-11 | 03:31 PM
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Originally Posted by Giro
The PDW RADBOT 1000 comes with this rack mount (plus a seat mount AND a seat stay mount; at least mine have & the PDW site states this under the light's "Details" tab). The RADBOT is also a decent tail light.

Some of their other models might also come this way, but the Details on their danger zone light does not list a rack mount, so best check before ordering other models. However, you can buy the rack mount as a part and Planet Bike offers a similar (identical?) one as a part.
Can anybody tell me what order you place the washers when installing this on your rack? Are both washers placed on the same side (the side opposite that shown above)? Thanks.
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Old 09-19-11 | 04:03 AM
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planet bike super flash
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Old 09-19-11 | 10:14 AM
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Radbots are great but they drain batteries fairly quickly. Just got a pair of Cygolite Hotshot 2W rear lights that are cheap (~40), bright and best of all (to me anyway) rechargeable w/o messing around opening the back of the thing to replace batteries. Unfortunately they don't have a proper rack mounting system yet, and the clip is awfully weak.
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Old 09-19-11 | 12:31 PM
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Originally Posted by rumrunn6
planet bike super flash
Well hell, you can mount anything anywhere if you make your own bracket. Or was that your point

I like that handlebar mount.
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Old 09-19-11 | 04:42 PM
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rum - that's a pretty creative handlebar mount . I'm not big on any light I have to mount with a rubber band, but if it works....it works.

I'll provide an honest review of the radbot once it gets here. I ride in the dark all the time and don't treat things lightly....so hopefully it will perform.
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Old 09-19-11 | 04:57 PM
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Planet Bike sells a rack mount for their blinkies for $5 and it works great. I picked up some new Superflash Turbos and they are bright. I was out for a ride with my wife on a bright, sunny day and had a guy sprint to catch up with us to find out what lights we were running. He said he'd seen them from way back and was impressed. I did have a problem with them shutting off randomly but discovered it was loose batteries. Bent the battery contacts out a bit and that solved the problem.
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Old 09-19-11 | 07:49 PM
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Big picture: when your rack comes, assess the strength of that bracket. A 10-gram reflector, no problem... but a 70-gram taillight might eventually fatigue it and break it. A DiNotte 300R, at around 160 grams and costing $200 if you lose it, deserves a hardcore ultra-strong bracket.

As an alternative, consider removing the Axiom's reflector bracket, and bolt a dowel to the underside of the rack using that hole. Now you can use any seatpost-style light bracket on the dowel. I can recommend the Cygolite Hotshot if you'll be using a fender to protect it from tire spray (the charging port faces downward), it's got higher straight-back intensity than the 300R at a fraction of the weight and expense. And it will easily dominate the SF Turbo, Radbot 1000 or Mars 4 too.

Last edited by mechBgon; 09-19-11 at 07:54 PM.
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