Bigger tail light?
12-09-13, 05:18 PM
#26
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Originally Posted by Ghost Ryder
Here's a video I shot with my phone.
I may do a better video with my DSLR when I get home.
I may do a better video with my DSLR when I get home.
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12-09-13, 05:19 PM
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I use a Portland Design Works Danger Zone tail light. You can pretty much see it from low earth orbit. I don't think I really need another tail light since I also have a rear red LED light on my helmet.
12-09-13, 05:21 PM
#28
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Originally Posted by 10 Wheels
Take it Off of Private...
12-09-13, 06:14 PM
#29
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Originally Posted by PartsMan
I need to be noticed a half mile away and off to the side.
I've had drivers pull alongside and ask where they can get one.
12-09-13, 07:59 PM
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One factor that I don't think that has been brought up yet is that of run time. Depending on the OP's needs, some of the lights mentioned in this thread may not be of optimal use.
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12-10-13, 02:37 AM
#31
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I bought this one from Home Depot.
https://s56.photobucket.com/user/stdlrf11/media/BikeLights.mp4.html
Its big, runs of 4xAA, runtimes last about a week before getting noticeably dimmer. You have to dismount it to recharge the batteries.
https://s56.photobucket.com/user/stdlrf11/media/BikeLights.mp4.html
Its big, runs of 4xAA, runtimes last about a week before getting noticeably dimmer. You have to dismount it to recharge the batteries.
12-10-13, 02:50 AM
#32
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Its big, but not really bright.
12-10-13, 02:53 AM
#33
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Yep. You're right.
That's why its now sitting in my parts bin.
The OP wanted a big light. This is one.
That's why its now sitting in my parts bin.
The OP wanted a big light. This is one.
12-10-13, 06:58 AM
#34
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Glad you followed that with a caveat. I bought the same light a few years ago. I tested it and returned it without ever mounting it on my bike, it's just not bright enough. It seems like a decent light until you see it at night.
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12-10-13, 07:45 AM
#35
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Riding the onrushing wave of modern LED technology, the current generation of bicycle tail lamps have surfed in the direction of intensely bright point sources, typically flashing away like mad. No other road vehicles use tail lamps like this. Perhaps, because bicycles are, in fact, different from other road vehicles, we need a different type of tail lamp. But perhaps in ten or twenty years we'll look back at the tail lamps we used in 2013 and shake our collective heads, the way we do today at tail lamps from, say, 1983.
Scholten's tail lamp testing suggests larger area, less intense tail lamps are more visible.
Philips LumiLED app note AB20-1, concerning the use of LEDs for automotive applications, specifies a minimum illuminated area of 37.5cm3 for automotive taillights.
Larger area bicycle tail lamps are hard to find, but they're out there (1, 2). I have no idea if these are any good.
Scholten's tail lamp testing suggests larger area, less intense tail lamps are more visible.
Philips LumiLED app note AB20-1, concerning the use of LEDs for automotive applications, specifies a minimum illuminated area of 37.5cm3 for automotive taillights.
Larger area bicycle tail lamps are hard to find, but they're out there (1, 2). I have no idea if these are any good.
Last edited by tcs; 12-10-13 at 07:49 AM.
12-10-13, 07:49 AM
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Originally Posted by stdlrf11
I bought this one from Home Depot.
https://s56.photobucket.com/user/stdlrf11/media/BikeLights.mp4.html
Its big, runs of 4xAA, runtimes last about a week before getting noticeably dimmer. You have to dismount it to recharge the batteries.
https://s56.photobucket.com/user/stdlrf11/media/BikeLights.mp4.html
Its big, runs of 4xAA, runtimes last about a week before getting noticeably dimmer. You have to dismount it to recharge the batteries.
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12-11-13, 07:20 AM
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Originally Posted by tcs
Riding the onrushing wave of modern LED technology, the current generation of bicycle tail lamps have surfed in the direction of intensely bright point sources, typically flashing away like mad. No other road vehicles use tail lamps like this. Perhaps, because bicycles are, in fact, different from other road vehicles, we need a different type of tail lamp. But perhaps in ten or twenty years we'll look back at the tail lamps we used in 2013 and shake our collective heads, the way we do today at tail lamps from, say, 1983.
Scholten's tail lamp testing suggests larger area, less intense tail lamps are more visible.
Philips LumiLED app note AB20-1, concerning the use of LEDs for automotive applications, specifies a minimum illuminated area of 37.5cm3 for automotive taillights.
Larger area bicycle tail lamps are hard to find, but they're out there (1, 2). I have no idea if these are any good.
Scholten's tail lamp testing suggests larger area, less intense tail lamps are more visible.
Philips LumiLED app note AB20-1, concerning the use of LEDs for automotive applications, specifies a minimum illuminated area of 37.5cm3 for automotive taillights.
Larger area bicycle tail lamps are hard to find, but they're out there (1, 2). I have no idea if these are any good.
12-11-13, 09:34 AM
#38
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@10 Wheels~ nicely done Sir!
12-11-13, 10:06 AM
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[QUOTE=tsl;16315978]I'll be the third to recommend a DiNotte 300R. This is what you'll buy if you're serious about being seen over a half-mile away.
QUOTE]
$221 for a tail light? Did I read that right? Crazy!
QUOTE]
$221 for a tail light? Did I read that right? Crazy!
12-11-13, 10:33 AM
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I have been told by coworkers that they have seen my Magicshine taillight from well over half a mile away and thought it was an emergency vehicle or something. It's $30. I'm kind of thinking about getting a second one, since I'm switching to a Philips headlight a pair of Magicshine taillights should run all week on the LiIon battery.
Magicshines are 3 watts. Two of them for $60 and using the battery I already have (or $80 if I bought the battery too) is probably right in league with the 300R, and is a bit more flexible since I can point the two lights separately and control them separately.
They're rated at 85 lumens each. The 300R is 150. The Magicshine rating is probably overblown a bit, but I'm betting they use basically the same LED and two of them is probably about the same thing.
You definitely do not want to look directly at the Magicshine if you're standing in its display cone.
Magicshines are 3 watts. Two of them for $60 and using the battery I already have (or $80 if I bought the battery too) is probably right in league with the 300R, and is a bit more flexible since I can point the two lights separately and control them separately.
They're rated at 85 lumens each. The 300R is 150. The Magicshine rating is probably overblown a bit, but I'm betting they use basically the same LED and two of them is probably about the same thing.
You definitely do not want to look directly at the Magicshine if you're standing in its display cone.
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Last edited by ItsJustMe; 12-11-13 at 10:38 AM.
12-11-13, 12:28 PM
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Originally Posted by no1mad
Think German.
I have a 4D Toplight, a 1/2w Cherrybomb, and a couple of PBSF clones. The 4D may not be as intense as the others that I have, but it is just as noticeable due to the broader surface area.
I have a 4D Toplight, a 1/2w Cherrybomb, and a couple of PBSF clones. The 4D may not be as intense as the others that I have, but it is just as noticeable due to the broader surface area.
12-11-13, 01:07 PM
#42
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The back of the rack is a great place for taillights, especially with a load that might cover the seatpost. That one on the Tubus is nice and clean.
I use a CatEye rack bracket on the bike with a rack and CatEye under saddle bracket on the others. It just takes a second to swap my one Rapid 5 around.
I use a CatEye rack bracket on the bike with a rack and CatEye under saddle bracket on the others. It just takes a second to swap my one Rapid 5 around.
12-11-13, 05:05 PM
#43
What, me worry?
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When the Men In Black arrive, go peacefully! 
I believe that a minimum of two lights is essential, but 18 lights is not only an overkill, but should put a serious dent in the cost of buying batteries for them, -or- taking the time to keep them all charged.
I believe that a minimum of two lights is essential, but 18 lights is not only an overkill, but should put a serious dent in the cost of buying batteries for them, -or- taking the time to keep them all charged.
Originally Posted by 10 Wheels
12-11-13, 11:47 PM
#44
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Originally Posted by Telly
When the Men In Black arrive, go peacefully!
I believe that a minimum of two lights is essential, but 18 lights is not only an overkill, but should put a serious dent in the cost of buying batteries for them, -or- taking the time to keep them all charged.
I believe that a minimum of two lights is essential, but 18 lights is not only an overkill, but should put a serious dent in the cost of buying batteries for them, -or- taking the time to keep them all charged.
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