Are you saying it only has 2.20 lumens or 220 lumens? At 2.20 lumens we're talking 5 times less light then a candlelight produces, and you think that's good? At 220 lumens on the other hand I do not know of any tail light that has that kind power.

I mean "2 lumens". 20 lumens would actually make it a decent light for riding at night. There is a space between . and 2.

That sounds pretty intelligent and practical.

Every single "bike" tail light I found to be woefully inadequate. They simply aren't bright enough or visible enough. Here is what I used and for just $9, it came with 2 lights so I originally planned to install both. What I found was that ONE was so bright a second simply wasn't necessary:

Amazon.com: LEMONBEST® 2 x New 17cm General 6W Super Bright COB Bulb Car LED RED Daytime Running Light DRL Driving Lamp black housing: Automotive

I have yet to find any "bike" light that even comes close to the brightness of these. I don't know how many LEDs there are, too many to count, but I'd say at least 50 LEDs are on each light. The only down side is that they need a 12V power source, so I just used a little Velcro strap along with a little Lithium rechargeable battery pack I found in order to power it:

Amazon.com: Turnigy 2200mAh 3S 20C Lipo Pack: Toys & Games

Works great I strongly recommend!

Not very practical for the original poster who asked for a good daytime light. Not bad as a secondary rack light but Serfas is a much better option.

Oops, you're right. My mistake. Anyway, it looks like a good thing for some other purposes.

Yep, I've done several test videos of bike lights at night and YouTube compression made 'em all useless. So I did a 2-minute video last night and posted it to both YouTube and Vimeo.

The Vimeo version isn't too bad. Gamma is darker, but the reds are more saturated.

The YouTube version is slightly brighter, but the reds are desaturated and more orange.

Neither looks like the original on my photo/video editing desktop PC. Both were shot using a Nikon V1 and 10-30 kit zoom, ISO 1600, on 720p. I didn't edit this clip at all in order to avoid any pre-upload compression. I haven't found any freebie video software that handles lossless simple edits, including Avidemux. So I just reshot this same demo several times until I got it down to about 2 minutes in one take. I may reshoot using my Fuji X-A1, which has better video quality but fewer options for manually setting exposure -- a problem with nighttime videos.

I wanted to test my theory that pairs of lights with separation help motorists to better perceive distance and speed of bicycles at night. This video demonstrates riding away from and back toward the camera, and seems to confirm that some separation between lights can lend a better sense of approaching/receding speed and distance. So it may be a cost-effective way to improve our visibility without spending more than $100 on a single light, or mounting more than one reasonably visible light on the rear rack. Combining a rear rack and helmet light, each costing about $15-$30, might be a cost effective option for some folks.

• **Front of bike handlebar: Serfas SL-255, steady medium.
• **Front of helmet: Vivo-Bike Illuminati, flashing.
• **Back of helmet: Blackburn 2'Fer, flashing red.
• **Rear rack, large light: Planet Bike Rack Blinky 5.
• **Rear rack, small light: no-name red LED that came with Vivo-Bike Illuminati.
• **Rear rack, low near hub: pair of no-name red LED from Dollartree, $1 each.

"Bicycle lights nighttime comparison of paired lights to evaluate perception of distance and speed."
Vimeo version.
https://vimeo.com/166782753
*-*-*-*

YouTube version.

20 lumens is nothing, sorry to pop your bubble, but 20 lumens is only the amount of light given off by 2 candles, no where near enough to see by while riding a bike.

The reason I questioned your number was just in case you had a typo.

Well, I don't know about you but I do not use my taillights "to see by". Guess to each his own...

lol. that was my bad, I was in a conversation about head lights on another forum and got mixed up. DUH!!! anyway, still though at 20 lumens is considered to be the lowest powered tail lights you can buy these days and are marginal at best. I've seen these dim type of tail lights on the road and their barely noticeable, but like you said, to each their own, I rather have something significantly brighter and those brighter ones can be bought for not much more money than a person would waste on a dim 20 lumen job. I had a 20 lumen tail light I bought in the mid 90's which was considered bright in its day...LED technology has way surpassed that now. That light I bought in the 90's I threw away because even a cheap Cateye LD600 blew it away, not to mention how much more inferior it would be to my Light & Motion Vis180 (not the Micro Vis180).

By the way, I can see my surroundings at night with my L&M Vis 180, so it could be used as red flashlight if I had to use it as such.

Actually, you can still buy plenty of tail lights under 20 lumens and Cateye Reflex is one of them. Almost all of $10-15 are:
https://www.bikelightdatabase.com/taillights/
Adjust the slider on the left to 0-20 lumens & see for yourself. Majority of those light are actually 1-2 lumens.

As noted in my edit, above , there is a simple turn it ON switch position .

Thanks for taking the time to do the videos. Only the YouTube one seemed to work. As I said before, video's just don't do lamps justice. This is particularly true when it comes to ones that aren't very bright. On video your two seat stay lamps look almost like candles when actually they might be fairly bright. On the other hand a video will make a moderate lamp look almost super bright. Then when viewing the really bright lamps they look so bright that they appear like a super ball of light. Eventually once the output gets so high most videos can't accurately depict the variance in intensity.

Just a couple days ago I purchased a couple small/cheap usb rechargeable lamps to try out on my seat stays. Just one alone is not very bright but would be useful enough to get someone seen if on flash. Two, are a bit better but when on steady they are just barely adequate. Now coupled with my good Performance/Serfas clone lamp on the seat post the overall effect is much better, particularly when someone gets closer to the bike.

I know that having a lamp on steady can be useful so likely I'll use the smaller lamps on steady. I like the brighter lamps on flash for two reasons; first, they attract more attention at distance and secondly, well....the battery will last longer when on flash. IMO, it is more important to be spotted at distance. With a "triangle pattern" array and a 100+ lumen helmet rear lamp going ( not to mention wheel lights and standard reflective bike clothing/shoes ) I would be hard to miss at night.

Of course for added daytime awareness I would probably only use a single lamp at it's brightest setting. I have a special torch mounted under my seat just for this purpose. Rapid 3-pulse/pause flash pattern/ amber led and about ~100-150 lumen ( over-driven ).

Yeah, Vimeo is quirky. It often takes much longer to load and play on my mobile devices, so I use it only when the video isn't available anywhere else.

The YouTube version appeared a bit better about 12-24 hours after uploading, so perhaps it takes awhile before the HD version shows. Comparing the two now, the Vimeo version is only slightly better -- mostly more contrasty with slightly more saturated reds in the lights.

Just a couple questions; What was the rear "helmet lamp" you were using and how far away from the camera were you when you made the right turn ( Youtube vid )?? That looked to be an older Planet-bike 5-led lamp as the main lamp ( within the triangle ) you were using if I'm not mistaken (?)

Blackburn 2'Fer on the rear of the helmet.
Yup, Planet Bike Rear Rack Blinky 5 on the rack.

Just over 100 meters/335 feet from camera to the far turn at the end of the block. About 20 feet from the camera on the near turns. I used a 35mm (equivalent) moderate wide angle for a relatively normal perspective approximating our vision (40-42mm would be closer to how we see things, not counting peripheral vision).

I thought about ordering the Serfas TL-STP, but it would have taken a week. The Planet Bike was available for same-day delivery via Amazon. It seems adequate as a nighttime taillight. The Bontrager Flare R appears to be brighter for day/night use, but twice the price.

I'm wondering about modifying something like the Serfas SL-255 headlight with a red filter/diffuser. It uses a pair of AA batteries, lasts a long time per set, probably bright enough to compensate from light loss through a red filter. Not sure it's worth the trouble, though, with the Flare R and Serfas Thunderbolt already available.

I had a chance to compare the Planet Bike Rear Rack Blinky 5 against dozens of other lights during Wednesday evening's Ride of Silence. Several folks took photos and videos and comparing my lights against others, they're all about equal in apparent brightness.

The Planet Bike light is brighter within a narrow aperture, typically what a motorist would see from behind -- it appears like a brighter horizontal line a few inches wide. From other perspectives/angles of view, it appears somewhat less bright but diffused and still visible.

One photographer caught a couple of snaps of me from behind under a dark underpass, and my combination of Planet Bike Blinky 5 on the rear rack and Blackburn 2'Fer on my helmet, and smaller blinkies on the rack and seat stays showed up well, especially compared with the cyclists using only a single bright blinky on their seatpost, seat stay, etc.

So I'll keep the Planet Bike like. I'd rather have had a AA battery model and might eventually get the Serfas TL-STP. But the Planet Bike light seems good enough for my needs for low light and nighttime use.

I got to see a Cygolite Hotshot yesterday afternoon while in my car, not sure what model it was, but it was very noticeable from a quite a ways away in the daylight, but as I drove and passed him the light got dimmer and dimmer the more I got away from being directly behind him, but it was very bright and very noticeable.

Probably CH original because it's very directional. The new model Hotshot 80 has a larger spread lens. I have both and they are great as main rear lights.

Coincidental that you should say this. About a week ago I added two small rear lamps to my seat stays for the same "Triangle effect" that you mentioned. While they're not that bright, maybe 10-15 lumen each, on flash they are still eye-catching. Not sure how I'm going to use them, steady or flash. If I use them on flash I'm thinking of putting my seatpost lamp ( Performance Axiom ( Serfas TL-60 clone ) on low steady. Funny but on low/steady the Performance lamp just blows the two small lamps out of the water. Thats' okay with me though as it should still have a better effect at long range. Not to mention I'll still be using a very bright ( ~ 180 lumen on high flash ) Gemini Iris lamp on back of my helmet set on pulse/flash, the brightest setting.

Today I did some more shopping on Amazon. I'm already thinking about upgrading the seat-stay set-up to something brighter...maybe. Found something I thought was interesting as I like what I'm seeing with rear lamps that use the narrow/mirco-led format. The newest version of the Serfas Thunderbolt is interesting because it now offers an audible warning when in low power mode, expensive though. Anyway I like that the lamps with the narrow design mirco-led panels can be made to mount parallel with a seat stay ( on some models ). The down side is that they don't offer great run times on high. The upside is even on low they are still damn bright. I found something on Amazon I think I might like....Ah, shoot me...damn if I ain't a bike light junkie! Sometimes I wish I didn't own a credit card. ;)

The way I have mine set up for night is the two dimmest ones are on flash, the main one is the brightest and that one is on steady mode, during the day (depending on where I'm riding if I even have it on) I only turn on the main one and put it on flash.

I'm not saying my way is the best way, it's just what I do because I read two different studies on flash vs steady, European studies show that steady is the best and it's not even legal to use a flashing light there; however I read a Canadian and US study that showed that flashing is better; so I decided to cover both spectrums! I have no idea if what I do works, I know I've never been hit from behind but then again I was never hit behind before they even had tail lights, so I don't know, I just do it.

I think it's going to be one of those things that gets perpetually argued over. I base my own point of view on what I have seen myself as a road professional as I drive at night for a living ( in urban, rural and suburban settings ). I've seen cyclists using many types of rear lamps and mounted and used in both flash and steady settings. From my point of view the lamps that provide the best in safety awareness are the ones that alert the motorist of the cyclist's presence sooner rather than later. That said there are a variety of ways to achieve that goal.

I see no problem using steady mode but if the lamp is mediocre in brightness there is a chance it will not draw enough attention when cars are near. Secondly, even more chance it will not be seen at distance as there is more chance a dim lamp will blend into the background of ambient light if there are lots of other light sources near it. I've seen this effect myself many times so I know it's true. On many occasions I've seen cyclists using small rear lamps ( on steady ) with likely only about 5 lumen of output. Personally, I'd rather the person use a cheap reflectorized vest than a single shoddy low output lamp.

I've come to the conclusion that if you want to be seen at night as a cyclist you need to "stand out" from the crowd ( or your surroundings to be more accurate ). The more "unique" or attention getting your set-up the more chance you have of drawing the attention of approaching motorists. I know from personal experience that I will almost always have my attention drawn to a bright flashing rear light sooner than a bright steady rear light. Of course if the light source is steady but very, very bright that too tends to draw my attention. We've all heard the expression, "It's the squeaky wheel that gets the grease"....Well, in the world of road night bike riding, the equivalent statement would be, " That which draws the most visual attention is that which is going to be seen sooner rather than later".

Yes, a very bright rear lamp on steady mode will get seen but IMO a very bright rear lamp using a good flash mode will draw more attention sooner. Of course if you use multiple lamps you don't have to use all on flash. More lamps used to create a larger visual awareness is always going to be the better way to go. Sadly, not many people are willing to take that approach.

Summing up, if I'm only using one rear lamp I want at least 60 lumen output and I want it on flash and pointed straight back. Then I'll insist upon some good reflective clothing/shoes. If using two lamps one can be steady and one on flash. No matter what set-up I use I want at least one lamp to be very bright and on flash. Reflective clothing I feel should be mandatory no matter what lamps you use. The bigger the visual footprint you present at night the safer you should be.

^^ I agree with you, that's why my brightest rear light is a 70 lumen job, that one is the one that is on steady at night, and my two older ones put out about 10 to 15 lumens each and those flash. We have a slightly different approach but no big deal. The Euro study was interesting because they discovered that motorists have a difficult time telling how far they are away from an object that had a flashing light and were more likely to hit it vs a steady one and that's why it's against the law in Europe to have a flashing tail light. The Canadian/America study showed that a flashing light attracted the attention of motorists better then steady did, but I read anything in that study about being able to judge distance accurately so that study left that part out, had they included it it would have been interesting if they would have banned flashing lights or not.

I also use reflective stuff, the shoes have a reflective triangle, I wear reflective ankle bands, the seat bag had a reflective band, I wear a cheap safety vest that has wide reflective strips on it, and the helmet has reflective stuff. But in my experience reflective stuff can't be counted on because unless a cars headlights are heading right at it they may never see the reflective effect, but they will see active lighting...assuming of course it's not those dim 1 to 10 lumen lights that are out there.

But that's why I use both, the lights and the reflective stuff is because like you said the bigger footprint the better. Even on the front I use 2 headlights, the brightest one is on the bar and the dimmer one is on the helmet. If I'm riding in the city or burbs after dark I put the helmet light on flash and bar one always remains on steady, but if I'm riding on a country road or a dark unlit bike path then the helmet light goes on steady. I like the helmet light because I can use it to flash the light through a car's windows to alert the driver that I'm there.