Tail light mystery: red + some blue or purple
#1
Tail light mystery: red + some blue or purple
Weeks ago I spotted a bicyclist with taillight that was unusual in that it had a distinct blue or purple light emitted in vertical fashion from the center, surrounded by predominately red light. Anyone care to guess at the identity of this taillight? Thanks in advance.
#2
Senior Member


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From: 25 miles northwest of Boston
Bikes: Bottecchia Sprint, GT Timberline 29r, Marin Muirwoods 29er, Trek FX Alpha 7.0
#3
The space coyote lied.



Joined: Sep 2008
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From: dusk 'til dawn.
Bikes: everywhere
Must be an old hotrodder. Blue dot lights are a thing in rod world.
My Nightrider Solas lights each have a blue LED that indicate not very low battery, I reckon a little work with a soldering iron could get it to illuminate while main light is in use.
My Nightrider Solas lights each have a blue LED that indicate not very low battery, I reckon a little work with a soldering iron could get it to illuminate while main light is in use.
#4
- Soli Deo Gloria -
Joined: Aug 2015
Posts: 14,779
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From: Northwest Georgia
Bikes: 2018 Rodriguez Custom Fixed Gear, 2017 Niner RLT 9 RDO, 2015 Bianchi Pista, 2002 Fuji Robaix
Blue is reserved for law enforcement.
Depending on where you live the local police might not be too happy about blue lights.
-Tim-
Depending on where you live the local police might not be too happy about blue lights.
-Tim-
#5
Cycleway town
Joined: Jul 2014
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From: Milton Keynes, England
Bikes: 2.6kw GT LTS e-tandem, 250w Voodoo, 250w solar recumbent trike, 3-speed shopper, Merlin ol/skl mtb, 80cc Ellswick
Probably cheap.
I bought one from China (was about the cost of a loaf of bread). Thin strip of red LEDs as thin as a credit card. What's not to like?
Well, the gel filter strip was red, yeah. But the diodes underneath were white. And not just any white, but a cold blue/white.
The thing about colour filtration is you can only let red pass through if there's any red light to actually pass through... but these LEDs don't work like glowing hot metal, so it doesn't matter how much red filtration you cover them with, any direct light making it through is still cold - usually an off-purplish colour light, with only the filter material itself glowing nearer it's colour by the non-directional light.
I bought one from China (was about the cost of a loaf of bread). Thin strip of red LEDs as thin as a credit card. What's not to like?
Well, the gel filter strip was red, yeah. But the diodes underneath were white. And not just any white, but a cold blue/white.
The thing about colour filtration is you can only let red pass through if there's any red light to actually pass through... but these LEDs don't work like glowing hot metal, so it doesn't matter how much red filtration you cover them with, any direct light making it through is still cold - usually an off-purplish colour light, with only the filter material itself glowing nearer it's colour by the non-directional light.
#6
Palmer

Joined: Mar 2007
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From: Parts Unknown
Bikes: Mike Melton custom, Alex Moulton AM, Dahon Curl
Actually, depending on where you live, blue may or may not be exclusively reserved for law enforcement. Here in Parts Unknown, bicycles may show blue lights, provided (at night) they have a white light to the front and red light or reflector to the rear.
#7
Senior Member

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From: Sin City, Nevada
Bikes: Catrike 700, Greenspeed GTO trike, , Linear LWB recumbent, Haluzak Horizon SWB recumbent, Balance 450 MTB, Cannondale SM800 Beast of the East
I bought this nice chip-on-board (COB) $12 bike light on eBay early last year. It has a white center light and red and blue surrounding the white center. I was intrigued by the fact that it runs off a 1200 mAh 18650 li-ion battery (not removable). I disabled the blue light portion of the light (illegal in NV) and used the red flashing light as a bright taillight. It has a decent mount instead of that wretched o-ring mount that you get on even some of the expensive lights. It's available in both a square and rectangular design.
$11.67 postpaid https://www.ebay.com/itm/20w-COB-LED...IAAOSw8Wdbg2VB
$11.99 postpaid for the square version https://www.ebay.com/itm/Super-Brigh...js:rk:125:pf:0

$11.67 postpaid https://www.ebay.com/itm/20w-COB-LED...IAAOSw8Wdbg2VB
$11.99 postpaid for the square version https://www.ebay.com/itm/Super-Brigh...js:rk:125:pf:0

#8
aka Tom Reingold




Joined: Jan 2009
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From: New York, NY, and High Falls, NY, USA
Bikes: 1962 Rudge Sports, 1971 Raleigh Super Course, 1971 Raleigh Pro Track, 1974 Raleigh International, 1975 Viscount Fixie, 1982 McLean, 1996 Lemond (Ti), 2002 Burley Zydeco tandem
I bought some wheel lights from one of those Chinese web sites. They alternated red and blue lights. A car coming in the opposite direction pulled over to the side. I decided I better not use those lights any more.
__________________
Tom Reingold, tom@noglider.com
New York City and High Falls, NY
Blogs: The Experienced Cyclist; noglider's ride blog
“When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments.” — Elizabeth West, US author
Please email me rather than PM'ing me. Thanks.
Tom Reingold, tom@noglider.com
New York City and High Falls, NY
Blogs: The Experienced Cyclist; noglider's ride blog
“When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments.” — Elizabeth West, US author
Please email me rather than PM'ing me. Thanks.
#9
Let's Ride!

Joined: Jul 2008
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From: Lexington, VA USA
Bikes: --2010 Jamis 650b1-- 2016 Cervelo R2-- 2018 Salsa Journeyman 650B
#11
Senior Member
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 1,152
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From: Columbia, Maryland
Bikes: Mountain bike & Hybrid tour bike
I've seen a couple people over the last year or so using these multi-colored rear LED lights on bikes. Mostly I've seen them sold on Amazon, Ebay or the cheap Chinese websites. Then again I've seen some of the more expensive / brighter versions being mentioned here on Bike Forums ( although I forget the brand name at the moment ). I don't know what would motivate someone to want something like that on their bike but personally I could care less. What is more concerning to me is that I'm seeing more people use these "Blue LED" lights on automobiles that I KNOW ARE NOT COPS. I had one of those behind as I was driving down the road just the other night ( steady blue light on dashboard, non-flashing ) and when it passed me I could tell it wasn't a cop.
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