Dinotte Tail Light Alternative
10-03-09, 11:36 AM
#226
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Thanks I just saw a video on the Blackburn Mars 4.0. and it looks like the a winner for me
Amazon has them for 17.00 bucks so This is the one I will get will get two so Between the magic shine and the Blackburn Mars 4.0 I all set also have yellow spoke lights so I think this will work out fine
Amazon has them for 17.00 bucks so This is the one I will get will get two so Between the magic shine and the Blackburn Mars 4.0 I all set also have yellow spoke lights so I think this will work out fine
10-03-09, 08:03 PM
#227
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I have the Mars 4.0 and it way out performed my SF that pissed me off because it only lasted 8 months. I've only had the Mars for about 2 months so the long term durability test has a ways to go yet.
On the commuter I've mounted the Mars on the seat post, then I have 2 Cateye TL600's mounted on the stays thus forming a triangle of light, and I do not have mine blinking-cars don't blink so why should bikes? I also run with barend lights, those I have blinking so as not to kill the little button batteries.
The Cateye 600's are an excellent light for the money; if mounted vertically it can be seen by a car coming at your side which a lot of tail lights like the SF and Dinotti fail at. Also the Cateye's are very durable, mine are now 7 years old and have been exposed to all sorts of weather with no problems.
10-04-09, 05:28 AM
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Blink Or Not................
Yourpost piqued my interest. I have always assumed a blinking light draws more attention. My Mars and Dionette are run simultaneously; both set up to blink, day and night. Am I doing something wrong here? My Magicshine is blinking up front also (daytime). Guess I look like a walk down the "strip"!
10-04-09, 05:30 AM
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Yourpost piqued my interest. I have always assumed a blinking light draws more attention. My Mars and Dionette are run simultaneously; both set up to blink, day and night. Am I doing something wrong here? My Magicshine is blinking up front also (daytime). Guess I look like a walk down the "strip"!
10-04-09, 10:49 AM
#230
Bike ≠ Car ≠ Ped.
Yourpost piqued my interest. I have always assumed a blinking light draws more attention. My Mars and Dionette are run simultaneously; both set up to blink, day and night. Am I doing something wrong here? My Magicshine is blinking up front also (daytime). Guess I look like a walk down the "strip"!
On the other, onlookers are more likely to misjudge your distance and speed, especially when all they see is one blinking light.
On the third hand
, blinking bike lights are illegal in some countries, but their issue is partly because they have plenty of cyclists and don't need all their lights to become a huge, flashing distraction.On the fourth hand, there's the stories of the "moth effect", where inattentive or inebriated drivers are sort of hypnotized and drawn towards the flashing light. This is often described as the cause of police cars getting rear-ended during traffic stops and service vehicles getting hit despite numerous flashing lights and warning signs.
10-04-09, 11:17 AM
#231
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On one hand, blinking lights do draw more attention, there's no doubt about it.
On the other, onlookers are more likely to misjudge your distance and speed, especially when all they see is one blinking light.
On the third hand , blinking bike lights are illegal in some countries, but their issue is partly because they have plenty of cyclists and don't need all their lights to become a huge, flashing distraction.
On the fourth hand, there's the stories of the "moth effect", where inattentive or inebriated drivers are sort of hypnotized and drawn towards the flashing light. This is often described as the cause of police cars getting rear-ended during traffic stops and service vehicles getting hit despite numerous flashing lights and warning signs.
On the other, onlookers are more likely to misjudge your distance and speed, especially when all they see is one blinking light.
On the third hand
, blinking bike lights are illegal in some countries, but their issue is partly because they have plenty of cyclists and don't need all their lights to become a huge, flashing distraction.On the fourth hand, there's the stories of the "moth effect", where inattentive or inebriated drivers are sort of hypnotized and drawn towards the flashing light. This is often described as the cause of police cars getting rear-ended during traffic stops and service vehicles getting hit despite numerous flashing lights and warning signs.
By the way, I also use a amber flashing Xenon flasher on the front to grab attention to other motorist so they'll hopefully notice me and see my main light.
So far I haven't had anyone not notice me, in fact I've had drivers tell me they noticed me more then a mile away and how they wished other cyclists did the same thing. Around the Fort Wayne area for some reason most cyclists ride without any lights or reflectors!!!
10-04-09, 11:49 AM
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The moth effect is an urban myth if I recall. However I like to use both blinking and steady lights - this way a driver can measure distance, is attracted by the lights, AND is alerted to the fact that I am a bicycle.
10-04-09, 01:35 PM
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The difficulty of judging distance to a blinking light is why I like the Dinotte - most of its blink modes are constant low and blinking to high - so you get the equivalent of having a constant light and a blinking light out of one light.
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10-04-09, 03:18 PM
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On the fourth hand, there's the stories of the "moth effect", where inattentive or inebriated drivers are sort of hypnotized and drawn towards the flashing light. This is often described as the cause of police cars getting rear-ended during traffic stops and service vehicles getting hit despite numerous flashing lights and warning signs.
Duppie
10-04-09, 03:29 PM
#236
Bike ≠ Car ≠ Ped.
I've wondered what a driver was thinking every time I see a "Most Dangerous Police Videos" clip of them hitting a squad car on the highway.
10-04-09, 03:45 PM
#237
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I got a call one night that my truck had 'been involved in an accident'... mind you, this is the truck that has been parked for a good 6 months and the transmission isn't hooked up to the drive train (no way someone could have stolen it...)
Turns out it got rear ended... the cops estimated that the guy had to have been going at least 100 mph when he hit the back of my truck. Totally insane. Too bad I didn't get it on video.
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10-04-09, 04:15 PM
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Where I live a squad with flashing lights is pretty "exciting" to most passers by......they just got to see what is going on.....nothing to do with flashing lights at all (in Chicago we call them "gapers blocks"). The driver totally ignores present conditions and is only affixed to the action.......sometimes immediately followed the a loud "ka-boom"!!
10-05-09, 08:39 AM
#239
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Until somebody shows me some proof that there is a risk, I will keep my Dinotte 400L taillight on Slow Pulse (and pointed down a notch, as to not blind folks behind me)
Duppie
10-05-09, 09:22 AM
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I'm curious about the idea of pointing your taillights away from the line of sight of car drivers. That seems to defeat the purpose.
Bright headlights are there both to see and to be seen, so they're typically much brighter than is needed to be seen, and so they're pointed at the road where some of the light is needed to see by. Most of the light goes to the road in fact, because that's where it's needed.
But for taillights, the whole PURPOSE of the light is to be seen. Any light that isn't going into someone's eye is being wasted. If you're going to point it at the ground, why not just buy a cheaper/less bright one and point it at line of sight? It seems silly to go out and buy a 140 lumen taillight then point it at the ground. You could have just bought a 50 lumen light and pointed it level.
I've never seen car taillights pointed at the ground (intentionally).
Bright headlights are there both to see and to be seen, so they're typically much brighter than is needed to be seen, and so they're pointed at the road where some of the light is needed to see by. Most of the light goes to the road in fact, because that's where it's needed.
But for taillights, the whole PURPOSE of the light is to be seen. Any light that isn't going into someone's eye is being wasted. If you're going to point it at the ground, why not just buy a cheaper/less bright one and point it at line of sight? It seems silly to go out and buy a 140 lumen taillight then point it at the ground. You could have just bought a 50 lumen light and pointed it level.
I've never seen car taillights pointed at the ground (intentionally).
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10-05-09, 10:33 AM
#241
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I'm curious about the idea of pointing your taillights away from the line of sight of car drivers. That seems to defeat the purpose.
Bright headlights are there both to see and to be seen, so they're typically much brighter than is needed to be seen, and so they're pointed at the road where some of the light is needed to see by. Most of the light goes to the road in fact, because that's where it's needed.
But for taillights, the whole PURPOSE of the light is to be seen. Any light that isn't going into someone's eye is being wasted. If you're going to point it at the ground, why not just buy a cheaper/less bright one and point it at line of sight? It seems silly to go out and buy a 140 lumen taillight then point it at the ground. You could have just bought a 50 lumen light and pointed it level.
I've never seen car taillights pointed at the ground (intentionally).
Bright headlights are there both to see and to be seen, so they're typically much brighter than is needed to be seen, and so they're pointed at the road where some of the light is needed to see by. Most of the light goes to the road in fact, because that's where it's needed.
But for taillights, the whole PURPOSE of the light is to be seen. Any light that isn't going into someone's eye is being wasted. If you're going to point it at the ground, why not just buy a cheaper/less bright one and point it at line of sight? It seems silly to go out and buy a 140 lumen taillight then point it at the ground. You could have just bought a 50 lumen light and pointed it level.
I've never seen car taillights pointed at the ground (intentionally).
First, the 400L puts out 240 lumen, twice the 120 lumen of the 140L (yeah, Dinotte's product naming leaves to be desired here). 240 lumen in a taillight is bright.
Second, my light is pointed downwards no more than 2-3 degrees. So while is still spills a lot of light directly backwards, it also creates a nice red spot on the pavement behind me. All my riding is on lit city streets where posted maximum speed is never above 30 mph. I am not too concerned with drivers seeing me from a mile away, but I want them to notice me when they get close to me. I believe (but have no hard data to back that up) that the red spot helps in achieving that better than spilling the extra lumen straight backwards.
Duppie
10-05-09, 10:00 PM
#242
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I know a biker who was rear-ended on the shoulder in daylight wearing hi-viz. The policeman commented that her blinkie was bright. I will continue to be VERY visible with bright clothes, blinkies and I keep an eye on traffic from behind with a rear-view mirror. I don't "live in fear', but I do take precautions.
10-07-09, 11:43 AM
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Exposure lights has the RedEye($44.99) which can be connected to their headlights and powered by the headlight battery or you can purchase a separate battery($44.99) and charger(29.99$).
https://estore.websitepros.com/193951...Eye/Detail.bok
https://estore.websitepros.com/193951...ies/Detail.bok
https://estore.websitepros.com/193951...ger/Detail.bok
https://estore.websitepros.com/193951...Eye/Detail.bok
https://estore.websitepros.com/193951...ies/Detail.bok
https://estore.websitepros.com/193951...ger/Detail.bok
10-07-09, 02:54 PM
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This thread was AWESOME! I am in the market for a good tail light...but after reading this I have absolutely no idea which one to get. I am wondering how to fix up my hybrid like the tandem bike in men in black. AWESOME simply AWESOME.
03-20-14, 08:21 AM
#245
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I realize it's been almost 5 years, but I'm wondering if we have any new updates to all of this discussion 
03-20-14, 08:26 AM
#246
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Yes, in other threads.
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03-20-14, 06:44 PM
#247
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03-21-14, 12:11 AM
#248
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Cygolite Hotshot 2W
- 5 modes, 500 max run time
- programmable speeds
- USB rechargeable
- crazy bright - day time use
- probably the best deal on the market at this moment.
I love my current Blackburn Mars 4.0 1W light, but Hotshot is customizable, brighter and USB rechargeable which is a big plus.
Bought it for around $30 from Cranky's bike shop in Fountain Valley, CA Awesome service!
There is 2 different, but identical looking versions of Hotshot. This one is the better one, with 5 modes and longer run times. The cheaper one is Hotshot 2W SL with 2 modes and 200 hrs of max run time.
- 5 modes, 500 max run time
- programmable speeds
- USB rechargeable
- crazy bright - day time use
- probably the best deal on the market at this moment.
I love my current Blackburn Mars 4.0 1W light, but Hotshot is customizable, brighter and USB rechargeable which is a big plus.
Bought it for around $30 from Cranky's bike shop in Fountain Valley, CA Awesome service!
There is 2 different, but identical looking versions of Hotshot. This one is the better one, with 5 modes and longer run times. The cheaper one is Hotshot 2W SL with 2 modes and 200 hrs of max run time.
03-21-14, 01:21 PM
#249
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IMO the Cygolite hotshot is pretty good though I think too spotty. The Serfas Shield is excellent and about as bright as the base Dinotte model. They have another model that has two emitters and comes in at I think 80 lumens. The MagicShine taillight hooks to the headlight battery with a Y adaptor, costs $30 and is about as bright as the old Dinotte 140 that I used to own - I think it has exactly the same emitter.
The Dinotte lights are excellent, but IMO there definitely can be too much light. I have been told that the MagicShine that I run is bright enough that it can be seen from about half a mile in the daylight, over a mile at night, and at night it's painful to look directly at, so I don't know that there's a reasonable argument for more light except for running in adverse conditions. It would be nice to be able to double the power if riding in heavy fog for instance.
I think that for almost all situations, especially for riders that do not ride in the most adverse of conditions, any of the current crop of < $40 lights are perfectly adequate:
Niterider SOLAS (careful, the bracket is reported to be fragile), Cygolite Hotshot, RADBOT 1000, Danger Zone. The RADBOT is nice because it also incorporates a significantly sized reflector. The latter two take AAA cells, so that's either good or bad depending on your opinions.
The Dinotte lights are excellent, but IMO there definitely can be too much light. I have been told that the MagicShine that I run is bright enough that it can be seen from about half a mile in the daylight, over a mile at night, and at night it's painful to look directly at, so I don't know that there's a reasonable argument for more light except for running in adverse conditions. It would be nice to be able to double the power if riding in heavy fog for instance.
I think that for almost all situations, especially for riders that do not ride in the most adverse of conditions, any of the current crop of < $40 lights are perfectly adequate:
Niterider SOLAS (careful, the bracket is reported to be fragile), Cygolite Hotshot, RADBOT 1000, Danger Zone. The RADBOT is nice because it also incorporates a significantly sized reflector. The latter two take AAA cells, so that's either good or bad depending on your opinions.
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