Ok, now I get you, I was talking originally about taillights. As far as headlights you would be correct realistically. Realistically because anything brighter, which they could make, would be unreasonably bright for a vehicle travelling less then 45 mph. I have that Phillips Saferide on the bar and it's plenty of light, then add on top of that a Cygolite MityCross 480 on the helmet and combined they look brighter then car headlights.

I've seen mounts, especially rear light mounts actually get worse over the years, they use to use solid thick plastic clamps with rubber inserts, now a lot of companies use a fancy zip tie that won't last long. Programmability...not sure how much more a cyclist needs then what they already offer. Beam shaping is definitely a huge area and Phillips is the only one doing that currently and it works great, less lumens (400) needed and has the effect of a far brighter (1000+) lumen lights. While most 500+ lumen lights have separate battery packs, the Phillips simply uses 4 AA rechargeable batteries self contained in the light housing, so again Phillips does have the smaller battery pack, but as technology in batteries get better we may see a revolution in smaller longer lasting batteries.

I personally would like to see larger taillights, because I just don't think the small ones are all that noticeable in a sea of red lights at night no matter how bright. I saw a guy the other night with some sort of tail light that was about 6 inches long but maybe 1/2 inch wide and had about 8 LED's in it, that thing showed up really well, but I can't find anything like that on the internet. I was in my car and couldn't stop to ask what make of light it was, but it was the best taillight I've ever seen.

since this thread is nominally about a taillight, they pretty much have been standing still for the last couple of years -- at least as far as the red leds that we can get our hands on. White LEDs have been getting lower Vf and higher output at an impressive pace. Hopefully some of that will transfer over to the other colors sooner or later

There are already 3W LEDs readily available in red and amber capable of putting out about 200 lumens. The thing is - I can find then being used for off-road, but not for bicycle use. Personally I think cyclists are the problem - most apparently won't spend money on lights. Or specialized rainwear for that matter. A poll of several (6) stores in the area concurred that none carried rainwear because it didn't sell. On the other hand outdoor shops like MEC are loaded with the stuff and that's probably where I'll end up going (rainwear - not lights).

1. I'm with you on this. I've got three lights- Cherrybomb 1/2w, PBSF clone (1/2w), and a 4D Toplight. The 4D doesn't have the power as the other two*, but it is just as noticeable if not more so from a distance. There's also the RZ4 (on my short list if I win the lotto) which is large by the standard, the beam design is omni-directional, and I suspect the only reason why it doesn't push out it's full 5w on steady is thermal regulation.

2. You think that light had 8 LEDs, but what about 30 microLEDs? Serfas has the Thunderbolt that, without having the benefit of knowing the dimensions, comes close to your description. https://www.serfas.com/products/view...%7Ctail-lights

*As tested by turning all lights on steady and pointing at the wall in my kitchen.

Like I said prior, I have the Dinotte 300R which is a roughly 300 lumen taillight with a diffuser on it. That thing is noticeable in a big way. I get terrific respect with that on my bike, even more respect from cars than when day riding. It's so bright that it almost hides the bike in a bloom of red light that drivers naturally avoid. It's not big (but not small either) so I don't think square inches of lit area may be all that important.

J.

I saw that Thunderbolt in pictures on the internet but the light that I saw was longer and wider, not sure if it was brighter since I haven't seen the Thunderbolt in action anywhere to compare, but that guys light was very bright and highly noticeable from a long ways away.

I keep a VIS 180 on my road bike, and often put the 360 on my helmet. So I guess I've got 540º of visibility. :p

I like the 180 for its small size, good battery life, and easy recharging (USB power is as common as anything where I go).

I got the 360 after seeing it on another rider, who also happened to be wearing the same design of helmet as I do. Its taillights do a good job.

Whoever said that a bigger light is better, though, I'd agree. I just use these on the roadie and use bigger lights on the commuter.

I did see an interesting rear light called the FireFox Commuter which was vastly brighter then a Planet Bike Super Flash, has 26 LED's, and a lot larger thus stood out very well. Problem is the darn thing is 6" x 4" and would never fit on the rear of my bike since it attaches to the seat post unless I didn't carry a saddle bag!

I had a very similar light. It was heavy and not that bright at any distance.
I gave it away.

did your's look like this during the day: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ipdm7uxN9Co Because that video makes the Firefox Commuter look extremely bright.

Checked out that vid and then went looking for the product info- linky. Four AA cells, ain't no other place to mount other than seat post (might make fit on a rack...), thing is bigger than most paperback books. Only improvement I'd suggest is if they would make it where you could get one that had both the amber and the red- two inch strip each (stacked on top of each other).

The only things that give me pause is that a) they don't state the runtime (that I can tell), which is a big selling point and almost required reading on most of the other lights on the market, and b) they don't take paypal.

All the lights in the vid were brighter then actual real world.

The one I gave way: Too big for a road bike.
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/h.../4thDSR006.jpg

Mounted on the rear of the rack:
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/h...RainJacket.jpg

Size of the light stopped me too, there's no place to mount it on my touring bike. Run time info you could gain from sending them an e-mail, but they haven't responded to my e-mail, so the company is looking questionable to me.