Best LED Wheel Lights
 

I'm new to the forum, but am rebuilding an old bike and am very interested in having my wheels light up for safety.

I've seen a few different designs for LED wheel lights, including:

1) MonkeyLectric:
http://www.monkeylectric.com/
http://www.amazon.com/MonkeyLectric-...=Monleylectric

2) Revolights:
http://revolights.com/#lighting

3) Rimfire.
http://www.amazon.com/Rimfire-Lighti...ef=pd_sim_sg_4

THere are seem to be a few more cheaper alternatives, with small LEDs that attach to your pressure cap or on the edge of spokes. I'm up for whatever, and am looking for a medium-cost, long-lasting, secure (not easy to steal), and bright lighting system.

Any insight or experiences would be appreciated.

Bump, Anyone?

Or are there other less expensive, DIY options?

I've used the Rimfires almost a year now. When I bought mine they were $12 per wheel. ( I think the price has gone up )
The one on my front wheel has gone out a time or two. Not sure why but maybe a problem with the battery contacts. I tweeked the contacts the last time I charged the batteries and had no problems on the last ride. The problem might have been just the batteries being low, not really sure. Other than that they work great and really get you noticed. The only thing I don't like about them is that they are not easy to mount. That means once you got them mounted you really don't want to take they off unless you have to. The battery compartment is just plastic and no telling how long it will last

A while back I saw these mini LED spoke mounted lights ( Atozi Wheel spoke leds ) and thought these might be easier to take on/off your bike. These look a little better than the standard cheap valve cap type leds. The down side is they use button cells but you can buy those by the card ( for a song ) from the Chinese websites. I bought four of the cheaper generic valve stem type lights last year and had nothing but problems with them. That is why I switched to the Rimfires. At least with the Rimfires I can use rechargeable AA's. At some point I will give the Atozi's a try. Would be nice to just slip those on/off my Mountain bike for those short road sections.

Okay, lots of good information here. I'll certainly do more research on both the Rimfires and the Atozi's. Thanks for the insight!

Would love to hear people's experiences with the MonkeyLectics...

I think with Monkeylectics and other wheel lights the emphasis is more on providing a side show. My purpose is just to get me seen. I wish there were more choices. The rimfires work but I could wish for something that is more easy on / easy off. Real important to have a battery compartment that blends more with the bike and creates no "wheel balance issues". It would be nice to have the battery compartment made to clamp around the hub of the wheel and yet cause no balance issue. Better to have the batteries horizontal ( with the hub ) and preferable with Li-ion cells. I like the rimfires as "proto-type" but I'd like something better engineered. I would also like to be able to choose the color of my LED's. I don't want so much of a show I just want to be seen.

I've gone ahead and order the MonkeyLectric Minis. The Revolights are clearly the best, but are out of my price range. The Monkeylectric minis mount near the hub and I think should offer a good light show for cars to see me. I'll post a review here once I get them up and running. This would be a good place for others to share their experiences though...

Does it have to be wheel lights? How about the BikeGlow Safety lights? They look cool. I've seen a couple bikes go by with them on at night and they definitely catch your attention.

Nite Ize spokelit lights: inexpensive, bright, lightweight.

I considered the bikeglow. Its a good point that it doesn't just have to be "lights."

I stayed away from bikeglow simply because I didn't like the look of them wrapped around the frame. If you could do it around just the wheels, that'd be really cool.

I've decided to order a couple of the Atozi's. Personally I just like the idea of something small and light-weight that is easy to put on and take off the wheel. I also like the idea of being able to choose the color. Something in a neon green or amber should fit my bill. I just hope that when I get them that they don't cut off like the cheap valve stem type lights. Not to mention the valve stem type lights were terrible in cold weather. I figure it's worth throwing some bucks at just to see if these are any better. Sometimes you gott'a roll them dice. I'll post back if the results are good.

I know that you've already ordered but.... I agree with vol's post above ^^^^ I've been using 'Nite Ize SpokeLit' spoke lights (http://bit.ly/TN13iS) for about a year now and haven't had any problems. You can find them at any LBS and on Ebay/Amazon as well.... They take (2) 3V CR2016 batteries which you can purchase inexpensively by the card on Ebay or Amazon. You can easily install and remove them and they grip really well. I don't really ride in rain.. (I live in So Cal..where it rarely rains).. so I don't know about a good waterproof test. I run mine on strobe for the most part so that it conserves battery life. Along with my Cygolite front and rear lights, Cars and pedestrians see me...... I've seen the combo literally stop people in their tracks. (which in my opinion is needed)

Okay, some good points here. Even though I've already ordered, I have two bikes, and this just covers 1/4 wheels, so your suggestions will certainly come in handy in the future.

Totally agree about the lightness and simplicity...

I also think that MonkeyLectrics are cool, but very much for show

I've seen the "Nite Ize" before but they really didn't impress me. If you leave them on the bike they look funky. The Rimfires are kind of funky too but have a more impressive output. Good that you can take the Nite Ize off easily. Anything that uses button cells is a pain but I'm willing to make that sacrifice if it is something that is non-problematic, is bright, has a small foot print and can be installed / removed in a flash. If it is something that doesn't look too geeky that is even better. Push-come-to-shove, the geek factor gets trumped the more impressive the output is. However, if I can use something that blends well with the wheel during the day and yet still get me seen at night that would be nice. That's why I've chosen to give the Atozi's a try. I'm thinking one green and one orange for both wheels might look interesting.

Don't know what you mean by "funky", but they look pretty much like the regular spoke reflectors, very inconspicuous, so less worry about theft if leaving them on. My only complaint is how hard one needs to press the button to turn it on and off. The stiffness varies among individual products, but some of them are so stiff that it is almost impossible to turn them on with fingers. Once on, they are great, especially in very dark surroundings. Not only for side visibility; even when looking from the front or behind, as long as you are not in direct 0 degree angle, they are visible, too, because of the brightness.

Well they work and they're bright...nuff said. Wheel lights are great. Nothing shouts, "BIKE!!" like having two wheels with colored lights going around in circles. Like you said, they are very visible at almost every angle. I just ordered the Atozi's. I should have them around the 10th of July.

Well they may be bright enough, but Spokelits are not bright compared to Monkeylights, not even close.

Well of course they're not. You can't compare the output of a single LED to something that uses multiple LEDs and displays a graphic. That would be like comparing a keychain light to an HDTV. If your intent is just to increase your side visibility at night a couple single leds on the wheel will work fine. They work even better if you use at least two per wheel ( the more the better ). The Monkeylites are great but have the drawbacks of being heavier and having mounting issues. If you want your wheel to remain balanced you will need at least two per wheel. This of course adds more weight to the wheel and this also of course means more money will have to be spent. This is not something that most people want to deal with just to get seen from the side a little better.

My road setup already has great front and rear lighting. Even without any additional side lighting the bike is visible from the sides to a limited degree. Increasing side visibility doesn't mean you have to add more heavier objects to your bike. There are always smaller, lighter options that will, "get the job done". Finding the best compromise is the way to go ( IMO ).

Do the monkeylites only shine on one side of the bike? (232)?

No, they shine on both.

Revolights see this: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...the-revolution About 2:30 into the film the light show begins.

Too much fanciness/complexity can be distracting to both drivers and oneself. Even when I used the disc-o spokelit (whose color constantly changes) I found myself frequently watching and admiring the lights themselves. I used to have them on the rear wheel, so I kept looking back. Now I moved them to the front--at least I don't have to keep turning back. :D

Apparently we agree, then, that the Spokelits are not bright compared to the competition (which is the context of this thread). If you feel they are 'bright enough,' I won't argue that point, but I do not agree, and feel the increased brightness of the Monkeylights greatly improves not only side visibility, but off-angle visibility. And that's not to do so much with number of LEDS, but the low electrical power available to the Spokelits.

I also do not agree that the Monkeylights require pairs to balance properly. It was true for the 1st gen units, particularly at high speeds, but the hub mounted battery packs of current offerings virtually eliminated the balance problem.

I don't own one of the Monkeylectric lights but judging from the installation video ( of the 210 model ) "balance" might be an issue. I can't say absolutely for sure because I don't own one. They do say on the video that you need to mount the battery case "in line" with the light unit to maintain balance and while this makes sense to some degree I can't help but wonder that even when installed per instructions if the wheel will maintain it's balance, particularly at speed. The battery case straps to the hub via two plastic tie lock straps. Once the wheel starts moving I can't help but wonder how well the battery case keeps it's place ( once rotational inertia kicks in ).

A couple things are very clear with the Monkeyelectic's. They are very bright and very cool to look at ( at night ). Downside is that mounting is not easy on / easy off. This means you aren't going to want to take them off for day rides unless you have a good supply of the black plastic straps on hand and don't mind the fuss. Otherwise, be prepared to look at them on your wheels during the day.

I hate having to look at the Rimfires on my bike during the day but taking them off would be way too much of a inconvenience. At least the clear plastic of the Rimfire battery hub is not too noticeable when the bike is moving. There are some minor balance issues with the Rimfires so getting it all to work is not always easy. This is why I'm continuing to look for a simpler solution, one that is easy-on / easy-off yet still bright enough to draw attention.

Yes, I see what you're saying. It's true that 'easy on/off' is not part of the Monkeylectric repertoire, but then, does any wheel light system offer that?

I picked up two spokelits, but it looks like you need at least 4 to get a good "Tron" effect going

The Atozi spoke lights came in today. Haven't had a chance to try them on the bike but here's my initial impression from just trying them inside the house. The Green looks very nice and is quite bright, much more than the orange. Turns on/off with ease. The only problem as I see it might be keeping them in place. They just slide onto the spokes but there is nothing really to prevent them from coming loose ( although the bottom has a magnet. ) Not a big problem as I could easily just use some tape if I want to to be on the safe side. While they might hold their place without tape I'm not sure I want to risk it. Can't wait wait to try them on a ride.

If I can get them to slide over the spoke nipple they might be more secure.

I saw those on E-Bay, interesting. Why did you select green and orange? Supposedly you can only use amber for side lighting in America, it's the same law that applies to cars as it does to bicycles, but I don't think cops will care. I like the idea of it, and their a lot lighter then the ones that go on valve stems, just not sure how practical they are yet.

Instead of tape why not use very small zip ties and tie them on and cut off the excess?

Will they fit on bladed spokes?

Let us know what you think of the quality of the light, I bought a pair of button battery powered bar end lights and they were junky to say the least.

Anyway, let us know how bright they are at night, a video would be great but I/we understand if you can't do that.

Side and wheel lighting are one of those evolving issues that are going to change laws simply because the social acceptance of the devices are starting to become more common place. So far I've only seen a hand full of cyclist using wheel lights but I've seen many motorcyclist using colored side lighting. Green and blue being the most popular.

In retrospect this reminds me when decades ago it was considered unlawful if someone tried to watch a T.V. from the front seat of a car ( when portable T.V.'s first began to be marketed ). Now the whole "driver distraction" mentality is changed. Basically it was just one of those laws that no one wanted to bother to enforce. Now people have CD/DVD players on their dash, I-pads, smartphone's, tablets, laptops..etc. Somehow, someone figured it was impossible to stop technology once they "let the cat out of the bag" :innocent:. This is why cell phone laws for cars are completely stupid and make no sense. I see people everyday talking on their phones while driving, playing with tablets, smartphones, GPS's etc. This and I live in a state with ( supposedly ) strict cell phone laws. The kicker is, I routinely see the local Co. police talking on cell phones while driving ( sans blue tooth devices ). I guess they figured out the same thing I did; blue tooth headsets are a PITA and no one ( but anal lawmakers ) gives a hoot anyway.

I've been using the multi-colored rimfires for a good while now. I've seen police on a number of occasions. They do what everyone else does, namely "just gawk"as I ride by. Wheel lights for bikes and motorcycles "should be legal" because they really attract attention which of course increases rider safety.

If someone were anal enough to haul me into court for using colored wheel lights I don't think I could stop myself from laughing. If I was told I couldn't use them I would just go out and use the Monkeylectrics. Since they display a video I would argue that they are no different than those mobile Video advertising trucks I see driving around. ( shades of Blade Runner ..:innocent: ) Shouldn't be too long before almost everyone riding at night starts using wheel lights. ( not that a lot of people are riding at night anyway ) Still, people are well, copy cats for the most part. "Monkey see, monkey do". I'll not worry about the green/orange wheel lights unless I start getting warnings.

In the mean time almost every bike store I go into sells cheap wheel lights. Might take a couple years to get more popular but the more people use them the more people will want them.

Before we get to wheel lights, how about everyone making sure they have front and rear lights!

EXACTLY!!!! There are very few people where I live that use even reflectors not alone front and rear lights! Really there is no excuse today for not using lights because LED technology has made this very affordable for everyone. I asked the police captain here about why they don't give citations to riders that ride without lighting or reflectors, and he said that if a cyclist is hurt or killed at night without lights or reflectors it will automatically be the fault of the cyclist regardless who was really at fault.

In the 10 years that I've lived here and of all the cyclists I've seen I am the most lit up rider in the front and the third most lit up in the rear...big deal, out of 1000 or more cyclists that I've seen only about 25 to 50 even had lights! An maybe another 50 that had reflectors. I do know there is a single track group that goes out at night and those guys have some really strong front lights, but they don't travel the roads or bike paths, they park their vehicles at the single track entrance and ride from there.