It seems the Axiom has more modes than the Serfas, 7 versus 4?
For the Serfas clothing clip, I just wrap a rubber band on the clip to make it hard (almost impossible) to slip off the clothing/bag.

Title says real serious tail lights. I run two Whelen TIR3 lights. One Amber One Red and they are synchronized. Power is a very small 12 volt battery and I get about a hr run time. These are serious and one local police officer pulled up next to me and asked me where I got them. I told him Galls, I don't have to go with low bid like you. He laughed. I have them on a toggle switch and use them sparingly when I feel the need in certain circumstances or traffic areas. This isn't the first time I have posted about these, have had them for several years and they do work great and they are very serious.
TIR3™ & LIN3™ Series Super-LED® Lightheads - Whelen Engineering Automotive

Since you ordered a DS500 light, then you can try this for ridiculous taillight setup.

If I am not mistaken, the DS500 is capable of 11.1v battery pack. Now that being said, you can also mount a emergency light bar above the DS500 and running it off the same pack as the DS500. Mount high enough so that it will be distinguishable from the DS500. You may have to DIY a bracket that will place it a 6 to 12 inch above the DS500 or your rack.

To sweeten up the package. install 2 Axiom Pulse 60 down lower than the DS500. One on each seat stay shall do.. I personally have the Axiom Pulse 60. I know they can shine the ground behind you fairly well (way better than a Hotshot) and yet still retain a good narrow beam. It actually getting to be one of my favorite tail light and I replaced all my Hotshot with the Axiom.

To top it off, add another Axiom Pulse 60 to the back of your helmet.

By now you will have plenty of light that have a large area lit and fairly noticeable including the ground. If they do fail and you get run over, then the bright side is that you will no longer have to turn all those "!@#$%" light on and off nor do you have to "!@#$%" charge them all the time.

Here is a video demonstrating the Dinotte Daytime Red vs DS-500 Designshine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRpxpCRV7tA

Yeah, that's what I was originally thinking, and I may go that way eventually. I'm going to try the DS500 for now. I don't have to ride those roads until spring of 2016 so the DS500 will do for now.

I have had these lights for about 5-6 years and used them all year long rain snow you name it. This is why they are mounted on the front grill of the local EMS/fire service, they can switch them off when they get a new vehicle and can operate in all weather.

I've been using a Dinotte 140 as my primary taillight for many years. When I got it, it was about the brightest available. Altho there are brighter lights now, my Dinotte 140 is still working and I can't justify the expense for replacing it. My Dinotte is bright enough to be visible in daylight and is crazy bright in the dark. It is like having a red headlight on the back of my bike.

That said, it has a few drawbacks. It has a separate battery pack with 4AA cells, which will hold a charge about 3-4 days (7.5-10 hours). The Velcro strap that holds the battery case has worn out, so I have to carry it in my seat or rack bag, which it barely reaches. I can get a replacement from Dinotte but it's not worth cost. The 140 is designed to mount to a seatpost with no other options provided by Dinotte. I have rigged up an alternative mounting since my seat and rack bags block my seat post. I have constructed mounts using 1" PVC pipe screwed to the rack mounts on the seat stays of my bikes, and I attach the Dinotte tail light to the pipes similar to how they mount to seatposts.

I probably should replace my 140 with a Dinotte 300-400, and they will give me a $30 trade-in discount, but just don't feel like spending that much on another tail light because LED lights have been improving so much. My ideal tail light would have the following features:

- Brighter than standard blinkies such as Superflash, Radbot, etc.
- Decent visibility from the sides.
- Rechargeable with USB fittings.
- Battery life that would last at least 10 hours between charges.
- Attachable to a Tubus rear rack or with Planet Bike mounts.
- Fittings so light could attach to seat stays if needed.
- Cost less than $100, preferably under $50.

So far, I haven't found a light that meets those specs. The Cygolite comes close but doesn't fit Planet Bike mounts, and apparently its side visibility is not so great.

Currently I have a couple bikes set up to deal with having to share roads with cars. Both combine a 3W amber light on either side of the rear with a pair of TL-200's clipped side by side on the back of an Arlel rack bag. The amber lights have shaped beams and paint the road behind the bike. I run those day and night and just add in the TL-200's after dark.

On the touring bike a custom installation adds them to the back of a Thule rack. On the fat bike they're mounted at axle level which has the added benifit of lighting up the rear wheel. Although the lights themselves aren't all that visible from the sides - the road surface and wheel area they paint yellow definitely catches the attention of motorists and they give me lots of room.

Lipo batteries will hold their charge for a month, NiMh for 30 days and alcaline for years. Personally I like packs I can plug in and swap out.

I had a Dinotte 140R a few years ago. It's not any brighter than several lights I have now though.

For that level of brightness (which really is quite good) I think the way to go is a Magicshine - for $30 with a Y adapter and hook it to the same battery that my headlights use, it's absolutely unbeatable value for money. I've been using the MagicShine on and off for 3 or 4 years now. I don't seem to be able to settle on one light package, I like to move the lights around.

I was just reading the manual for the Designshine taillight which should be showing up at my house tomorrow. All I can say is, I'm glad it has many brightness levels available. It has warnings like "do not shine the light at your skin at close distance (1/8") - the light is bright enough to burn your skin."

They have a chart of power levels that should absolutely only ever be used in the daytime.

still a work in progress though, not perfected

Probably not quite there yet in terms of feature set yet - although close. For example, on paper, the Lupine Rotlicht hits a number of these bullets but is $125. So to get to this at <$100 is probably another 6 months. To get to <$50 is probably another year to 18 months. At least that's my guess.

J.

IMHO, the weakest link for almost all tail-lights is the mounting system. I absolutely do not understand why manufacturers find this so difficult to address. Nearly all tail-lights are designed to mount to seatposts, which is useless for most cyclists who use a seatbag or racktop bag. This is baffling to me because I would think that commuters and tourers would be among those most likely to buy a really nice, powerful taillight -- and many or most of them would not be able to mount a light to their seatposts. Even if not commuting or touring, many cyclists use saddlebags that block their posts.

Dinotte seems to be the only light manufacturer who has addressed this issue, and they provide a range of different mounting options for their 300-400 series taillights. However, the one mount they seem to be missing is one that would attach to the back of a rear rack, which would be my preferred location for a powerful taillight.

Also Nightflux with their Redzone 4 and 8. Very flexible mounting system using a velcro strap.

J.

Good points. Can you show us Dinotte mounts?

What do you think is a good mounting system? The bike shares of Citibike in NYC have tail lights on both seat stays, down near the rear axle. They're pretty low, but I think they work well enough. Maybe this should be the new direction, at least for bikes without fenders.

Also, it would be nice if tail lights had fender mounts as options.

The eight clamp options provided with the Quad Taillight - for different sizes or shapes of seat posts and seat stays - are similar to what I got a few years ago with my 300R. I've mounted the 300 on the seat stay or on the lowest exposed part of the seat post (after I found an accommodating seat bag). I don't use the "clip" mount; I use the four-screw mount so if I want to leave the 300 behind I would need to unscrew the seat post clamp.

The DesignShine seems to have a very robust mount system - I particularly like the fact that when you install the light on the bracket, it prevents the quick release from flipping up, and to release the light from the bracket you have to depress a plunger on the side.

It does only have bar mount options, but I have no problems fabricating other mounts since it has threaded screw holes on the unit, I can make whatever bracket I need and screw the light to it.

I was wondering about the Nightflux lights but their website doesn't really show how the mounting system works. It "looks" like it would be easy to mount to a rack, but it's hard to tell from their photos and descriptions. Also, their website doesn't really explain the differences between their 4 and 8 models, or I missed it.

First run with my DesignShine light this morning. Extremely pleased. It has modes that I think are very effective at night, and some truly frightening modes for daytime use that I haven't tried yet.

It's hard to tell for certain because were already days when everyone passed me wide, but today everyone did definitely pass me wide. I actually had to pull over a couple of times on the ride this morning because my 10 second rule was invoked (if anyone is behind me for > 10 seconds I stop and let them by. This morning I had a guy in a van behind me for > 10 seconds, even though there was no oncoming traffic in a 50 MPH zone with clear roads. I pulled over and he crept by me very slowly. Shrug.).

The design is superb, the mounting excellent, the programmability is great; you can even program your own flash patterns if you like, though what it comes with is pretty good.

I am totally happy with what I got for my > $200. Well worth the money, an excellent design.

It'll be a year before I ride it on the road from hell, then we'll really see it it's worth it.

Ten Wheels and I and other riders in our group have the Dinotte 140R's. I don't think that you can get much brighter. I know that they are brighter than a cars brake lights! The newer version has two LEDs for a little more umph.

The 140R is not that bright. OK, it's plenty bright, but it's nowhere near the brightest thing on the market. It's supposedly around 140 lumens. The Dinotte 400R is 400 lumens. The DesignShine DS-500 is 800 lumens - 5 times brighter than the 140R.

The DS-500 would be really quite dangerous to run in brightest modes at night. It lights up an entire room bright enough to read by. The top modes are only intended for daytime riding.

My 140s are as Bright as ANY Out There..

Here They are with the Evening Sun

This is a 2012 comparison that I think shows the Design Shine is indeed brighter than the 140.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDt1x_0cvUo

Poor Test...Do one from 1/2 mile back from the lights in The Day Light on a real road.

I am with 10W! I have been able to see the light at 1/2 mile in the daylight on the highway.

Wow, that's what serious tail lights mean, huh? I guess I'm not serious enough, but I'm OK with that.