CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Tag: rear lights

CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Tag: rear lights - Recent Posts http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Tag: rear lights - Recent Posts en Wed, 13 May 2026 05:34:59 +0000 CJC on "Brighter rear lights for non-streetlit roads" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=17110&page=2#post-237768 Wed, 30 Nov 2016 13:28:58 +0000 CJC 237768@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ @Arellcat thanks for the tip, I've just bought a slightly different Knog one from Planet X. My current rear light needs switched on by using a paper clip because the button fell off at some point! Frenchy on "Brighter rear lights for non-streetlit roads" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=17110&page=2#post-237754 Wed, 30 Nov 2016 11:48:02 +0000 Frenchy 237754@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ Ta! acsimpson on "Brighter rear lights for non-streetlit roads" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=17110&page=2#post-237748 Wed, 30 Nov 2016 11:40:36 +0000 acsimpson 237748@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ @Frency, the black one seems to be £16 while the red one is £11. Frenchy on "Brighter rear lights for non-streetlit roads" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=17110&page=2#post-237718 Wed, 30 Nov 2016 10:15:33 +0000 Frenchy 237718@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ Now £11! PlanetX must've bought a job lot of them. Also some Lezyne/Moon-knockoffs with strange names. Went up to £16 in between me loading the page and adding it to the basket. fimm on "Brighter rear lights for non-streetlit roads" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=17110&page=2#post-237711 Wed, 30 Nov 2016 09:46:03 +0000 fimm 237711@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ Well I invested in an Exposure Flare a while back but because of Reasons I only got to try it for the first time yesterday. I do like the pulse mode, and viewing it from behind it is a lot brighter than the other two lights I've got, which is all I really wanted. It is a bit bodged on to the rear rack, though, as it is designed to mount on a seat post. However the bodge seems to be OK and I have ways to improve it. Dave on "Brighter rear lights for non-streetlit roads" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=17110&page=2#post-237709 Wed, 30 Nov 2016 09:03:14 +0000 Dave 237709@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ That does look like a neat light... big surface area is the winning factor IMO. I was just going to comment that while driving to work the other day I noticed a super awesome bike light up ahead. When I caught up with the rider I'm pretty certain it was a B&M Toplight line plus (potentially battery version). The very greatest rear light I've seen was the Philips saferide, but I think they might be OOP: <a href="http://www.philips.co.uk/c-p/SRRBLRBBX1/led-bike-lights-saferide" rel="nofollow">http://www.philips.co.uk/c-p/SRRBLRBBX1/led-bike-lights-saferide</a> crowriver on "Brighter rear lights for non-streetlit roads" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=17110&page=2#post-237676 Tue, 29 Nov 2016 22:12:57 +0000 crowriver 237676@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ There have been some great deals on PlanetX site recently. Picked up front and rear light set (batteries included) for a fiver! Plenty bright too. Good deals on leather saddles, lights, all kinds of stuff right now. Arellcat on "Brighter rear lights for non-streetlit roads" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=17110&page=2#post-237675 Tue, 29 Nov 2016 22:00:47 +0000 Arellcat 237675@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ Now £11! PlanetX must've bought a job lot of them. Also some Lezyne/Moon-knockoffs with strange names. Arellcat on "Brighter rear lights for non-streetlit roads" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=17110&page=2#post-237467 Fri, 25 Nov 2016 21:24:43 +0000 Arellcat 237467@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ Yesterday I finally managed to catch up a cyclist whom I'd seen a few times already to ask about his fantastically bright-but-not-blinding rear light. It was the Knog Blinder MOB V Kid Grid, and <a href="http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/LIKNBLVKIDRE/knog-blinder-mob-v-kid-grid-rear-light">currently PlanetX are selling it</a> for £13 instead of £35. Fine for seatpost mounting; pannier racks (and torpedoes) would require invention. ih on "Brighter rear lights for non-streetlit roads" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=17110&page=2#post-235750 Sun, 06 Nov 2016 19:44:04 +0000 ih 235750@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ Not only weren't flashing lights legal until 2005, but any led light wasn't legal (as the only light) until the same year. You had to have an incandescent bulb as your main light. Leds could be used as supplementary lights. Looking at Wikipedia into this question, I was intrigued to find that in Germany, any bike overy 11kg had to have dynamo lights until 2013. Apparently this is one reason that Germany developed particularly efficient dynamo lights. chdot on "Brighter rear lights for non-streetlit roads" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=17110&page=2#post-235746 Sun, 06 Nov 2016 18:43:22 +0000 chdot 235746@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ "around 1991" Sounds about right. About the time I was told 'white LEDs are impossible - they'll always be a bit blue'. rbrtwtmn on "Brighter rear lights for non-streetlit roads" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=17110&page=2#post-235745 Sun, 06 Nov 2016 18:29:37 +0000 rbrtwtmn 235745@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ For those interested in on my question about the Highway Code etc... This gave me some useful pointers... <a href="http://www.cyclinguk.org/cyclists-library/regulations/lighting-regulations" rel="nofollow">http://www.cyclinguk.org/cyclists-library/regulations/lighting-regulations</a> Looks like flashing became properly legal as main lights not until 2005 (amendment to Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations) <a href="http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2005/2559/pdfs/uksi_20052559_en.pdf" rel="nofollow">http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2005/2559/pdfs/uksi_20052559_en.pdf</a> So the remaining question is when they became popular. Anyone remember? I think I was using them around 1991 to supplement a dynamo - but memory isn't my strong point. That would make it about 15 years of popular use before made legal. chdot on "Brighter rear lights for non-streetlit roads" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=17110&page=2#post-235728 Sun, 06 Nov 2016 10:35:50 +0000 chdot 235728@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ Of course a key transition word was halogen. chdot on "Brighter rear lights for non-streetlit roads" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=17110&page=2#post-235726 Sun, 06 Nov 2016 10:10:39 +0000 chdot 235726@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ As Arellcat points out, there was a period between the old 'dark' ages and the 'modern' LED period. Better bulbs, batteries and indeed reflectors. There was also the transition from lights being on brackets fixed to front forks or headset to handlebars. Previously lights were too heavy to reliably fix to bars. So now it's possible to easily change where lights point and switch the brightness up or down. Whether many/most light beams are now designed 'properly' is another matter. wingpig on "Brighter rear lights for non-streetlit roads" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=17110&page=2#post-235725 Sun, 06 Nov 2016 10:08:17 +0000 wingpig 235725@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ My twelve-to-fifteen bike had a bottle dynamo on it. Can't remember why I didn't shift it over to the bike whose frame is still up in the loft when the downtube snapped - maybe it required a brazed-on fitting. Min on "Brighter rear lights for non-streetlit roads" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=17110#post-235724 Sun, 06 Nov 2016 10:03:59 +0000 Min 235724@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ Ed1- they weren't bright enough. You couldn't see a thing except that the side bits cast a shred of light on anything at the side of the road that might look as if someone was permanently jumping out at you. They didn't eat batteries as much as you'd think-not bright enough. Edit- slow typing, chdot and Arellcat got in before me. Arellcat on "Brighter rear lights for non-streetlit roads" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=17110#post-235723 Sun, 06 Nov 2016 09:57:01 +0000 Arellcat 235723@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ Last week on MMW I was following a cyclist who had a Lezyne Femto Drive rear light. It was set to the half-second flash mode, and when it was on, I was fairly well blinded and couldn't see anything else, like pedestrians. wondered how were front lights bright enough to cycle on unlit roads before LED lights, if the lights were blubs and did not flash must have ate batteries? They did eat batteries, and most lights weren't very bright. If you had money, you bought the 5W/10W Vistalites with the MR11 dichroic reflectors, and you had a big lead acid battery, on a curly wire, and you had perhaps an hour's run time. Later ones had Ni-Cd battery packs, which were lighter but gave you no more run time until 4400mAh cells arrived. If you had less money, you bought a 1.5W/6V halogen light and you owned a stack of AA rechargeable cells. This was also super power illumination because anything was better than the Ever Ready lamps that ran on D cells (which were good for being seen and almost useless for proper dark riding - even the posh red one with a Xenon bulb). You had a few hours of run time, and you carried spare cells for when it ran out on your way home. If you were inventive, you took your 1.5W halogen light, put a 3V bulb in it and overvolted it to 7.2V with an external Ni-Cd battery pack. That way you had huge brightness and good run time, at the expense of bulb life. When white LEDs arrived there was no contest for the being-seen lights. chdot on "Brighter rear lights for non-streetlit roads" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=17110#post-235722 Sun, 06 Nov 2016 09:53:25 +0000 chdot 235722@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ "wondered how were front lights bright enough to cycle on unlit roads before LED lights" One simple answer is that they weren't. People who cycled at night for 'utility' tended to be quite slow and used familiar roads. 'Keen' cyclists were likely to use dynamo lights, which were brighter than the simple battery lights - and obviously didn't need batteries. It's also the case that car lights were much less bright than now, which I think has an effect on what riders and pedestrians can see easily. gembo on "Brighter rear lights for non-streetlit roads" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=17110#post-235721 Sun, 06 Nov 2016 09:50:23 +0000 gembo 235721@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ @ed1. My pifco front light cast a very dull glow. You bolted a metal bracket onto the front fork quite low down, this stuck out a bit and used to catch me on the shin. The lamp (it was massive to accommodate the huge battery) slid on and off the bracket . The battery was a huge ever ready with paper covering. Best to take the battery out of the light when not in use as the battery tended to leak acid and destroy the light. This was quite possibly forty years ago, so some progress. chdot on "Brighter rear lights for non-streetlit roads" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=17110#post-235720 Sun, 06 Nov 2016 09:43:08 +0000 chdot 235720@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ "I've always meant to work out how long it took the Highway Code to catch up with red flashing back lights. Anyone know." Some years, but it needed a proper law change not just an amendment to the HC. I wonder if anyone was ever prosecuted, the police realised that they were a 'good thing'. gembo on "Brighter rear lights for non-streetlit roads" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=17110#post-235719 Sun, 06 Nov 2016 09:34:08 +0000 gembo 235719@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ @rbrtwtmn in the early days of this forum I recollect perhaps erroneously that the flashing non flashing discussion used to cite the Highway Code. If true the change to the Highway Code (confess I was not aware of the change) must have been recently. I have a Cateye VoLT 300(I think, the digit has rubbed off but not their higher end) plenty bright enough for WoL path in darkness, though the unlit dog walkers do loom and if someone with a cateye volt 800 comes up behind the whole area becomes floodlit which I am guessing must dazzle the dog walkers and dogs. I have spare strip light from recent Aldi. On back I have cherry bomb style on helmet then various other wee lights on seat post. One constant the others blinking. I set the cateye VoLTE _00 to the mode which is constant with a blink on top which I like. This light has about 11 different settings which is bizarrely large number but hey something for everyone and you find your favourite and then it remembers it and you just switch the light on or off. At the moment I can also rotate using bit of force the entire light plus fitting to dip it or put it on full beam as necessary however I broke the first generation of bright cateye USB front lights by doing that so not advisable, there is probably a way to work through all the settings to do this but faff with gloves on. I was in the lighting dept of John Lewis yesterday. Still open but only way in or out appears to be the very bottom door down towards Picardy place. (Lot of cars parked on the pedestrian zone where you can buy quality churros from a stall, cathedral open for business and the oldies don't like to walk in the cold, similarly guy in Range Rover running his engine outside the galleries in the pedestrian area, to keep himself warm)… returns to the lighting dept. I purchased a 300 lumen led bedside lamp with intergated bulbs from them and was told it would last twenty years. It last d about a year. I took it back without receipt and due to product recall was given my money back, they tried to give me less as the light had been reduced after I bought it but I negotiated them up to what I paid for it. The replacement is basically a B+M Dynamo front light on a stick. With rope instead of flex?? 330 lumens and adjustable so light can be directed. Not a thing of beauty but functional and five year guarantee. The point if anyone is still awake - the lighting sales dude who knows a lot about lighting, was bemoaning that the light that broke has not been replaced as none of his other lights did what it did all at the same time a. Looked good b. Spot light. C. Cast light all around the room. Subsidiary point, we are happy now to spend fair bit of money on bike lights where the bulb cannot be replaced (see wingpig's reference to Duracell light he has kept in case he ever finds a bulb for it) but the customers of John Lewis are very wary of doing the same in their lamps. Integrated led without replacement bulbs not yet big seller (product recall not helping) but they are way brighter than Eco-bulbs and the 300 lumens is instant, no warm up, same as led spotlights. Further point - how will John Lewis customers cope with just the one door? My resident expert John Lewis watcher feels people will not make the long trek down to the one door. The shop seemed as busy as ever in the run up to Xmas. I did not establish whether the click and collect option I favour is still available. The collection building behind the cathedral being original to the area prior to building of st James centre. But roads looked a bit locked up due to the demolition. Ed1 on "Brighter rear lights for non-streetlit roads" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=17110#post-235718 Sun, 06 Nov 2016 09:07:04 +0000 Ed1 235718@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ I am not young but only started cycling a couple of years back and wondered how were front lights bright enough to cycle on unlit roads before LED lights, if the lights were blubs and did not flash must have ate batteries? rbrtwtmn on "Brighter rear lights for non-streetlit roads" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=17110#post-235717 Sun, 06 Nov 2016 01:51:34 +0000 rbrtwtmn 235717@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ Speaking of all this - I've always meant to work out how long it took the Highway Code to catch up with red flashing back lights. Anyone know. Younger folks might not realise but these were illegal for a long time I think... in that if I remember right the Highway Code specifically banned the use of a flashing light. When (practically) did red flashing lights become easily bought - and when did the HC change (as everyone had decided to ignore this rule)? Have always thought this is a good example of something changing and the law having to catch up. Ed1 on "Brighter rear lights for non-streetlit roads" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=17110#post-235687 Sat, 05 Nov 2016 12:14:54 +0000 Ed1 235687@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ What is a good front light for unlit country roads. I currently have cat-eye volt 300 which is bright enough to get home with but have to go slow down hills or on unknown roads with pot holes chdot on "Brighter rear lights for non-streetlit roads" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=17110#post-235468 Thu, 03 Nov 2016 10:44:06 +0000 chdot 235468@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ "One day I'll find a working bulb for my Duracell lockable rear light and compare modern lights to what I used to trust myself to on unlit swervey country roads." Quite remarkably what 'we' used to accept as adequate. The 1st gen rear LEDs were quite an eyeopener! PS on "Brighter rear lights for non-streetlit roads" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=17110#post-235467 Thu, 03 Nov 2016 10:43:04 +0000 PS 235467@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ LED traffic lights are the worst. Some models are FAR too bright and glarey I'm a big fan of LED traffic lights. For a slightly colour blind punter like me they're way easier to differentiate from other streetlights etc than older and dimmer traffic lights. neddie on "Brighter rear lights for non-streetlit roads" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=17110#post-235465 Thu, 03 Nov 2016 10:38:13 +0000 neddie 235465@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ The reflective vests/jackets with the 2 thick bands over the shoulders and the 1 thick band round the waist look amazing behind a set of headlights. Impossible to miss (assuming you are looking!) Roibeard on "Brighter rear lights for non-streetlit roads" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=17110#post-235463 Thu, 03 Nov 2016 10:27:09 +0000 Roibeard 235463@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ Try the non-dynamo version <a href="http://www.bumm.de/produkte/akku-ruecklicht/toplight-line.html">TOPLIGHT line</a> B&M have a variety of lights with "<a href="http://www.bumm.de/innovationoriginal/linetec.html">linetec</a>". I don't read German, but apparently Google does. Robert geordiefatbloke on "Brighter rear lights for non-streetlit roads" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=17110#post-235462 Thu, 03 Nov 2016 10:25:45 +0000 geordiefatbloke 235462@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ I'm waiting on a delivery of one of these: <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/embrooke/the-blaze-burner-the-best-back-light-for-bikes" rel="nofollow">https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/embrooke/the-blaze-burner-the-best-back-light-for-bikes</a> Whilst much delayed, if it delivers what is promised I think it looks a decent rear light. wingpig on "Brighter rear lights for non-streetlit roads" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=17110#post-235461 Thu, 03 Nov 2016 10:22:48 +0000 wingpig 235461@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ Cliplessness is no barrier to rearward reflectivity about the feet: <a href="https://flic.kr/p/NHreBB"><img src="https://c6.staticflickr.com/6/5749/30661311261_df33fbe6e4_n.jpg"></a> I have loads of reflective tape in yellow, red and white if anyone wants a few bits. Whilst my rear B&M dynamo-fuelled rear lights are very bright, they're quite low down on the end of the mudguard, so I have a Smart Lunar R1 on flicker mode on my undersaddle bag (or the light-clip on my bagflap if there's something on the rear rack, or on the back of the childseat if the thing on the rear rack is a childseat rather than just some shoping). Both mudguard and saddlebag wobble, hopefully increasing noticeability. One day I'll find a working bulb for my Duracell lockable rear light and compare modern lights to what I used to trust myself to on unlit swervey country roads.