OK, having moved to the Yorkshire Moors where everything decends to a misty/rainy/foggy half light at 6:00pm, even in July, I’m begining to see the appeal of a stupidly bright rear light. Blackburn Mars is bright, but not bright enough apparently.

Exposure flare looked good, but having seen them in the flesh, and everyone seems to break the mountings off and resort to sticking them in the camelback webbing (this is for a road bike so no backpack).

Any seriously bright alternatives that don’t cost 4x what a DX front light costs?

Cheep’n’cheerful option would just be to stick a red filter infront of my old DX light and fassion some kind of ‘eyelid’ shield like classic car headlamps to direct it down at the road.

Troute? Any chance of a ~500lumen red LED light as a one off?

How about on of these Magicshine rear light clicky

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhCy0UiE0OY&feature=player_embedded[/video]

Darn it, too slow… 😳

thisisnotaspoon

the flare is exceptional, and the mount is absolutly brilliant and simple…ive used it a since they were released up the peak disctrict 3 nights a week in the winter and its never once failed me – i cant see how the mount can fail, its a silicone band…..the light is super super super bright and well made – its endured the worst possible rain, snow, mud the lot and still doesnt miss a beat! mounted on the back of seat post and id give it 10/10 people following me say it blinds them so thats good enough for me!

O_W,

I agree they’re good, but I’ve seen loads with snapped bands or hooks (maybe some people are just careless) and my current Mars light is equaly bright enough to anoy people riding behind me on singletrack (I turn it off off-road as a result) but in the kind of misty half light I ride on the road in it just doesn’t seem visible to car drivers, or if it is they don’t aknowlage it by giving more room.

Tempted by the DX light as it would mean a spare battery/charger which seem to be the week points people find with the front light.

fair enough – but its often misty/foggy where i ride even in summer 😆 and ive not had any problems with visibilty – the silicone band is simple and strong- i cant see how you can snap it to be honest for mounting/unmount – but there ya go, some people are perhaps a little heavy handed…

the district looks great but its a ridiculous amount unless you are really really paranoid about being out in the fog etc etc

The dealextreme one looks great VFM

Yea, and I definately fall into the ham-fisted camp. If I was looking for a new rear light for night riding they’d be top of my list, but I’m definately looking ering towards paranoia/fog light/visible in daylight teritory. And with the DX one I’ll be able to wire it up with the front light and never have to wory about chargeing seperate batteries etc.

I’ve been riding with a Dinotte 140L for a few years (140 lumens) and thats been very good. Creates a large red pool of light behind the bike, along coutnry lanes the cars can see the red glow before they can see the bike. I don’t do too much road riding anymore, so its on ebay (although with the front light as well) if you’re interested.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300578492917&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT

Definitely feel like people slow down and allow more room with a super bright light anyway.

ohhhh, tempting

I have an Exposure rear light and think it’s brilliant. It’s survived last winter of commuting, and few bike parts did. The band might perish and it can be a little tricky with freezing cold fingers, but it’s great to be able to remove and fasten it so quickly.

The light itself is mega bright and can be seen a long way away. People often say how they can see it so far away and it gives them something to aim for, but once on my wheel it’s not disturbing or blinding(yes, I get caught a lot..)

Looking for a decent rear light myself. With the Exposure light how long do the battery’s last and are they expensive when replacing?

cheers

I have the exposure too and it’s great. There’s no voltage regulator so you’re best buying some rechargeables and a charger from dealextreme. This way you can have a fresh battery and max output each ride.

Protected batteries don’t fit so buy the normal ones

I’ve attached/detached mine hundreds of times, even when it was -10 and the band didn’t snap so you should be fine. I attach mine to the back of my helmet, which it puts it right in a driver’s eyeline

Cheers RicB what type of batteries and charger am I looking for on dealextreme please?

WF-138

Batteries

Or similar batteries

Just be warned the charger makes a fairly unnerving high-pitched squeal when it’s charging!

excellent, thanks for the links. Now ordered.

Cheers

my magicshine ones just arrived, bloomin heck it’s bright! On off switch/mechanism is pretty cool too, not sure why it needs 5 modes but they’re easy enough to cycle through.