Fibre Flare.

Now I do like the look of those. What batteries do they take and how long do they last? That’s what has always put me off buying one.

fibreflares

all my local shops stopped selling them due to water ingress isues.

The full-size (29cm) one that I use takes 2xAAA batteries and Fibre say that it runs for around 75hours on flashing mode, which seems feasible as mine is still going strong after much use.

Some reviews (Edit: and trail_rat 🙂 ) will mention worries about water ingress or wires breaking. Not my experience. I used mine through commuting last winter in all weathers including torrential rain and it was fine. The wires breaking issue seems to be people that ignore the big warning message saying don’t bend the light in two.

tis a shame because i like the concept.

water ingress

Probably depends where you place them and whether you run mudguards…

Back of seat-post with a guard stays very dry.

Hope District here. Have had other cyclists and motorists comment on how bright it is (in a positive way). Wouldn’t be without it now for commuting through the dark months.

^ this – I run one too, very bright when set in ‘high’ mode, but just angle it down very slightly.

I run mine on my seat stay – though I do have a rear guard. The batteries go in either end. You pull back the rubber end caps back to put them in – I would imagine if you don’t replace the rubber properly or if it gets stretched/damaged then that would let water in, but as I say, no issues here.

Good reviews on road.cc and london cyclist too:
http://www.londoncyclist.co.uk/fibre-flare-bike-light-review/
http://road.cc/content/review/11907-fibre-flare-shorty-led-rear-light

The comments on LondonCyclist do suggest putting vaseline or grease on the seals. And keep the switch part at the top.

The Fibreflare is really impressive (leaks aside)- there’s lots of bright lights but the sheer size of it makes it so much more visible. Quite a lot of small, superbright lights are far too directional, and the smaller the lightsource the less useful it is for judging distance etc.

Moon Shield 60, or Use Exposure Flare are really as bright as you need.

Other than that, i’d say the “lit area” of the light is more important than having a single bright spot. It doesn’t get lost in the traffic or obscured so easily, so maybe add those Fibre Flares lights too.

I’ve been using a Light & Motion Vis180 for the last couple of years on a dark rural roads commute. Not cheap but very effective. Can be seen from a good distance and the side flashing encourages drivers to pass wide.
Not so sure it would be worth the money for an urban commute though. Ankle reflectors, reflective clothing and a mix of fixed and flashing rear lights probably best in town.

psling has it – aldi tomorrow has spoke reflectors in – they are worth it big time , i get loads of comments on how visible i am with them.

also flashing reflective ankle bands – gonna get some more of them this year and use them on my wrists so its clear when im indicating.

Fibre flares are good for visibility, I have had two die from water damage though. A bit pricy for something so fragile.

PDW Dangerzone here. Liking it a lot.

I have just fitted spoke reflectors to the commuter and they do seem to make a difference to visibility. I also Have valve cap Lights too so you get a kind of reflective blue flashing wheel effect.

I have 2 long Cateye 5 LED jobs on the verticals of the rack, (1 fixed one flashing) and a small smart LED on the back of my helmet.

But I will probably pick up some Phaart ones while they are on offer from On-one

I have just fitted spoke reflectors to the commuter

I quite like reflective sidewall stripes on tyres, like on the Conti “Relfex” tyres:

Nice big reflective area, very obviously a bicycle, and much more durable than spoke reflectors (and a bit less noddy-looking as well).

Sadly Conti, in their wisdom, don’t do a reflex version of my commuting tyre of choice, the GP 4 Season (though they do for the GP 4000). Not sure why.

I’ve got the dinotte 140r – amazing light but a real phaff to mount
still wouldn’t ride without it..

hmm, lezyne micro drive looks pretty neat too.

I’ve got one of these, the sealing’s quite bad and it’s developed a faulty microswitch, so the red battery level indicator comes on all the time – not impressed. Occasionally it also develops a fault where it won’t switch off and you have to slide a business card in to disconnect the battery momentarily and re-set it, I just sprayed some silicone grease in there in the hope that it’ll sort out the switch. Also, the mount isn’t adjustable for angle and while the fit in the bracket is secure enough when used carefully, some people seem to lose them easily, mine has a mini-Velcro strap as a back-up.

I also have a Moon Shield 60, which is much better ime. That’s what I’d go for. If you own an Exposure Joystick, a Mini Redeye on the back works well as a helmet rear light, but you need to tie it onto the light to stop it getting lost.

Graham you are thinking of the shit spoke reflectors

Tires are good too

I use the Hope district, for two reasons. One, it’s awesomely bright. Two, it allows me to use one battery for front and rear light.

When I saw awesomely bright I mean too bright to look directly at.

An LED light on the helmet and one on the seatpost for me.

I also use spoke reflectors and my rear Landcruiser has a reflective strip.

That looks pretty good trail_rat, are those the Aldi reflectors?

Do they fit flat/bladed spokes?

bigG – Member

When I saw awesomely bright I mean too bright to look directly at.

Is that good? I like it when other road users can look at me.

They are aldis yes they might fit bladed spoke but not sure . Don have any blade spokes to try here im afraid

They are 2.99 for a pack and a pack does 2 wheels

As i said people notice them – say it looks like tron that is jaynes bike ive stuck extra reflective tape on it as well. From ebay.

Cheers at that price I might as well grab some and try.

Not sticking reflective tape to my good bike though!

Me either. But i want jayne to be safe 🙂

For anyone hoping to get a moon 60, everywhere seems to be out of stock. I placed an order with these guys as they have a good price but 2 weeks later they tell me they have none until mid October… Website still says IN STOCK 😕

Now on the hunt for something else as i need one this week ideally…

I’d highly recommend the Exposure Flare

Really bright, but not so bad that car drivers can’t look at you. Rechargeable batteries – I charge it at work.

I have one ziptied to a large ortlieb saddle bag, and it’s my perfect rear light. I’ve got a small cell battery clip on light on the back of my helmet and I stick that on when I feel especially vulnerable.

Home made dynamo powered, and fitted with very bright red LEDs. Not pretty, but functional and always on. Not sure what the lumens count is, but they certainly leave a good pool of light behind.

Nice, Mow.

My Knog Blinder Road R turned up yesterday – very impressed. It’s the 70 lumen version (there are 44 lumen options too) and I stuck it on the driveside seatstay, at the height of the brake bridge. It’s a decent size, not too heavy and nicely made. There’s a clear polycarb strip running around the edge of it that emits a bit of a glow. The combination of the regular LEDs and the CREE one at the bottom is substantial – especially in some of the modes.

I have to say that I genuinely felt drivers giving me more room, waiting behind me (Friday night, back end of rush hour but not mega busy) and kind of proved it when I was following a guy (ok, he overtook me 🙂 ) on one of the arterial roads into town who had a regular LED under his saddle that was perfectly acceptable. He was probably about 50m in front of me when I was overtaken very nicely by a van. When the van got to the guy in front he noticeably squeezed past him, didn’t even seem to adjust his pace. Maybe it was just psychological but on a good half a dozen occasions I felt like I’d been given a wider berth than normal.

Charging seems easy on it – plug in the USB extension and off you go. Unfortunately the strap’s a little long for the seatstay but I’ve padded it out with a rubber strap. That aside, I’m looking forward to using it more over the winter.

+1 for Knog. I’ve got one of the smaller 4 LED lights, and it really is a well made bit of kit. When I got it I wasn’t sure about the mount, and didn’t use it last year, but I’ve tried it over the last week and haven’t lost it yet, and my commute has some riding of bumpy fields.