Saw the USE stand at Ruthin last weekend & was impressed by the kit on display, but was a little taken aback at the price of the Flare rear LED lamp – £40 for a battery operated LED unit.

Is it that good? Is it worth the extra ££££ over a £10-£15 rear LED light?

Yes, it really is, it’s phenomenally bright. I’m really impressed with it, definitely getting one for winter commuting.

It’s very bright but the side visibility’s poor. Not a bad concept but terrible execution- designed to sell to people who say “Ooh that’s bright” without really thinking about the total effectiveness (and they could definately have made a more visible light, it’s not rocket science) Brightness isn’t the same as visibility. There’s an awful lot of good lights out there and they almost all cost less, as well as being self contained.

The whole point of a rear light is to get seen.
I’ll be using my cateye grenade and smart 1/2 watt for the foreseeable future, as i can’t see the point in 1 bright light when two (or more) serves purpose better

well i must be one of the first in the country to have one 🙂 and all i can say is it oozes quality, it is super bright and therefore super super visible regardless of whats said above, the flash spans out the red lighting not just directly infront of the light but within feet to either side of you bike at the rear, if thats not visibility i dont know what is. You CANNOT miss it! seriously, it is dear but i think its worth it, its really solid, nice bracket an mounts/unmounts in second! im chuffed with it, oh and its fully waterproof too! worth it in the long run?!?!?!? yes i’d say so as long as it doesnt fall apart 😆

I can accept the side visibility isn’t it’s strong point, so perhaps it’s not ideal for city riding, but for being seen from a long way away it’s the best I’ve seen.

yeah, i suppose thats its weakest point you are in a city pulling out of junctions etc on busy roads. But for me that isnt an issue, more country roads fully unlit for miles, so for me the brightness is absolutly most important, like i said in pitch black, looking at directly behind it gives a good few feet off either side of the bike when mounted on a seat post, it really is that bright….and on country roads etc they WILL see you a mile off! it just is a lovely piece of machined kit though…if it lasts me year 3 years then its been worth the initial 40quid payment for sure!

It’s ace. Jo came over the other night with one as it’s a gorgeous little thing. It’s pretty much a stand alone red eye with a cool clamp.
I’ve got a red eye and so’s my wife. They are stupily bright which is all you want. The Flare has better side illumination than the red eye but I’ve never had a problem being seen when using it.
Tim

“so for me the brightness is absolutly most important”

It’s not quite that simple- a very bright, small source is much less visible than a relatively dull, broader source. That’s why so many LED rear lights sucked for so long (and lots of bolt-in motorbike brake lights are worse than the 50p lamps they replace). Any half decent light will give a good level of brightness to the point where adding more isn’t that much of an asset- you can see a Cateye 610 or similiar from a very, very long way away.

Ive just got a Exposure red-eye Mk2, which is basically a Flare that plugs into a Exposure front light. The light is very bright, and side visibility isnt that bad, certainly WAY batter than a Mk1. I think the best bit is the pool of light it throws on the ground, its quite impressive. I am disappointed there is no angle adjust built into the lights tho, bit of a error.