I think the supernova rear takes a DC voltage feed from the supernova front light, which is why it isn’t compatable with other systems ( unless you supply your own DC voltage ) and it also means it uses the front’s standlight function.

I have the E3 triple on the front, and am now considering the rear to add to the bike as well.

I run a B&M Seculite Plus on the back of my bike – a single bright LED with standlight. Claims to be light enough to fit to a mudguard but mine is on a rear rack. Has lasted many winters – I turn my lights on in September and turn them off again in April.

I back it up with a flashing LED – just to be sure.

I think the supernova rear takes a DC voltage feed from the supernova front light, which is why it isn’t compatable with other systems ( unless you supply your own DC voltage ) and it also means it uses the front’s standlight function.

Yeah, that is correct – surely it’s not beyond someone to take the AC supply from the front light and do the conversion in an LED rear light? Having just invested in the B+M front light, I don’t really fancy shelling out again (though I do lust after the E3 triple front/E3 rear combination…… ;-))

Trout to the forum, perhaps……

fwiw. its not worth spending loads on rear lights. just buy several cheap lights. more light is better then one big bright light.
i use a variety of Smart 1/2W and a cateye grenade and a couple of the cheap (£2!) flashy things from tesco

If you’re worried about water ingress, try one of these:

Knog bullfrog

You may of course be opposed to Knogs frightfully sexist advertising though. Terrible!

may I be the last to suggest that super-bright is not helpful, front or back ?

+1. Did no-one actually read this?

oh, and get some of the reflective ankle straps – the uppy/downy pedalling motion really stands out.

+1 or this?

….. Far too many people round here rely on dim lights and reflective kit – by far the ones that get widest avoidance are those who’re piercingly brightly lit.

I don’t think the suggestion was ‘dim’ lights – people riding with only a couple of those emergency back up lights are nuts BUT you don’t *need* to spend huge amounts on commuter lights. Katie and I spend a lot of time riding around together so I get to see what our different lights look like from a distance – the dynamo powered lights on the Bromptons are show up as well as anything when coupled with some reflective.

Don’t rely only on flashing – it makes it difficult to judge distance and speed. Flashing on the back as a secondary, or in half light, is ok but only on the front in an emergency.

Fairly low end, but quality, LED lights (Cat-eyes from around £30) are now fine on front and our 5 year old Vistalight Total Eclipses are great on the back. On the rest you’re paying for construction and long lasting rechargeables.

What you really want to *avoid* is huge amounts of unfocused light – front or rear – which is what a lot of homebrew/chinese/off road focused lights will give you. There was a guy I used to end up behind sometimes with some hugely overpowered single LED rear (might have been a Dinotte) pointing straight back that would leave me nearly blind for 30 seconds after I passed him.

Personally I’m now on an Exposure front and rear with a Vistalite total Eclipse as a secondary rear (if i run the front down enough to have to go to flashing I can use this on it’s own) plus reflective ankle bands and some silver scotchlite on my helmet.

Funny you should say the normal lights are a poor design, I’ve had one of these
Cateyes for must be 8 years.. was main commuting light, now is on my pack. Not as bright as the Smart I now have on the bike, but seems pretty bombproof to me.

The only rear light I’ve killed was a Blackburn Mars 3, left the cheapo batteries in over the summer and they leaked.

I think it also depends on the visibility you are looking for as well.

To me, if you in an urban setup, then you’d get better visibility from a large wide angled light which can be seen from all around.

For me though, I benefit more from a focussed beam I think. My commute is mainly along straight-ish unlit roads where cars are approaching from a considerable distance … I want them to see me from a long way away. At the moment, the 1/2 watt smart lights fit that bill perfectly for me.

Cycling home with a friend of mine, he peeled off and I carried on. He said he could see the light really well for about 1/2 a mile away … which is what I wanted.

Evans were doing a good deal on the exposure flare recharge pack – excellent lights. As mentioned above back it up with some cheapish lights in other places, I have 3 upfront and rear, plus hi viz vest.

simons_nicolai-uk, i read it, and i disagree. i drive a van for a living (often at night), and you know what happens when i see a really bright light on a bike? shall i tell you? i SLOW DOWN! yeah, it can be annoying, but it doesn’t lead me to speed up and plough into the cyclist!

of course, i commute with several lights, some bright, others less so.

. As far as the cabling goes, it might be less awkward than you think if you can follow a rear brake or gear cable.

That’s what I do for my rear dynamo light, along top tube, then down rear brake cable. Mine is a homemade 1w red led light, sits on top of the mudguard, was dead easy to make, cost about 3 quid, but has no stand light, so I have a cateye backup. If I bought one I’d get a b+m one.

To the original poster, the people saying dynamo are totally right, modern dynamo hub systems are by far the best commuter lights you can get, at least if you need to ride on unlit roads so need something bright enough to see by.

Joe

If I bought one I’d get a b+m one

Yeah, but all the B+M ones have massive reflectors on them (to satisfy German regulations IIRC), which basically rules them out of seat post mounting. The E3 rear is just so neat – maybe homebrew is the way forward – care to ellaborate? 😉 Oh – and I thought the rear output was regulated to 0.6W – how do you use a 1W rear LED? (NB: may be a sensible answer here – genuine interest…..)

isn’t a Smart 1w made up of two 1/2watt leds?

Vistalite total Eclipse

Great light. Had four of them, the best in class when they were released but all now sadly dead – was a pain undoing the screws to change batts tho

Vistalite total Eclipse
Great light. Had four of them, the best in class when they were released but all now sadly dead – was a pain undoing the screws to change batts tho

I picked a couple up on eBay for peanuts long after they were discontinued. Screws are a pain but that’s the screw together construction with a decent seal is the reason they’re so weatherproof.

Just bought and fitted one of these after someone on here pointed me towards it.
Much brighter than my last crappy cheapo light and I actually noticed the cars keep their distance on my last commute! 3rd mode flashes between led’s so quite easy to notice.
And a bargain too.

The Moon Shield 60 looks like an interesting option:

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/moon-shield-60-rechargeable-rear-light/

I currently use a pair of Smart R1s. They’ve not been through a winter yet, but I’ve not had any trouble in the wet. I tried hard to justify the Flare, but it seemed a lot to pay when I could get a pair of R1s and a load of AAA rechargeables for less money. Plus the R1s come with better mounts.

What’s wrong with having them mounted to a rack, it makes the most sense IMO.

What’s wrong with having them mounted to a rack, it makes the most sense IMO.

That’s fine, if you have a rack…. which, I don’t…. and don’t plan to (don’t go far enough for panniers – tried them and didn’t get on with them anyway, but that’s another can of worms that’s been kicked around enough)….

Can’t say fairer than that! Looks like you’ll have to pony up for a pair of Supernovas then. 😉

Can’t say fairer than that! Looks like you’ll have to pony up for a pair of Supernovas then

Beginning to seriously consider it……… 😕 😆

The E3 rear is just so neat -maybe homebrew is the way forward -care to ellaborate? Oh -and I thought the rear output was regulated to 0.6W -how do you use a 1W rear LED? (NB: may be a sensible answer here -genuine interes t…..)

My light is a red Cree led, soldered directly to a cheap bridge rectifier chip from maplin. Whole lot is glued to the back of a white plastic 20mm lens holder. The lens holder is glued into a piece of old alu seatpost. Two wires out the back for the power (i had a spare extension cable that came with my lights). It mounts on the mudguard top by kind of clipping between the two stays where they poke up, plus some gaffa tape as a backup.

On the back of my b and m lights, it has two sets of outputs. I think one is for a second front light, one is for rear light, can’t remember which I used, but it appears to put out enough power – the dynamo is limited to 500ma, so it isn’t running the led at full power, but that doesn’t matter.

You could get a bracket like this: http://www.amba-marketing.com/products/136-buschmuller_rear_seat_bolt_dynamo_light_bracket.php
It lets you attach a rack light to your seat bolt. I used one with a B&M dynamo light for a while, works fine (though I now have a rack).

Thanks Joe – I will look into that a bit more. Getting the full Supernova set (would all colour match nicely 😉 ) is looking like the way to go IF I can be bothered to move away from rear recharagables….

I agree with Coffeeking. I used the Hope District all last winter and it’s the only light I’ve had where cars slow down behind me and wait to overtake, don’t know if they think it’s a motorbike braking or are a bit dazzled but as long as they’re slowing down it’s good for me….

I, on my cycle, was behind a cycle yesterday with an array of flashing lights, some of which were the RSP ones I think.

They were so freakin’ bright that it affected my eyesight for the worse. It is like one of those annoying cars with their rear fogs on, but worse as they are flashing

I am not sure these uber bright lights are sensible – I am guessing that the cars that slow down and pass slowly only do so because they can’t judge the distance to your light properly and then are passing you with reduced vision, which isn’t really desirable.

They may be going slower but if they can’t see you properly then a slow car is still going to do a lot of damage if it hits you…

This nightmare scenario where car drivers are dazzled by high-powered rear lights to the extent where they become totally disorientated and plough into a cyclist that everyone’s so concerned about?

Has it ever actually happened?

not that I know of, but the situation where the person behind is so p1ssed off at being blinded by someones rear lights that they stop the rider in front and put said lights out of commision was pretty close the other night.

Why have dazzling rear lights ?

I assume that a rider with such lights would not complain when a car driver fails to dip his lights from full beam when approaching them and would just accept the impairment to their night vision for the next 10 minutes or more.

I have to say, even the quite ridiculously bright rear light I run isn’t anywhere near as bright and dazzling as the 21w bulb in the brake light on my car, or even the 10w bulb in the rear light.

Joe

Mars 3.0 for me as well had it for years now, it’s super tough and last ages and is bright as ***k as well.

If I had to replace it I’d get a mars 5.0 or a flare, but it’s not showing any signs of giving up.

I have the Smart 0.5W rear and whilst it is very bright the quality is poor, as they just aren’t properly waterproof. There is a notch in the body to open the case, but the seals don’t take account of this and water gets in, meaning the light will not change mode, and randomly turn on and not turn off etc. Would be OK with a good rear mudguard and under the saddle.

well as a follow-up from my original post… I’ve taken a close look at Hope District 3, Moon Sheild 60, L&M Vis 180.

and I’ve gone for the latter 2. the L&M Vis180 and the Moon Sheild60.

The Hope is a quality bit of kit.. I just think it’s overkill and possibly too bright and overbuilt… (but I might change my mind if these other two fail me)

I’m giving the Moon and the L&M a go since they are both well made, both Micro USB chargable (using my work PC/Electric to do the honours most days) and they are bright but not crazy bright (L&M = 70 lumens, Moon = 60 lumens)

my only concers with both lights is regarding their mounting, as I’ve heard/read that these are not great… so I’ll see for myself if these are problems.

I will let you know how I get on with these.. and will try and take some indicative photos of their effectiveness in use, and compare them to the reference point of a Smart Lunar 0.5w.

Smart and Cateye are not reliable enough in the depths of winter imo… water ingress and sub zero temperatures kill them…. thus pretty useless as a commuter light in proper winter conditions.

After daily use through 4 winters mounted on seat post, including plenty of sub-zero rides, I have found Cateye LD600 perfectly reliable with excellent battery life from 2 AAAs. The SP-6 bracket or equivalent is a much better clamp than the pathetic ‘one size fits all’ thing originally supplied with the light.

Can’t see the point in spending more. The upgraded version TL-610 is supposed to be brighter but I don’t see much difference.

just wanted to draw your attention to the title of the original post.
it didn’t ask for the bargain rear lights… nor the ok rear lights…. it was asking for the dogs boll*x rear lights….you know, those really really really good ones, that probably are far to expensive for most people to bother….

kind’a like the asking which is the dogs bollox of these cars Porche 911 GT3 or Aston Martin DB9 and being told how reliable the 2006 Skoda Octavia is.

thanks anyway 😯

Meow, Saucer of milk for misterT ?

Did you explain all the unlimited budget? Nope. As for you analogy …. You asked for a dogs balls item for commute … I’d rather have the skoda …. It’s probably the most reliable car ….

A dogs balls light for commute is one which is going to work time and time again….. So hence the replies, don’t be putting em down

Hope you enjoy your light.

Ooooh, get you!

Did your mum not teach you proper? Glad I don’t drink in your local.

I apologise from the bottom of my soul for encroaching on your domain and providing a different experience with one of the the lights you had dismissed as crap.

This was as much for the benefit of someone else that may be lurking as anything. IOW I just think you don’t need to spend a big wodge on a rear light.

I’m sure Skodas are very good cars.

The VIs 180 can’t handle UK weather.