Bright Rear Lights

[Quillfred]

The other day I was driving home, I know I shouldn't confess this in the Commuting section) when I saw this intense flashing red light about 100-150 feet ahead. It was on the back of a commuting bike.

Does anyone know if lights like this are commercially available for bikes? It was extremely effective for visability. What are the brightest rear flashers people know of?

I hope it wasn't just a motorcycle light that was modified.

Thanks

Quillfred

[Adventure Girl]

http://www.teamestrogen.com/products.asp?pID=22737

Was it something like this? There are LOTS of red blinky lights available.

[xeney]

Someone at bikeforums.net posted photos of a test of a Cateye TL-LD1000 (http://www.cateye.com/en/product_detail/280) (or whatever it's called), and I could not believe how bright it was from 1/4 mile away. I bought one and it is easily the brightest bike light I have ever seen. You can't even stand to look at it when it's on.

[pooks]

Tres cool. It's on sale at REI, too.

http://www.rei.com/online/store/Search?storeId=8000&vcat=REI_SEARCH&query=cateye+TL-LD1000&x=0&y=0

[KnottedYet]

Oooh, nice.

Darn, I've already gone way over my bike budget! (I have a Nite-Ize, which is fine for the non-dark I ride in, so I shouldn't be gazing longingly at the Cat-Eye)

(but I can't help it)

[annie]

Here's a really bright light for a bike. I use it on the back of my BOB. It's so bright, it's almost blinding to anyone following right behind. :eek: I have a Cateye something-or-other on the bike. It's great. I've been impressed with most of the Cateye light products.


http://www.reallite.com/RLHome.htm

annie

[Nanci]

I had the Cateye TL-LD1000- and was quite unhappy with it. It is so heavy that it is difficult to mount on anything soft- like a seat bag. (Can't aim corrrectly and goes flying off) So I put it on the holder on my rack that is made for lights, and it broke that off! I really needed it for a ride, so had it electric taped to the rack, and it was quite unreliable- turning itself off and on.

Right now I have two of these Cateye TL-LD600 Tail Lights-
http://tinyurl.com/oatyv - one on each seat stay, vertically, and another rectangular six-LED light that lives on the bike permanently. At night I use all three, plus a blinky on the back of my helmet.

It's pretty important to have the lights aimed correctly (horizontally) so they are easier for drivers to see- make sure they aren't pointed up or down.

A friend I ride with has a three LED light that is so bright it's impossible to ride behind her, almost. I am trying to find out what it is- I'll let you know.

Nanci

[Nanci]

http://www.serfas.com/lights/TL-1000.shtml

Ride buddy says this light is visible at one mile away as tested on a night ride on a paved trail. Around $29.

[Fredwina]

I've got a dual TL-LD600 set up. Saw lot of bikes set up like that at The Furnace Creek 508, too.

[xeney]

I had one of those TL-LD600s, but I gave it to my husband and he mounted it vertically on his seatpost. On our first night time ride together I was really horrified by how not visible it was. Horizontally, you can't miss it. Vertically, it seemed to really disappear. Fortunately (!) he left it on the bike and somebody stole it.

[pooks]

xeney -- where/how do you have your cateye TL-LD1000 mounted?

I ordered a couple -- one for me and one for my husband. They won't arrive for awhile, though. I took advantage of free delivery to the local REI and that always takes longer.

[xeney]

Well, it's not mounted anywhere at the moment, but I just had it attached to the seat post. Like pretty much all CatEyes, it doesn't mount well to a rack or anything, so I use an old Vistalite on my commuter. But as far as seatpost-mount lights go, the LD1000 seems to be the brightest I've found.

[nuthatch]

xeney -- where/how do you have your cateye TL-LD1000 mounted?

I ordered a couple -- one for me and one for my husband. They won't arrive for awhile, though. I took advantage of free delivery to the local REI and that always takes longer.

I've got the 1000 mounted to my Brooks. Luckily, the Brooks seat has the little metal tabs for seatbag mounting and I just bolted a crosspiece between the tabs (from my son's old erector set!) and the light snaps securely over that thin crosspiece and never moves a bit.

I don't know how many lights I've watched (or heard) go skittering down the road - it seems like they all get shaken off unless they're snapped into their own mounting system on the seatpost - which you can't use if you also have a seatbag as well as panniers.

[7rider]

I have that Cateye 1000 on the seatpost of my commuter. It's great and very bright. I've never tried to move it or mount it anywhere else. It's there year 'round....set it and forget it.
I had a Vistalight (don't recall which one) that I used to mount to the daisy chain around my panniers (Performance brand), but it disappeared on day. I don't know if someone lifted it in the parking garage where I lock my bike, or if it went flying during the ride home.
I prefer the secure mount of the seatpost, so long as your saddlebag or panniers don't block it.
I've been pondering that mini Cateye with the rope attachment - http://www.performancebike.com/shop/Profile.cfm?SKU=17624&item=40-1724&slitrk=search&slisearch=true - to put on the zipper of my REI sling bag for a light high-up.

[Geonz]

I like my reallite even though I've abused it to death, I think. The guarantee is almost worth the purchase price; if I send the pieces back, especially with a good story, it will be replaced. (Guarantee is effective against armies of killer bees, among other things.)

[pooks]

Here's a review of another one:

http://hiawathacyclery.com/blog/?p=98

[JmcG]

I have the Blackburn Mars 3.0 and it's super bright - it also has side lights on it so that you can see me if you're coming up to an intersection. (Scroll down to see it or click on Mars 3.0)
http://www.blackburndesign.com/lights.html#mars_3

I also put a small light on my bag - one of the Firefly Supernovas from RoadID. It is really bright, and small enough to clip onto my bag.
http://www.roadid.com/firefly.asp#supernova

I ride a lot in the dark around here and it's scary on dark roads to not have bright enough rear lights, especially with how aggressive people drive around here. I almost hit a biker last night b/c he was dressed in all black and he did have a rear light, but it was so dim that at first looked like just a reflector until I looked over when I passed him and realized it was just a super dim light. Scary! I'm super cautious with bikers too, except when I don't see them, then I don't have enough time to react (and I was driving slowly too, probably around 30 mph coming up on him). On the same road, just about a half mile earlier there was a lady riding with super bright rear lights on both her bike and her bag and she lit up the road - it was great.

[TsPoet]

I know a guy who has one of these
http://www.angletechcycles.com/notsausage/techass.htm
STP last year, he was the only person I could pick out in the throng of people - all day long. I don't know about night.
I *think* the angletech source is still just the light and you have to go to an auto store or something and get a mount. So, I plan on ordering from Technical Associates when I get around to it.
https://secure.techass.com/el/raven2/raven2.php

[Velobambina]

Someone at bikeforums.net posted photos of a test of a Cateye TL-LD1000 (http://www.cateye.com/en/product_detail/280) (or whatever it's called), and I could not believe how bright it was from 1/4 mile away. I bought one and it is easily the brightest bike light I have ever seen. You can't even stand to look at it when it's on.

Right on. This light is fantastic. Lots of options--different flashes. You can run both switches for super bright or just one switch for bright. Works great.

[Quillfred]

I want to thank all who responded with great suggestions and ideas. I think it is a very important topic to bring up here as visibility is so important.

As I am soon to be gainfully unemployed in 12 days, I have put most purchases on hold. I will be running as many errands as I can via bike so I might have to get something sooner.

Quill - The Safety Queen