RNAV

I'm having difficulty finding something that meets my criteria, and I'm hoping y'all can help me out.

I ride primarily in the morning and often find myself riding into a rising sun, which makes me extremely difficult to see for motorists. I am looking for a super-bright rear light that would help me be visible under such conditions. But, I'm looking for something that has some sort of aiming capability. It doesn't matter if the light puts out 500 lumen, if it's angled toward the ground it's not going to make a difference. I want to be able to aim this into the motorists' view.

With that in mind, here are my criteria:
1. Super bright (i.e. 60+ lumens)
2. Seat post/stay mountable (or some otherwise clean installation)
3. Angle adjustable
4. "Aero" to some degree . . . I'd like a clean-looking install, not some drag-inducing brick hanging off the back of my bike
5. Self-contained (I don't want it to need an external power source)

I really like the look of the knog blinder r, but it's not angle-adjustable and so the light just shines on the back wheel/ground. But that's a good example of the kind of cleanliness I'm looking for.

jkuper

Light and Motion VIS 180

roadwarrior

I use the Serfas Thunderbolt taillight...now it is 35 lumens but I could see it from a mile away (rider was with me who also has one)...straps on to the seat stay, USB rechargeable (which reminds me )...steady or flash and two levels of brightness.

I also have the headlight.

bikerjp

For the price, this is a great light. Very bright.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005DVA57Y/

achoo

Dinotte.

DiNotte Lighting :: Ultimate Road Bicycle Lights

Not cheap, though.

runner pat

+1
I have two on my handcycle. At 300 meters (measured), rising sun shining directly into the lens, they were still brighter than a car brake light at the same distance (though the source point was smaller). If money is no object, lights by Dinotte seem to be the gold standard.

ETA: ninja'd by achoo

Dunbar

60 lumens isn't crazy bright IMO. I have a Dinotte 300r, not cheap but it's bright. They make a daytime only 400r that IS crazy bright.

The Cygolite Hotshot is pretty bright but beware the brightness falls off precipitously once you get off-axis.

gsa103

+1.

Definitely one of the best taillights. Very bright, excellent beam pattern, very uniform illumination. Many of the really bright taillights have significant hot spots, which is both good and bad. If a motorist sees a hot spot, you're very bright, but if they're not in a hot spot, you're pretty invisible.

10 Wheels

Dinotte is what you want...Here it is against the Sun.

chaadster

RNAV, the Dinotte 300 is what you need; riding into the setting sun is a very dangerous situation, so arm yourself well.

If a compromise is needed/required for some reason, given that you like the Blinder, you should check out the Knog Road R. It's brighter than the Blinder, and has angled emitters to compensate for seatpost angle.

banerjek

Very decent and an excellent value but not crazy bright. You need to drop more coin for crazy bright.

Dinotte is crazy bright.

10 Wheels

The Hotshot is not that bright,,I have one.

sijray21

Pretty happy with my PDW Danger Zone rear Blinky. Really bright, 3 settings, and small/aero if you place it behind your seatpost. $35 or less depending on where you buy it from.

Check out the reviews on YouTube to see it in action.

Brian Ratliff

The Light and Motion stuff is good. Rechargeable Li-ion is the way to go.

Brian Ratliff

1+

Vis 180 - Choose Your Light

The big one works better than the "micro". I've got both.

runner pat

Did you check that it's adjusted to full brightness? All the ones I have were at different levels when I first got them.

Ridelots24

Few years ago during a group ride one back light was dominant out of 4 lights. Dinotte.
i paid ~180 for my 350 lumen light but has a measurable difference on how traffic yields to me when in use.

with this age of 'texting' and easily distracted driving this wasnt a hard choice to make when it's about safety.

Dinotte - Dinotte - Dinotte.

JohnJ80

Concur. If you are worried enough to be seen that you are looking for something like this, then you need the real deal.

I also think that having a sharp edged pop to the flash is important. On that I would rule out the vis180. It's got a gentle pulsating type of light.

I have a Dinotte 300R and, while it is fairly directional, if the car is lined up on you, this will burn through the glare. I doubt that a 60 lumen light will do.

My other suggestion is a Niteflux Red Zone 8. In flash mode, it will put out 800 lumens but it is anything but a directional light. In point of fact, it will put out light in front of you too. That said, 800 lumens as a point source bright light is going to come through very well against the sun.

FWIW, I have both the Dinotte and the Red Zone 8. In both cases, I observe the phenomena of cars slowing down and going way wide with both lights. You get different behavior out of these than you do out of any of the battery powered blinkie style of lights.

I also have a Knoog blinder - it's another blinkie style light and nothing more.

J.

Brian Ratliff

Good for visibility; bad for avoidance. It is very difficult to track a bright, flashing light during the dark. A "jitter" (steady light with a flicker every couple seconds) is a better strategy. A gentle pulse is the next best strategy. I like it.

Dunbar

I thought it was pretty much implied we're talking about daytime visibility. A cheap blinkie is adequate in the dark IMO. I wouldn't dare turn my 300r on strobe mode at night. That would just be cruel to anyone driving behind me.

banerjek

Correct, but it also costs only $30. I think it's an excellent choice for urban commuters.

For dealing faster traffic and lower visibility conditions, I'd go with something brighter.


I don't favor cheap blinkies anywhere since they are next to invisible in most conditions. Having said that, I agree that the Dinotte is way overkill for in town riding. But if you're riding on rural highways in storms or other bad visibility conditions such as bright sunlight, it's what you want.

For in town riding in dark and overcast conditions, there are a number of decent choices for less than $50.

dave5339

I run Dinotte lights on all my bikes. I run a 300R and a 400R on different bikes. I run them day or night as I want to be SEEN by traffic.

I ride early morning in full dark, commute in early mornings and late afternoons, (sunrise and sunset) and on my long rides might be out any time of the day.

I've had folks tell me that they saw the 400R at over a mile.

Yes if your riding in a group, people will complain that it's too bright, I'd rather it be too bright than get smacked by a semi some morning out there at 0400.

And if you shop the used market, sometimes Dinotte's come up at stupid cheap prices.

Semper Fi

Dunbar

Cheap blinkies are fine in the dark as long as the batteries aren't close to dying (I've seen my fair share of that BTW.) During the day you need a lot more lumens to be seen, especially in direct sunlight. During the day I alternate my Dinotte 300r between steady flash mode and obnoxious strobe mode depending on how visible I want to be. I do not agree that the Dinotte is overkill for in town riding in direct sunlight. I'd say the 300r is pretty much the minimum amount of light that I'm comfortable with during daylight. I am surprised that we haven't seen some cheaper alternatives to Dinotte rear lights at this point. Just look at how ridiculously bright LED headlights have gotten in the last few years.

JohnJ80

This is for visibility during the day. That said, where do you find the information that on the flashing vs slow pulse stuff? I've not seen that anywhere.

What I've seen, and it's evident with both my high powered tail lights (and widely documented by other users), that the super bright tail lights evoke different behavior in drivers: They slow down significantly and give cyclists much more room. I'd have to believe that is contradicts your statement on flashing vs pulsing unless I'm not understanding what you are saying.

J.

surgeonstone

This^^^
I have the 400 lumen ext. battery rear. People see me from over a mike away and give me a much wider space, day or night. It's expensive but it's also the best piece of equipment out there to keep u alive.