maartendc

Hello everyone,

I decided to invest in a good set of "be seen" lights for my road bike, since on my weekend rides I tend to have to share the road with cars quite a bit. (I wish I could do all dedicated trails, but I can't).

I got the Knog Blinder R70 taillight, because of its 70 lumens rear brightness, which is good for grabbing car's attention even in bright daylight. Very pleased with it so far. Well built and bright. Easy to fit on the bike.

Now I'm looking for a front light to grab attention "be seen" as well. Something
- Small, easy to fit on the frame (NOT a full on headlight, I don't ride at night with this bike)
- Blinking mode
- Bright
- Preferably decent battery life

I'm looking at the Knog Blinder Mini Chippy, since I am impressed with the build quality and brightness of the Blinder R70 I got for the rear.
https://www.knog.com.au/blinder-mini-chippy.html

But it is not cheap, and so I am wondering if there are better alternatives out there?

Thanks!

Dchiefransom

Is the tail light adjustable so it's not angled down when attached to the seat post? I'd get a flasher for the front that is brighter than 20 lumens for daytime and use the strobe feature.

squirtdad

+1

mcours2006

To be see I'd recommend a light that has a wide beam/dispersion. I've got a Lifeline brand 300-lumen light that was great for this. Bright enough to grab attention and bring enough to see as well, though my route is well lit.

WNCGoater

+1 on the Cygolite Metro 450. Very bright flash mode in bright daylight. Some say "irritatingly" bright. Bright flashing lights are present on all manner of vehicles from school buses and motorcycles to emergency vehicles and garbage trucks. There's a reason, THEY GRAB ATTENTION of other motorists. I'm not very worried about irritation. At night would be a different story.
The Cygolites are bright. Battery life is good (rechargeable) I've ridden 112 miles and it was still blinking after a full day. I usually recharge after every two rides which vary between 40-50 miles usually.

maartendc

I've actually got it mounted right below my seat post clamp, so it sits pretty much horizontal, it works fairly well from what I can tell looking at the back of my bike.

Thanks for the suggestion, I will look into something brighter. They also make a larger version of it which is 80 lumens, should be good for daytime use I think.

That is a valid concern, but mostly for night time. Ive got a Sigma light on my commuter bike which is German safety standard approved (STVZO or something), and it is great. However, for daytime use I dont care if it annoys cars, I need to be seen!

Thanks for the recommendations. I have heard good things about Cygolite in general, but all of their lights are fairly large and the "headlight beam" type, not just simple blinkers. I am looking for something a bit more unobtrusive and lightweight for daytime use only. Most of the bigger ones are designed to light up your path at night, which I don't need.

Good point, I will take the wide beam into consideration.

mcours2006

I have a Metro 400. It's a very good light with excellent battery life...however, the beam is quite narrow and focused. Good for seeing where you're going as it can project a beam far ahead, so great for trails and unlit roads, but perhaps not great for others to see if they are not in the narrow field of view.

dim

yea ... but you can't see the potholes and debris when you cycle 20 miles an hour in the pitch dark on roads you have never been on before

JohnnyCyclist

I have a pair of Blackburn Super Flea's. The form factor is small; these are daytime 'be seen' lights. Three settings: blink, solid low, solid high, with advertised run times of 5 hours, 3 hours, and 1 hour.

There's a 1.5 hour out-and-back ride I do regularly. I start with one light on blink and one on high. At the midpoint, I switch. On longer routes, I will use blink and low.

Aubergine 

mr_bill

maartendc

Thanks for the recommendation. I have to check out blackburn, they seem to make some interesting products. I would definitely need the blink setting, because I regularly do a 5 hour ride.

Thanks for the suggestion. I haven't really considered helmet lights, although they are perhaps a good solution as well. Will look into those.

Thanks a lot! Good to hear a positive recommendation for the Mr. Chips. The only downside I have been reading about it online is the battery life. How do you get on with it? The eco flash setting is rated at 60 hours, so that sounds more than enough (even if it only gets half that in real life maybe), and it looks like a good attention grabbing mode from videos I have seen. The other modes are only around 4-5 hours so perhaps a bit too short for my longer rides.

Exactly, would be great for daytime visibility at intersections with the wide beam. Also when it is bright out but you get under some tree canopy. Around here drivers tend to be blinded by the sun and then have poor visibility in tree shadows.

mr_bill

For long day rides eco flash is fine both for visibility and battery life - and you are right, it's a somewhat interesting flash pattern, alternating left half/right half, but a fairly slow strobe.

-mr. bill

DrIsotope

There is a vast divide between what is a good headlight and what is a good "be seen" light. For a daytime running light, I go for a Blackburn 2'Fer. Claims 60 lumens, runtime around 5 hours, will clip/mount pretty much anywhere, and can be had for about 20 bucks. Good angle dispersion on the light, plenty visible even from distance. And for the people that obsess over how much things weigh, a whopping 18 grams.

pakeboi

Discontinued model , replaced by the new Vis Pro

https://www.lightandmotion.com/vis-360-pro

pakeboi

Bontrager Circuit
https://www.bicycling.com/bikes-gear...helmet-review/

Ryan Olivas

Thanks for the recommendation, But isn't this too pricey?

ColonelSanders

You should also go for a rear light on your helmet.


If I could only have one rear light, I would choose one on my helmet, over one on my rack or seatpost, every time.


As for a front headlight, whilst I expect this would be more than you want to pay, I would recommend something like a Cateye Volt 1600/1700, which has a day time flash which consists of two flashes combined, with one flash going at 200lumens and another flash at 1600lumens.


In addition to the high lumen output, this particular flash setting will last over 20hrs, so you don't have to be recharging your light all the time.

wingless

The Stupidbright SB3000 Headlight and the CygoLite Hotshot Pro 150 Lumen Tail Light were both selected by me for their extreme brightness and their reasonable cost. I would not hesitate to recommend these devices.

Most of my operation is during daylight hours and these lights fit the bill for maximum visibility.

IMO it is not advantageous to increase the mass of the helmet any more than required, because that additional mass can increase personal injury in a crash.

KD5NRH

See if you can track down a Guee Sol 200. Some are apparently discontinued, so we're getting them well below cost. It's not hugely impressive at MSRP, but with the discount, it makes an excellent backup or city commuter light. Slow and fast strobe modes, and USB rechargeable. (Before anyone asks, I haven't tried the plus model, so I have no idea whether it's really an improvement.)

https://www.walmart.com/ip/GUEE-305-...&wl13=&veh=sem

(Only one left there at time of posting, but you should be able to find the non-plus model for around US$20 somewhere.)