KenshiBiker

Anyone see/use this?
NEW Quad RED Taillight with built in battery ? DiNotte Lighting USA Online Store

Supposed to be brighter than the 300R; lighter too. Looks nice, but I really can't justify another tail light as long as my 300R is working fine.

gsa103

Looks very nice...other than the ~$200 price tag. Ouch!

ItsJustMe

I don't think their copy is accurate. "The ONLY once piece light effective day and night." I've got an Axiom Pulse 60 and I've been told by many people (and my observations of vehicles around me also indicates) that the light is QUITE visible in the daytime.

and it's $35.

Dinotte's theory seems to be that unless you are actually injuring the retinas of people, it's not bright enough.

PaulRivers

Yeah...

Also annoying is the inability to turn down their lights to reasonable levels for night riding. I put a Dinotte 140L on my road bike, couldn't even have it on when group riding because even on low I was getting complaints from the people behind me. I'm cool with lights bright enough to be seen during the day time, but when they're expensive they should be able to be turned down to reasonable night time levels on "low".

Dunbar

At night I turn my 300r on the lowest steady mode and run a cheap blinkie light in flash mode. Anything bright enough to be seen in direct sunlight is going to be too bright for group rides. IOW, if you could turn it down for group rides than cars wouldn't be able to see you anyways.

I'm really not digging the looks of this new Dinotte light compared to the 300r.

bconneraz

I love the function of my 300r; if I was in the market for a new tail light, I would certainly consider this. I like the fact that the new light is smaller, lighter, and brighter. The next couple of years are going to be interesting as it pertains to lighting; LED's are getting brighter, and batteries are getting smaller. Remember when we had to keep a bottle battery in our waterbottle cage, or carry a heavy battery with a cord in a jersey pocket? Those days are long gone, and I for one am loving that.

PaulRivers

I honestly am having trouble trying to figure out what you're trying to say. LED lights have different power output modes - the only reason the 140L doesn't have a better low power mode is that the manufacturer was to cheap or lazy to put one in. And I find it absurd that such an expensive light requires using cheap blinkies some of the time, rather than just having a mode that outputs the same power. Of course the same mode that's bright enough for noon sunlight is going to be to bright for group rides - that's why you have different modes, to change the power output.

Grillparzer

Is this new one replacing the 300r?

Athens80

+1

If it's as good as advertised, in keeping with Dinotte expectations, this may become the new standard for no-compromise tail lights. I don't see a compelling reason to replace my 300R, my primary light. But this would be the one I'd recommend first for committed recreational cyclists who can afford this and still pay the rent.

The improvements over the 300R I want more than lighter and smaller is:

• more light to the sides
• integrated, standards-compliant reflector
• very low, steady setting for night group rides

The low mode is 25%, which I take to mean 1/4 of the full 200 lumens. Fifty lumens on low is brighter than the high setting of many (most?) small lights and is brighter than I want to run in an evening/night group ride. That's what I use during a daytime group ride.

Athens80

Same here. I get the strong steady light that the forum touts as essential for drivers' depth perception at night, plus the secondary flashing that cautions drivers that the vehicle in front of them probably is not a motorcycle or car with a missing tail light.

noglider 

Jeebus. So once again we see this phenomenon. More is better, and even more is even better, and more than anyone else is the best. Doesn't matter if it does the job. What matters is that it's more. More. More is better. More.

mrbubbles

North American drivers are crazy, more is better. With the dinotte level brightness, I had cops driving up to me to find out what I was (because it looked like emergency vehicles from afar), that gives drivers a lot of time to react, they aren't doing that w/ crap off-the-shelf dynamo taillights.

noglider 

Oy. More is better up to a point, no? There is a point where it's too much. We can argue just where that point is, but let's establish this first.

The fact that it gets people's attentions is not proof that it's a good idea. You could also rip people out of their cars and punch them in the faces. That would get their attentions, too. I think it's a better idea to get people's attentions without hurting them.

ItsJustMe

Also, there is a certain segment of drivers where lights simply will not get their attention in every situation even if it's bright enough to scorch their paint. If they're looking at their phone, they won't see any light you put on. "Adding more light until everyone notices me" is a game you can't win given those people on the road.

Just last night while driving I saw a guy in a 4x4 pickup coming towards the cars in my lane drift entirely into our lane. The person in front (2 cars in front of me) slowed nearly to a stop (on a 50 MPH road). When the guy got closer I could see that he was looking down, I assume texting or something like that. He eventually looked up and jerked back into his lane. Had he drifted right instead and had there been a bike there (with a Dinotte retina searer or no), it would have been a bad day for that cyclist.

10 Wheels

Agree...More is Better.

Shimagnolo

I love that product name!
The new, improved Dinotte Retina Searer!

BTW I've seen a few cyclists around Boulder with the previous 300R, and was amazed how it caught my attention on a bright, sunny day.

JohnJ80

I have so many tail lights it's ridiculous. There is a point where driver behavior changes dramatically. 60 lumens, in my experience, doesn't invoke that change. If you haven't ridden with one of the very high output tail lights, you ought to and I think you'll see what I mean. Drivers slow down and carefully go wide around me. If they can't pass, they wait. That doesn't happen with lesser lights.

I first noticed it with my Dinotte 140R (around 100 lumens by eyeball) and the effect on driver behavior was stronger with the 300R and 400R that I've used. I also get the same thing with a Niteflux Red Zone 8. The new Dinotte could be a winner because of the enhanced side visibility which the 300R lacks.


Or the smaller less bright tail lights. I like your explanation.

J.

Benbo1008

I've got one on the way, replacing an old 140R that worked fine but the external battery was a pain.

RoadTire 

Better is much more better.

JohnJ80

I'm really interested to hear what you have to say about it's side visibility. The older 300R (which I have) really doesn't have much side visibility.

J.

Athens80

I read on Wikipedia that
How does the maximum 200 lumens of the new Dinotte Quad Red Taillight, or the top outputs of the previous 140R, 300R and 400R models compare to 280 to 570 lumens from an incandescent automobile tail light? I believe the numbers are not comparable one to one because LED output can be more focused than the incandescent plus reflector combination.

JohnJ80

Qualitatively, they are similar to the LEDs used in police lights and are comparable to brake LED tail lights today. They are not blinding, but it's absolutely impossible to ignore them. They are an intense light plus they sort of invoke the trained response in drivers to red flashing lights - slow down, be cautious and give room.

J.

Benbo1008

I'll try to put together a comparo when it gets here. Anybody know how to embed video here?

JohnJ80

There's an "insert video" button in the compose toolbar.

j.

01 CAt Man Do

Looking forward to user reviews and videos. I like the new look. Sadly it looks like it doesn't includes a quick release mount. If it had one than it would of been almost perfect. Without QR you have to either drag the bike over to a USB charger, get a long extension cord to charge or unscrew the mount....all PITA stuff.

Very well said.