floridamtb

I think I have found the best taillight on the market. This light has been getting some great reviews so I thought's I'd share my own experience from this past week. I bought the light on Christmas Eve, went out on Christmas Day with a full charge for a 85 mile ride. Due to high winds it took me 6:49. The light is rated for 5.75 hours in daylight flash then another 2 hours in "low power" mode at 5%. The battery indicator wasn't even flashing red, indicating the 5% mark yet. So I easily could have had 9 hours of light. I also went into my dark garage on Christmas Eve and compared the light spread of the Flare R to my Cygo Light Hot Shot, no comparison, the Flare is much brighter and casts a wider beam.

Bontrager Flare R rear light review - BikeRadar USA

PepeM

I have one too and I like it. Have nothing to compare it against though.

kookie

I bought one a few weeks ago and while riding on an overcast day, another cyclist chased me down and asked what kind of light it was. He said he noticed how bright the light was almost a kilometer away. He was kinda shocked when I told him how much it costs.

floridamtb

I was reading the review on Facebook about it and one guy was complaining about the $60 price tag. Let's see $60 to avoid getting hit by a car and maybe spending $5K on medical bills IF you survive. Some people put a price on safety, I won't

GlennR

I recently bought one, much brighter than the old Cateye.

Seattle Forrest

Medical bills from my accident a couple months ago were about $19,000 including the ride in the ambulance. Thank the gods for insurance. My hip hurts ever since getting hit by a car, though, like one minute I'm riding my bike up a hill and the next minute I'm an old person.

Wittyname

Picked up one of these on Black Friday, used it for 4 commutes the next week; total 3.5hrs nighttime solid and 4 hours daytime flash with no problems. Loving the battery life

GlennR

Careful... when i posted how my new helmet protected me during a crash, i was told that using safety equipment give a false sense and you are more likely to take risks.

I say bull *****.

RNAV

I'm generally a Trek/Bontrager fan, but I don't understand why everyone's busting a nut over this light. The Knog Blinder Road R70 has been out for years, is 5 Lumens brighter (at 70 Lumens), has similar battery life, can mount on an aero post, and is the same price as the Flare R. I've had the light for over a year and routinely get asked by cyclists and drivers alike what kind of light it is.

The only real advantage I see of the Flare R is that it's 17g lighter. I'd rather have the extra 5 Lumens.

Velocivixen

I bought one because I saw it at my LBS, which is a Trek dealer. I inquired, read up on it, then went back and bought it to replace my few years old Flare.

I used it on my first metric century, which took about 6.5 hours of riding and it still had full lighting charge (hadn't gone into the low battery mode).

RShantz

I'm on my second one. Trek replaced the first one as it failed after/during a 70 mile ride in the rain. I don't know if it failed at mile 5 or mile 69.

jdjones

Another vote for the Knog Blinder here. I love it. Various models go from $30 to $60, maybe cheaper on eBay.

DaveLeeNC

I've got a Flare R as that is the best tail light that my LBS sells and these things are more visible than anything that I have ever seen in our area. That doesn't mean that there aren't better ones somewhere.

I've never pushed mine past 5.5 hours, but it is good to go up to that point for sure.

dave

Mike F

Got one for Xmas also and I am very pleased with it. My old Rad Bot 1000 was starting to turn off after hitting any major bumps. To be fair I ride about 200 rides a year in the dark and have had it 4 years. It died a noble death.

Fox Farm

Looks nice. I use a Light in Motion that puts out a reported 100 lumes. Nice unit and well built, BUT, like this Bontrager, it mounts with a rubber stretchy thing, which in my experience is a joke. It does not stay stable, ends up moving side ways after riding on rough roads. Why not use a plastic mount that closes with a screw that tightens, like a Niterider or even the budget Planet Bike units?

pdedes

I'm using it and love it.

mjh365

Another fan here. I replaced the Hot Shot with the Flare R. Great light, easy to use and the charge lasts.

Phlorida

I've had mine several months and really like it. I like that it remembers the mode that it was in when it was turned off. I do like the mount even though it does turn a bit on the seat post. The USB port cover is cheap and hard to close on mine.

floridamtb

Sounds like a great light as well, I've never seen one in stores or read reviews about if I had I probably would have got it instead of the Hot Shot at first

thin_concrete

Thanks for posting your review. I have a Hot Shot and was pretty impressed by its output. I may have to pick one of these up in the spring when the bike goes back onto the road.

chaadster

The Flare is bright, but styling isn't great. How long does it take to recharge from empty?

Regarding the Knog Blinder R70, while it is more stylish, it is less versatile (no clip option), but more importantly, Knog products have been so unreliable for me, that I just won't spend on them again until I have good reason to believe their game has been upped. And I used to be a real Knog fan, too...

I've had more Knog products than I count, from a multitude of Beetles, two NERDs, two Blinder Road headlamps, four to six Boomer tailights, at least a couple Boomer headlamps and probably others. Anyway, nust about all of them failed in one way or another. Often electronics would go on the fritz, which was a big problem with Boomers, but the Road lights suffered strap failures, electronics failures, and one didn't work right out of the box. Speaking of box, I've got a box full of assorted Knog crap, most inop, if anyone is interested...

I've gone over to Lezyne lights, but I'm also loving the new Specialized Stix, which are very stylish, light, fast-recharging marker lights.

maltess2

I bought it today, what´s the order of the modes? how long it takes to charge? I dont see this info in the box. Weird thing is I plugged the charger for 2 hours and the light is green , if I disconnect and connect I get the red initial flash again, like if I was starting again ith the battery charge, is this normal?

yashinon

Great light, very bright and good for daylight use also! I had another brand previously and it was not comparable! However, during a community ride in the evening during early Fall, some riders complained that the Bontrager was too bright and that they could not see ahead. One rider indicated that she has seizures and asked me to turn it off. 8-)) I feel very secure knowing that I have the Flare R.

yashinon

[QUOTE=maltess2;18748611]I bought it today, what´s the order of the modes? how long it takes to charge? I dont see this info in the box. Weird thing is I plugged the charger for 2 hours and the light is green , if I disconnect and connect I get the red initial flash again, like if I was starting again ith the battery charge, is this normal?[/QUO

It alternates between steady and flash. Day steady and day flash, night steady, and night flash. This is info on the back of the box.

Wittyname

Its actually Day Steady > Night Steady > Day Flash > Night Flash. At least that's how mine works
@maltess2 The battery, when it's full, will stay green solid. If you unplug and replug it, it'll show the flashing red for a minute or so, then go to solid green again. Mine takes 4 hours or so to charge from dead