sdmc530

So because of the heat I have been riding in the darker hours of the day. Last night I rode until after 9pm, so completely dark. Its pretty fun and crazy actually. Really enjoying the night riding except the bugs of course.

I have the Garmin UT800 headlight, works great. Got it on sale and a great buy. I have two cheap tail lights that don't last very long at all on a charge and are not very good at all. So I am needing a suggestion for a really good tail light.

Requirements if possible:
Chargeable, decent battery life, mounting options if possible like rear frame and/or seat post. Price under $75 if possible but not a deal breaker.

Any suggestions would be appreciated!!

tsmith41094

Have the Bontrager Flares and really like them. Rechargeable and Very bright (only tail light I've ever had where I've gotten multiple positive comments from passing drivers).

Also like that it pairs with my Garmin 520.

Only caveat is I have a Trek so mounting is very easy for me with their Blendr system. I use them on my other bikes but it's just your standard rubber seatpost mount.

wingless

The Cygolite Hotshot Pro 150 Tail Light is a terrific device. For my usage I set it to one blink per second and get over 30 hours on a single charge.

For night riding I also add one of these 32 LED Spoke Lights into each wheel to attain amazing visibility.

grumpyoldguy

I used a Lezyne Zecto Drive 80 for quite a while, and was happy with it. It's very bright even in the daytime, and easily holds enough charge for a 5 hour ride on flashing mode. However, last year I switched to a Garmin RTL510 radar light that I got on sale. Best accessory purchase I've made. It's expensive but worth every penny. At my age (old!) I have limited neck mobility and shoulder checks before left turns are literally a pain. I still try to take a quick look, but have found that the indication of cars behind shown on my Edge 520 is very reliable. Also, on busier roads, cars whizzing by at high speed are no longer a surprise. Riding now feels much safer.

hillyman

Cygolite Hypershot – 350 Lumen. Self adsorbed texting drivers need a blinky that gets some attention

sdmc530

awesome!! thanks for the suggestions......got my list started.

jimmyodonnell

I use a cat eye model that cost about $45/50, I ride 4 or 5 days a week and generally one charge per week keeps it going without running out.
Of course all these lights have luminance settings you can choose to maximize battery life.
It definitely runs longer on a charge than my headlight, that's probably common.

Troul 

use these in conjunction with the light & you'll draw in more attention:
https://www.amazon.com/High-Reflecti...07FQGGSTF?th=1

mattcalifornia

I was using a Knog rear tail light that I really liked. It has several different blinky options, and a built in USB plug, so you just stick it directly into any USB outlet to charge. Unfortunately, I tried clipping it to the back of my under-saddle bag, but it didn't hold, and I lost it somewhere along the way. It's designed to clip to the seat post. But I would definitely buy Knog again.

BoraxKid

I just recently bought this one for my new road bike:

https://cygolite.com/product/hotrod-50-usb/

It's $30 USD, plenty bright, and charges via USB. It has several flash modes to choose from, as well as a steady mode.

BoraxKid

+1 for this suggestion. I use that one for my touring bike. I actually had someone tell me in a parking lot, "wow! that back light is SUPER bright!" I just told him, "yes, that's that point" and went on with my business.

Pop N Wood

Planet Bike Greatful Red.

Besides the coolest name ever they are only $20 and oversized so it counts as a passive reflector when not turned on.

You WANT the AA battery version. Load it with eneloop rechargeable batteries. I go months between battery swaps. The eneloop batteries are low self discharge, meaning they will hold a charge in a drawer or unused on your bike for a year. Buy a stack of these and put them in every remote or clock in your house than keep extras in a drawer. Recharge time is the 30 seconds it takes to swap batteries. If on tour can swap in plain alkaline if needed.

wingless

Both the Cygolite Hotshot Pro 150 USB 150 Lumen single lamp and the Cygolite Hypershot 350 USB 350 Lumen dual lamp rear lights are approximately the same size and almost identical mass.

Somehow they both have identical specified run time, 2 - 200 hours, depending upon the setting. Both have Li-ion batteries, probably the same battery.

My Hotshot Pro 150 has over 30 hours of fun time w/ 1 flash per second. It is plenty bright.

My expectation is that driving two lamps would use about twice the power, decreasing the run time, but somehow they are specified for the same. So, if that is true, go for the 350, otherwise the 150 is a great lamp that cannot be missed.

Koyote

The more powerful Cygolites are terrific, though the 350 is probably too bright on its full setting. So, there is button that allows you to turn down the brightness a bit (it'll still be brighter than just about anything else out there) and you'll get even longer battery life. That's a win.

NoWhammies

I know this WAY out of your $75 price range. BUT if you are considering stepping out of the range, I can't recommend the Garmin Varia RTL510 enough. Bright light. Radar. Ties in with your Garmin head unit. Only downside is the light is way out of your stated price range.

mstateglfr 

Kryptonite Incite XBR

Compact and lightweight. Long battery life. Multiple settings with one that gets brighter when deceleration occurs. Quickly attaches/detaches to seatposts.

Univega

See this post: https://www.bikeforums.net/general-c...31-lights.html

Front and rear lights mentioned. Some more than your $75. Some less. worth a look. I am also interested in a rear light. But my concern is daytime safety. So I may need a brighter light.

Look at the Bontrager (Trek) lights, 350 lumen Cygolites or the Lezyne Strip drive Pro Alert Rear. Others mentioned in that post.

Deal4Fuji

I ride an assortment of bikes so a small bright taillight that is easy to rotate without having to undo a bracket appeals to me. The NightRider Sabre series lights are small and easily hung on a seat bag and bright enough for daytime use. If I have a seat bag without a light hanging tab, a safety pin will work too as you see below. I have a couple of Cygolite's that can hang as well, but the thin size of the NR makes these easy to use and thin enough to keep a back-up in the bag in case one runs down. At $30, the price is also an appeal.

sdmc530

Seriously awesome suggestions, thank you all very much.

I have it narrowed down, these are what are avalble at my LBS in town.

1. Cygolite 350, looks awesome.
2. Garmin varia if the wife caves in and lets me get it ( VERY LONG SHOT)
3. Bont RT...looks really nice too.

fietsbob

I have one of those too, + QR clip*, I have an extra to move it between bikes 1 bolted to the flap of my Carradura saddle bag..
the other, combining its clip & B&M mount that slips over the rails of the saddle, the whole set can go on more bikes.. & off into your pocket.
* also coming thru PDW sources..



https://www.planetbike.com/blog/grateful-red/

gios 

I read a review that this is two 175 lumen lights - and they add them together to get 350 lumens. I contacted Cygolite and they confirmed that yes, it's max lumens is 175, for each of the two. It does not work that way - adding lumens of two emitters.

So the Hotshot 200 lumen single light is the brightest they make. Almost got suckered into their new math on the Hypershot models.

Koyote

You won't go wrong with any of those choices. In addition to a Cygolite 150, I've got the Bont - it's excellent.

Whoa! That is good intel. Thanks. Really good to know.

Rhondito

I recently bought one and it's the best money I've ever spent on a cycling accessory. I wish I had gotten one a long time ago.

sdmc530

so that is GREAT info...that just replaced the 350 on the list. Thank you

wingless

A manufacturer's reply to my inquiry about equivalent run times while the Hypershot being 2X brighter has been received.

They informed me that the Hypershot has newer technology, increasing the brightness while maintaining the run time.

The documented run times versus modes showed some modes had longer run times with one, versus other modes longer with the other, but both almost the same.