CheGiantForLife

Plan to add night riding to my mix.
I just ordered 2 for $8

https://www.ebay.com/itm/154628562214?

Where is the best place to install these two flashing lights?
I put one on my seat post, facing rear.
The other I arbitrarily put on my top cross bar facing left?

Koyote

You get what you pay for.

WhyFi

Does anyone mount a light on their bike to flash behind them?

Atlas Shrugged

Thanks for the update.

Yan 

A light is a light. A $4 dollar light is better than no light. Don't let these snobs bother you.

urbanknight

Yeah, maybe the OP can report back after they've used it for a while. My general experience with being cheap has determined that these things are usually fragile and/or not very bright.

WhyFi

Yeah, but if it's got a crappy battery that only lasts 20 minutes, that's not going to do anyone any go- oh, wait. Nevermind.

urbanknight

Unless it stops working after only a week, like my first cheap light did... or not be bright enough at all, like my second cheap light... or literally fall apart on every bump, like my third (at least I could put it back together, but collecting pieces from the middle of the road every day got tedious). I finally learned the 4th time and got a $30 light that lasted me 8 years.

indyfabz

What was the line from the film "Contact"? Something like "Why build one, when you can have two at twice the price."

SpedFast

I have one of those on the back of my helmet for a backup. I don't know how long the battery in it lasts because it's always dead when I reach home and I can't see the back of my head when riding. Not sure when or where I got it. Probably a GoodWill bin thing. Oh wait, now I remember. They used to sell them for a buck at Cash King stores and my great grand kid picked it up for me because he got a couple for his trike and thought gramps should be cool too. See, kinda obligated to use it haha.

Koyote

Safety is not snobbery.

If I think that my riding conditions call for a taillight, I'm going to choose one that is bright enough, visible enough, and reliable enough to keep me safe. My safety is worth more than a four dollar eBay crapshoot.

VegasTriker

For all you doubters about inexpensive bike lights I have used a similar 100 lumen light for at least 4 years and have given away pairs of them as Christmas gifts. Mine are knockoffs of the Lezyne Drive 100. They used to cost about $3.50 each ordered from China. They will run for 6 hours in flash modes so I was charging them every 4th day after my ride. For a while they even came in chip-on-board LED lights with both colors red and white in one light. The battery inside is 650 mAh.
Here is a red 3 LED Lezyne Drive clone mounted on a plastic tube and attached to the frame of my recumbent trike. I do that because it makes on and off really easy.



Current price for these on eBay is still under $10 for a pair $7.09 postpaid for a pair https://www.ebay.com/itm/303854466901

urbanknight

VegasTriker Oh, I'm sure there are good deals out there, but for every one of those there are a handful of duds. This post, as well intended as it is, will only be meaningful (to me) when someone comes on and says they've had one for months or years and that it works well.

spelger

Yes. my brake light has 3 modes and one is a simple flasher. it stands out much more so than steady on mode when in a bike lane. otherwise it just looks like a car brake light from afar.

RB1-luvr

I'm using a RockBros set of usb blinkies. They were inexpensive, and the quality is good so far. Been using them for about a month.

urbanknight

A long time ago, I read that a solid light is easier to judge distance, but a blinking light gathers attention better. So I put a solid light on my seatpost and a blinking one on the back of my helmet, and a solid headlight on my handlebar and a blinking one on the front of my helmet. It seemed to work back then when I commuted in the early morning darkness.

spelger

that makes sense. i'm glad i don't need to ride in the dark very often. lately i've done a few rides in the early morning when i wake up and can't fall back to sleep. this morning i was up at 1.27AM, tossed and turned until 4.00AM then had to get up at 4.30AM. im pretty darn tired.

SurferRosa

If not, maybe he can start another thread touting more cheap, ugly crap.

Yan 

What the hell is with you people and all this negativity? The OP rides a $300 bike. You want him to spend $40 on some fancy lights? That's almost 15% of his entire bike. Not everybody here is a bling bling bike nerd. Some people just have a basic bike for getting around, and need to save money where they can. If his $4 light let him be even slightly safer than only reflectors, then it's fine. So what if the lights are ****. Still better than only reflectors.

Bogey Speedwell

I may question the fact cheap is ok.. while this head light seems ok, and the taillight of this 20 Amazon special may be fine in the evening, it truly has horrible daylight visibility(taillight) I followed my wife and I really couldn’t even see it was on until I was less than 15 yards from it (again daylight). Maybe ok in dusk or night time. On the contrary I followed a bike and noticed him and noticed the light about 6 blocks away. I actually stopped him to inquire and he said his was a Bontrager. So I’m thinking you do get what you pay for.

Ironfish653

I've got a couple sets of the $9 Duracell -branded sets from Lowes or Home Depot; they're cheap enough that I can stick them on the kids' bikes, and the 2x AAA provides good runtime and shelf life, especially for occasional ​​​use.

I have some of the Stupidbright micro -blinkies on almost all of my bikes for the times I might get caught out late, or decide to ride with the Dawn Patrol. Same thing: They're unobtrusive, and seem to always be ready when I need them.

I'm not a big believer in Daytime Visibility Lighting ; I just don't think a typical bicycle light has a large enough reflector to be visible in vehicle traffic, or from long distance unless it's really, really bright , like police car bright; and while such things exist, they're really too expensive for something that's a supplemental measure at best

zandoval 

Purchased lights very similar to these on Amazon for about 4 USD more. They have lasted over a year now. I don't like that I have to unmount them in order to charge them but they dismount easy and charge fast.

Nachoman

Personally, I like to have the brightest and the lightest.
And I don't mind paying more for that.

veganbikes

That's anti-shoemaker, why do you dislike cobblers?

Yes potentially a light is better than not a light, a roof is better than not a roof. That is not a magical miracle revelation. However a light is not a light, otherwise the idea of lux and lumens wouldn't exist and we wouldn't have different lights from different manufacturers.

urbanknight

I'm quite sure I made my reasons clear. A light isn't better than nothing if it runs out of battery on you, falls off, falls apart, or otherwise stops lighting... which has happened to me before. Then it literally is the same as nothing, except $4 more. Like I said, it's entirely possible this bargain light is a treasure find, but that remains to be seen until someone has actually used it and not just posted that they will be getting something in the mail soon.