Non seat post mounted rear light

[Ade L]

Hi - can anyone recommend a rear light that doesn't attach to the seat post - I don't have the space as I have a small tool bag mounted there - I've heard lights are available that mount on the bars under the saddle? Apologies if this topic has been covered before but I'm new here!

[gaz]

Welocme to the forum.

Many lights have optional brackets for mounting on the saddle rail.

There are also fittings for attaching lights to seat stays and if you have them mudguards or racks.

[Valbrona]

Cateye do a bracket for their lights which clamps onto the saddle rails.

* compatible with only some - not all - of their rear lights.

[stan.shire]

I, like you and many others, have tried to find lights that can be fitted to the bike and will not be obscured by any luggage you may choose to carry. I rather like mudguard fitting lights. I have one of these: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00 ... ROKL5A1OLE
Spa cycles do a cheap light(Alun?) that fits to the mudguard. One that is recommended by others is the Radbot light (can also be found on Amazon -as can many just by searching for "rear carrier light" "rear mudguard light" etc.).
I also have a carrier fitting light -there are a number available cheaply as well as some nice German ones.
I also have a saddle rail mounting light (Moon comet)

I have assumed that you have mudguards and a carrier (as any proper bike does!)...

[niggle]

Spa cycles do a cheap light(Alun?) that fits to the mudguard.

I would not recommend this at all- I bought one and found that poor waterproofing leads to switch malfunction quite quickly and the LEDs point up at about 30° compared to the reflector (though you can bend them downwards a bit to partially compensate for this). Not that bright, quite directional and no flash option should you want that.

For a rack mounted light you can fit any of a number of German StVZO approved battery lamps, Busch & Muller do lots of models or I would recommend the Spanninga Lineo as good quality and very visible. However German approved lights are not allowed to flash: if you want a flashing one the Raleigh/RSP Tourlite is very good but not approved to BS or German standards (though the big integral reflector is EC approved).

Eurolight make a couple of BS Standards approved rear lights that fit to a standard reflector bracket and have a flash mode: EL153 without reflector and EL156 with: http://www.eurolightcycling.com/products.aspx?id=2 Reasonably priced and well made IME, though not as bright as current trend for 0.5W LED flashers

[jgurney]

I have a Cateye lamp that mounts at the rear of my rack, so loads on the rack don't obscure it.

[Annoying Twit]

I found what I thought to be a belt clip when I purchased a Cateye lamp. I see that it's for attaching elsewhere. How well do the 'belt clips' work at attaching to a seat. My son has a suspension seatpost with a rubber concertina cover, and I'm wondering how to attach his new light.

[Paul Smith SRCC]

'Moon' have a model called 'Comet' that have a saddle rail mounted bracket, distributed by 'Raleigh, click for link'

[thirdcrank]

'Moon' have a model called 'Comet' that have a saddle rail mounted bracket, ...

Has anybody used one of those? I see it uses COB (chip on board) LED's. I was looking at a cheapo inspection light in ASDA, the sort that is similar to a penlight, which until recently had half-a-dozen separate LED's along its length at one end. Now they have a single sort of "striplight" described as COB and the light output is ferocious. In suitable conditions, they must be visible from a considerable distance but they can't be pleasant for anybody immediately behind, especially in flashing mode. Possibly a good way to discourage unwanted fellow travellers sitting on your wheel.
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PS We've come a long way from the days of bobby dodgers. If you had any police problems with one of these, it could only be because they were dazzled.

(I googled "bobby dodger" without any hits. Once upon a time, in the days of Ever Ready bike lamps, a bobby dodger was anything which showed even the faintest glimmer of light. As I was googling this, it occurred to me that the expression "bobby dazzler" meant anything smart. Go to see your grandma in your Sunday best and she might say "You're a right bobby dazzler." Or mine might. Now we have the genuine article.

[rotavator]

Aldi are currently selling a rear strip COB LED type light which comes with 3 different fixings which seem quite secure:
1. for the saddle rails
2. a rubber band for seat tube or post
3. a clip for clothing or a saddle bag

4 different brightness levels, flash or constant

Rechargeable via USB.

They are certainly bright and relatively cheap at £12.99, but I cannot vouch for their longevity or resistance to rain and I would prefer them to run on rechargeable AA or AAA batteries so that I coud carry spares.
[url]
https://www.aldi.co.uk/aluminium-red-re ... 7062208400[/url]

[Paul Smith SRCC]

'Moon' have a model called 'Comet' that have a saddle rail mounted bracket, ...

Has anybody used one of those? I see it uses COB (chip on board) LED's. I was looking at a cheapo inspection light in ASDA, the sort that is similar to a penlight, which until recently had half-a-dozen separate LED's along its length at one end. Now they have a single sort of "striplight" described as COB and the light output is ferocious...... :D

I use one as I have a rack top bag, a seatpost mount would be a bit low and just illuminate the back of my bag, the saddle rail location is both very neat as well as being a far better position.

At it's brightest it is indeed 'ferocious', so I have the beam set to the lowest, I commute on a very busy well lit road, traffic for much of my commute really crawls along. I don't want to upset them anymore than being quicker already does

[niggle]

The "arms race" approach to bicycle lights is getting rather silly IMO, I used to use a Magicshine MJ818 with 3W LED, which is stupidly bright, to the point of other riders in a group complaining. I have decided to only use in genuinely foggy conditions. As well as not wanting to annoy other road users one concern I have is that it will obliterate the view of following drivers of any hand signals I give. This shot barely does it justice, note the intensity compared to the taillights of the passing car:



Now I have a dynamo powered Spanninga Lineo which is not as bright but produces two L shape lines which IMO are easy enouigh to see from a distance and importantly are easier to work out where and how close you are:

[TrevA]

I found what I thought to be a belt clip when I purchased a Cateye lamp. I see that it's for attaching elsewhere. How well do the 'belt clips' work at attaching to a seat. My son has a suspension seatpost with a rubber concertina cover, and I'm wondering how to attach his new light.

The belt clip can be used to attach the light to the rear of your seat pack - if you use one. I have a Topeak Wedge seat pack and the Cateye sits on the back nicely.

Not sure how you would attach if to the seat itself.

[niggle]

I found what I thought to be a belt clip when I purchased a Cateye lamp. I see that it's for attaching elsewhere. How well do the 'belt clips' work at attaching to a seat. My son has a suspension seatpost with a rubber concertina cover, and I'm wondering how to attach his new light.

The belt clip can be used to attach the light to the rear of your seat pack - if you use one. I have a Topeak Wedge seat pack and the Cateye sits on the back nicely.

Not sure how you would attach if to the seat itself.

I have tried this on a couple of different seat packs (Bike Hut Large and Carradice Super C) and have found the results very mixed- the angle of the light depends on the light's weight and shape, the stiffness of the loop and pack fabric, the angle of the pack and even how full and exactly how you have packed the seat pack. Sometimes it works fine but more often not, YMMV (a lot)

[Annoying Twit]

Thanks for the info on the Cateye 'belt clip'. My son's bike doesn't have a seat bag. I have a small pair of silicone rubber clip on lights. I may see if these clip on around the rubber cover ... they do. That'll do for an interim measure. My son is doing the 'dark clothes no lights' thing a bit, and it'll be dark when he's commuting in a month or so.