Mark of approval type F rear light?

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Tangled Metal
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Mark of approval type F rear light?

Post by Tangled Metal »

What does this mean? In looking at a rack mounted, battery rear light. This means B&M lights because I don't trust the cateye mount for their x series lights. On the website they say a light I'm interested in has approval type F. Is this related to German bike light standards? Is this legal light on UK streets?

Is toplight or similar that bolts on the rear rack. Any good?
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gaz
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Re: Mark of approval type F rear light?

Post by gaz »

B&M 2017 range.
On page 7.
Without exception, all headlights and rear lights shown in this catalogue comply with German road traffic regulations (StVZO). .... This approval is marked on every headlight and consists of a wavy line, the letter “K” and a number.

Whilst it doesn't shed any light on the meaning of a "type F approval" it's clear that all current B&M lights meet "K" standard and would be UK road legal under the euro equivalence clause in RVLR.

The only "F" marking I can find relating to lighting denotes approval to mount to a flammable surface. I'm not entirely sure that's relevant in terms of cycle lighting.
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meic
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Re: Mark of approval type F rear light?

Post by meic »

I seem to recall reading somewhere on some B&M stuff about their international compatibility and seeing things like F for France, N for Netherlands, G for Great Britain, to show that the light complied with that country's standards as well.
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andrew_s
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Re: Mark of approval type F rear light?

Post by andrew_s »

Tangled Metal wrote:Is toplight or similar that bolts on the rear rack. Any good?

Yes

I think all their rear-of-rack lights are Toplight something.
A bolt on the rack light usually has a good reflector too, and one of those is also a legal requirement

The choices are:
View: 20 hours off 2 x AA, which should be the brightest, based on the battery drain
Flat S: 50 hours off 2 x AA
Line: 40 hours off 1 x AA

Some also have an automatic "Senso" version that will turn on when it's what it considers to be dark, and the bike's jiggling about. I think I'd prefer to be in charge of battery usage, though dynamo Senso is good.

I see they now do a new "2C Permanent" rack light, with a built-in USB chargeable lithium battery, good for 15 hours
https://www.rosebikes.com/article/b--m- ... id:2669800
I think I'd go for old-tech AAs though. You can just pop a spare battery or two in, if required, and lithium rechargables or lights using them have a nasty habit of just turning off when the battery runs too low (running a lithium rechargable too flat kills it). Alkalines, on the other hand, will just get dimmer and dimmer, rather than actually going out.

I'd agree with @meic that the F indication is probably French approval, such as it is.
AdamS
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Re: Mark of approval type F rear light?

Post by AdamS »

I've yet to see a B&M road light without German (StVZO) approval. I also think I recall that the F marking denotes French approval. In the highly unlikely case that the light is French but not German compliant, the legality of the setup all depends on your interpretation of the laws. There is nothing which explicitly says which European standards make lights road legal in the UK. The law says that standards equivalent to our own BS are legal. What constitutes equivalence is arguable. CJ took the view that the German StVZO standard, as probably the most rigorous and regularly updated, could safely be argued to be equivalent. I do not know anything about the French standards.

Personally I'd argue that equivalence ought to be defined rather broadly. Whilst it is sensible to have some concept of equivalence to prevent a 'race to the bottom' in terms of safety, the purpose of the relevant EU directive was to make trade easier through multilateral acceptance of national standards, not to create a situation which priveledged manufacturers in some nations over others.
Last edited by AdamS on 20 Nov 2017, 7:59pm, edited 1 time in total.
pwa
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Re: Mark of approval type F rear light?

Post by pwa »

Tangled Metal wrote:What does this mean? In looking at a rack mounted, battery rear light. This means B&M lights because I don't trust the cateye mount for their x series lights. On the website they say a light I'm interested in has approval type F. Is this related to German bike light standards? Is this legal light on UK streets?

Is toplight or similar that bolts on the rear rack. Any good?


After years of buying Cateyes I looked for something designed specifically for the rear of a rack. I got a B&M Toplight LED and it was a bad move. What a piece of Christmas cracker rubbish. Flimsy battery contacts and a very crude switch meant it went out when I went over bumps in the road. A couple of times I arrived home from work to find that it had gone out on the journey. It had the certification stuff but was totally unfit for purpose. Bought from SJS at a price that could have got me something decent.
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mjr
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Re: Mark of approval type F rear light?

Post by mjr »

pwa wrote:I got a B&M Toplight LED and it was a bad move.

Any idea which one? There are almost as many Toplights as Marathon tyres. B&M have made a couple of duds but I'm surprised any were that bad.
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pwa
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Re: Mark of approval type F rear light?

Post by pwa »

mjr wrote:
pwa wrote:I got a B&M Toplight LED and it was a bad move.

Any idea which one? There are almost as many Toplights as Marathon tyres. B&M have made a couple of duds but I'm surprised any were that bad.

It's a while back, but it was either the 4D Toplight or something very similar. The construction looked cheap and nasty and it just failed to stay lit, which is the number one function of any light. It was also a pretty weak LED. Lots of reflector and not much light.
Tangled Metal
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Re: Mark of approval type F rear light?

Post by Tangled Metal »

Lots of reflector but the light itself does worry me. I used to have an 80 lumens rear, possibly 100 lumens one I forget now. B&M use lux in write up so I don't know how it compares.

Right now I've time to choose because I've a mini cateye rechargeable that fits the rack mount. I've got two rear lights again so time to find better. Which battery B&M is the best? Would buy from SJS because AFAIK the only UK retailer to stock them.
pwa
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Re: Mark of approval type F rear light?

Post by pwa »

Tangled Metal wrote:Lots of reflector but the light itself does worry me. I used to have an 80 lumens rear, possibly 100 lumens one I forget now. B&M use lux in write up so I don't know how it compares.

Right now I've time to choose because I've a mini cateye rechargeable that fits the rack mount. I've got two rear lights again so time to find better. Which battery B&M is the best? Would buy from SJS because AFAIK the only UK retailer to stock them.


Why not give SJS a call and ask them what they suggest? Tell them you want reliable, bright and fitting your rack. Tell them you've heard stories of B&M rear lights that were weak and unreliable. They should point you in the direction of something that actually performs. Maybe a better B&M. It'll save you guessing.
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squeaker
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Re: Mark of approval type F rear light?

Post by squeaker »

Tangled Metal wrote:What does this mean? In looking at a rack mounted, battery rear light. This means B&M lights because I don't trust the cateye mount for their x series lights.
My choice would be a Spanninga Elips (was Phillips Lumiring) unless you want something that flashes. (I too have had issues with the switch on a B&M rear light - was a while ago, though.)
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