I've made the point before that when fitting rear LED lamps it's a good idea to prop the bike up in the dark and go a hundred yards or so down the road to check what it looks like. Those long Cateye lights in MickF's pic have been around a long time and when they first came out I saw several riders with one mounted along a seatstay ie pointing vaguely upwards at right angles to the seatstay.
None of this detracts from the positive features of LCD rear lamps such as bright light, dependable, lightweight, little battery drain and the availability of flashing modes.
Rack mount flashing battery rear light
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Re: Rack mount flashing battery rear light
Great lights both of them. I have an Elips on my bike and a toplight on my wife's. Elips has become hard to find in the UK after Brexit.slowster wrote: ↑25 Nov 2021, 11:22am A B&M Toplight Line battery light incorporates a lens which results in a large area of light being emitted across the entire width of the unit. That is much better than a point light source, because it is much more visible. It also gives people behind, such as drivers, an indication of how far ahead the rider is, because as they get closer, the size of the area of light appears to grow larger. It can be difficult/impossible to estimate the distance to a point light source, and one that flashes might make it even harder for a driver to estimate how close they are to the cyclist.
The Spanninga Elips uses a similar lens technology.
Re: Rack mount flashing battery rear light
Totally agree: do the experiment.thirdcrank wrote: ↑25 Nov 2021, 12:49pm I've made the point before that when fitting rear LED lamps it's a good idea to prop the bike up in the dark and go a hundred yards or so down the road to check what it looks like.
Jonathan
Re: Rack mount flashing battery rear light
Is that a typo of LED or has stuff changed while I've not been looking?
And to reply to a point above: maybe Cateye haven't changed their light-to-bracket fixing in ten years. I junked them longer ago than that. I bet they still make no promises not to change it again whenever they want to sell everyone new lights.
MJR, mostly pedalling 3-speed roadsters. KL+West Norfolk BUG incl social easy rides http://www.klwnbug.co.uk
All the above is CC-By-SA and no other implied copyright license to Cycle magazine.
All the above is CC-By-SA and no other implied copyright license to Cycle magazine.
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Re: Rack mount flashing battery rear light
Typo :oops:
Thanks for the correction and also showing you are paying attention. I have clocks with LED and LCD faces but that's no excuse for getting it wrong. :oops:
Thanks for the correction and also showing you are paying attention. I have clocks with LED and LCD faces but that's no excuse for getting it wrong. :oops:
Re: Rack mount flashing battery rear light
I wouldn't put a flashing light on a rear carrier.
Why miss an opportunity to fit a light with a big reflector, like a B&M 4D Toplight?
Why miss an opportunity to fit a light with a big reflector, like a B&M 4D Toplight?
I should coco.
Re: Rack mount flashing battery rear light
slowster wrote: ↑25 Nov 2021, 11:22am A B&M Toplight Line battery light incorporates a lens which results in a large area of light being emitted across the entire width of the unit. That is much better than a point light source, because it is much more visible. It also gives people behind, such as drivers, an indication of how far ahead the rider is, because as they get closer, the size of the area of light appears to grow larger. It can be difficult/impossible to estimate the distance to a point light source, and one that flashes might make it even harder for a driver to estimate how close they are to the cyclist.
The Spanninga Elips uses a similar lens technology.
http://en.bumm.de/uploads/tx_bummproduk ... onbild.jpg
That is pretty much my thinking too.
Here's the battery equivalent to my dynamo powered rack mounted rear light:
https://www.bumm.de/en/products/akku-ba ... 321bs.html?
Disclaimer: Treat what I say with caution and if possible, wait for someone with more knowledge and experience to contribute.
Re: Rack mount flashing battery rear light
I have this rear carrier-mounted light from Oxford Products. It's quite widely available, has a built-in reflector, fits 50mm and 80mm light brackets and despite what the website says, it has no less than 7 modes, 6 of which are variations on flashing. Unlike the German models I've used previously you don't need a screwdriver and a lot of patience to swap the batteries. On the downside it also has a prominent on/off/mode switch which is far too easy to knock accidentally, it's not the brightest when viewed at an angle and 7 modes are far more than anyone needs. It's also a faff to switch off as you have to cycle through all the "on" modes looking for the "off" mode, and quite often I go past it before I can stop and have to cycle round all the modes again. Generally it's OK, though.
Re: Rack mount flashing battery rear light
I had one of those - better than some of the junky rack-mount lights I have come across but still poor. A screw for such a thing is a very bad idea. And mine had issues with wonky contacts - I have none to wonderful memories of sitting by the side of the road on a Dunwich Dynamo, fiddling with the screw AND packing the inside with bits of cardboard to retain battery contact.PH wrote: ↑25 Nov 2021, 8:57am
What I don't know is how the battery swap is achieved, before I had a dynamo I had a battery B&M rack light, you had to unscrew the cover to replace. Not a big deal on a commuter bikes where a pair of batteries would last months, but an awkward task at the side of the road if that were ever needed.
Hence my enthusiasm for the Cateye solution.
Cateye know what they are doing.
And it bothers me not that their lights might not be billed as "retina burning" or whatever.
Sweep
Re: Rack mount flashing battery rear light
https://www.spacycles.co.uk/m12b0s39p35 ... ery-LED%29
This should help the op, I have the Dynamo version of this light and I can't recommend it enough.
This should help the op, I have the Dynamo version of this light and I can't recommend it enough.