Night time is drawing in so Rear Light

[fossyant]

Comparison with car lights and fog lights.

 

[Milo]

Looks a bit dazzling for a rear light tbh.

 

[fossyant]

Looks a bit dazzling for a rear light tbh.

Keeps the bogey men away. Only had one complaint from a milk float driver. Most comments come from cyclists in the blimey they are good, but did have a guy pull up next to me in a sports car, and shout over "magicshine". Obviously a cyclist.

 

[Milo]

I said that before seeing the comparison image does not look so bad there. I'm always wary of dazzling because I find when car front lights are excessively bright I tend to drift towards them. Though most drivers dip thankfully.

 

[cyberknight]

Another smart r2 user , along with a standard smart flasher on each pannier gives me a good triangular foot print along with plenty of reflective bits.

 

[MrJamie]

and they will burnout the retinas of any cyclist dumb enough to try to suck your wheel.

I have mine mounted on the seatstays and aimed horizontally, so at distance you get full brightness but as you get closer it's less eye burning, kinda at the request of friends I ride with

I have one of the Cateye LD-1100 above too, which I do like a lot because the angle of vision is good as are the modes, but its not as bright as the R2s, its hard to mount anywhere other than seatpost/saddlebag and its nearly twice as expensive. I don't really use it anymore so moved it over to my 2nd bike.

 

[Davidc]

The Smart R1 is very good too, and smaller than the R2. Too bright if riding in a group though.

My other comment is that you should run at least 2 preferably 3 separate lights at the back, as you may not notice if one fails or goes flat.

I run an R1 plus one of the older superflash units (less powerful) plus a dynamo light (Toplight by B&M) which gets good driver response.

I have mine mounted on the seatstays and aimed horizontally, so at distance you get full brightness but as you get closer it's less eye burning, kinda at the request of friends I ride with

I agree with this entirely. It's at a distance you need maximum effect. Mine are on the down section of my rack and on the back of the rack, carefully set horizontally.

 

[headcoat]

Lots of great advice there, thanks. I have opted for 2 of the Smart R2s. Mainly based upon most people recommending them and their price.

Totally agree in having two, not for the extra brightness, but just in case the batteries go on one.

 

[Michael on Bicycle]

Fenix (http://fenix-store.com) has announced new dedicated bike lights that sound impressive, the BT series... the BT-20 is something like 700+ lumens and can run on four AA rechargeables (<$100)! I mentioned earlier that I use a couple of their flashlights as headlights and love them. The BT's have reflectors that direct light in front of the wheel as well as up to 150 meters down the road (different brightness settings).

Btw - checked out the Tredz S2 video. .. it's the same light as the PDW Danger Zone which I've used now for over a year and it's great! Vehicles move out to pass me earlier and with much greater distance often changing lanes. The Magic Shine is brighter but the Danger Zone sells for under $25 at Amazon and runs on two AAA rechargeables.