Rear light

[Willam]

Anyone know a rear light that has a constant with an integrated flash?

 

[Gwylan]

Erm? My rear doesn't emit much light and generally less wisdom

 

[fossyant]

Exposure does I think. My Magicshine Seemee 200 and 300 'pulse' but don't flash - they stay on but then fade bright, then fade lower. Has other features like brake light and smart sensing of light levels.

 

[DCLane]

Mode # 7 of the Lezyne Strip Drive 300+ would cover that. It's a good light, but not cheap.

 

[Sharky]

A better option is just to have two rear lights. One permanent and one flashing. You can never predict when one may fail with flat battery, especially when riding at night, looking in the forwards direction, with the rear lights out of sight.

 

[raleighnut]

Cateye did a good one, 2 rows of 5 LED's that can be set idependently i.e one flashing and one constant

 

[fossyant]

Cateye did a good one, 2 rows of 5 LED's that can be set idependently i.e one flashing and one constant

Oh, Cateye lights, in the long distant past of a candle equivalent ! It's a shame they never kept up really. Build quality of new lights is much better and brighter and better light focus (e.g. dipped).

 

[Drago]

A better option is just to have two rear lights. One permanent and one flashing. You can never predict when one may fail with flat battery, especially when riding at night, looking in the forwards direction, with the rear lights out of sight.

Wise words.

 

[midlandsgrimpeur]

Mode # 7 of the Lezyne Strip Drive 300+ would cover that. It's a good light, but not cheap.

Used the strip drive for years, great light.

 

[Sea of vapours]

Garmin Varias have a mode which is always on but pulses from bright to less so. And a distinct benefit of those, if you just have the one rear light and it's a Varia, is that a) it'll tell you when the battery is low on the head unit but, more importantly, b) it'll say 'Radar disconnected' if the light either drops off or runs out of energy, so you *do* know that your light is still there and still working. (More precisely, you are told if it isn't.)

 

[fossyant]

Garmin Varias have a mode which is always on but pulses from bright to less so. And a distinct benefit of those, if you just have the one rear light and it's a Varia, is that a) it'll tell you when the battery is low on the head unit but, more importantly, b) it'll say 'Radar disconnected' if the light either drops off or runs out of energy, so you *do* know that your light is still there and still working. (More precisely, you are told if it isn't.)

Complicated and expensive. Lets see what the OP wants. You know the Magicshine SeeMee range is on, as it has a downlighter, which is very good for commuting. Two lights is the answer, and that's what I run.

 

[cougie uk]

Garmin Varias have a mode which is always on but pulses from bright to less so. And a distinct benefit of those, if you just have the one rear light and it's a Varia, is that a) it'll tell you when the battery is low on the head unit but, more importantly, b) it'll say 'Radar disconnected' if the light either drops off or runs out of energy, so you *do* know that your light is still there and still working. (More precisely, you are told if it isn't.)

I love my Varia - I don't actually ride at night now - but when I did having two rears is just better. If one fails - you have another.
No point the varia telling you its run out if you don't have another light with you.

All of these lights are so much better than the lights we had back in the day. Three or four of us would go out for night rides and by the end of two hours we would have one front and one rear light working between us all.

 

[Sea of vapours]

Oh I agree, re having two rear lights, hence I did say

if you just have the one rear light

Two active rear lights is most certainly the way to go. Even with two, however, it's useful to know if one has failed / dropped off / about to fail. On rides where I'm gong to end up doing a few hours in the dark, such as long ones at this time of year, I carry a second Varia and swap that with the one which is active at the point the head unit tells me the battery is low on the first one. (Not that any of that is probably very pertinent to the OP, whereas having a pulse type mode is!)

 

[matticus]

Cateye did a good one, 2 rows of 5 LED's that can be set idependently i.e one flashing and one constant

Yes, this one!

I never bought one new (mainly due to insance price) but I've recently been donated one, and it's great!

(Bear in mind I still like using rechargeable AAs!)

It's a very reliable design, as the AAs are on separate circuits, with a button for each row of lights.

 

[Drago]

I love my Varia - I don't actually ride at night now - but when I did having two rears is just better. If one fails - you have another.
No point the varia telling you its run out if you don't have another light with you.

All of these lights are so much better than the lights we had back in the day. Three or four of us would go out for night rides and by the end of two hours we would have one front and one rear light working between us all.

Lights today are indeed amazing.

For less than a tenner you can get a robust front and rear LED set with an astonishing battery life. So cheap it begs the question as why anyone would risk their life at night with no lights.