# "Excuse me sir... You need a brighter tail light..."



## BentChainring (Jun 23, 2005)

Is what the kind old lady told me today.

Riding to a friends house tonight, a lady stopped with her window open and said that I _REALLY_ needed a brighter tail light, and if she were my wife she would be yelling at me... 

I have a Planet Bike Epileptic Flash-o-rama (on flash mode), and one of those glow reflector dealies on my left arm (steady).

I guess its time for the Dinotte?


----------



## mrbubbles (Jul 1, 2007)

Perhaps she was being sarcastic? If not, get a Dinotte 400L taillight..


----------



## BentChainring (Jun 23, 2005)

mrbubbles said:


> Perhaps she was being sarcastic? If not, get a Dinotte 400L taillight..


She wasn't. My response was "are your serious?!"


----------



## mrbubbles (Jul 1, 2007)

BentChainring said:


> She wasn't. My response was "are your serious?!"


I assume the old lady is driving, she needs her driver license revoked. It's unsafe to drive if you can't see a Planet Bike Superflash with full battery in blink mode.


----------



## BentChainring (Jun 23, 2005)

mrbubbles said:


> I assume the old lady is driving, she needs her driver license revoked. It's unsafe to drive if you can't see a Planet Bike Superflash with full battery in blink mode.


You have just described 90% of drivers in Los Angeles. Just used my REI Gift Cards. Dinotte 140 is on its way to my local REI store. Been meaning to pick one up, just haven't had the motivation, this kind soul gave it to me 

nK


----------



## Hollywood (Jan 16, 2003)

BentChainring said:


> Excuse me sir... You need a brighter tail light...


did you put her in a head lock?


----------



## Becky (Jun 15, 2004)

HTF did she not see a Planet Bike seizure light?!?!  At least she was nice about it. Around here, someone would have laid on the horn, flung something out the window, and questioned my sexuality. 

Congrats on the Dinotte.


----------



## Pscyclepath (May 22, 2008)

I run a Superflash *and* a Dinotte 140L on the back of the Cross-Check ... Drivers complain when they pull up behind me...


----------



## FatTireFred (Jan 31, 2005)

she called you "sir"???


----------



## BentChainring (Jun 23, 2005)

FatTireFred said:


> she called you "sir"???


No, i was paraphrasing... She actually said "Excuse me, you powerful piece of man meat"


----------



## BentChainring (Jun 23, 2005)

Hollywood said:


> did you put her in a head lock?


Volvos have that new anti-headlock feature, didnt you know?


----------



## bigbill (Feb 15, 2005)

In my earlier commuting days, I got to work a couple of times only to realize that my taillight battery had died on the way in. If I pass another commuter with a dim taillight that obviously has a weak battery I will politely tell them. Someone did it for me once and I was grateful. For the past four years I have used a NR HID headlight with the universal taillight that all run off the same battery.


----------



## Creakyknees (Sep 21, 2003)

consider a reflecto-vest too. watch these vids - the sheer surface area has more visibility than a blinking point light, which can get lost in the background noise.


----------



## Fixed (May 12, 2005)

*Dinotte*



BentChainring said:


> I guess its time for the Dinotte?


I have had the Dinotte 200L for a couple of years, and at least once a week a driver pulls up and comments on high bright it is, saying they could see it from a mile away, and even thank me for it. I guess some drivers appreciate our making it less likely that drivers will run over us.

Get the Dinotte. You will not regret it. I have never been aware of a piece of cycling equipment that I could recommend as strongly.


----------



## JohnnyTooBad (Apr 5, 2004)

That really just makes me question the batteries in it. I replaced the batteries in my Mars 3.0 a couple of months ago, but when I got on my bike Monday morning, the batteries were almost dead. They usually last a lot longer. I really want a SSC P7 in the front and a bight azz LED in the back (200+ lumens) that both run off the same battery. I don't think anyone makes such a thing (at a reasonable price, anyway), so I want to build my own.


----------



## ksteinhoff (Jan 7, 2009)

BentChainring said:


> Is what the kind old lady told me today.
> 
> Riding to a friends house tonight, a lady stopped with her window open and said that I _REALLY_ needed a brighter tail light, and if she were my wife she would be yelling at me...
> 
> ...


My response would have been, "You saw it, didn't you?" (Then I would have checked my batteries to see if she was right.)

Here's what my taillights look like.


----------



## roadfix (Jun 20, 2006)

I have the Superflash. Tha'ts plenty for LA drivers.


----------



## FatTireFred (Jan 31, 2005)

BentChainring said:


> No, i was paraphrasing... She actually said "Excuse me, you powerful piece of man meat"




clearly, the old lady's eyesight is going...


----------



## superjohnny (May 16, 2006)

BentChainring said:


> No, i was paraphrasing... She actually said "Excuse me, you powerful piece of man meat"


You got her phone number then right?


----------



## rodar y rodar (Jul 20, 2007)

Speaking of battery level- did you get off and check for yourself how your blinkie looked that night, BCR? Maybe that was the whole problem.

Thanks for the videos, Creaky. It makes me think it might be interresting to take my bike and my clothes out some night and have my brother ride it around in the dark for me to see how it shows up from different angles and conditions. Anybody else do that?


----------



## Mr. Versatile (Nov 24, 2005)

Hey Bent, I'm pretty sure the mistake you're making is not taking the light out of the box it comes in. Good Gawd man...do I have to tell you everything?


----------



## Touch0Gray (May 29, 2003)

BentChainring said:


> ......... and if she were my wife she would be yelling at me...


so you ask her to marry you?


----------



## BentChainring (Jun 23, 2005)

Touch0Gray said:


> so you ask her to marry you?


She was pretty freaking old... I think in her like... 40's??? (j/k!!!  )


----------



## rodar y rodar (Jul 20, 2007)

BentChainring said:


> She was pretty freaking old... I think in her like... 40's??? (j/k!!!  )


 Ouch!


----------



## tarwheel2 (Jul 7, 2005)

40 sounds young to me. You should have hit it!

I've got a PB Superflash and a Dinotte 140. The Dinotte is definitely much brighter and has a lot more and better flashing options. It's also heavier because of the battery pack, which takes 4AAs. I think it's worth what I paid ($103 on sale). But if money is an issue, just get another Superflash and run one on steady mode and the other on flash.

I still use my Superflash, and you really need two tail-lights anyway in case one goes out. My Dinotte came unplugged once and the batteries went dead another time, so I would have been without a tail-light if I didn't also have a backup Superflash.


----------



## wipeout (Jun 6, 2005)

Have someone ride your bike at night while you follow in your car. You'll be surprised and probably want to go buy a reflective vest and a few more blinkies.


----------



## Ridgetop (Mar 1, 2005)

She's blind and shouldn't be on the road. I've got two superflashes and drivers complain when I'm in front of them at stoplights.


----------



## Tweezak (Dec 6, 2008)

Ok...exactly which Planet Bike light do you have? I used to have a PB Blinky 1 and it was all but worthless. The only PB rear light worth considering, IMO, is the Superflash.

Blackburn has a new 1W rear light...the Mars 4.0. I saw it at the shop on Thursday but the off-center brightness didn't seem as good as the 1/2W Superflash.

Another supposedly good 1/2W taillight is the Niterider Cherry Bomb. I haven't seen it but the younger guys at the shop said it is wicked.

A friend said my Superflash and Blinky 1 didn't make me noticeable in pitch black rain. They were just two more red lights in a sea of car tail lights and reflectors. Not to mention all the headlight scattering off rain and such. This pissed me off.

So, I bought a Dinotte 200L-AAS for a headlight and moved my Planet Bike Blaze 1W to the rear. I put an amber lens on it that I cut out of an old motorcycle turn signal. People really notice the painfully bright off-color light running in superflash mode. I like the feedback I am getting from people regarding the amber rear light. Lots of people I work with pass me on the highway and they say I stand right out and am visible from well over a mile away.

I don't know if you want to go to these kinds of extremes but it's working for me.


----------



## Art853 (May 30, 2003)

Overcoming a car headlight with additional taillight is a tough battle. Reflective material and bright clothing would use the headlights power to your advantage.


----------



## atpjunkie (Mar 23, 2002)

*I run 2*

one onmy saddlebag and one on my helmet (made a ziptie hanger)
one is the NiteRiderthe other a Cateye, both in flash mode. I may invest in one of those Planet Bike or Dinottes


----------

