# Bar End Lights



## UrbanPrimitive (Jun 14, 2009)

I'm looking into getting some bar end lights. I'm fairly broad of should, and hence broad of bar. As such I thought getting some of these guys to make my drop ends visible (and me as a result) might make my night rides a little safer. It can start getting dark as early as 4:00 here so they'd get a fair amount of use, and all sorts of road conditions. I'm willing to admit I'm a bit vain when it comes to my bike. I'd rather not look like there are alien pods on the ends of my bars, so I'm looking primarily at LEDs. The lights I've been looking at so far are the  Knog Tadpole, the  Soma Road Flare, which looks suspiciously like a rebadged  Ravx, or the  BLT Drop Flash. So far finding reviews of this stuff has mean almost impossible.


So here's the question part:

Does anyone have suggestions or experiences with bar end lights they'd care to share? Any information is greatly appreciated!


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

We have bar-end lights from Trek on all our bikes.

Work great, easy to install and change batteries.

A little hard to turn on and off with full winter gloves.


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## FatTireFred (Jan 31, 2005)

the blt dropflash is the same lightset that perf and others sold awhile back... and they are crap. aside from not being all that bright compared to more recently developed lights, they have a habit of turning off. no exp w/ the others


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## MerckxMad (Jan 22, 2004)

IMHO, bar-end lights stink. Two, small, red dots on bar-ends that typically point down and are blocked by arms and torso do not offer much as far as visability to trailing traffic. You're better off putting your money towards a real rear light and/or a hi-vis top.


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## UrbanPrimitive (Jun 14, 2009)

I suppose it's worth mentioning that I'm looking at these as being a supplement to a good rear light. Given that they run about $15, it doesn't seem like there's much to lose in trying one set, though trying four is a little past my price range.


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## KWL (Jan 31, 2005)

I bought some Treks this past winter. Nice in that they use AAA batteries rather than the little watch-type batteries - much longer battery life. The best thing is a little Maguiar's auto polish will take the Trek logo right off and leave a clear red lens. They look suspiciously like the RAVX & Soma.


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## Blue CheeseHead (Jul 14, 2008)

I have some. Meh. Useless. I am with MerckxMad.


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## mechBgon (Sep 28, 2009)

MerckxMad said:


> IMHO, bar-end lights stink. Two, small, red dots on bar-ends that typically point down and are blocked by arms and torso do not offer much as far as visability to trailing traffic. You're better off putting your money towards a real rear light and/or a hi-vis top.



Here's a video of the Trek Beacons on a bike with a SuperFlash and a DiNotte. The surprise is that they actually *are* rather visible, even in the all-engulfing blast of the DiNotte that makes the SuperFlash nearly impossible to see:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDhwTV229E0

To address the original question, I recommend getting ones that use AAA cells so you can run rechargeables, *not* the ones that consume a 4-pack of watch batteries. Also, they're like other bike blinkies in that they're directional, so you'll get best visibility if your bar tips & lights are aiming straight back, not downward.


I'd still throw on a SuperFlash Stealth as a minimum primary light (and make sure you aim it level, not down). They're bright, but equally important, their *blink-blink-KA-POW!!* flash pattern catches peoples' eye really well. And get in the habit of switching 'em on for every ride, so they're running when the daylight begins to fade you out.


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## Dizzy812 (Feb 20, 2007)

We need lights that move so that we're identified as bikes. I take these little 'turtles' and attach them to my pedals. 



PM for details . . .


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## jd3 (Oct 8, 2004)

Dizzy812 said:


> We need lights that move so that we're identified as bikes. I take these little 'turtles' and attach them to my pedals.
> 
> 
> 
> PM for details . . .


Those also work great on the back of a helmet.


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## Mr. Versatile (Nov 24, 2005)

I commuted for years in the dark and never used bar end lights. Recently I went for an after dark ride with a friend who had them. I was surprised at how visible they were. I don't know the brand name.


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## MerckxMad (Jan 22, 2004)

mechBgon said:


> Here's a video of the Trek Beacons on a bike with a SuperFlash and a DiNotte. The surprise is that they actually *are* rather visible, even in the all-engulfing blast of the DiNotte that makes the SuperFlash nearly impossible to see:
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDhwTV229E0
> 
> ...



Wait a minute. In that video, the camera is on the ground and pointed up towards the road. I guess if you want to be seen by a rodent, then the light set-up in that video is what you want. If you're in a moving vehicle approaching the rider from the rear, I doubt bar ends are gonna make a difference. Actually, the yellow jacket of the rider and the rear blinker are the most visible. But hey, it's your money.


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## mechBgon (Sep 28, 2009)

MerckxMad said:


> Wait a minute. In that video, the camera is on the ground and pointed up towards the road. I guess if you want to be seen by a rodent, then the light set-up in that video is what you want. If you're in a moving vehicle approaching the rider from the rear, I doubt bar ends are gonna make a difference.


Actually, my bar tips are aimed level, so the "ideal" height for the camera would've been at bar-tip height, about 1 meter *above* the ground. The hotspot of the beam is large enough to cover a decent angle of approach, both side-to-side and vertically, so it really doesn't matter except at point-blank range anyway.

As a professional bicycle mechanic, I do realize that some people have their bar tips angled downward, so those who prefer that bar position won't get full impact from bar-tip lights on road-style handlebars. The flat-bar version doesn't have that gotcha, since they can be aimed by rotating them in the bar.



> Actually, the yellow jacket of the rider and the rear blinker are the most visible. But hey, it's your money.


Well of course they are, the DiNotte 140L is a $230 taillight. It had BETTER be the most visible. As bright as the jacket may look in daylight, it's still not visible in the dark until pretty close range, which is why I have a reflective vest over it... although even that is useless until the motorists finally decide it's too dark to drive with their headlights off. No lights, no reflectivity. I routinely ride 60mph highways, so last-second visibility is not an acceptable solution.


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## m_s (Nov 20, 2007)

I like the idea but the ones I used (performance brand I think) didn't really do much and the left one broke after a few months (I might have hit it while locking up). For 15 bucks or whatever though they do add some width to your lighting which is nice.


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## undies (Oct 13, 2005)

I'm confused. If you have bar end lights, where do your shifters go?


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## m_s (Nov 20, 2007)

har. Singlespeed.


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## blackhat (Jan 2, 2003)

undies said:


> I'm confused. If you have bar end lights, where do your shifters go?




on the DT where they belong, of course.


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## muscleendurance (Jan 11, 2009)

urbanprimitave said:


> bar end lights


I agree they should be banned


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## muscleendurance (Jan 11, 2009)

undies said:


> I'm confused. If you have bar end lights, where do your shifters go?


one around the seatpost and the other on the front fork.


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## richgfcst (Nov 25, 2006)

*Soma are not waterproof - would not recommend*

The Soma's are not waterproof. The light is bright, but not too bright to bother the riders with you. However - if you get caught in the rain (we have had a rainy riding season in the Midwest) the switches stop working.
Richgfcst




UrbanPrimitive said:


> I'm looking into getting some bar end lights. I'm fairly broad of should, and hence broad of bar. As such I thought getting some of these guys to make my drop ends visible (and me as a result) might make my night rides a little safer. It can start getting dark as early as 4:00 here so they'd get a fair amount of use, and all sorts of road conditions. I'm willing to admit I'm a bit vain when it comes to my bike. I'd rather not look like there are alien pods on the ends of my bars, so I'm looking primarily at LEDs. The lights I've been looking at so far are the  Knog Tadpole, the  Soma Road Flare, which looks suspiciously like a rebadged  Ravx, or the  BLT Drop Flash. So far finding reviews of this stuff has mean almost impossible.
> 
> 
> So here's the question part:
> ...


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