# Rear Light set up: advice and let's see 'em



## Pablo (Jul 7, 2004)

The Darkness is right around the corner. I'm looking to put together a rechargeable rear light set up with lights and reflectors that will work with a rack. Gracias.


----------



## bigbill (Feb 15, 2005)

Pablo said:


> The Darkness is right around the corner. I'm looking to put together a rechargeable rear light set up with lights and reflectors that will work with a rack. Gracias.


I use a NR universal taillight that runs off the headlight battery. It is mounted to the rack. I also have a Planet Bike Superflash on the seatpost. The best all around visibility thing I have is a hiviz yellow jogger belt around my bag. It reflects at night, is hiviz during the day, and is car taillight height above the road. It provides around 300 degrees of visibility.


----------



## Guest (Aug 25, 2009)

I've got one from somewhere that clips to my back about 2"x2" and then a couple of knogs that I can clip to the bike and another that I can clip on my helmet, all in red. None are rechargeable but last a long long time on a battery and pretty easy to replace.


----------



## Pablo (Jul 7, 2004)

bigbill said:


> I use a NR universal taillight that runs off the headlight battery. It is mounted to the rack. I also have a Planet Bike Superflash on the seatpost. The best all around visibility thing I have is a hiviz yellow jogger belt around my bag. It reflects at night, is hiviz during the day, and is car taillight height above the road. It provides around 300 degrees of visibility.


So, you plug the taillight battery into the same battery you use for the front? I have a Niterider sol light for the front, so this could be good . . . Any help would be appreciated.

I'm thining of getting some reflectors to hook onto my bag. Where'd you get yours?


----------



## brucew (Jun 3, 2006)

My rack takes European-standard taillights. I chose the B&M 4D Toplight because it has big honkin' reflectors. Not rechargeable _per se_, but you can use rechargeable AAs in it.

My primary taillight is the DiNotte 140L-AA-R. It uses rechargeable AAs.









Here using the camera's flash to light up the reflector.










This one gives an indication of the relative brightness between the two.










Mounting. Note the Euro-standard two-bolt mounting on the B&M light. The standard DiNotte O-ring mount works just fine around a rack leg. Just wrap it around double to take up the slack.










I have the DiNotte's battery pack velcroed to a rack crossmember.


----------



## Pablo (Jul 7, 2004)

brucew said:


> My rack takes European-standard taillights. I chose the B&M 4D Toplight because it has big honkin' reflectors. Not rechargeable _per se_, but you can use rechargeable AAs in it.


Now that is what I'm talking about. Me gusta. How's the DIonette taillight?


----------



## bigbill (Feb 15, 2005)

Pablo said:


> I'm thining of getting some reflectors to hook onto my bag. Where'd you get yours?


I use a jogger belt. Check a sporting goods store and look for the hiviz yellow belts that you wear around your waist or as a sash when running at night. It fits nicely around a rack bag and gives you lots of reflective and hiviz yellow visibility.


----------



## tarwheel2 (Jul 7, 2005)

*rear lights*

I've also got a Dinotte 140 attached the rack that supports my Carradice Barley. Although not shown in this photo, I clip a Planet Bike Superflash to the Barley, mainly as a backup in case the Dinotte loses power. The AA batteries last about a week per charge with my Dinotte but the AAAs in my Superflash last for months.


----------



## MarkS (Feb 3, 2004)

Pablo said:


> So, you plug the taillight battery into the same battery you use for the front? I have a Niterider sol light for the front, so this could be good . . . Any help would be appreciated.
> 
> I'm thining of getting some reflectors to hook onto my bag. Where'd you get yours?



You will need a universal taillight adaptor. http://www.niterider.com/store_adapters.shtml The adaptor plugs into the battery and then has connections for the headlight and the taillight, I have been running the NP universal taillight since 2009 and have no complaints about it.


----------



## Pablo (Jul 7, 2004)

Does anyone know of any comparisons or can compare the Dionette tail light with the Niterider tail light?


----------



## lancezneighbor (May 4, 2002)

I love the Superflash. I have a Dinotte but it's just a little bit of a hassle compared to the Superflash (seperate battery). My NEW favorite taillight is the Serfas TL-ST http://www.rei.com/product/793233 It has a 1/2 watt central LED. It seems brighter than the Superflash. I love the mounting (similar to a Knog). Very light, easy to mount and remove, bright, and cheap.


----------



## Pablo (Jul 7, 2004)

lancezneighbor said:


> I love the Superflash. I have a Dinotte but it's just a little bit of a hassle compared to the Superflash (seperate battery). My NEW favorite taillight is the Serfas TL-ST http://www.rei.com/product/793233 It has a 1/2 watt central LED. It seems brighter than the Superflash. I love the mounting (similar to a Knog). Very light, easy to mount and remove, bright, and cheap.


The Superflash can't possibly be as visible as the Dionette, can it?


----------



## JCavilia (Sep 12, 2005)

I'll try to post a pic later of the rear-light setup I use on my winter commuter, which I ride home in the dark for half the year. I have 6 separate LED clusters. From high to low, they are

1. Planet Bike pivoting light on back of helmet
2. and 3. A pair of small generic LED units on my fanny pack.
4 Similar unit on seat bag
5. Cateye TL-LD1000 on back of rack. This has 10 bright LEDs (6 facing rear, and two on each side). It's comparable to the Superflash, though probably a little less bright.
6. Finally, my custom fender light that my computer geek son helped me design and fabricate. 12 bright LEDs, installed in holes drilled through the lower part of the rear fender. 2 rows of six, forming a vertical column about 6x1.5 inches, surrounded by red reflective tape for enhancement.

Normally, I set a couple of the smaller lights on flash mode, and the brightest ones on steady. All the lights use AA or AAA batteries. I use NiMh rechargeables, and swap in freshly-charged batteries every weekend.

I also have a fairly absurd amount of reflective material on bike, bags, and clothing.



> The Darkness is right around the corner.


Pablo, your introduction reminded me of one of my favorite poems, "I Know a Man," by Robert Creeley

As I sd to my
friend, because I am
always talking, -- John, I

sd, which was not his
name, the darkness sur-
rounds us, what

can we do against
it, or else, shall we &
why not, buy a goddamn big car,

drive, he sd, for
christ's sake, look
out where yr going.


----------



## Pablo (Jul 7, 2004)

JCavilia said:


> I'll try to post a pic later of the rear-light setup I use on my winter commuter, which I ride home in the dark for half the year. I have 6 separate LED clusters. From high to low, they are
> 
> 1. Planet Bike pivoting light on back of helmet
> 2. and 3. A pair of small generic LED units on my fanny pack.
> ...


This I gotta see!


----------



## Pablo (Jul 7, 2004)

Here's my next question for the panel: 

For the price of the Dionette, I could get a couple Planet Bike blinkies and a high visibility vest . . . (such as http://amphipod.com/401-402/401.html). 

Would the combo be money better spent?


----------



## lancezneighbor (May 4, 2002)

Pablo said:


> The Superflash can't possibly be as visible as the Dionette, can it?


No, it is not. But I can leave the Superflash on the bike all the time. If I forget it on the bike even in a crowded area, I have little worry about it being stolen. When I do remove the Superflash it is fast to remove and place back and easy to carry. The Dinotte is a minor hassle mounting the spare battery. The Superflash batteries also last much longer ( of course using less power). The Dinotte battery pack is not easy to charge up since it uses standard (rechargeable) double AAs. ( I do like that the rechargeable batteries on the Dinotte can be replaced very inexpensively ( not like the special batteries on my L&M or Niterider headlamps). I do love the Dinotte but the Superflash is just a (little) bit easier to use and I'm lazy.


----------



## bas (Jul 30, 2004)

Pablo said:


> Here's my next question for the panel:
> 
> For the price of the Dionette, I could get a couple Planet Bike blinkies and a high visibility vest . . . (such as https://amphipod.com/401-402/401.html).
> 
> Would the combo be money better spent?



This rear light is a champ. very bright..lasts a while too (like over a month on aaa rechargeables).

One plus of it is that I can easily fit it on the rear of my helmet on the inside band and not notice it. (have it mounted to my hardtail, but when I got on the road bike I just clip it on the helmet band).



https://www.performancebike.com/bikes/Product_10052_10551_1030714_-1_400057_400014_400159


----------



## JulesYK (Jul 2, 2007)

Pablo said:


> Here's my next question for the panel:
> 
> For the price of the Dionette, I could get a couple Planet Bike blinkies and a high visibility vest . . . (such as http://amphipod.com/401-402/401.html).
> 
> Would the combo be money better spent?


I'm relatively new to bike commuting, but I've been using the Dinotte tail light (in combination with the amber headlight for when it's not really that dark) for over a month, and it is extremely bright. I didn't skimp on lights because part of my commute is on the road and I need to be really seen. In a week or two, the 800 lumen light goes on the handlebars, and I'll add a 400 lumen headlamp in the winter. All from Dinotte.

Their customer service has been wonderful. The packaging is plain jane, but the quality of the lights is outstanding. I really hope that the company flourishes, because their products are great. 

While the prices are reasonable compared to L&M and Nite Rider, they aren't cheap. But being seen is critical on my commute.


----------



## tarwheel2 (Jul 7, 2005)

I had a PB Superflash for a while before I got the Dinotte. A trucker actually pulled along side me at a traffic light and complimented me on how bright the Superflash was. I thought about buying a second one but then sprung for the Dinotte when they had them on sale. It is much brighter than the Superflash, but I've never had a trucker or car driver compliment me on the Dinotte!

If I had two Superflashes, I would run one of them on steady and the other on pulse. One on the back of my helmet and the other on my seat bag. That would be a pretty effective combination. One real plus of the Superflash is that the batteries last forever and the light gradually gets dimmer as the charge drops, so you don't have to worry about having no lights. My Dinotte has occasionally quit working during rides when the wire came loose from the top of the battery pack, which is why I always use the Superflash as a backup.


----------



## fasteddy07 (Jun 4, 2007)

OK,
I am also shopping around for better lights - That time of year I guess..

Thanks for the Pointers on Dinotte...

Would like to do a 140R-AA-R on the back and the 200L AA up front.

Is 200L enough forward light?

Or, is this over the top? we are talking $240 in lighting here.. Not talking about compromising safety etc... but... There are cheaper ways to go...


----------



## Squidward (Dec 18, 2005)

fasteddy07 said:


> Is 200L enough forward light?
> 
> Or, is this over the top? we are talking $240 in lighting here.. Not talking about compromising safety etc... but... There are cheaper ways to go...


Having used a 110 lumen light (Minewt Mini-USB) on the handlebars and a 80 lumen light on my helmet I have to say that 200 lumens would probably be about right. Yes, I know that I should not add the lumens from the two lights as the 80 lumen light disappears when I put that hotspot onto the brighter hotspot from the 110 light. I also know that my 110 lumen light disappears when there are cars beside me whether they are going in my direction or going the other way.

I'm probably going to use the 110 lumen light as my helmet-mounted one and get a brighter one for my handlebar.


----------



## tturbotom (May 8, 2008)

I run a red 3 position (on, flashing, or sweeping) rear tail light all year round, even during the day. I run a Night Hawk Halogen head light for night time or early morning rides/commutes.


----------



## djetelina (Oct 9, 2007)

brucew said:


> My rack takes European-standard taillights. I chose the B&M 4D Toplight because it has big honkin' reflectors. Not rechargeable _per se_, but you can use rechargeable AAs in it.
> 
> My primary taillight is the DiNotte 140L-AA-R. It uses rechargeable AAs.
> QUOTE]
> ...


----------



## Hot Rod Lincoln (Jun 7, 2008)

Two PB Super flash/One Princeton Tech Swerve on the back of my CC


----------



## Leopold Porkstacker (Jul 15, 2005)

I’m still running my homemade dual 10W red LED Dinotte-killer (affectionately named the “D’Naughty”):

(pictures courtesy of Francois)









































    

Imagine how bright they are at night!!!!!!


----------



## Pablo (Jul 7, 2004)

Leopold Porkstacker said:


> I’m still running my homemade dual 10W red LED Dinotte-killer (affectionately named the “D’Naughty”):
> 
> 
> 
> Imagine how bright they are at night!!!!!!


Can you PM me the "homemade" recepie?


----------



## Leopold Porkstacker (Jul 15, 2005)

PM’d.


----------



## Tweezak (Dec 6, 2008)

On my foul weather commuter, I have a Planet Bike Blaze 1watt headlight that I converted to a taillight. I cut a circular piece out of an old amber turn signal lens I had laying around and hot-glued it over the lens of the Blaze. It is pretty bright and being non-red makes it more noticeable among lots of car tail lights.

I have a rack on the bike. The handlebar mount for the Blaze has a screw holding the clip portion to the bar clamp. I just unscrewed this and used a block of aluminum to set it on. I then screwed the whole thing to the top of my rack. I felt like the big part of the light was heavy and unsupported so I put a zip tie around the rack to take some of the load off the plastic mounting piece. 

All that said, I am lusting over a Dinotte taillight.










Here's the mount:


----------



## rodar y rodar (Jul 20, 2007)

*Kind of late to the party...*

Here`s my new tail light- I just mounted it last night. It`s a Seculite Plus, meant to be fender mounted, but I could never figure out a good way to route the wires when it was on the fender of another bike. To make it for easier routing, this time I flipped it upside down and stuck it to an under the rack bracket. Works good, looks much cleaner.


----------



## rodar y rodar (Jul 20, 2007)

*A few more.*

My previous commuter, with the Secuite and a battery operated D-Toplite. The commuter I put together for my sister in law last year with S.F. Both rear racks were my own doing and designed specifically for the lights I mounted on them.


----------



## Leopold Porkstacker (Jul 15, 2005)

Those are some beefy-ass racks!  Very nice.


----------



## intheways (Apr 3, 2006)

I'm planning on going with a Busch & Muller Toplight Flat and Topfire helmet light.


----------



## PaulRivers (Sep 11, 2006)

Leopold Porkstacker said:


> I’m still running my homemade dual 10W red LED Dinotte-killer (affectionately named the “D’Naughty”):
> 
> (pictures courtesy of Francois)
> 
> ...


While that looks really great during the day, I would question whether throwing that kind of light out behind you at night, right at someone driving behind you, is a good idea. I can't even run my Dinotte 200L on low and have a biker follow me without them feeling like it's *way* to bright. It's fine if the person is in a car (I've checked)...not sure more light than that behind you is a good idea.


----------



## PaulRivers (Sep 11, 2006)

Regarding the B&M toplight, be aware that the standlight function *only* draws power from the batteries. If your batteries wear out, the light still lights up while you're moving, but goes out when you stop. So it might appear to working (it's on when you're moving) but not actually light up at a stop.

B&M make other dynamo tail lights with large reflectors that have a standlight that charges off the dynamo. IMO, this is much much better.

My apologies if I'm repeating myself - I know I've written about it in other threads.


----------



## Pablo (Jul 7, 2004)

PaulRivers said:


> While that looks really great during the day, I would question whether throwing that kind of light out behind you at night, right at someone driving behind you, is a good idea. I can't even run my Dinotte 200L on low and have a biker follow me without them feeling like it's *way* to bright. It's fine if the person is in a car (I've checked)...not sure more light than that behind you is a good idea.


Query: when it's dark, for me, I'm pretty much always alone. Are you on night group rides or something?


----------



## PaulRivers (Sep 11, 2006)

JulesYK said:


> I'm relatively new to bike commuting, but I've been using the Dinotte tail light (in combination with the amber headlight for when it's not really that dark) for over a month, and it is extremely bright. I didn't skimp on lights because part of my commute is on the road and I need to be really seen. In a week or two, the 800 lumen light goes on the handlebars, and I'll add a 400 lumen headlamp in the winter. All from Dinotte.
> 
> Their customer service has been wonderful. The packaging is plain jane, but the quality of the lights is outstanding. I really hope that the company flourishes, because their products are great.
> 
> While the prices are reasonable compared to L&M and Nite Rider, they aren't cheap. But being seen is critical on my commute.


fyi, I had the 600L and wasn't impressed with the amount of throw on the beam pattern - for road riding I would consider ordering 2 400L's instead of an 800L. Same amount of light, but they come with a lense kit that lets you decide how much "throw" and how much "spread" light you want so it's much more flexible and customizable. They'll just both run off 1 4-cell battery. They also mount in a way that takes up less handlebar space then an 800L which I'm a big fan of.


----------



## PaulRivers (Sep 11, 2006)

Pablo said:


> Query: when it's dark, for me, I'm pretty much always alone. Are you on night group rides or something?


Yes, I spend more time biking alone than on group rides at night, but I do do some group rides - they're typically the kind of thing where it starts out light out, but is pitch black dark by the end. I have a "regular" tail light on my seat bag just for those rides, plus I figure it makes a good backup to my Dinotte.


----------



## Pablo (Jul 7, 2004)

PaulRivers said:


> Yes, I spend more time biking alone than on group rides at night, but I do do some group rides - they're typically the kind of thing where it starts out light out, but is pitch black dark by the end. I have a "regular" tail light on my seat bag just for those rides, plus I figure it makes a good backup to my Dinotte.


Is the Dinotte worth the moola?


----------



## Leopold Porkstacker (Jul 15, 2005)

Pablo said:


> Is the Dinotte worth the moola?


Only if your fears are tied up with the “complexity” of making your own Dinotte-killer for roughly 1/2 the price. I’ve heard of people’s Dinottes getting stolen off of their bikes (why not the whole bike???), but my setups mount with rather beefy 1/4" drive standard automotive hose clamps. They look ghetto-ass, which is an added bit of theft deterrent. :idea: :thumbsup:


----------



## PaulRivers (Sep 11, 2006)

Pablo said:


> Is the Dinotte worth the moola?


*If* you're riding on the shoulder of a highway at night, it's definitely worth the moola. And it's probably the only rear light you can run on flashing during the day and actually stand out with (doesn't dissapear in the sun). I'm glad it's available, and I think it has it's uses.

However, I have 2 bikes (well I technically own more, but 2 bikes that are relevant for this response) and the other bike simply has 2 rear lights - a planet bike rack blinky 5, and a cateye rear light. I run the cateye on steady and the rack blinky 5 on flashing.

I don't really feel that the Dinotte gives me anything more at night, on 30mph roads, more than the 2 rear blinkies do, to be honest. Cars either see you or they don't - after noticing you, more light doesn't seem to make a difference.

If you don't run rear lights during the day, and don't travel along high(er) speed highways at night, I don't know that it's worth the additional cost and complication. If you do do either of those things, I think it's definitely worth it and one of your few available options that actually works under those circumstances.


----------



## hepcatbent (Aug 19, 2009)

I like simple and cheap. Like bas I've got a Blackburn Mars 3.0 mounted on my seatpost on fast flash and a small five-LED Bell helmet light that I have on steady. They seem to work well. One thing I like about the Mars 3.0 is that it has side-markers in yellow as well as the rear red. They're both light weight, and seem to run forever on a couple of AAA batteries.


----------



## Squidward (Dec 18, 2005)

Leopold Porkstacker said:


> Only if your fears are tied up with the “complexity” of making your own Dinotte-killer for roughly 1/2 the price. I’ve heard of people’s Dinottes getting stolen off of their bikes (why not the whole bike???), but my setups mount with rather beefy 1/4" drive standard automotive hose clamps. They look ghetto-ass, which is an added bit of theft deterrent. :idea: :thumbsup:


I thought about building my own Dinotte killer using your suggestions (thanks again!) but I finally decided that my current setup of running two PB SFs at the same time is more than sufficient for my needs as a commuter and running one of them on the back of my road bikes, even during the day, is sufficient as a cyclist out on a nice weekend ride.

Last night I took my commuter rig out after dark for the first time since building it. The lighting consists of a NiteRider Minewt Mini-USB on the handlebars, a pair of Planet Bike SuperFlashes on the rear (one on the seatpost and one mounted to the rack), and a small flashlight dropped into that yellowish water bottle on the seat tube. I have a Cateye HL-EL510 in the pannier as a back up to the Mini-USB in case I forget to charge it (like today!). In total pitch black conditions my bike is visible from 360 degrees even without the water bottle light. The water bottle light is bright enough that drivers can see *me* as they drive by so it's less a case of them passing an inanimate object. The 110 lumens coming from the Mini-USB is sufficient for my commute so it's going to stay. Last year when I was using that light while riding along a highway it was insufficient for that purpose because of the headlights from the cars. At that point I really needed more light. Tonight I'm going to try mounting the Mini-USB to the fork to see if I like the lower mounting position better or not.


----------



## Pablo (Jul 7, 2004)

PaulRivers said:


> *If* you're riding on the shoulder of a highway at night, it's definitely worth the moola. And it's probably the only rear light you can run on flashing during the day and actually stand out with (doesn't dissapear in the sun). I'm glad it's available, and I think it has it's uses.
> 
> However, I have 2 bikes (well I technically own more, but 2 bikes that are relevant for this response) and the other bike simply has 2 rear lights - a planet bike rack blinky 5, and a cateye rear light. I run the cateye on steady and the rack blinky 5 on flashing.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the thoughtful analysis. It sounds like a DIonette is worth it for me.


----------



## rodar y rodar (Jul 20, 2007)

If I had more traffic on a daily basis, I`d go for it. Either that or hit up one of my electronic geek buddies to build me a homebrew version. The things are just so bright it`s got to be a big comfort to know it`s back there.


----------



## hrumpole (Jun 17, 2008)

2 PB superflashes (the "stealth" types): one on the left seatstay, and one on my backpack.


----------



## Creakyknees (Sep 21, 2003)

repost from last year:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYuI2gyUafE

Finally got my wife to cooperate and video me with all my lights and reflecto-gear.

The test vehicle is our '96 Chrysler minivan, which has just about the weakest headlights of any vehicle you're likely to see on the road these days. 

The street is a quiet suburban, one streetlight where the camera is and another maybe 150 meters down the way. You can also see a couple of consctruction barricades blinking away; they're about halfway between the camera and the far streetlight. 

For this run, I'm wearing a nice day-glo yellow jacket, but I also have a HarborFreight reflective vest
http://secure2.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=96569...

I bought 2 of the vests. One of them I wear normally. The other, I attacked with scissors and made 2 separate leg reflectors. The bottom wraps around my ankle like a typical leg strap, and the vertical strap portion runs up the back of my calf. You can see it on my left leg in the video. I had to staple some velcro in various places to make it work, and I used a velcro strap around the top of my calf, stapled to the vest stripe, to hold it up.

For the rear blinky, it's a:
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.8278

For the front light, you can barely see the Cateye I have on my helmet - it's an older 3 LED model.

But I'm hand-holding one of these, and that's what I flash the camera with and makes the wife snort. 
Dealextreme SKU 13442, People's Cree Q2 150-Lumen LED Flashlight with Holster (3*AAA) 
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.13442

So, I'm satisfied this is decent visibility. The leg reflectors are highly visible, and one will fold up smaller than a cell phone so I carry it in a jersey pocket on twilight rides.


----------



## H.Bicycletus (Apr 16, 2006)

Leopold Porkstacker said:


> I’m still running my homemade dual 10W red LED Dinotte-killer (affectionately named the “D’Naughty”):
> 
> care to share the specs for this home-brew setup? It looks awesome and if it's truly half the cost of a Dlnotte 140L there are a probably a lot of folks interested in thi


----------

