Best rear bike lights ladies' hybrid with pannier?

smallbrowncat

Hi all,

Am stratching my head a wee bit here about what sort of rear bike light I can use on my ladies' hybrid. I'd like to affix it to the back of the pannier... but not sure what kind of light is best, or where to affix it? There is a reflector at the back of the pannier.

As I commute to work on busy roads, I want to get EXTREMELY bright rear lights for my safety. I have seen some good Cateye ones on Wiggle, but either they require attachment to seat post (no good because my seat is low, and the pannier is in the way), or the pannier mounting attachment would require me to screw the light on (ie affix it permanently). I kind of want to be able to take my lights with me when it's locked up in town, because I think they'll just get nicked otherwise.

Any help on this would be much appreciated, because I've been trying to work out what's best for a couple of weeks and I'm stumped! Thanks!!

tomasrojo

The Smart 1/2 Watt are always a good bet.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=42472

They're pretty cheap and very bright. You can always use more than one.

They can clip onto a belt, so you could wear a Sam Browne and attach one to that.

Some people attach the light mount to the rear carrier, but I'm not sure how. It looks as if they wrap a rubber strip around one of the struts until they've got a cylinder of rubber about the same width as a seat stay, and then attach the light mount to that.

Maybe your pannier has a slot or strap that the light could clip onto?

smallbrowncat

Thanks Tomas! I think maybe (not 100% sure) I've found a solution. It would involve taking off my reflector (which is screwed in to a drop-down section at the back of the pannier - perhaps this is the slot you are thinking of?) and attaching this:

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/cateye-rear-carrier-mounting/

and then this

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/cateye-tl-ld610-led-white-lens-rear-light/

My husband appears reasonably convinced that it's a "slot in" light - I can clip and unclip it to the adapter. Well I'll soon find out... or else he's going to get a new bike light hahaha (perhaps that's his plan!!).

Really confused that there aren't more specific solutions for this! Lots of other commuters that I see have panniers (but not lights). Really want to make sure I'm seen by drivers! Really want to get the light situation sorted before it gets darker in a few months' time.

tomasrojo

By "pannier", do you mean the rear carrier itself -- the metal frame itself that's attached to the bike?



I think that's intended for the rear carrier. Very nice design too. I'd seen them, but forgotten about them. Do you lose the rear reflector by using this? Rear reflectors are a legal requirement, but I've never heard of anyone being done for not having one.

The reviews on the wiggle page you linked to say the TL LD 500 has a rear reflector built into the light.

tomasrojo

smallbrowncat wrote: »

My husband appears reasonably convinced that it's a "slot in" light - I can clip and unclip it to the adapter.

He's right, I think.

smallbrowncat

Sorry yes - I mean the rack itself!! I just call it a pannier, although I suppose that's really what the bags are called. Yes, I want a light attached at the end of the rear carrier!

This is the back end of my bike:



My husband is making noises about not having to lose the reflector, through some apparently creative use of zipties...?! Would prefer to keep the reflector though.

Definitely need an upgrade on the lights as have been using these Knog jobbies and they're not really bright enough for cars to properly take notice of you - http://www.wiggle.co.uk/knog-frog-strobe-led-rear-light

tomasrojo

Yeah, I'm very sure you can take off that red reflector and replace it with the rear carrier mounting bracket.


Both of these lights serve as both a reflector and a rear light.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/cateye-tl-ld570-reflex-auto-led-rear-light/
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/cateye-tl-ld560-reflex-led-rear-light/

You can see how like your reflector they are:


Might be worth considering, though the customer reviews say it isn't that bright.

You can get rear reflectors you can attach to the seat stays. Maybe just get the very bright rear light you were thinking of, and get a rear reflector for the seat stay. To be honest, rear reflectors add very little conspicuity when you have really bright lights, so I wouldn't be too worried about it.

cdaly_

It's also worth having two rear lights. They'll never flash in sync so you'll get a constantly varying pattern of flashing which should draw the eye better...

tomasrojo

This seems to be the most recent thread about rear lights.

Does anywhere in Dublin sell the 1W Smart rear lights (the R1)? Is it much brighter than the 1/2W version?

(I could buy it online, but I'd rather pay in cash.)

tomasrojo

I didn't see the Smart R1 (1 Watt) rear light in any shops, so I ordered it off Evans Cycles. Just arrived. I tried casting light from my old Smart 0.5 Watt against the wall and juxtaposing the light from the 1 Watt. The 1 Watt is noticeably brighter. Will try it in the dark later.

Kintarō Hattori

tomasrojo wrote: »

I didn't see the Smart R1 (1 Watt) rear light in any shops, so I ordered it off Evans Cycles. Just arrived. I tried casting light from my old Smart 0.5 Watt against the wall and juxtaposing the light from the 1 Watt. The 1 Watt is noticeably brighter. Will try it in the dark later.

Let me know how you get on. I have the 0.5W on two different bikes and find it great. When I cycle behind the missus at night I find I have to keep a good distance from her as I find the light really distracting. I can only imagine how you'll endear yourself to motorists with the 1W!

CramCycle

tomasrojo wrote: »

This seems to be the most recent thread about rear lights.

Does anywhere in Dublin sell the 1W Smart rear lights (the R1)? Is it much brighter than the 1/2W version?

(I could buy it online, but I'd rather pay in cash.)

A few places did have it, I seen them in Joe Dalys, commutingsolutions and cycle inn before, not guaranteeing they are still there though

tomasrojo

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

Let me know how you get on. I have the 0.5W on two different bikes and find it great. When I cycle behind the missus at night I find I have to keep a good distance from her as I find the light really distracting. I can only imagine how you'll endear yourself to motorists with the 1W!

I'll be interested myself to see what it's like at night. I was using two 0.5W at the rear up until recently, but I thought I'd rationalise it down to one rear light, but use a higher wattage. I'm going to use it on constant, since I think it's so bright that the flashing option would go beyond conspicuous and into distracting, as you say.

I was reminded today while looking at it on my bike, mounted under the saddle, of a peculiar turn of phrase in Nabokov's Bend Sinister.

Krug walked as fast as he could. Clouds had masked our siliceous satellite. Somewhere near the middle of the bridge he overtook the grizzled cyclists. Both were inspecting the anal ruby of one of the bicycles. The other lay on its side like a stricken horse with half-raised sad head.

tomasrojo

Tried out the 1W between nine and ten tonight, conditions more dusky than dark. The light was very visible, more so than the 0.5W, though the 0.5W is hardly dull. The mounting brackets are exactly the same, so I don't have to change how my bikes are already set up. Very happy so far.

blorg

You can get a rack mount for the Smart too, it is what I use. You need to remove the reflector. It is the best place for the light. I wouldn't be losing any sleep over this, I would prefer to have a bright light in a visible place than have to compromise on brightness/position to keep the reflector.

tomasrojo

blorg wrote: »

You can get a rack mount for the Smart too

I guess this is it:
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=29392