Maybe you are starting to think that I am obsessed with bicycle lights. Well, I am interested in the subject, but not to the point of obsession, it’s just that as I add to the stable of bikes I own, I keep needing to outfit them with lights for my safety and I keep looking for new, better models.
The technology keeps getting better and manufacturers keep coming up with different models that suit different needs. I’ve found lights for one bike that I wouldn’t use on another bike. Others are good all-round.
Read my other posts about bike lights.
It’s really tough to measure brightness, but lights are getting brighter in general, but the race to the top for brightest is dying down. A couple of companies now make lights that are in the overkill range and there is no longer any reason to keep on getting brighter. DiNotte even sells one model with a disclaimer you must accept saying that you won’t use it at night. But many consumer level lights in the $30-50 range are now bright enough to be considered “daytime-bright.” In other words, bright enough to be of use as a warning to motorists even during the daytime.
My latest purchase in a bike tail light is the Serfas Thunderbolt. I’ve been watching this light for over a year now and finally decided to buy one after reading some good comments about it’s brightness. I liked the way it attaches to the bike and decided it would be one of the few possibilities to fit the bar on the back of the seat on my Tour Easy.
It’s another USB rechargeable Li-Ion powered light. It is encased in some kind of silicone plastic and is supposed to be waterproof. It attaches to any tube or bar on a bike that you can wrap the two silicone bands around, making it very versatile. It’s one of the few I’ve seen that is equally at home on a recumbent and a diamond-frame bike.