tail lights

[Hugh]

I have lost 4 tail lights so far. One never even made it to the bike it just fell apart. Next one when I hit a bump the lens and leds fell out and before I could get them a car ran them over. Second was a good quality usb rechargeable light. That one I think fell out of my pannier bag on the way into work. Third one was a cheap one that lasted the longest it fell off on a bump tonight. Now I have a rack on each of the 2 bikes, one e bike and one pedal bike I hope to convert one day so a light on the seat post is not a good choice because when I carry stuff it covers the light. So I try to convert the lights to attach to the rear of the rack. This is prob an impossible dream but does anyone make a reasonable rear light that can attach to a rack. They all seem to be made of cheap plastic with very flimsy mount methods. And I do not want to pay a hundred dollars either. I,m thinking of ordering a dozen from amazon.

 

[J.R.]

@Hugh

I've had the Cygolite light for a year and a couple thousand miles. It's extremely bright, durable and well made. Brightness is adjustable, as is several blinking modes and the battery is USB rechargeable and long lasting. I ride about 75% dirt roads and rail-trails etc..., 25% paved. Rough surfaces! I mounted the light with the rack mount and haven't had any problems yet. Light is a snap to remove, when you want to remove it for security or charging. The light I had previously, I lost like you did, on the same travel areas I ride now.

I highly recommend the Cygolite, without question the best rear light I've ever owned.

Light: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005DVA57Y/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Mount: https://www.amazon.com/CygoLite-Rac..._SR160,160_&psc=1&refRID=JD9QRKT7JVAG346J0RKE

 

[Hugh]

Great looking product, thanks once again J.R. I believe I will order one plus 2 rack mounts as well.

 

[wren]

I buy disposables on eBay direct from China or Hong Kong. They are held on by an elastic strap, no problem, cost about a buck each.

 

[EddieJ]

I buy disposables on eBay direct from China or Hong Kong. They are held on by an elastic strap, no problem, cost about a buck each.

I do just the same.

(Link Removed - No Longer Exists)


They seem to put up with exceptionally harsh riding conditions that I put them through.




90% of my riding is off road, and the 10% on road use, is on very quiet country lanes, so I don't really require anything expensive.

If I were riding on the road more often, I would probably invest in something brighter, larger, and more robust.

 

[J.R.]

I don't encounter more than a handful of cars out in the country where I live and ride, most this time of the year are in the daylight. I can't understand spending thousands on an ebike, a hundred or more on a helmet and 99 cents on a rear light

 

[TrevorB]

I use a USB specialized Stix Comp Tail Light. I've attached to rack using seat post rubber bungy, survived some rough tails. Mainly because of flexible mount and how lite it is. Only worry is need to bend rubber right back to place in USB port, may break with time. Not a problem if using USB extension cable which I am.

 

[Hugh]

I,ve ordered a cygolite and also picked up a nice Serfas TL2000 as well since the cygolite won,t show up for a week. I took an old seat post and cut off a 2 1/2 long piece of it and drilled 2 holes through it, the top hole with a 1/8 bolt through it and the bottom with a 1/4 hole through it. The 1/4 hole has a bolt that goes through it and has 2 nuts between the seatpost tube and then through a tab on the back of the rack. The 2 nuts provide a space so the rubber mount can be used, simulating a seatpost mount. The smaller bolt prevents the light from somehow slipping off. This is mounted on the rack of my Bion X equipped bike. The MTB will get a similar treatment in a cpl of weeks.

 

[harryS]

I just got a rear rack battery with a built-in tail light. Probem solved with that bike.

However, the $1 tail lights that mount with a rubber cord on another one of my bikes are fine. If your regular tail light is falling off your rack, you're not using good fasteners. I use jam nuts and the lights may swing loose, but we're not losing them.

 

[Hugh]

It's not the mounts falling off. With one the lens popped off due to a bump and was run over by a car, On another going up a curb caused the problem, most of these lights have a plastic slide on bracket and using one for a few weeks the small plastic indent thats supposed to click in place to lock the on had lost its tension, that one i should have heard fall off but didn't. Another fell out of my pannier on the way into work, at least I think thats where it went missing. Any way problem is I hope solved, the mount I made is double nutted using loctite, the lens has a small bit of tape so it cant pop off and the slide on bracket has been disabled with a zip tie. I'm relying on the rubber strap that wraps around the seat post to hold the light on, that way it can still be removed when i go into work. It's too bad but anything not removed or locked down goes missing . I use 2 kyptonite locks to keep the bike tied to the rack, at least that still is working