3×240 lumen LED’s
£160
rear light

Now I appreciate its pretty important to be seen on the road but is there really any call for such a powerful rear light?
Lovely Engineering as ever with Hope but seems like a sledgehammer to crack a nut. Is all of this-

really needed for a rear light?

absolutly way OTT, no need what so ever to be honest….

they should really be concentrating on newer front lights, the vision range is pretty much out of date now and although its still plenty of light, they are getting left behind….

thing is if the created a new front light, it would sell by the bucket load simply cos its hope….missing out on money there in my opinion!

still thats a ridiculous light…..

exposure flare all the way – even thats expensive, but its simple, waterproof and works, ohhh and its plenty bright enough!

that just stupid, and has the potential to be very dangerous as the drivers behind will be unable to see you due to the intensity of the light.

You can’t have too powerful a light for those times when your between an unobservant driver and a low sun.

the drivers behind will be unable to see you due to the intensity of the light.

Oh yeh!! Look there’s a REALLY bright red light, I’d better drive straight into it!!! 🙄

Dibbs – Member

the drivers behind will be unable to see you due to the intensity of the light.

Oh yeh!! Look there’s a REALLY bright red light, I’d better drive straight into it!!!

😆 tickled me that…i agree though, its brighter they have got less chance of running you down, but it probably still another reason to piss the motorist off, front lights are bad enough 😆

the exposure flare is about 80 lumens i think, and on flashing its bright as anything (probably too bright to look straight into) buts its quite small but effective! that thing looks huge and has a seperate battery pack 😆

too much, wayyyy to much

I’m wondering if it’s not a better idea to have several lights spread around rather than one super bright one. If you could put a light on each seat stay and the back of the helmet (or pack or coat) as well as the seat post you might seem a lot bigger to a driver.
Just an idea.

Flashing light to draw attention and a steady one to allow them to judge distance (which is difficult with a flashing one alone) for me. a single stupidly bright rear light seems a bit silly to me.

Where have you got the specs for this light
No way is it 720 lumens

The hope website says 240deg visibility but can’t find the lumenosity( is that a word ?) spec?

probably still another reason to piss the motorist off, front lights are bad enough

Yeah, cos you wouldn’t want to upset the poor vulnerable, wee, thoughtful caring motorist now, would you? I normally just lie down quietly in the gutter so they can run over me. Keeps them in a good mood.

uhm, bright light = driver looks away = you’re no longer in drivers field of vision = drifts into the back of you.

if there’s such a bright source of light then you effectively go blind to any detail around it.

Yeah, cos you wouldn’t want to upset the poor vulnerable, wee, thoughtful caring motorist now, would you? I normally just lie down quietly in the gutter so they can run over me. Keeps them in a good mood.

They are a road user, you are a road user, why are you better than them?

Its the perfect rear light for the idiots that run 1000Lumen front lights on High. You know, the ones who are perfectly happy to cut through tiny gaps in moving traffic and then complain when traffic dares to start moving again without pulling into the opposite side of the road. Muppets.

They are a road user, you are a road user, why are you better than them?

Its the perfect rear light for the idiots that run 1000Lumen front lights on High. You know, the ones who are perfectly happy to cut through tiny gaps in moving traffic and then complain when traffic dares to start moving again without pulling into the opposite side of the road. Muppets.

I’m not saying I’m better than them, just a lot more vulnerable. And I’m not saying that über bright rear lights are necessary, but equally it sometimes feels like this is a car forum not a bike one. People whining about cyclists riding two abreast and rubbish like that.

There are times – riding at night in the Peak with fog and low visibility for example – where a really bright light makes sense because otherwise you ain’t going to be seen at all, and times when it doesn’t. The light’s adjustable isn’t it.

Tell you what, if I’m riding across the Snake Pass at 10pm I’d rather have a bright rear light that car drivers might actually see from a few hundred yards back than an inadequate one that they notice just as they’re about to hit me.

But hey, I forgot, this is a car forum right?

BadlyWiredDog – Member

probably still another reason to piss the motorist off, front lights are bad enough

Yeah, cos you wouldn’t want to upset the poor vulnerable, wee, thoughtful caring motorist now, would you? I normally just lie down quietly in the gutter so they can run over me. Keeps them in a good mood.

im all for it to be honest, i know my front lights are bliding, even on flashing, i have about as bright as needed for the rear, and anything more, or more leds’ would be far too bright….im not saying we should shy away from being spotted in the slightest, but we as people always require bigger and better, when most of the time its not needed!

if you ride in areas where you feel its appropriate then fair enough, i dont feel the need for anything more than i have…..

im sure it will sell though and no doubt its very well made…

Oh, and from practical experience of running an Exposure Red Eye, what happens in real life – rather than forum conjecture – is that drivers come up behind you, they do a proper ‘what is that?’ slow down, then pass you with plenty of room to spare.

thing is, you can see lower power LEDS from miles off. They are to be seen, not to see by. The Smart 1/2watt on the back of my bike is easily bright enough to be picked out from a mile away. would quite happily ride snake at night with that on.

Yeah, cos you wouldn’t want to upset the poor vulnerable, wee, thoughtful caring motorist now, would you?

No. Not when they’re idiots in 2ton of Transit van bearing down on me. i’d rather they saw a rear light, and even if they think “idiot bike” they’ll pass me with as much room as they feel like, as opposoed to trying thir best to clip me for dazzling them.

Multi-LED on the bik, and one on the helmet work perfectly well as rear lights, combined with reflectors/hi-viz clothing.

BadlyWiredDog – Member

Oh, and from practical experience of running an Exposure Red Eye, what happens in real life – rather than forum conjecture – is that drivers come up behind you, they do a proper ‘what is that?’ slow down, then pass you with plenty of room to spare.

well i think we’re on the same wave length unless thats sarcasm too 😉

the red eye/ flare is plenty plenty bright enough, im just saying anything more would be too much, not saying it wouldnt get you spotted though….i guess depends on where you ride, in a busy city then probably as much light as possible is needed…..

can’t see why you would need anything other than 1x (i use one) of perhaps 2x these:

Smart 1/2w rear:

super bright, distinctive flash pattern and run for ages n 2x AAA and a tenner

think people are trying to create market where there is no need

I think fog is a whole different ball game to be honest. That’s where I think a genuinely bright rear light is a lifesaver. It’s like anything really, you have to use a bit of empathy and common sense.

Ah, common sense. You’re forgetting this is the Great British public we’re talking about…

Even if it is 3 x 240lumen………….

240lumen ~ a good quality 10W halogen bulb

Car brake/tail lights are usualy arround 21/5W

So we’re only talking about a light 50% brighter than a cars brake light, and there’s only one of them, and its probably lower than a cars light too.

As for 900/1000lumen being too much on a bike, its still 50% of a cars dipped beam.

BadlyWiredDog – Member

I think fog is a whole different ball game to be honest. That’s where I think a genuinely bright rear light is a lifesaver. It’s like anything really, you have to use a bit of empathy and common sense.

To be fair BDW thats a cracking and valid point i had totally not bothered to think about! fog is shocking for a rear lights output/distance and i guess in that situation as bright and wide a beam as possible would be really really handy…that said i have probably only ridden in 3 nights of thickish fog throughout winter, so cant say as i would definitely need anything bigger/larger output or justify it for the sake of said odd appaearance of fog, that aside its a good point if you do often travel in it….i seem to have survived ok thus far on the flare, but it must not give out a great distance of light in the fog, that said, neither do cars, so advice really is avoid the road in the fog on your bike 😆 ….

Way too much. There is no point is dazzling other road users. You’re much better off taking a better, constructive, position in the road than being a dazzling hazzard. The road is a cooperative system, not war.

More than one light – good idea. Flashing, esp a distinctive pattern – also good. Reflective bits – yep. Deliberately causing discomfort and confusion – stoopid.

trout – Member
Where have you got the specs for this light
No way is it 720 lumens

Bike Radar article, have to admit I wondered about that I think they mean 240 lumen total not each led

Still I suppose you could mount it at the front for that “speeding through the forests of hell” feeling

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/magicshine-mj-818-ha-iii-ssc-42180u-3w-3-mode-led-bike-tail-light-set-4-18650-included-42077

the cheaper, simpler less engineered without OTT annoying to fit and remove seatpost clamp option

After new year we had really bad fog, snow meant you had to stick to main roads, so I was literally fearing for my life several times, despite a number of rear lights on the bike.

I will be buying one of these when they come out, partially for the brightness, but mostly for the convenience of running it off the same battery pack I use for my other lights.

£90 for the head unit on it’s own btw.

as there is no indication what leds Hope are using though I suspect they are Cree XPE reds in which case if driven at 350 ma thay will be approx 50 lumens per led .
Max drive current for the reds is 700 ma .

here is a small video of my red light built in the back of my helmet light its 2 Cree red XPG 350 MA so approx 100 red lumens

£90 for a back light 😯 thats without batteries

well, speaking as a bus driver who is regularly in and out of edinburgh at peak times, i think it may be necessary.
i sit fairly high up in a bus, and consequently have a better view of the road than a car would, and i still sometimes dont see a cyclist until i am closer than i would like.
i dont believe drivers actually get dazzled by rear lights, i think its better (safer!)to be seen than not.

The main idea behind this and other uber bright rear lights (Magicshine, Dinotte etc.) is to get noticed during the day when you are MOST VULNERABLE (drivers blinded by the low sun, reflections after the rain, etc).

At night you simply point the light slightly down and “flood” the road behind you. That way you’re are well visible but don’t blind anyone.

You may not appreciate a powerful rear light if all you do is just 3 miles to get to your favourite trails, but things are different if you regularly train or commute on busy roads, in the daylight, in different weather conditions.

Awsome bit of kit, fitted one today and used it for the first time tonight, not to bright on the lowest setting, ideal for night time use,some of the other settings will be good for those foggy mornings like today…money well spent.

Awsome bit of kit, fitted one today and used it for the first time tonight, not to bright on the lowest setting, ideal for night time use,some of the other settings will be good for those foggy mornings like today…money well spent.

Just don’t use the epilepsy mode!!!

I’ve got the Dinotte rear light and its very useful on a short bit of dual carriageway i have to commute on. Cars overtake in the other lane rather than skimming my handlebars (no matter what my road position).

As above, when angled down they create a huge pool of light around you.

that is pretty impressive…I had no idea they would be that bright when I first read about them…
what appeals to me is the rugged build, and good looking fixtures for fitting onto you bike.

What would be really cool is if quite a lot more mellow model was made that was say actually intergrated into a seat clamp fixture with complete with batteries etc…

No-one ever mentions it here, but the other thing that’s great is a lot of reflective stuff on your bike, buy it in sheet form, cut into appropriate shapes, stick to logical bits of frame, helmet etc. If you have a black frame, you can even get black reflective sheet that’s barely visible in daylight.

seconded!…am a big fan of those respro neorprene reflective ankle bands etc. 8)

Another fan here of reflectives – one of these was one of my best buys ever for the daily commute.

BadlyWiredDog – Member
No-one ever mentions it here, but the other thing that’s great is a lot of reflective stuff

This.

A car/bus coming up behind me will be throwing (at least) a few hundred lumens at me. It costs nothing for me to throw a few back via some decent reflectives. It’s cheap, energy efficient and doesn’t rely on me charging up a custom battery pack.

Flashing light to draw attention and a steady one to allow them to judge distance (which is difficult with a flashing one alone)

This is a point that I recognize.

When I drive my car, encountering a cyclist with only flashing lights on their bike, makes things difficult as far as judging the distance to the cyclist.

Also, while I’m a happy Smart 1/2 watt user, I’ve got a couple of them.

Its my opinion that using a powerful rear light is useful when cycling under street lighting or when theres a lot of other ambient light coming from shops, signs, other cars, etc. Basically a typical city rush hour situation.
Then a powerful rear light just helps stand out from the other lights that might distract a driver.

I also agree that one shouldn’t be aiming their “power of the sun” rear light at drivers eye level.
IME, Thats only going to have some drivers either seeing red, or just guessing where you are…

The S1 can run a rear light, but I haven’t yet developed one.
I don’t see a market for it with those Smart Lunar 1/2 W, or even the 1W at such reasonable prices.