Tail light for seat stay

[SVS]

Hi, are there any tail lights that work well on a seat stay?

I spotted Topeak’s Redlite Aero USB tail light, which is 30-lumen brightness (is that enough for daytime conspicuity). Are the any alternatives?

Edited by SVS on Sunday 30th September 17:02

[ambuletz]

how about a fibre flare? you could stick two of them other side, or have 1 in the middle coming down from the back of your seat.

[Gruffy]

Moon Nebula all day long. Literally. Awesome things. You can get the smaller, weaker Arcturus a little cheaper but I'd go for the Nebula. I run these on seat stays during races like the Transcontinental and the Trans Am. Bulletproof; great light pattern; sensible modes that won't screw depth perception but will be seen (up to 180 lumens - great for daytime visibility); and impressive run times.

Edited by Gruffy on Sunday 30th September 17:44

[Paul Drawmer]

I've got this one.
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/moon-comet-x-rear-light/



Comes with lots of fixing options; I have had it on a seat stay, and could adjust the orientation so it was pointing the right way. Has good battery life, plenty of display options, rechargeable.

[lllnorrislll]

cateye tl-ld610 led - I have one of these the fixing locks the angle and the light is multi-directional. Also cheap enough.

[Celtic Dragon]

I love my Lyzene Zecto’s. I got my first one after seeing one in action on a back marker of the local chain gang. Bought a 2nd without hesitation when I got the 2nd bike.

[ambuletz]

you could try these. they're cheap and people seem to rave about them, i might be tempted to buy one as something to permanently keep on my bike (and not worry about).

Phaart bleeper dual

The bracket looks like maybe you could angle it up and down abit. and at that price you could go wild and buy yourself as many as you can afford or fit on each side

[yellowjack]

For a seat stay I use one of these...


https://www.sigmasports.com/item/Cateye/Rapid-X2-K...

Straps on with one of those silicon bands, and has a shaped rubber strip on the back to hold it securely in place and ensure it doesn't damage your stays.

USB charging too, with decent battery life.

I actually found mine at the side of the road, so was concerned that it might not be very secure, but I've had no issues. Finding it was karma, though, as I'd recently lost a Bontrager Flare 3 on an off-road ride...

[yellowjack]

A couple of pics of the Cateye Rapid in place, and a link to a review for you... https://www.cxmagazine.com/cateye-rapid-x2-kinetic...

...the review is for a more "fandango" version with an accelerometer which detects deceleration and brightens the light for increased visibility. I've no experience with this version though.

[bagusbagus]

Under $4 , Real 100 Lumens, Usb rechargable ,very good mounting and quality
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/100-LM-Rechargeabl...


Don't waste your $ purchasing those lamps sold in UK for 10x the price..
Have had mine for over a year, it's awesome and durable!
Chinese also makes good products - that is If you actually pay $ for them not order some $1 stuff and expect miracles.

[Jetblackonetenth]

Aldi had these on special buy last Sunday

https://www.aldi.co.uk/bikemate-rechargeable-bike-...

brought one as a spare they are re chargeable and pretty bright

or they have just a back light which looks good

https://www.aldi.co.uk/bikemate-red-rear-bike-ligh...

[STiG911]

Jetblackonetenth said:

or they have just a back light which looks good

https://www.aldi.co.uk/bikemate-red-rear-bike-ligh...

+1 for this light - it's virtually the same as a Moon Nebula but for a third of the cost. Yes, it's 'only' 100 lumens as opposed to the Moons 180, but that's still chuffing bright. It has four static and eight (yes, eight) flashing modes as well as three different mounts and charging lead in the box.
It's £12 - it's a steal.

[Akz]

Gruffy said:

Moon Nebula all day long. Literally. Awesome things. You can get the smaller, weaker Arcturus a little cheaper but I'd go for the Nebula. I run these on seat stays during races like the Transcontinental and the Trans Am. Bulletproof; great light pattern; sensible modes that won't screw depth perception but will be seen (up to 180 lumens - great for daytime visibility); and impressive run times.
]

I agreed for about a year of ownership of my Moon Nebula. Just after that it failed.. seemed like water ingress as it would randomly turn itself on and off and change modes. They couldn't offer any support as it was out of warranty. Put me off ordering another one so I'm now using an Exposure TraceR (probably not great for seat stay mounting!)

[Gruffy]

I'm surprised to hear that. I've ridden through more than a few named storms with those lights. My v1 is now 2 years old. The v2 is only 6 months old but has had a tough life so far. Both are still as new but I guess there's no such thing as zero failure rate.

[ambuletz]

I'm very curious about the Moon Nebula copy from Aldi.

1- if you mount it onto the seat post can do you have the option of mounting it horizontally AND vertically?
2- is there a mount that fits it securely on? such as one that'd need a screw driver or allen key etc..

[dontlookdown]

I have a Moon Nebula which is now about 2yrs old and still going strong. In a moment of weakness I dropped 40 quid on it in my lbs, having never paid more than about 15 quid for a rear light before.

It is very bright indeed and the shape of the leds make it highly visible from a distance. It mounts well to the seat post and is a quality item.

Two reasons why I probs won't buy another however - battery life and the on off button.

Battery life on medium flash is about 100mins. Less than an hour on full brightness so I basically never use that setting. I would prefer a larger unit with x2 battery life.

The switch - always turning itself on and running down in my bag when I take the lights off to park up. Minor glitch but annoying esp in view of the poor battery life.

[Gruffy]

Has the battery degraded over time? One of the big reasons I chose the Nebula in the first place was the run times. I don't commute, so I've not run it through anywhere near as many battery cycles as others will, but I've not noticed a drop in performance yet. I tend to use the day flash mode, which is a low setting with a 180-lumen pulse and gives 10-12 hour run times.

[dontlookdown]

The battery has held up well I must say. No noticeable drop off and I use it a lot.

I use the medium setting rather than the low one - low is not much brighter than my old cheapo light!

[E65Ross]

Only issue I can see with some of the seat stay lights is that they have a significant upwards angle/trajectory. Is this not going to be irritating for drivers? I generally use 2 lights, one on the seat tube, and another on the stay....although I've modified/bodged a mount so it's not pointing up quite so much!

[SVS]

E65Ross said:

Only issue I can see with some of the seat stay lights is that they have a significant upwards angle/trajectory. Is this not going to be irritating for drivers?

I’d wondered the same thing. Topeak’s Redlite Aero USB light has LEDs angled to avoid this, but it looks like the only one. I guess the Fibre Flare’s shape might also avoid irritating drivers?