Looking for a Tail Light that doesn't suck
Looking for a Tail Light that doesn't suck
So I commute year round in Calgary and that means cold and dark. I can't seem to find a tail light that isn't disposable garbage and will actually hold up to a few years of use.
Yes you can basically buy tail lights in bulk off Amazon - but I hate tossing dead junk in the trash. I would rather pay more for a light that lasts.
My perfect light would use replaceable 18650 (or whatever size) lithium ion cells, or at least have USB-C with pass-through charging (so that I can run it off an external battery in a pinch).
For front lights I use Outbound Lighting and they are perfect - long battery life, great performance, pass-through charging, works in the cold. Unfortunately Outbound doesn't make tail lights. I've begged.
So anyone have a tail light that they LOVE?
Lupine Rotlicht.
Very bright, excellent quality, repairable, USB charging and also has a brake light function.
Oh man these are a USB-C port away from perfection - I'm ordering one! The replacement parts including batteries is incredible. I mean, they're expensive as all hell but it should last pretty indefinitely.
*gah! $40USD to ship to Canada...
Despite people asking about them on forums and Reddit for years, I have yet to see a rear bike light with replaceable 18650 cells.
This site claims that Cygolite makes a few models with pass-through charging. This is the only place I have ever seen pass-through charging mentioned for a rear light.
What kind of brightness and run time are you aiming for? 18650 cells and pass-through charging from external batteries sounds a bit extreme for usual road commuters. Even in rainy, foggy Seattle winters I never felt the need for that kind of power in a rear light.
It's not what you're looking for, but my favorite taillight is an older version of the Knog Blinder Road. Simple, sleek, waterproof, and plenty bright for a rear light. It has an integrated USB-A plug that flips out for charging. Every few weeks I take it off my seatpost and plug in into my laptop at work.
The cygos are nice but are micro-USB which is a dying plug type - the only item I own that uses it is actually my shifters. Not a deal breaker though.
My brightness requirement is 'enough to be seen, not so much that other commuters hate me. It's all battery life. More or less everything works fine at first but I find that very few lights can even make it through one commute when it's cold. A typical day is about an hour and a half total.
I also just suck at remembering to charge my light at the office. I would love something that only needs charging once every few weeks but that means a battery life of at least 20 hours in the cold - and the ability to do that after a few years use.
I’ve had good luck with the rechargeable “Superflash” lights. I assume you’ve already tried those? A back-up kept in my pannier, and one on the bike. (Charge both at work.)
Planet Bike seems to have mostly disappeared from the Canadian market - their new Rojo 100 looks sweet though!
I bought a MEC brand tail light a couple years ago. I commute year-round in Edmonton and that thing has yet to fail me. I'm not sure if it's pass-through capable, but the battery life is surprisingly good.
They might not have exactly what you're looking for, but MEC stuff is definitely rugged in my experience.
I don't think they make them anymore... I'm fairly sure I had the same one you're talking about (slight oval shape, button on the back), I lost it a few days ago (I didn't put it on right) and when I went to get another one there weren't any there, not even on the website. They only had the $60+ which serve the same purpose for 3x the cost. :(
https://www.planetbike.com/superflash-bike-tail-light/
I’ve used these for years, not constantly commuting, but used a fair bit. No usb, only battery power, though I can’t recall the last time I had to swap them out. Well sealed from the elements, I used mine in many rainy trips. And bright!
Mine are 10+ years old and still go, here’s hoping they’re still built well.
LOVE the SuperFlash! I've had several over the years. The new Rojo 100 seems almost perfect. Unfortunately Planet Bike products seem to have disappeared from Canada.
I really like the Garmin varia too, but it’s better described as a great radar with a pretty good light attached to it. Not sure you’d like it though, it’s battery life isn’t great (because it’s running the radar and communicating via ant+/bluetooth.
I just picked up Lezyne KTV drive lights. It’s a pretty good system with decent battery life and flash mode memory. It also has a built in USB A plug so no cables are required. I don’t think there’s any light that meets all your requirements so I think you’re going to have to prioritize.
Battery life on my Varia is pretty decent, plus it can be run with external power if you're on a really long ride and you need extra run time.
I’ve been using one similar to this for a couple of years, but mine is horizontal mount like one of the review pictures.
Super bright, rechargeable via USB and while I haven’t used it with an external battery, it does turn on and function while plugged in and charging at home so I can only assume it works with a battery as well.
I've been using a Garmin Varia for the past couple years while road cycling and love it. The built in radar might be a bit of overkill if you're not using a bike computer while commuting, but I've found it super useful.
I love the Garmin idea - especially because they are local, but I really don't need the radar functionality. I don't even own a computer, I just use my (Garmin) watch for tracking rides.
It's quite likely that you'd be able to connect a Varia to your Garmin watch if it's a reasonably recent model. Then you could get radar alerts as vibrations on the watch.
I think the quality of Moon lights is very high, my one got lost but I liked it a lot while I had it. Cateye lights are alright. Avoid Lezyne, I've had them crap out on me.
The ultimate is a dynamo setup, but that's more expensive/complicated.