Rear Lights for Daylight Riding

Editor’s Note: We’ve recently done a few articles on lights and the importance of being visible while riding, including a rundown of the  lights used by the RBR Crew. Both articles drew numerous comments from readers about which lights they like, and why, how they stay visible, etc. (Both articles are worth a re-read.)

We decided, as a service to all RBR readers, to pull together into a handy reference guide a rundown of the rear daytime running lights the Crew and readers mentioned using, along with a few others. If you happen to be in the market for a new rear flasher or just want to update what you’ve got, this guide can serve as a starting point for you in your research.

As always, we believe that rider safety – and anything we can do to promote it – is just about the most important topic we can cover. And we remain honored to serve such an engaged and thoughtful group of fellow roadies. The perfect example is the author of this article, John Elmblad, a longtime Colorado roadie and RBR Premium Member who was motivated by those earlier articles on lights and visibility to write in and ask if he could contribute this piece. Thanks to John and all of you who regularly share your insights and comments!—John Marsh

---

By John Elmblad

First, a quick backgrounder on my long-time exploration of lights.

My first experience with bike lights found my front light wasting away at 3 a.m. on a mountainous double century. So I mounted multiple lights that could be switched on as needed. Back then, my only choice was incandescent bulbs.

A breakthrough came when I found one company that made an LED flashlight replacement bulb for “only” $40. A friend figured out how to make that fit into a dynamo lamp and run it off AA batteries in a Radio Shack battery holder. The result was 8 hours of strong light in front.

I also experimented with many rear lights to find the brightest, most waterproof lights available, and used two of them. I quickly settled on the lithium batteries for maximum runtime compared to the available rechargeable batteries.

I always focused on lights with batteries because I couldn’t afford a dynamo hub. But, no matter what, I never wanted to be caught without lights again. If I had trained all those hours I spent working on my lights, I’d have been more successful on the brevets. I was never a very good rider, but my lights were excellent!

Making the Move to Rechargeable, Daytime Lights

Now, for the first time, I am trying a rechargeable rear light on my touring bike. I chose the CatEye Rapid X3 because of my positive experiences with the brand. Also, it is bright in daylight and has a long runtime. My backup on that bike is the Serfas TL-STN. It is fairly bright, and the CR2032 batteries can be purchased cheaply on Amazon. On my gravel bike, I am using the Stupid Bright SBR1 lights, two of them. These are bright, very small, and also have a good runtime.

Back in the day, no one thought of using lights during the day, but now we all realize the importance of being more visible.

The following information was pulled together in an effort to find the best “daylight” rear lights. I intentionally chose the brightest lights (by lumens) from each company to investigate. The lights are arranged by reported lumens (if provided). And the lumens/runtimes are broken down into two different running modes to provide an example of variance (for example, running time in steady mode vs. flash mode, etc.). If there is not reported variance, only one mode is reported.

All of the lumen/runtime specifications are those claimed by the companies, and some seem a bit exaggerated. Also consider that the specifications change rapidly. In many cases, other light models are available. To lead you to more information, the 2nd column of the table below also contains a link to the product page for each light. Because most are sold on Amazon, I chose the Amazon sales page (and price) as the main source of info. Of course, feel free to look around the Internet for other options.

Besides the illuminating power of the lights, another important consideration is how it attaches to the bike. Almost all of these lights attach to the seat post. A few offer attachment possibilities for other locations. Also, as we all know, other options for mounting can be devised.

Again, this is not intended to be an exhaustive list of rear lights. It is meant to be a starting point or handy reference for any research you may want to do on your own if you are interested in a new rear light.

We encourage you to ask your cycling friends, read RBR reviews of lights and other reviews, and make an informed decision for yourself. But we certainly believe that running a rear light during the daytime is an extremely worthwhile safety tool.

Please be sure to add your comments below the Newsletter version of this article.

Light	Amazon Price  USD URL	Battery/Power	Lumens/Runtime Mode 1 (claimed)	Lumens/Runtime Mode 2 (claimed)
Supernova E3 Tail Light 2 (seatpost)	$54 https://goo.gl/Tfb4hp	Hub dynamo – E3 head light reqd.	No Lumens given – no flash	None
Busch & Müller Toplight Line Plus (rack)	$35 https://goo.gl/QgwHu2	Hub dynamo	No Lumens given – no flash	None
Stupid Bright SBR1 (2 lights)	$15 https://goo.gl/h2TT7J	2xCR2032	No Lumens given	Flashing 12 hrs.
Planet  Bike SuperFlash Turbo	$30 https://goo.gl/BvGm9Y	2x AAA	No Lumens given	Flashing 1 watt/100 hrs.
Serfas TL-STN	$20 https://goo.gl/b9jSRt	2xCR2032	Solid 20/33.5 hrs.	Alternating flash 20/58.5 hrs.
Knog Blinder Mob V Grid	$39 https://goo.gl/ikPwAt	rechargeable	Steady High 44/2.5 hrs.	Fancy Flash 12.3 hrs.
Blackburn 2’fer XL	$45 https://goo.gl/cSrEeQ	rechargeable	Solid 40/4 hrs.	Flashing 40/12
Bontrager Flare R	$60 https://goo.gl/y4Z1Pc	rechargeable	Day flash: 65/5 hrs. Day solid: 25/4 hrs.	Night flash: 65/23 hrs. Night solid: 5/21 hrs.
Exposure Blaze	$263 https://goo.gl/KtQifR	rechargeable	DayBright Pulse 80/6 hrs.	Low Pulse 48 hrs.
CatEye Rapid X3 Rear	$60 https://goo.gl/Q63ScY	rechargeable	Solid 100/1 hr.	Rapid 50/16 hrs.
Specialized Flux Expert	$100 https://goo.gl/JgvaQQ	rechargeable	Daytime Flash 110/14 hrs.	Nighttime Flash 55/17 hrs.
Cygolite Hotshot Pro 150	$39 https://goo.gl/ojL4ii	rechargeable	Flashing  150/2-210 hrs.	Solid 90/2-210 hrs.
NightRider Sentinel 150	$50 https://goo.gl/vxgP95	rechargeable	Flashing (no Laser) 150/5 hrs.
Light and Motion Vis 180 Pro	$100 https://goo.gl/75g656	rechargeable	High Pulse 150/6 hrs	Low  Pulse 75/ 12 hrs.
Serafas TST-150 Spectra	$60 https://goo.gl/brhx61	rechargeable	Daytime Flash 150/25 hrs.	High Flash 80/ 7 hrs.
See.Sense  Icon	$100 https://goo.gl/U75bev	rechargeable	Flashing 190/15hrs.
DiNotte Quad Red	$180 https://goo.gl/4jhC1d	rechargeable	Steady 200/4 hrs.	Slow Pulse 200/36 hrs.
Lezyne Strip Drive Pro	$50 https://goo.gl/UjWBD4	rechargeable	Day Flash 1 300/3 hrs.	Day Flash 2 150/4.5 Hrs