Rear Bike Light Test 2013

We haven’t tested rear lights in the past but our attention was drawn to some cool-looking laser lights recently and we thought we would have to check them out.  We found two common types on sale which included tradition LEDs plus downward-firing lasers that create a virtual bike lane alongside and behind you on the road.  Prices vary but you can usually pick up either of these for less than a tenner on a certain popular auction site.

We tested both lights to see how bright they were and how long they lasted.  We also looked at build quality and how easy they were to use.  Click on the links below to see what we thought.

We were initially attracted by the cool laser effect but ultimately it’s a bit of a gimmick. On the roads it looks great but drivers probably won’t see it unless they are up-close so it’s just for show.  As far as brightness is concerned the Solider light did win out slightly due to the extra LEDs and we suspect they were drawing more power per LED too. The construction was great with a much better quality of materials but unfortunately the diabolical run times meant you would be changing batteries aver week or two.  In terms of practicality the SH-082 wins hands-down with an easy-to-access battery compartment and much, much longer run times.

There are loads of cheap bike goodies available on the internet and some of them are really good value. You probably need to put the rice into context though; if you are only spending a few pounds on a light it probably won’t last forever and you will have to make compromises somewhere.  Having said that, these lights both worked wall and did the job much better than no lights at all!