SON Rear Light Brightness?

[Sean B.]

Hello!

I currently have a SONdelux Wide-Body hub with a SON Edelux II headlight and was wanting to get a taillight as well. Does anyone have experience with the SON Rear Light? If so, how bright is it and what system are you using it on? I cant find many reviews online, so thought I'd ask y'all.

Thanks!

[Mathieu Brown]

Good day Sean,

I know that this isn’t the answer to your question but both my local bike shop and Rivendell stated, this fall (as I built up my own dyno Riv) that for a lot of people, dyno rear lights might be more trouble than they’re worth. 

I ended up with a Cygolight HotRod, based on recommendation.

Nice and bright.

Team, please feel free to tell us we’re soft here by only going dyno in the front…

Mathieu Brown

Sent from my iPhone.

On Oct 26, 2021, at 11:48 AM, Sean B. <seanc...@gmail.com> wrote:



Hello!

I currently have a SONdelux Wide-Body hub with a SON Edelux II headlight and was wanting to get a taillight as well. Does anyone have experience with the SON Rear Light? If so, how bright is it and what system are you using it on? I cant find many reviews online, so thought I'd ask y'all.

Thanks!

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[Sean B.]

Hello Mathieu, what seems to be the trouble with them?

[Mark Allen]

Sean, I've got that exact combination. I used the Edelux II headlight with a battery powered tail light for a few years after getting the SONdelux dynamo because I was a little lazy and didn't want to deal with the wiring. Last year I found a good deal on the fender-mounted Son tail light and spent about an hour installing it. If you wired and installed the headlight, you'll probably find the tail light easier from a soldering/electronics perspective. I've been incredibly happy with the result, especially the fact that I never have to think about charging lights on that bike anymore. I can't tell you exactly how many lumens the tail light puts out, but it's definitely "bright enough" to me for normal use, although it's not quite as bright as some of the daylight-specific flashing lights on the market.

Mark

[Mike Godwin]

I had one on my Atlantis, all the bits are now on a Bob Jackson World Tour. SON hub, B&M IQ-X headlight and rack-mounted SON taillight, hard wired with the 2mm banana plug connectors. The taillight is 3.5 cm x 1 cm. Mu riding buddy says it is bright and easily seen during daylight - midday - rides from some distance behind. 

Mike SLO CA

[Bicycle Belle Ding Ding!]

I have them on both bikes. Fabulously bright.

[John P. in SF]

Hi Sean

I have not used the SON rear light, but I have used the B&M copy of that light, the Toplight Line Small  (scroll down quite a ways and you will see it). It is a very bright light and being small it could be mounted in a variety of ways. The standlight is also bright and I would only expect the SON version to work better. The only drawback is no reflector.

I mounted one light vertically on the seat tube under the seat binder bolt, running the power wire along the brake cable in a clear neoprene tube, and grounded the light to one of the rack mount bolts on the seat stays. Simple and protected.

The other one I mounted vertically down at the fenderstay mount at the rear dropout on the non drive side, wiring in a similar fashion. Plenty bright both day and night, which I know because this one is on my girlfriend's bike and I see the light all the time.

All of my bikes (down to just four at the moment) have generator lights front and rear, which I find to be very convenient and trouble free.

Cheers.

John P in SF

[Bob]

Hi Sean,

I have an older B&M taillight powered by an older SONdelux (before the Wide-Body) hub, and it's plenty bright, and a Compass/Rene Herse taillight running from a newer Wide-Body. Also decently bright. I can't imagine SON's own taillights would be anything but reasonably bright.

I too am curious, Mathieu, to know the details of the troubles with dynamo taillights reported by RBW and your LBS have. I wonder if some of the troubles have to do with wiring, which, in the absence of accommodations on or in the frame, must be zip-tied to, handlebar-taped to, or wrapped around the frame to reach the taillight. It's a mild aesthetic irritation, for me at least. Gets the job done, though, and my zip-tie-enabled system has worked every day and in every weather for nine years.

--

Bob

[Collin A]

In terms of dealing with rear light routing, I've used this stuff with good aesthetic results when taping it under the top tube:

Shimano Di2 SM-Ecwc2 E-Tube Cover Set | Jenson USA

Then I just twirl on one of the seat stays until it reaches it's destination. It works best when all of the connections are happening at the headlight.

Collin in Sactown

[upyou...@yahoo.com]

I have the Riv installed: 

https://www.rivbike.com/products/dyno-rack-light

on my Platy and I love it.  Super bright and I never have to think about charging. On my previous bike I use the Cygo lights which are crazy bright almost blinding but I love that they blink and alert everyone to my bike presence.

Kate who is lit in Trenton

[Jason Fuller]

 I have the SON fender mount, a couple B&M Toplines, and a B&M Secula. The SON is probably the brightest of the bunch, small but very intense. The others are helped by their reflectors to make their visible area bigger but I think it's a toss-up on how visible you are between the bunch.  The Topline has an optional "brake light" function though which is pretty nice

[Ron Frazelle]

Hello, 

I run the B&M Mini on my bike and it is really small and really bright. It also has a bunch of mounting options....and a long stand time (seems to be over 5 minutes). I have mine mounted to my top, left rear rack braze on. 

https://www.bumm.de/en/products/dynamo-rucklichter/parent/332/produkt/332alk-silber-332alk-01-schwarz.html?

[rlti...@gmail.com]

I use that same rear light on my Hubbuhubbuh and really like it. It’s small but it puts out a bright, visible light.

https://roberttilley.smugmug.com/Bicycles/Rivendell-Hubbuhubbuh-Tandem-2020/i-gT2kHPg/A

Robert Tilley

San Diego, CA

Sent from my iPhone

On Oct 27, 2021, at 9:31 AM, Ron Frazelle <fraze...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hello, 

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[Peter Adler]

I got a B&M Toplight Line Brake Plus from Peter White Cycles as an upgrade from the non-Brake version when I got a warranty replacement on my first-gen Luxos U. I felt that, since Peter was replacing the light for an incident of my own dumbness one month before the warranty expired, the least I could do was buy something. The Brake Plus brightens as you brake. Since installing it, I have had several drivers pull up to me at stoplights and thank me for having a taillight that tells them exactly what I'm doing.

Peter "ride predictably" Adler

Berkeley, CA/USA

On Wednesday, October 27, 2021 at 9:12:15 AM UTC-7 Jason Fuller wrote:

[Mr. Ray]

I have the SON28, Edelux 2 and SON rack mounted tail light setup.  Tools required for a simple installation are zip ties (to secure the tail light wire to your frame), a crimping tool (for the spade and ring connectors that connect to the Edelux) and a heat gun/lighter (to shrink wrap the crimped connectors).

As for brightness, my only comparison is with an older SON, Edelux 1 and B&M Toplight setup and to my eyes the SON tail light is brighter.  Regardless. for anyone behind you, a steady led tail light is far less annoying and blinding than a battery operated flashing one. 

If you want to save some money, get a B&M tail light.  Either way it's money well spent.

Ray  

On Tuesday, October 26, 2021 at 1:16:39 PM UTC-4 Sean B. wrote:

[Christopher Davis]

I have two bikes with dynamos one has a B&M top light small but the best solution I’ve found is the B&M taillight built into my Curana C Lite. I like the fender solution so much that that the bike with the top lite will get C Lite fenders simply for the ease and cleanliness.

Chris

On Oct 26, 2021, at 7:11 PM, Mathieu Brown <mathie...@gmail.com> wrote:

Good day Sean,

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/1F003D0B-BC54-4DBB-89CD-50D4DF2494D3%40gmail.com.

[greenteadrinkers]

I have a SON28, Edelux 2, and the SON rear light mounted on the backside of a Brooks. I don't feel totally safe with just the SON tail light, it's great that it's there, but I def. augment it with something much much stronger, namely a Diontte. I've been knocked off my bike three times in Philly, once I started to ride with a Dinotte, people def. could see me. The SON is cute, and it's nice to always have something on, but it's easy enough to overlook from a driver's point of view, and I'm not totally in love with the extra wiring going the rear of the bike. if I had this system built out again, I'd just go with a high-end battery-powered light, the Diontte is a game-changer in you have to ride in heavy traffic day or night.

[Sean B.]

Thank you for all the replies. I would like a SON rear light that's always on, and a secondary light. But, I dont have much room to mount a battery powered one. I was looking for some kind of hanging light to attach to my North Street trunk sack. The only hanging light I can find is.... Well google "hanging bike light" if you'd like.

Anyways, does any one know of a hanging light to attach to a bag?

[Bicycle Belle Ding Ding!]

I realized I’d caught my SON tail light in the photo I took of my bike tonight. It’s pretty bright!

[Andrew Letton]

Pet peeve rant warning:

Most LED taillights are highly directional, and as such, they need to be mounted rigidly and aimed correctly "back down the road" to be most effective.

Personally, I think that bag makers should stop putting light loops on floppy bags, as they give the rider a false sense of security, thinking their taillight will make them seen from behind, when in fact, their taillight is usually pointing at a spot on the ground 2m behind the bike or somewhere to the left of the moon...not at the cars behind them.

Please mount taillights rigidly to your frame, saddle rails, fender, or rack!

/:rant off:/

Thanks and cheers,

Andrew in Sydney

https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/02343adf-1dd8-4ff7-af84-8c5db43ec62fn%40googlegroups.com

.

[Patrick Moore]

+1, though modern LED blinkies are so bright that even dangling face-downward or pointing at the sky they give off a surprising amount of light rearward.

But yes, they are directional. 

[greenteadrinkers]

Just wanted to say, I do love the SON rear light on my Sam, it's nice to know it's there and always on. Not to sound like a salesman for Dinotte, after being hit three times, I went on the search for a good rear light solution. Can't remember how I found out about Dinotte, but I've had one for about 12 years and it's still solid. The light cost over $200, the build quality is amazing, it's not a disposable plastic AA-powered blinky. The light comes with a large number of mounting options, I have mounts on all my bikes for the one unit. If you ride alone during dawn, dusk, or at night (even during the day), people will see you and you can feel very confident in that. There are six different settings that are simple to move through. I usually stick to a slow intermittent blink, combined with the steady always-on SON I feel it's a very safe solution. The battery life is excellent. Cars slow while passing you, the SON provides the steady glow, and the Dinotte a nice punchy blink. Live to ride another day.