SMART Polaris 1/2 Watt LED Rear Lights

Now that I'm back cycling one of my first tasks was to sort out some new bike lights.

Over the last few years LEDs have pretty much sown up the market for consumer bike lights, and since I was last on two wheels LED technology has moved on immensely so I thought it worthwhile upgrading my lights.

I started with rear lights as these are (arguably) the most important lights to get right, simply because cars approaching from behind are on the same side of the road and therefore need more warning.

To help me decide I spent a fair bit of time online looking at what other cyclists are using.  As with anything in life you can spend a little or a lot depending on what you want.

I set my budget at £10-£15 to start with - if I ever start commuting or riding more frequently I'd consider spending more, but for the occasional ride to the pub or Kenilworth Tennis Club a basic set should be fine.

After reading some visitor comments on the London Cyclist blog I decided to try the SMART Polaris 1/2 Watt LEDs.

I ended up buying two Polaris lights from Planet X cycles - they happened to have a special offer on their website and I managed to get them for £6 each (incl. delivery) which was a real bargain.

 
The Polaris lights are small, light-weight and exceptionally bright and at less than £10 they won't break the bank.  Illumination is provided by three LEDS - a half-Watt central LED for the main light and two smaller LEDs to provide visibility from the sides.  The Polaris has two modes - flashing and constant - and is attached to the bike with a simple clip and bracket.  It's also possible to attach the lights to clothing or bags etc using the same clip but I prefer to keep mine fixed to the bike frame.

So far I'm really pleased with them - I have one mounted on the seatpost which is set to flashing mode, and another on the rear fork which is set to constant mode.

 

This provides approaching drivers with the best of both worlds: a bright flash to gain attention and a steady light to help judge distance and speed.   There's also a reasonable amount of spill from the sides to help visibility at junctions etc.

As you can see from the video these are seriously bright lights - ideal in town to stand out against other competing light sources, and also useful on some of the darker country roads around Kenilworth when I want to be seen as far ahead as possible (especially useful when bombing down Silks' Hill in Leek Wootton on the way back from a late night session at the Saxon Mill!)

I'm still on my first set of batteries, so I cannot comment yet on burn times, but because my journeys tend to be there-and-back-again I've put a small sticker (courtesy of my 3y/old daughter) on one of the lights so I can rotate between flashing and constant to even out the battery wear.