Rear LED Laser Light

Rear LED Laser Light – lasers on a bike?

Word by Paul Hopkins

July 2013

There are certain words in the English language that are guaranteed to get my attention and Laser is high on that list. So when I saw that various Chinese manufactures were producing rear LED lights with Lasers, I had to have one!

It’s got a button marked Laser!

My model comes with 5 LEDs which have 7 different flashing combinations! There should probably be some kind of warning for people who are susceptible to epileptic fits, so violent are some of the combinations; still it should get the attention of the SMIDSY’s out there (the ‘Sorry mate I didn’t see you’ brigade – ed.). 3 of the LEDs face backwards, while there is a single LED on each side, which should help with all round visibility. The clamp is a simple band that has a diameter of 30mm, so it might require a little surgery to clamp it securely.

Spin the light upside down and we get to the main feature: Lasers! Looking like a cartoon frog, the housings project out and sideways. A button labled Laser (!) on the top of the unit switches between steady or flashing mode. The battery compartment, which takes 2 AAA batteries sits in between the Laser units. There’s not much evidence of any water seals, so we will have to see how it deals with the wet…

Cartoon Frog: spin the light upside down and you can see them – Lasers!

So what is the reason for equipping a bicycle light with Lasers? Well I’m sure we can all think of some obvious ones involving 4×4 drivers, but unfortunately that’s still a few years away, I hope. No these Lasers are all about safety. The idea is to project 2 lines either side of your bike and behind you onto the road to encourage drivers to give you a little more room while riding.

As our poor quality shot shows, two beams project sideways onto the road from the light

It will be interesting to see how drivers react to 2 moving lines on the road. Will they veer away or be drawn, moth like to the flashing borders? Only time will tell. The units are available through various Ebay shops (try delhanway2009) and are priced at just 99p, with the shipping from Hong Kong costing more, at around £2.75. That’s still a bargain – if they work! We’ll keep you posted.

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