Bicycle Tail Lights

A bright red binking light on the back of your bike will save your life countless times without you even knowing it. So I mounted two...

For all of my first season, I used a single Blackburn Mars 3.0. It is a good quality, bright light with blink or steady light beam choices. No problem, until I read reviews for the new NiteRIder Cherry Bomb. At double the cost, this Cherry Bomb required some attentive investigation.

The technical term for my results is “holy $hit!” This little light is so bright it will probably save my next life as well! If, as a driver, you don’t notice this light, you must be blind.

In my opinion, the light needs to be mounted as if it is pointed directly at a drivers eyes. Any off angle and the intensity falls off.  The side spread of the light beam is very good, but head on, it’s like the second coming... Excellent design with regard to the housing, gasket, switch and reflector crystal.

I decided to mount one directly on centerline, facing rearward, tucked in under my seatbag. Not ON my seatbag, because there, the light points downward and it’s complete effectiveness is not achieved. I used an old reflector bracket/arm, the one that comes with any new bike, mounted to the seat post. This arm allows the tilting adjustment required to position the light for maximum effectiveness.

Since I’m the kind of guy that wears a belt AND suspenders (just a metaphor), I mounted a second Cherry Bomb on the bottom of the roadside seat stay. Again, this one is angled upwards slightly. I used a rubber sleeved pipe strap to fit my seat stay diameter. Neat, simple and clean.

So now, with my two Cherry Bombs carefully positioned, drivers must think they’re coming up on an emergency vehicle or a UFO.

I duplicated this set up on my twenty-three year old daughter’s Specialized Dolce, for she has a similar riding regimen and needs to preserve her life as well...

What about the old trusty Blackburn? I mounted that on my fourteen year old son’s new Trek 1.2 for his daylight rides. But soon, he too will appear as a Cherry Bombed UFO on the roads of New Jersey.