I’ve been running daytime lights in Seattle for a couple seasons now on my rain bike – the choice varies depending on what we have in on test and that’s currently the Flux from Spesh (more on those in another post). With gray skies, changing weather, and traffic I’m usually blinking most days, and early evenings, until the sun sticks around for more than a few hours during the Summer.
Today Bontrager announced their all-new Flare R, designed for daylight visibility. As their PR says
While using a light in the daytime may seem counterintuitive, studies have shown that 80% of cycling accidents occur during the day(1). Additional studies on accidents resulting in the fatality of a cyclist show that in 40% of all bicycle vs. car accidents, the victim was struck from behind(2). Bontrager engineers began developing Flare R to combat these staggering statistics, with the ultimate goal of increasing confidence and safety with a lightweight, sleek, compact product that is relevant to every type of cyclist, from recreational to racer.
The Flare R is a 65 Lumen CREE LED (brighter than a car light) with four distinct patterns, two for daylight-riding and two designed for nighttime usage.
- Day Flash mode will utilize all 65 Lumens in a strategically placed random flash pattern designed to draw a motorist’s eyes.
- Fully charged run time is 5.75 hours.
- Day Steady mode uses 25 Lumens of steady illumination and is great for group rides.
- Fully charged run time is 4.25 hours.
- Night Flash mode uses an irregular flash pattern punctuated by short pops of increased intensity.
- Fully charged run time is 23 hours.
- Night Steady mode provides 5 Lumens of steady light great for consistent nighttime visibility.
- Fully charged run time is 21 hours
- MSRP $59.99.
Like the Volvo Light Paint I mentioned in our social channels last week, critics will tweet
@bikehugger All this new "safety" stuff is like handing out kevlar vests when we should be dealing with the sniper on the roof.
— ThePathLessPedaled (@pathlesspedaled) April 2, 2015
And sure, but I’ve been talking about the lack of a safety emphasis from the bike industry for years and welcome these new products. As road sales flattened and decline, marketers are figuring out the needs of everyday biking and how fear keeps people from riding.
1 Reported Road Casualties Great Britain: 2013: Main Results”, Department for Transport, 2014 “Collisions Involving Cyclists on Britain’s Roads: Establishing the Causes”, TRL Report PPR 445, 2009; 2 Every Bicyclist Counts, League of American Bicyclists, May 2014
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