DiNotte 3W LED Review - BikeRadar

User review of Dinotte 3W LED

I think that the BikeRadar reviewer has badly missed the point here and given a poor impression of a valuable safety product for winter riding.

The retina-damaging brightness can indeed only be seen head on. However, this is true of any light, and particularly true of ubiquitously feeble £10 LED's. However, in my experience, this light gives off a comparatively broad red glow and even when not viewed straight on, visible light is far, far brighter than a normal red LED.

This product is pretty much the only rear light available that gives a decent amount of light. I commute along open but twisty country roads, before getting into the city. I can travel several hundred yards past a turn and this light still illuminates the chevrons behind me. In fog or misty rain, it creates a red glow behind me and, contrary to the site's review, it gives off a wide and diffuse beam.

In summary - this is the only thing I could find presently on the market that allows a motorist to become aware of me before I am directly in a car's headlights.

And the 280g weight? You mean, slightly less heavy than a helmet? Oh, but wait, I bet the reviewer doesn't wear one of those..... Look, you aren’t ever going to race with this thing, so I don’t see that mass is terribly important within reason.

Two final points - (1) the product is now sold with a bracket, similarly held on with o-rings, but allowing vertical adjustment. It is inelegant, so take it off when riding in the daylight and people can see it if you are ashamed. (2) This light does not dim gradually during its battery life like conventional rear LED's. When I drive I am frequently infuriated by cyclists sporting tiny LED's blinking determinedly away but at a brightness that only an owl could see. Rather, like most front lights of this type, the electronics keep the beam at the desired setting until so low that a (still moderately bright) emergency low battery setting kicks in, to get you home.

To my mind, if you are seriously cycling on the road, out of towns and cities year round, these features make the investment worthwhile.