Oxford Ultratorch R75 rear light review

For commuters, having a good rear light is a must. Ease of fitting, reliability and good battery life are paramount, with these lights having to endure a lot of wear throughout the hostile winter months.

Oxford is a brand that makes budget equipment and components aimed at commuters and everyday riders.

The Ultratorch is one of the brightest own-brand lights offered by Oxford, and is justifiably presented as a product for "the toughest environments".

With ample brightness, lengthy run time and a bargain price, the Ultratorch is one of the best bike lights for urban cyclists.

Oxford Ultratorch R75 specifications and details

The Oxford Ultratorch R75 is a rear light aimed at commuters who frequently battle difficult conditions.

The Ultratorch is small and lightweight, yet produces a maximum of 75 lumens for over two hours.

It has a rectangular beam and light spills out to both sides, increasing visibility to 270 degrees.

The Ultratorch is turned on and off by a button in the centre of the unit, and this is how you can skip through the modes too.

There are four modes: high, low, medium and flash.

As you’d expect, each mode gives different lengths of run time, with the flash mode enabling six to seven hours of use before needing to be charged.

The light is charged using a USB-C charger and will recharge to full in just an hour.

The Ultratorch R75 comes with a rubber band and strap, and has an adjustable head for fine-tuning the angle of the beam.

Oxford Ultratorch R75 performance

I strapped this light to my commuter bike and tested it over a two-week period.

It is easy to install, using an adjustable rubber strap, which hooks onto the light directly.

Though it’s nice to have a strap that’s lightweight and easy to use, I find myself losing and breaking such straps easily. Thankfully, Oxford has thought of this and several straps are included in the box, which is a nice bonus.

It’s useful to be able to customise the angle of the light too. If I wanted to attach the light to something other than my seatpost, I could set the angle differently to make sure I was still able to be seen.

The light is impressively bright. It has an unusual rectangle-shaped beam, which gives it a more concentrated pattern than other lights I’ve used.

The shape of the Ultratorch enables a good amount of light to spill out on either side, which makes for better visibility on busy streets.

It’s well suited to commuting on well-lit streets and darker back roads.

I found it threw a lot of light onto my rear wheel too, which I liked because it made my bike even easier to see.

The light did get quite hot, however, when it was on the full-beam setting, but this didn’t affect the functionality.

The long run time meant I could use it on full beam for a week of commuting without having to charge it (though my commute is only three miles each way).

One thing the Ultratorch is missing is a daylight mode, which is a shame because this is a useful option for cycling to work and home again.

I put it on the flash setting for daylight riding, which works fine, but it’s a shame to not have included something a little more disruptive.

Though it hasn’t faced freezing weather yet, I have used the Ultratorch R75 off-road, in muddy and wet conditions. It worked very well and handled everything I threw at it.

Oxford Ultratorch R75 bottom line

For a light that costs only £29.99, the Ultratorch R75 is a fantastically capable performer in a small package.

This rear light is a very good option for commuters, who need to be visible on city streets and beyond.