Bontrager encourages daytime running lights for bikes
They’ve been on motorcycles forever, and more recently cars have adopted them too, so why not bikes?
Daytime running lights can significantly improve your visibility on the road, Bontrager says, and the brand is touting its new line of front and rear bike lights as specifically designed for both day and night use. Bontrager says it is just the first step in a sweeping line of products to make cycling safer. Since safety concerns are the number one impediment to get new cyclists out on a bike, we think it’s a great move.
Bontrager says the data it has collected show accidents decreased 25 percent after automobiles adopted daytime running lights, and cycling accidents could be reduced by a third. Because 80 percent of bicycle accidents occur during daylight hours, the brand feels there is a big opportunity for positive change. Just a few days ago I was driving on a twisty mountain road and the cyclists on the road were extremely hard to see as we went from bight sunlight into dark shadows and back again through the trees. A bright light really would have helped.
Optimizing visibility is more than just raw lumens, Bontrager says. The key difference is being seen versus being noticed. It says its line of taillights has blink patterns that are specially designed to be more conspicuous during the day than just a steady blink. It says some are visible from up to two kilometers away.
The lineup
Flare RT tail light
65 lumens and 270-degree visibility.
Wirelessly control on/off, mode selection, and more.
Visible from 2 kilometers
Two daylight modes, two-night modes, and turn signal compatible.
$80
Flare R tail light
65 lumens and 270-degree visibility.
Visible from 2 kilometers
Two daylight modes, two-night modes.
$60
Flare R City
35 lumens
Visible from 400 meters.
Two daylight modes, two-night modes.
$40
Ion 800 RT
Wirelessly control on/off, mode selection, and more.
800 lumens and 270 degrees of visibility.
High, Medium, Low, Day Flash, and Night Flash modes.
$120
Ion 800 R
800 lumens and 270 degrees of visibility.
High, Medium, Low, Day Flash, and Night Flash modes.
$100
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Ion 350 RT
Wirelessly control on/off, mode selection, and more.
350 lumens.
High, Medium, Low, Day Flash, and Night Flash modes.
$80
Ion 350 R
350 lumens.
High, Medium, Low, Day Flash, and Night Flash modes.
$60
Ion 100 R
100 lumens.
High, Medium, Low, Day Flash, and Night Flash modes.
$40
Ion 100 R / Flare R City set
Both models sold as a package deal.
$70
