The D-Light Rear Light CG-420-R1
What’s in the box
You get the light unit, a short micro USB cable, a rubber strap and a manual.
It is made up of COB LED chips, 16 of them. There’s only one rubber strap though, and its short.
Knowing that the bikes out there now come with various thickness and shapes, having more than one strap length can improve the product’s selling point.
Lucky for me I always keep various lengths of rubber straps as it can be useful.
The Build
The power button is on the side. The material is made of soft rubber so you got to be careful and avoid using your fingernails to press it as it can break the soft rubber after heavy usage. Generally, you press it to change through different modes, and to on or off the unit.
What I really like about this light is the very sturdy ‘strap hook’ which is inbuilt with the unit.
This removes the need for having more accessories, which can be troublesome at times, especially when it can spoil easily after heavy usage.
Most times, other lights need additional accessories or brackets, which are prone to be flimsy and can rub against your seat post when on the move, causing unnecessary scratches. For this unit, you just need a rubber strap! Simple!
Mounting
Whatever seat post you mount it on – be it round, oval, or full aero toroidal shaped – D-Light’s rubber flap easily fits any seat post.
However, this rubber seems to easily come off from the unit itself. A better design would be the rubber flap hooked or fastened to the unit on one end, so it falls off.
Take precaution when you are charging the light as you need to flip it open to expose the port.
Check out the fit on different seat posts!
(Mounted on thick aero seat post, round seatpost, and toroidal seatpost)
The light itself
The light unit is powered by a rechargeable lithium-ion battery and programmed to have a low battery indicator. It is charged through the micro USB cable given in the box.
It has 5 light modes which can go on 1.5hrs to as long as 27hours on its different modes! The light is rated at 25 lumens which, in my opinion, is more than enough in Singapore’s road context.
Truthfully speaking, I do not get why you need higher lumens, especially more for a rear light as you just need to be visible. Most importantly, it is not annoyingly bright for the fellow rider when they are just behind you.
This is good if you want to keep a healthy relationship with your night group ride buddies! The light is strong and can be seen far distances without being drowned.
You get similar intensity even from diagonally behind; applicable if you already went through a bend and a car is coming from behind that bend that you just took.
What it looks like: 25m behind
What it looks like: 75m behind
Water resistance
It specifies that the light is water resistant. From my inspection, there are no visible crevices or places where water can get in, but do be careful not to let water through the USB port (which is covered by the rubber flap).
On this subject, I think being waterproof with an IPX rating would make the product more resistant to incremental weather. That would provide a bit more confidence for the consumer. Let’s hope this can take on Singapore’s rain!
Last but not least, You can purchase this over at some of our local bike stores, such as Rodalink and New Era Cycle just to name a few! It is just under $30.
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