Review of Topeak RedLite UFO Rear Bicycle Light

Topeak RedLite UFO Rear Bicycle Light
By: Topeak Average Rating: 3.0 Total Reviews: 5
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PDX BIKER

On: 2008-07-02

the topeak ufo light looks like a great idea, but the installation and end use is a bit hokey.

the 270 degree LED broadcast of light is good, but not all the LEDs emit at the same intensity. The yellow LEDs are worthless.

Mounting the UFO light to your Topeak rack is a design in engineering failure. The UFO light clip, (which you receive when you buy the light) just slides over the Topeak bike rack adapter, (which you receive when you buy the rack). It is not a solid mount. The clip broke off the adapter after riding over some railroad tracks, which i do very cautiously on my hybrid bike.

If you are concerned with image, the set up looks hokey. If you dont care, get some superglue or make your own clip/adapter set up.

Small, and almost worthless during a bright day.

On: 2008-06-21

This tail light was not nearly as bright as I thought it would be. The size at night will make people misjudge the distance. During the day? Forget about it, its almost invisible. The mounting bracket is a joke, loose as a goose on fiber. Uses odd sized batteries, might have a problem getting them just anywhere. Look for Cateye products, much better. More pricey, but can you put a pice on safety?

Great concept, poor engineering

On: 2008-05-20

I love the concept of the UFO. It is bright and can be seen from almost anywhere. However, the bracket that holds the UFO to the bike is poorly designed in my opinion. It is some what flimsy. I wish that the light (which is awesome) came with an improved bracket.

RedLite Review

On: 2007-08-23

This light works really well. The variable modes,solid, flashing, flashing sequence all work to call attention to there being someone ahead. The only short comming I found was in the need to cycle through the modes each time you turn it on to get the mode you want.

Disappointing, especially for the price

On: 2006-06-20

I originally thought that the Topeak RedLite UFO would be a great addition to my extremely well made Topeak MX trunk bag and rear-rack system. Alas, Im pretty disappointed with the RedLite UFO overall, especially given its relatively high cost.

The idea -- a clippable tail light that would emit 180-degrees of marker illumination -- seemed great, particularly since the light was designed to clip onto the very sort of Topeak trunk bag I owned.

Unfortunately the red LEDs in the RedLite UFO, not very bright to begin with, radiate in a very limited vertical axis. This means that, unless the light happens to be vertically oriented at exactly the right angle, most people driving cars wont see the light at its brightest. Too bad then that maintaining a particular vertical orientation is essentially impossible when the light is clipped onto the fabric of a trunk bag...

Note too that the placement and ludicrously low intensity of the lights yellow LEDs makes them essentially useless as marker lights. The yellow LEDs do virtually nothing beyond providing rather superfluous illumnation of the lights control button.

In the end, my new RedLite UFO compares extremely poorly with the Cateye TL-LD 1000 I also own. Given that both lights are premium priced, Id suggest you do some comparison shopping if youre looking for bright, horizontally and vertically wide-angled marker illumination for your bike.

Disappointing, especially for the price

On: 2006-06-19

I originally thought that the Topeak RedLite UFO would be a great addition to my extremely well made Topeak MX trunk bag and rear-rack system. Alas, Im pretty disappointed with the RedLite UFO overall, especially given its relatively high cost.

The idea -- a clippable tail light that would emit 180-degrees of marker illumination -- seemed great, particularly since the light was designed to clip onto the very sort of Topeak trunk bag I owned.

Unfortunately the red LEDs in the RedLite UFO, not very bright to begin with, radiate in a very limited vertical axis. This means that, unless the light happens to be vertically oriented at exactly the right angle, most people driving cars wont see the light at its brightest. Too bad then that maintaining a particular vertical orientation is essentially impossible when the light is clipped onto the fabric of a trunk bag...

Note too that the placement and ludicrously low intensity of the lights yellow LEDs makes them essentially useless as marker lights. The yellow LEDs do virtually nothing beyond providing rather superfluous illumnation of the lights control button.

In the end, my new RedLite UFO compares extremely poorly with the Cateye TL-LD 1000 I also own. Given that both lights are premium priced, Id suggest you do some comparison shopping if youre looking for bright, horizontally and vertically wide-angled marker illumination for your bike.