# Has Anyone Here Tried Revolights?



## EBrider (Aug 3, 2004)

I am thinking about getting some of these for the winter. All the reviews say they are super visible, but a hassle to install. If anyone has tried them, I would be curious to get an opinion. Maybe they are total overkill and simple wheel lights would be almost as effective.

Revolights Bike Lights


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

I don't have them. To me, this system looks overly complicated. I feel like something would inevitably go wrong.


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## ChristianCoté (Jul 13, 2014)

Don't bother, they're not compatible with mountain bikes in a number of ways. Aside from the bling factor I don't see much point in them compared to any of the quality, conventional lighting products available to us.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I am very interested in these because I like the concept. The real world application though, that might be a deal breaker for me. The added weight and mounting are turn offs for sure. ETA - just watched the fitment video. These would not fit on my current bike apparently. No aspect of them will fit, so I guess that I would have to find another option.

ChristianCote - not all of us ride mountain bikes, please remember that.


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## EBrider (Aug 3, 2004)

For winter I ride a cx bike with road wheels (stans alpha) and 28mm tires. Since they aren't my regular wheels, I could probably leave them on all winter.

I had some of these at one point and I thought they did a pretty good job, but had to get rid of them since I was using bladed spokes. New wheels have regular spokes, so I may just go back to them.
SpokeLit LED Bike Light


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

I've seen them on a couple of bikes around here, and they do look really fantastic. 

But they have all sorts of issues for mountain bikes, trail riding, and even for basic winter commuting around here I'd be worried about trashing them with snow and car-snot and windrows.


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## ChristianCoté (Jul 13, 2014)

TenSpeed said:


> ChristianCote - not all of us ride mountain bikes, please remember that.


Sorry, I just assumed we were talking about mountain bikes because of where we are. Still, it sounds like it wouldn't even fit on your road bike? That's a pretty limited range of applications.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

With such a limited range of fitments, these lights pretty much suck. Tire width, rim depth, rim width, frame clearance....too much crap to measure. Deciding on a product shouldn't take that much.


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## NickandBruce (Sep 18, 2014)

They're pretty cool. I've mounted them on a couple customers bikes. They're not that complicated but prepare to spend a little bit of time getting it just right and even then it will look better on paper.

I might pick up version 3.0 or 4.0 or whatever if they keep on tweaking and fine tuning the setup.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

ChristianCoté said:


> Sorry, I just assumed we were talking about mountain bikes because of where we are. Still, it sounds like it wouldn't even fit on your road bike? That's a pretty limited range of applications.


They won't fit my track bike at all. No clearance anywhere on there, from the wheels to the frame. Mine is super narrow, and my wheels are 30mm deep. I would think that most road bikes would have the clearance. I think that were more designed for the commuter bike, flat bar, a wider tire/wheel setup, etc.


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## Mr. Fisherman (Sep 27, 2014)

They just released the Skyline series which fit more bikes and are much easier to install. 
I am pretty sure I am going to add them to a commuter bike I am looking to pick up.
They have a launch deal for $199 until about the middle of October. Also, REI is carrying them.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

I think they might be a nice way to charge up the Glo rim Tape on my wheels rather than a single point light. Wouldn't matter that they are white on front, the red rears may need more help, though. 12.3 oz with battery. The skyline looks like less weight at the rim. Guessing the battery weight at 6-7 oz, based on a 4 pack of 18640 li-ion I have. So 5-6 oz on the wheel will feel like a 160 gm heavier tire.

I already have some side visibility:


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## Saladin (Sep 25, 2014)

If they were cheaper, available for 29" wheels, and my bike has the proper clearance (maybe the size and clearance are good; I haven't looked), I'd put some on my hybrid bike. I think even semi-aggressive trail riding would tear them up really quickly though.


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## Mr. Fisherman (Sep 27, 2014)

I don't think they would hold up to trail use at all, but I could be wrong.
I just picked up a Novara Borrow today to use as my commuter. It rides pretty nice and has a lot of features for the price. Part of the decision to get it was that the Revolights Skyline series will fit. I verified they would work with the fenders. I just have to pull the trigger. REI just dropped the price to $199! I get a $20 rebate too, score. And I have up to a year to take them back if they fail or I don't like them. 
Maybe I'll do a review.


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## Medic Zero (Jun 8, 2011)

ChristianCoté said:


> Don't bother, they're not compatible with mountain bikes in a number of ways. Aside from the bling factor I don't see much point in them compared to any of the quality, conventional lighting products available to us.


If they weren't two hundred dollars and actually came in 26" wheel size I'd be tempted to give them a try, but there you have it.


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## EBrider (Aug 3, 2004)

Mr. Fisherman said:


> REI just dropped the price to $199! I get a $20 rebate too, score. And I have up to a year to take them back if they fail or I don't like them. Maybe I'll do a review.


That might be the ticket. No plans to ride them on trails as 34 miles of road round trip is enough for me in the winter. Sometimes in the summer I go dirt, but that adds another 5 each way.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

These lights do not appear to be designed for trail use from what I can see. They do seem to be designed to a niche market, and that is probably who will buy them. I would if they would fit, just to be different and draw attention to myself at night.


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## EBrider (Aug 3, 2004)

TenSpeed said:


> These lights do not appear to be designed for trail use from what I can see. They do seem to be designed to a niche market, and that is probably who will buy them. I would if they would fit, just to be different and draw attention to myself at night.


I don't think side visibility is necessary for riding a trail in the dark. I have plenty of headlights that are great for the trail, but only serve to blind on coming drivers on the road without providing any side visibility. Unless of course you are worried about getting broad sided by a deer.


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## Mr. Fisherman (Sep 27, 2014)

I tried installing mine this morning, but after putting in 60 hours so far since Friday at work it wasn't coming together so I packed it in to the LBS to assemble and tune. I'll pick it up tomorrow after working my last 13 hour shift for a couple of days and I'll finally be able to start riding again. 
Anybody want to see some video footage if I can put it together?
Maybe a review? You know, in my spare time


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I would love to see that if you get the time. If you could film someone riding by or have them film you or whatever that would be great!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^ + 1 on the video. You can solo the ride by with a camera at the average driver's eye level. Another trick is to use the viewfinder to determine how far the camera needs to be from the bike to get the size of image you see in person. The fisheye lens of POV cameras makes the bike look smaller and farther away than it is.


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## bikeCOLORADO (Sep 4, 2003)

Reflective sidewalls have always been great for me. Super bright, passive and can't get much less complicated.


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## bikeCOLORADO (Sep 4, 2003)

Oblique angle with flash.

Continental Touring Plus Reflex 700 x 32 front tire.

Vittoria Randonneur Pro with Reflective stripe 700 x 32 rear tire. Vittoria Randonneur has over 2,000 miles on it and it's still ridiculously bright despite road grime.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^ Reflective sidewalls appear to function great in flash photos. In night videos not so much. When riding an unlit street my videos show that they show up for a driver when they enter the headlight beams about 0.5 to 1 second (depending on your speed) before you are square in front of the vehicle. It is nice added visibility but I am afraid it will be a case of letting the driver know a second before the collision that he is about to hit a cyclist. Too little too late to be a first line of defense. The same is true of all reflectors. Now with the revolights shining on them and maybe reflective or glow rims, you will be seen and identified as a cyclist many seconds before the intersection. What if the driver just turned to check the other way as he begins to launch as you enter his light beam? Bam! So lead time counts.


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## Mr. Fisherman (Sep 27, 2014)

Tried the new bike with the Revolight Skylines. I was a bit disappointed with the function as a primary headlight though it is far better than nothing. With my tired old eyes I am going to need to add supplemental lights for night commutes. That said, there is no question about being visible. I was passed on my 2AM ride a few times and it was very evident I was seen, even on the darkest unlit area where the road narrowed. I was a bit worried at this point but I was seen. That felt pretty good as that is a pretty unnerving. This was a perfect example of why I wanted them. 

My bike has reflective sidewalls too.

I wasn't able to get video, but I will get something and get it up when I can.

I like them. The tail/brake light function is pretty cool too.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

So $200 for the Skylines. An alternative would be 2 front front Thunderbolts on the forks faced out at 45 degrees and two rear thunderbolts facing 45 degrees out on the rear stays for $160. Saves the weight on the rims, but not as readily identified as a bike.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

4 Thunderbolts at $31.99 (local shop) vs $200 for the Skylines. Thunderbolts are easily removed for theft protection and can be aimed however the rider would like. I tried it once with a Thunderbolt headlight mounted all the way at the bottom of the down tube by the bottom bracket set on high lighting up the ground by my front wheel. The looks I got from people with that on a white bike made me think that it really stood out as being different.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^ I just pulled a price up of the internet at REI. I did not hunt for a best price. So one could use the change left over to buy 2 Cygolite HotShots (USB & 2 watts with many patterns and you can damp it down for cyclists behind you in groups or on the trail), and still pocket $20 or so. Or add a bit more cash and a get a Planet Bike 2 W Blaze headlight. The point is that the Thunderbolt offers a unique boost in side visibility if deployed well. It would be really neat to see a Skyline Thunderbolt shootout. I wonder if MTBR light reviewers would be up for it.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I meant no disrespect by my post. I just saw recently that my local shop had them at that price and didn't want people to be turned off from them due to the price. They are great lights and are very bright. I know what you mean though, as far as the lights go, the stuff you can add on and place where you want seems to be the better deal. I get asked quite a bit about my Thunderbolt tail that I run even on low blink it still draws attention.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^ I was hoping the Thunderbolts would be cheaper for more of a price differential. I don't have one, but had experience with two NiteFlux Red Zone 4s. So have a decent idea what the Thunderbolts can do. 

Off topic for the thread, but when PDW Radbot 1000 came out, I was asked to stop to talk about them. (1 watt daytime effective blinkie was a new concept.) It was a man who wanted one for his mother's motorized wheelchair. When technology works and is new it prompts that sort of feedback. I'd buy and play but $328 for both the Skyline and the 4 Thunderbolts for a shootout is on the expensive side.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Well....I have 4 of them, 2 of each. Want to get the Skylines? Uniqueness the Skylines will destroy the Thunderbolts, but for visibility.... think the Thunderbolts will take it. I should angle them and take the bike outside the back of my apartment in the pitch black and take pictures.


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