 |   Publisher : Planet Bike Company : Planet Bike List Price: Our Price: $14.99 You Save: $5 (26%) |
Features
- Compact bike safety set with ultra-bright white and red LEDs
- Provides 220 degrees of visibility from up to 1 mile away
- Includes handlebar brackets, seat post mount, and seat stay mount
- Each light includes ultra-compact, sturdy, weatherproof case
- Runs for up to 100 hours on CR2032 battery; limited lifetime warranty
Product Description
Planet Bike blinky Headlight & Taillight Sets are cute little light sets the will clip to just about anything. Blinky's have flashing and steady modes, ultra compact cases and are durable and weatherproof.Amazon.com Product Description
Notify drivers and other cyclists of your presence from up to 1 mile away with the Planet Bike Blinky safety set. Equipped with one super-bright white LED for the front and a red LED for the back, the safety set provides 220 degrees of visibility in both flashing and steady modes, depending on your preference. Even better, the Blinky lights clip to just about anything--from handlebars to panniers--with handlebar brackets, a seat post mount, and a seat stay mount to get you started. As a result, you have no excuse to go unseen while riding. Each Blinky light, which comes with an ultra-compact weatherproof case, runs for up to 100 hours on a single CR2032 watch battery (included). The set is also backed by a limited lifetime warranty. About Planet Bike
In November of 1996, Planet Bike was founded in Madison, Wisconsin. In many ways, Planet Bike began as a social experiment that dedicated itself to doing business in a different way. Instead of being just another company that develops and sells products with profit as its end goal, Planet Bike wanted to help bring about positive change for people, their communities, and the environment.
Despite being a simple machine, the people at Planet Bike have always believed that the bicycle has great potential to help improve the world and the lives of the people in it. From the start, they have embraced an alternative corporate purpose which seeks to help get more people on bicycles by making communities friendlier places for the self-propelled. By donating 25% of company profits to causes that promote and facilitate bicycle usage, Planet Bike hopes to make an impact.
Social experiments aside, Planet Bike was born from the heart of a cyclist with a goal of making innovative, high quality, and practical bicycle accessories. Simply put, they strive to design and develop the best bicycle products in the world. In the company's short ten year history, they have made important product innovations within the bicycle industry. Advancements include the 4-line computer which is now a standard in the industry and the world's first self-contained HID light. Not bad for a company that ten years ago started as a one man operation. Today, while still a small company, Planet Bike continues to evolve and improve their product line with the goal of always striving to build accessories that make it easier for people to ride their bikes. Since 1996, Planet Bike's financial support of the grassroots bicycle movement has totaled $500,000. By 2010, they have made a goal to donate $1 million to organizations that are dedicated to making America a friendlier place for cyclists.
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Customer reviews
small and light, many mounting options, wide angle of visibility 
by .. K. Yasuhara (Seattle, WA)
LEDs generally have very focused beams, so you have to be looking straight at them to see their full brightness. This light cleverly orients seven LEDs in five different directions to cover a pretty wide angle of visibility, horizontally. (Planet Bike claims 220 degrees of visibility.) Three are directed straight back and through lens sections of the transparent red casing for maximum brightness in that direction. The remaining four are directed left, right, and partway between straight back and left/right. Brightness is lower in these side and intermediate directions, but many cheaper blinkers aren't visible at all from the side, so it's a start. (I sometimes put another blinker on my pannier side for better side visibility.)
One important consideration is that, as with most LED blinkers, the vertical angle of visibility is very narrow. I recommend mounting this light rigidly and precisely, e.g., on your seatpost or seatstay and not your helmet back or on a seat wedge bag. Adjust the mount and step back from your bike with the blinker running to make sure the LEDs are as bright as possible from the height of an average car driver.
I really like the mount design for this light. The clip is built into the light and does not have to be removed to slide it onto the quick-release bracket, which comes with hardware for mounting on a seatpost or a seatstay. (It's nice to have the seatstay option, but I don't do this, since I usually have panniers and prefer mounting the light higher.) The included elastic, velcro band makes it easy to pop the light off your bike and clip it on the back of your upper arm for a nighttime jog. I guess I've also seen cyclists with lights strapped to the back of their calves or ankles. Anyway, being able to pop it off the bike mount and clip it to a bag, belt or whatever without messing with a screwdriver or otherwise adding/removing parts is very handy.
The overall package is surprisingly small and light, especially compared to those hefty, five-LED, 2xAA blinkers that seem very popular. The case is easy to open with a coin or key and seems decently sealed with a rubber gasket. Planet Bike claims this light to be "weatherproof", and I've definitely had no trouble riding with it in the rain. The switch design is pretty clever, with a button directly under the bottom section of the transparent plastic case. That section of the case is thin enough to flex when you push on it, letting you operate the button, which stays safely sealed away from the elements. You don't get a satisfying click, but I think this is a great, inexpensive design for a weatherproof switch.
I'm very happy with this purchase, especially since Planet Bike donates 25% of profits to bike advocacy.
p.s. Check out Planet Bike's new Blinky Superflash, which is a more expensive, brighter light that's similar to this one.
Does exactly what it is mean to by .. The Derrty Egg ()
They are cheap and work great. That is pretty much all there is to these. However, make sure that you are buying these in order to make yourself more visible to drives, and not to make late night rides more visible to you. They do offer some light on your pathway, but not enough to make it worth it if that is your goal. If, like me, you are simply looking for an inexpensive way to keep from getting hit by drivers at night, then this is one of your best choices.
Very cool for kids by .. A. Shea (Atlanta, GA)
Just got these in the mail, so can't speak for battery life, but these are really neat for kids bikes. I have a 5 and 8 year old, and they love these little lights. They are about the size of a small egg... not very big at all, but they really are very bright. The headlight bulb fit perfect on the bike and has 3 modes. Push the button once and it flashes (fast like a strobe light), push the button again and the light stays on, push again and turns off. The head light can also be adjusted up or down. Very easy to install and use. The red light does the same except does not adjust once on the bike. My kids were riding in the garage in the dark today having a blast with these lights! I'd even get one for my own bike, if I rode at night. Very fast shipping also.
Blinky Lights by .. C. Chin Loy (Kingston, Jamaica)
Good lights, easy installation. Only down side, and it was expected is projection distance of front light.
excellent value to price by .. Geoffrey F. Beneze (Tempe, AZ USA)
Update 4/12/08. Light mount on helmet modification.
As discussed in the original review, I've now mounted one of the rear lights on the back of my helmet, a Bell Aguila. The light fits extremely well in the back most indentation/air flow vent on the helmet in either the vertical or horizontal position. Better yet, I mounted it without modifying the helmet or the light and it can be removed in seconds.
I used four rubber bands and passed them around the "upright" for the base of skull "catch" on the helmet's liner portion. The ends of the rubber bands are pulled out and slipped over the clip for the light. Given that UV eats rubber here, I put a pipe-cleaner around the clip and the band as a failsafe should the rubber bands fail.
Pull the light out 1/4" and you can rotate it to the position you like best. A bit of wiggling when seating the light will get edges, clips, arms and such aligned and the light stays tightly, smoothly, in the back of the helmet.
Why all this effort you might ask? I'm a true believer. I'm alive because of Bell helmets and making myself visible (though I didn't do ENOUGH 'back then', I wouldn't be here if it weren't for my helmet). With kids, I will do everything in my power to make them visible and safe wherever possible.
In any event, at near zero cost, 2 minutes of "labor" and the slightest dash of creative brain power, you can install a light on your helmet that makes you VASTLY more visible via the (higher) location, the movement imparted by pedaling, gossiping with your riding partner or just the movement of your head as you look around in wonder.
This tiny modification makes me MUCH more relaxed when riding around traffic and makes our rides much more enjoyable. It will also allow me to keep a better watch over my brood with much less effort. By morning I'll have the kids' helmets done, then we wait till the last order I placed (for Sylvia's helmet) arrives and we'll be a Matchin', Flashin', Family GANG (Man) (VVBG)
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These little lights are really a great value. They're quite bright and extremely visible. Small, easy to handle and flexible in use. My son, in particular, kills or loses lights with all too much regularity, but that's rather to be expected from a 10 year old.
I purchases several sets to have some backups. I'm contemplating removing the clip form a couple of the red ones and gluing them to the back of various helmets since we often ride after dark given the weather in our Phoenix desert environment.
The batteries, while to first appearance, are odd, they're actually quite common and becoming more so everyday. They are commonly available and the lithium should give a significant service and storage life.
I am likely to order another couple of sets in the near future just for backup.