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review
Lights - rear
Radial Cycles Pharos rear safety lightRadial Cycles Pharos rear saftey light

Radial Cycles Pharos rear safety light

8
by Steph Mann
UPDATED Thu, Oct 15, 2015 04:24

First Published May 7, 2015

2
£8.99

VERDICT:

8
10
Small and compact, this light makes a great spare; easy to attach and decent visibility
Weight: 
31g
Contact: 
www.radialcycles.co.uk/
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The Radial Pharos Rear Safety Light offers a small easy way to be seen from behind. If you need something to put on your bike quickly or in addition to your current light, this is a fairly priced option.

It's a compact light with an anodised machined aluminium body, making it robust and good looking.

The Pharos is easy to fit to your bike with a flexible rubber strap. It takes seconds to fit and remove the light, perfect for those who lock their bike up in public.

It's operated by pressing the light itself. Pressing it once puts it into flashing mode, a second press gives a continuous beam and a third press turns it off. It's incredibly simple to work.

The three-watt bulb is powered by two CR2032 batteries. From this you get a burn time of 30 hours on continuous and 90 hours in flashing mode. Both are quite healthy numbers in terms of battery life. The light will start to fade as the batteries run out though, so watch out for this.

It is water resistant and I found it held up well in light showers and no water managed to get inside it.

It isn't a light that you would chose as your sole illumination, but in addition to your current set up or as an emergency back up light. It's quite bright though, and in flashing mode you will be noticed which is the main aim of the light.

At the price there are similarly-sized lights on the market and run times do vary. The Pharos has a good battery life in flashing mode which does give it somewhat of an edge.

Overall, it's a nifty little light that's easy to carry about with you as a spare. It looks good and fitting it to your bike is a total doddle.

Verdict

Small and compact, this light makes a great spare; easy to attach and decent visibility

The light comparator

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road.cc test report

Make and model: Radial Cycles Pharos rear safety light

Size tested: RED LED40 x28x33mm

Tell us what the product is for, and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?

A mini safety light, aimed at people who want extra visibility. Radial say "With the same anodized CNC machined aluminum body styling as there older brother, the Pharos 3-Watt Front light, these Pharos Mini Safety Lights are a perfect accompaniment to any bike out as the sun-sets and after". I felt the light did have dimensions of being a good addition to my current lighting set up when I needed extra visibility. Also very handy as part of a spare set.

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

1 red LED safety light

* Constant/flashing modes

* CNC-Machined Aluminum body

* Easy to remove and attach

* Can be installed on handlebar diameter 19~32 mm

* Water resistant

Specification:

* Size: 40 x 28 x 33 mm

* Weight: 20 grams (without battery)

* Run time: Constant - 60 hours/flashing - 120 hours

* Battery: CR2032 �– 2

* Colour: Black

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
8/10

A very robust and well made light. It could handle some knocks.

Rate the product for performance:
 
8/10

The lights are small, but definitely add extra visibility.

Rate the product for durability:
 
8/10
Rate the product for weight, if applicable:
 
8/10

Small and lightweight, making them really say to pack away and carry.

Rate the product for value:
 
8/10

The light is a decent price and can be found cheaper online.

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

As a mini safety light, the Pharos is a good spare and works well as a light.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

I liked how easy the light is to fit and use.

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes

Would you consider buying the product? Yes

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes

Overall rating: 8/10

About the tester

Age: 34  Height: 158cms  Weight: 61kg

I usually ride: Giant defy  My best bike is:

I've been riding for: Under 5 years  I ride: A few times a week  I would class myself as: Experienced

I regularly do the following types of riding: road racing, commuting, sportives, general fitness riding, mtb,

 

Radial Cycles Pharos rear safety light
Radial Cycles Pharos
Radial Cycles

Add new comment

2 comments

Avatar
picko | 9 years ago
0 likes

Steph - will the band on this fit ok around a 'normal' sized seat stay (~20mm diameter)? Cheers

Avatar
Pub bike | 9 years ago
0 likes

The LED is probably consuming about 25mW, not 3W (The capacity of a CR2032 is around 200 mAh).

The description on the website https://www.radialcycles.co.uk/pharos-mini-rear-light-rli107.html does mention the front light having a 3W LED but the rating of the rear LED is not mentioned.

Also the text above states 30 hours but the website and the text further down says 60 hours on continuous mode. Which is it?

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