NEW TO THE MARKET
SIDE LIGHTING FOR CYCLISTS
http://brightside.bike/
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| Brightside Bike Light. |
"Brightside"
I've had the pleasure of doing a review on a great new Safety Idea which is new to the market, if your a keen cyclist or even just a leisure rider, the "Brightside" bike light will make you very visible, especially at junction's and roundabouts during the day and at night!
How does it work: The Brightside is a smallish light that shines a Amber light to the Left and Right, it is simply mounted on your frame with the Frame clip mount and strap supplied.
Press the on button to change from each flash mode, from a fast flash to get you noticed to a slower flashing mode, and a constant setting. check the youtube video out on the link.
The light really does get you noticed I feel out on the road that little bit more which is a good thing.
How did the Brightside light come about: I met up with the inventor Aidan Gribbin a while back at the Cycle show, we got chatting and he asked me to do a review on the Brightside Side light, once it was fully up and running from the design and manufacture side of production. This is where we are now, with a full production model that can be purchased directly from their website right away! you will find the link to the Brightside Side Light on how the idea came about and it's construction below....
Whats in the box:
1 X Brightside bike light.
1 X USB Cable.
1 X Frame Clip Mount.
1 X Frame Strap.
1 X Instruction Booklet.
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| Brightside light, Mount, Strap, Charge lead and Instruction sheet. |
Fitting to your bike.
The Brightside light comes with a universal strap which attaches to the frame clip mount, I tried it on several bike frames, as I was interested to see how well it would be seen at the front.Fitting to a Specialized Allez 2014 Road Bike
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| Firstly I tried it on the Specialized Allez Alloy frame bike. |
Typical road bike frame is the one by Specialized, so my first try was at the front, on and around the Head Tube section, this position would put the Brightside Light up in front.
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| No problem with the fitting, the frame strap was strong enough to go around the Head Tube without any extra force or stretching of the strap. |
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| Brightside in place, fit's behind the brake cable. |
I found with the light fitted on the front head tube, I had trouble turning the Brightside light on whilst wearing thick cloves, no problem though, I simply removed it and then turned it on to the setting I wanted, and then placed it back on the frame clip mount.
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| In place and working a treat! |
Fitting to a Ribble Carbon frame road bike
Fitting to the Specialized was easy, but the frame on the Ribble has a very different Head Tube, much thicker than most Alloy frame bikes, so I now tried fitting it on to the Ribble. |
| Head Tube much thicker on the Ribble. |
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| The frame strap stretches around the Head Tube enough to fit the frame clip mount to. |
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| Brightside light fits the Head Post |
I felt that the large Head Tube width of the Ribble stretches the strap to the maximum, if the light was going to be used on this bike for a while and then transferred to another bike frame, I have a feeling the strap may be stretched too far to give a firm fitting on the frame clip mount, so I have decided to re-fit the clamp to the top tube to see how I get on with the light there.
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| Brightside fitted to the top tube. |
Fitting to a full suspension bike.
The next bike to tried it on was a full suspension bike a Specialized Camber, if there was going to be any bike to present a problem, I thought this would be the one! |
| On the Camber I found the same problem with the head tube making the strap stretch a bit. |
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| Re positioned the Brightside to the headset position. |
Fitting to a Hard-tail frame
I found the easiest frame to fit the Brightside to was a hard-tail bike frame.Easy to fit, and sits right up at the front of the bike, where it will be seen by drivers.
Verdict: I found the Brightside side light to be a nice well thought out light, it makes you visible to other road users. I had a lot of people looking at me on the bike as I cycled past them on a ride out, it has a nice flash mode. Mounting wise I thought the stretching of the strap on the Ribble bike was at it's limit, I'm not sure if the strap would remain a bit too loose if it was then transferred to another bike with a smaller frame after a period of time, only time will tell! mind you not everyone has as many bikes as me..... so the need to keep changing the light between bikes would not be an issue.
Did it fall off: On the all rides I did with the various bikes that I had, the Brightside never moved, apart from when I adjusted the light to the top tube, it was fine whilst cycling along, but when I came to a stop my right knee hit the Brightside dislodging it off of the mount.
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| Brightside on the floor! When I picked it back up the light has switched itself off. |
No real problem with the mount, just the position I had mounted it on the top tube, so my advice is if you get one just take your time on positioning and mounting the clamp.
Charge times: Had no issues with the charge times, the light was excellent and the charge lasted well, the On/Off switch is a bit hard to operate when wearing winter gloves [ but so are most things including your mobile phone]!
Spares: I would like to see a spare Frame Clip Mount and a spare Frame strap in the options menu on their website, this would be handy if like me you own more than one bike, and this light is a must for dark evenings and nights.
Casing: After I knocked the Brightside light off the top post, I picked it up and found the light casing had no scratch marks or scuffs on it, so a well thought out and durable design, although the light did turn itself off as it hit the ground, on both occasions this happened I had no problem turning it back on again. The case is made of a tactile rubber, that is warm to the touch that would not split or crack when dropped.
Test ride: On the test ride the Bright side gave good side visibility for drivers at junctions and crossing the road between cycle paths, many people I passed gave my bike a look, and even had a nice comment about the Brightside being really a great idea to be seen with..
http://brightside.bike/
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/brightside.bike
Twitter Feed: https://twitter.com/brightsidebike
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brightsidebike/
I Like this a lot!
A well thought out and designed Safety Light. That makes you visible from the side, not just from the front and back like most bike lights.
Great if you are a commuter cyclist.
Price rrp
£34.99
Have noticed a 20% off discount code on Brightside Twittter feed page!
The 20%discount code is BSBL20
More on the Flash mode settings: On the rush to get this out to you all, I thought I had better just recheck to see if I had explained the Flash Modes on the Brightside light, so here is just another recap!
On: Light turns on to the fast flash mode.
On second push: The brightside has not got a memory switch (Yet) so the first press of the button brings to life and the second press will take it to constant mode setting.
Third push: Will take it to Power Save mode.
Fourth Press: Takes the Brightside to Steady Flash mode.
Take a look at the youtube video on the flash modes of the Brightside light.
Do you own a independent bike shop and want to stock the Brightside light then give Aidan Gribbin a call on 07931 103211
Tell him I sent you!
UPDATE
now available at Evans Cycles shops.
https://www.evanscycles.com/brightside-side-lights-EV274020
UPDATE
Released at the Birmingham bike show was a new light from Brightside, check it out on the website as there is a deal for the two lights...........Please Feel Free to Support Our Sponsors Adverts. Thank You.
Foot Note This is not a Paid Advertisement for Brightside Bike Lights
Join me on the Harlow Cycling Page Group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/561747090583364/
Harlow cycle page on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/Harlow-Cycle-Page-805601672891539/
@TDF79
Great review on Brightside, great cycling page. Thanks!
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Good work.
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