When Winter strikes, we all do our best to keep going, in spite of weather or loss of digits at the end of each ride. Weather is one thing, but one of the worst aspects of Winter for some is the total loss of daylight that goes along with it. 20 hours of potential ride-time in a day is suddenly cut down to 3, and whether just commuting or trying to fit in base miles, lights can help expand your ride-time by those precious few minutes to get you back home safely.
Lately, the industry has put a lot of effort into light systems, especially powerful rear lights to attempt to achieve 360 degree visibility. There's no shortage of powerful tail lights out there, but some offer better value than the rest, and with the OxyLED I attempted to find its place in the tail-light hierarchy.
Lately, the industry has put a lot of effort into light systems, especially powerful rear lights to attempt to achieve 360 degree visibility. There's no shortage of powerful tail lights out there, but some offer better value than the rest, and with the OxyLED I attempted to find its place in the tail-light hierarchy.
The OxyLED seems to be geared towards the urban cyclist, with its high profile design and, in following with a recent tail light trend, its "bike lane" projectors.
The "bike lane" lines are supposed to increase side visibility and give drivers an idea of the minimum part of road that the cyclist deserves. Are they a little pushy? I would tend to think so, but they also tick all the right boxes to win points for the increased coolness-factor. I don't know that the projected-bike-lane idea is entirely necessary, but it's a neat idea and it makes you look pretty serious.
One of the problems I did have with the lane-lines is that their default light function is a slow steady flash. The next option is a faster flashing, and the final of the three is solid lines. I'm not a bike lane expert, but I do think that the solid lines is the most useful and feel like the other modes just get in the way.
The lines are also well-spaced at normal bike height, but perhaps as expected, unless the body of the light is at the right angle, the lines will skew and point instead of creating a bike lane for you.
One of the problems I did have with the lane-lines is that their default light function is a slow steady flash. The next option is a faster flashing, and the final of the three is solid lines. I'm not a bike lane expert, but I do think that the solid lines is the most useful and feel like the other modes just get in the way.
The lines are also well-spaced at normal bike height, but perhaps as expected, unless the body of the light is at the right angle, the lines will skew and point instead of creating a bike lane for you.
The tail light itself is certainly bright enough for everyday use, with 8 separate LEDs operating in 3 different modes much like the projected lane-lines; 1) Roving flash up, down, back and forth across LEDs; 2) Steady flash; and 3) Solid.
Two separate buttons operate the lane and the main light; again I don't know how necessary this is since if I were designing the light it would only have a single solid lane mode, but I suppose it's nice to be able to operate the two functions of the light separately from each other.
Two separate buttons operate the lane and the main light; again I don't know how necessary this is since if I were designing the light it would only have a single solid lane mode, but I suppose it's nice to be able to operate the two functions of the light separately from each other.
The charging of the light is handled by a DC direct input. This works, but while the majority of electronics nowadays have a USB port, the charging on this light feels antiquated and it's just one more charging cable to lose somewhere in your home. My first charge on this light lasted about 2 or 3 hours, which isn't fantastic, but as long as you remember to charge it every night you shouldn't have any issues.
The mount is pretty reliable as long as you don't lose the nut that holds it all together, and the light clips in and out of the mount pretty easily, a nice touch. The light itself is pretty bulky however, so it can get bumped and tweaked out of position pretty easily. I've liked the idea of the light, but the constant need to try to adjust it has kind of been driving me mad. The reason for this is the diamond-shaped rear-face which is supposed to, again, increase all-around visibility, but there are other ways to go about that without making the main body of the light itself so clunky.
The mount is pretty reliable as long as you don't lose the nut that holds it all together, and the light clips in and out of the mount pretty easily, a nice touch. The light itself is pretty bulky however, so it can get bumped and tweaked out of position pretty easily. I've liked the idea of the light, but the constant need to try to adjust it has kind of been driving me mad. The reason for this is the diamond-shaped rear-face which is supposed to, again, increase all-around visibility, but there are other ways to go about that without making the main body of the light itself so clunky.
Value
This is a bit tricky with this light. After a little research, it seems as though there are several iterations of what is effectively the exact same light from various different companies. OxyLED has some experience with quality bike lights so they may be the best value of them, but I can't really say with any certainty how the other variants are. That said, the most interesting thing about this light is that it's pretty hard to find any official dealer for it. OxyLED does not seem to have it on their website, and the only place I could find it was Amazon, which lists it as originally priced at $130.
At that price, I would advise against the purchase and rate the light as a whole at 2/5. But Amazon's adjusted price is $14.99. No, I didn't miss a zero. At that price, I would certainly advise the purchase as a great, high-value, flashy rear-light and give it a rating of 3.5/5. Ultimately it's up to you how much you want to spend on a tail light like this, but for the novelty value of your own bike lane alone I would probably consider buying it for anything less than about $40.
14.99 on Amazon
At that price, I would advise against the purchase and rate the light as a whole at 2/5. But Amazon's adjusted price is $14.99. No, I didn't miss a zero. At that price, I would certainly advise the purchase as a great, high-value, flashy rear-light and give it a rating of 3.5/5. Ultimately it's up to you how much you want to spend on a tail light like this, but for the novelty value of your own bike lane alone I would probably consider buying it for anything less than about $40.
14.99 on Amazon