Home > Reviews

Initial Review: Light and Motion Vis 180 tail light

14 Comments
Support us! Bikerumor may earn a small commission from affiliate links in this article. Learn More

Remember when bicycle headlights ran on disposable AA or AAA batteries?  Sure, it was cool to be able to ride at night, but looking back, it’s a wonder that we got very far- or that other road users even saw us.  At some point in the early ’90s, headlights made the leap to rechargeable batteries and the higher outputs they could support.  Now, nearly 20 years later, bicycle tail lights are poised to do the same thing- and it’s pretty awesome.  Though high-powered bicycle tail lights have been available for several years, Light & Motion’s Vis 180 is the cleanest, easiest to live with package we’ve ridden with yet.  Click ‘more’ to get the lowdown.

As a year-round commuter who spends about 4 months each year either riding to or from work in the dark, I’m very aware of my lighting and that of other riders.  Watching other cyclists, it doesn’t take long to realize the difference in visibility between a skyward-facing blinky and a properly mounted, decent quality head or tail light.  Up until now, I’ve been satisfied with a bright Blackburn Mars 3.0 mounted on my pack and a still brighter Planet Bike Superflash mounted to my seatpost.  More powerful alternatives always seemed too fussy (with external cables and cheesy mounts) and too expensive to justify.  This summer, however, our local bike shop received some freakishly powerful lights from Light & Motion.  The self-contained package and 35 lumen output immediately had me in lust.  At Interbike, Light & Motion agreed to send out a light for review.

So how much light is 35 lumens?  Though it doesn’t sound like a whole lot in a time of 500-1,300 lumen headlights, it’s about nine times as much output as my trusty Superflash.  Do not look directly into the Vis 180.  Encased in a largely metal enclosure, the Vis 180 features a single high output red LED that faces rearward as well as a pair of side-facing amber emitters.  The belt clip/bracket mount locks into position to keep it from slipping or being ejected from a messenger bag and the seatpost mount uses a simple stretchy rubber strap to fit a wide range of seatposts.  The light is charged through a micro USB port on its left side, though neither a cable nor a wall charger are included for the $99 price.

To put it simply, the Vis 180 is bad ass.  In a package no larger than many garden-variety blinky lights, the Vis 180 packs a good deal more output, and with it a great deal more confidence.  Bright enough to be seen at dusk (when most accidents occur) or even during the middle of the day, there’s no reason not to use it when in traffic.  Though the light does have a solid setting, a low pulse setting (8 hours claimed run time) and a low “pace line” setting (so as not to blind your riding buddies), I’ve had little occasion to use anything but the Vis 180’s high powered pulse setting (with a claimed 4hr run time).  Doing so ensures that drivers on the high-speed divided road that makes up half of my commute can see me with more than enough time to give me plenty of room- and I’ve noticed that they tend to do just that.

When asked why the Vis 180 pulses rather than strobes like other lights on the market (not to mention emergency vehicles), Light & Motion told us that the pulse was less likely to hypnotize riders and draw them toward cyclists- while still attracting more attention and than a solid red light and distinguishing itself from automobile tail lights.  Though that seems counterintuitive (see: emergency vehicles), the pulse is certainly comes across as friendlier than an aggressive strobe.  Though easily understood, the pictographic instructions printed on the packaging left me experimenting to find out if the little blinking green light meant charging or charged (charging) or how to remove the light from its seatpost bracket (collapse it completely, then pull it up).  If I had to pick one thing to improve, the rubber seatpost strap isn’t nearly as snug as I’d like, leaving it too easy to nudge the light off center when turning it on or off- many other, lighter tail lights have more solid mounts.  And while reducing unnecessary chargers is admirable, forcing users to ‘borrow’ their significant others’ phone chargers for the sake of a still-uncommon $3micro (vs. mini) USB cable isn’t always a recipe for domestic bliss.

Still, it’s hard to argue with the Vis 180.  Though it won’t be alone for long, light has single-handedly taken bicycle tail lights to the next level.  Yes, $100 for a bicycle tail light is a lot of money, but the fact is that it is a piece of safety equipment nearly an order of magnitude brighter than the $30 alternative and is made in the USA by a company with a strong commitment to environmental responsibility goes a long way toward justifying that expense.  We’ll be back next fall with a final verdict…

marc

www.bikelightingsystem.com

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

14 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Nate
Nate
13 years ago

So, it has about 1/4 the power output and 1/3 the run time of Dinotte 300R. Both are made in the USA, and both have internal Li-ion rechargeable batteries that are charged by USB. How exactly has this light “single-handedly taken bicycle tail lights to the next level?”

mike
mike
13 years ago

USB charging is just DUMB. i’m going to charge my expensiove light with a dumb phone charger or off a laptop that already has a short battery life??? dumb dumb dumb

bluebellknoll
bluebellknoll
13 years ago

Nate,

First, Dinotte 300R is about $250, and its high setting is way too bright (I mean seizure-inducing, blinding bright).
I wind up only using the intermediate (once in a while) or low setting (most of time). Their intermediate setting is probably
equivalent to a car braking lights.
Second, you need to hook up to their external battery (now Dinotte has the 200R tail light with internal battery), which
requires me to use the saddle bag to house the battery. I love my Dinotte 300R, but it’s probably an ‘overkill’ for commuting.

jc
jc
13 years ago

Isn’t the point of usb charging that you can charge the light on your desktop computer at work? That doesn’t seem dumb to me at all. Why have yet another product specific transformer? What if you need to charge after your ride into the office? I know usb isn’t particularly fast, but dumb?

Kim
Kim
13 years ago

Easy on and off, you can use your cell phone charger in your car or your laptop to charge it, you can turn it on with gloves on, and it’s way bright.

RED
RED
13 years ago

A few of us commented on this one a while back, anyone interested might want to take a read:
see Comments at
https://bikerumor.com/2010/10/01/interbike-2010-light-motion-focus-on-commuters/

As a follow-up to that, I bought the Exposure Lights Flare (with rechargeable batt) and am very pleased…
it fits both my 31.6 seatpost and could even be made to fit wife’s aero seatpost. I did shim it a little with some Garmin 305 rubber mount parts.

RED
RED
13 years ago

PS. 3 cel phones in the house and not a single micro-USB charger or cable. Daft.

Rich
Rich
13 years ago

Great review minus the crooked photo, it makes it extremely difficult to tell if it was a multi tool or a light.

jdmitch
13 years ago

@bluebellknoll,

I think you might be confusing the 400R with the 300R. 300R is supposed to have an integrated battery. Is $200 though…

http://store.dinottelighting.com/shared/StoreFront/default.asp?CS=dinotte&StoreType=BtoC&Count1=431041896&Count2=348182320&ProductID=111&Target=products.asp

Velocat
Velocat
13 years ago

I’ve been riding with the Dinotte 1st generation tail light since 2006. I ordered the Vis 180 yesterday for a several reasons. After years of removing the light and the battery pack from my bike everytime I locked it up, a self-contained unit like the Vis 180 seemed convenient. The USB charging feature is very handy since my computer is on all day here at work. The reflector is also good for passive lighting or if the batter runs out.

The Flying Camera
The Flying Camera
11 years ago

A micro USB cable *is* included with the package; BikeRumor got a unit for review, so possibly the USB cable was held over?

The Vis180 is turned on during daylight hours too; my sister, following behind in her car, says it is very, very bright and eye catching, even in bright sun. I have no quibbles with the rubber seatpost mount; it is better than the flimsy plastic clip-and-screw-on affairs so dominant. On my messenger bag I attach as a backup a NiteRider flasher of similar brightness.

Police in Australia have seized on cyclists using the Dinotte 300R as being excessively hazardous to drivers of vehicles pulling up behind; drivers, too have complained. Just because it is the brightest light available doesn’t mean it is the most safest for those charged with looking out for you, where being dazzled or blinded could have quite the opposite effect of safety.

Torsten Christensen
Torsten Christensen
7 years ago

Have had two of these stop working within a month – proberbly because of moisture here in Denmark

Subscribe Now

Sign up to receive BikeRumor content direct to your inbox.

Subscribe Now

Sign up to receive BikeRumor content direct to your inbox.