The Fibre Flare is a bike light with a difference.
For a start, it looks like one of those glow sticks you snap in half in a nightclub. This was also the first thing I was tempted to do, and according to the manufacturer you can safely bend it up to 45 degrees. In fact their website even shows a horse shoe bent Fibre Flare working perfectly.
It also offers 360 visibility, something that most other bike lights can’t match. Although in practise, one side will be inevitably blocked somewhat by the frame.
It costs £26.99 on Amazon and comes in a variety of shapes and sizes. The “Shorty” version comes in blue, green, red and yellow and is great if you are trying to bolster your side visibility. However, I want to be seen from the rear, and therefore I’ve been testing the full length tail bike light version.
Good points:
- Super bright
- Should fit all frame sizes (if you get creative)
- Really effective when attached on a backpack
- Can be seen by cars from the side
The Fibre Flare looks great. It’s the sort of bike light you want to proudly attach to your bike or to your backpack. It also offers a great deal of light. It made my normal bike light look dim in comparison. In the flashing mode, it would make it a lot harder for a driver to claim “Sorry mate I didn’t see you”.
The company that makes this actually claims a 300 meter visibility. I didn’t want to walk 300 metres away from it, as I’m sure someone would pinch it, but let’s just say it is very visible!
You can get pretty creative with the attachment style. Thanks to the silicone straps, you can attach to anything sized between 10mm to 60mm. If you can’t fit it on your seat post due to a mudguard, you could still shape it around the saddle. You just have to be careful that it is tightly secured, as it will slip off otherwise.
Bad points:
- Not rechargeable
- Need to be careful this doesn’t over bend in your bag
- Can’t really fit it in your pocket when you get to the pub
In flashing mode, the light should last around 75 hours on a pair of AAA batteries, according to the manufacturers. This is a lot of commuting time. On my previous commute it would have lasted me over two months.
It would be great to perhaps one day see in built charging functionality, so you can cut down on the number of batteries you are buying. Of course you can always buy rechargeable AAA’s.
Whilst the Fibre Flare is bendable, I do imagine there is a limit to how far it can bend. Therefore, you’ll need to be careful when placing this in your bag.
The only other downside I can see, is for those who cycle without a backpack. The Fibre Flare is rather long (292mm) and that means it won’t fit in your pocket.
Fibre Flare Review
The Fibre Flare is an excellent bike light. Bright, visible from many angles and perfect either on your frame or attached to your backpack. The only reason we can’t give it five stars is that it isn’t chargeable, this means trips down to the corner shop to pickup new batteries.
You can buy the Fibre Flare for £26.99 from Amazon.
Review overview
I have two and just hang them off whatever is suitable – bag strap, child seat, etc. No need to mess around with strapping them on to the frame, and lovely and visible in town.
Yep, they are very flexible. In fact I wish I’d gotten some pictures of it attached to my bag instead as I feel that’s a better position.
got the shorty version this week (wiggle – £19.58) and strapped it to my seat stay. I got the shorty because I wasn’t sure how the longer version would fit on my seat stay with my crud road racer mudguards fixed at the bottom.
It’s a fantastic light, would highly recommend it!!
Now can I justify buying another one for the other seat stay…
I had 2 on my rear stays last winter and they were extremely visible and kept me safe. Shame that neither of them now work due to rain water getting into the battery compartment!
:O I’ve read here:
http://www.cyclechat.net/threads/wiggle-good-returns-policy-fibre-flare.87081/
That you should:
Put some grease or vaseline over the rubber seals.
Perhaps that could make a difference?
Did you have any issue returning them Ben?
I had a similar issue with these lights – they are great but the switch/battery compartments do allow water ingress.
I returned the two to Wiggle and they replaced them no problem.
Now whenever I use the lights I take them off the bike at the end of the wet journey, peel back the rubber enclosures and allow them to air dry on the radiator or boiler.
I will have to try the grease/vaseline idea as well.
Thank you for the review Andreas. I had been looking at these on CRC and Wiggle, but was waiting to find some better reviews, and this is spot on.
Shame about the non-rechargable bit, but nevermind, maybe later models. 😀
I have been using these for a couple of years now, and have absolutely no complaints, the battery life is very good and they certainly get you noticed.
Although I really liked this light. The
plastic clips snapped off in no time so now I’m unable to attach it to anything. I think if they made the case sturdier and added USB charging this would be the perfect light.
Had two of these. Best lights I’ve had. Certainly gets you noticed at night by cars and other vehicles. Lost one of these due to rain getting into the battery part.
If only the makers could make a more waterproof version of this.
Woah not seen anything like this before, looks great! Shame about having to buy batteries though
Looks great, have been thinking about getting an extra light for the back, might have to get 2 now and light up the back of my speed demon. Not liking the apparent lack of waterproofness (word)? Might have to wrap the thing up in cling film!
Andreas thats a sweet looking ride you have there, if you are ever looking to sell it let me know!
I’ve been riding with one of these for a while, and have been impressed by how many cyclists and car drivers who have stopped beside me at traffic lights to say how visible it is – makes me feel a lot safer. And as for the battery issue, I use rechargeables (pretty cheap off Amazon) which seem to do the trick – ok I have to remember to remove them and put them into the charger at home, so agree USB would be good, but it’s not really that much effort.
On the subject of lights……….
So many morons cycling around central London with no lights, inexcusable, some of them are riding smart expensive bikes which must have cost them £500/£600 yet didnt spend £25 on a set of lights
Police should be able to hit them with £60 on the spot fine, that may make these idiots think twice before going out there, and getting all of us a bad image.
I’m glad I read this, now I will buy a pair of long ones for the rear, a pair of shorties for the chain stays and another pair of shorties for the forks of my hybrid, you can never be too bright in my opinion.