what a joke

Previous taillight i owned was battery operated -- this USB was just junk. From one ride to the next -- no charging. Is it me, or anything under $100 component for biking is junk.

gary

Avoid NiteRider Taillights

Familiarity:

I've put it through the wringer

Over eight to ten years for two bikes, I purchased three or four NiteRider headlights and at least as many NiteRider taillights… based primarily on the tech specs. Early ones were not rechargeable, later ones rechargeable. Now questioning, er... abandoning, my brand loyalty. One taillight simply stopped working (Cherry Bomb), another had the clip mount crack off, and the most recent one never lived up to the charging specs out of the box and quickly got worse from there (Solas). I’m a pride-of-ownership kinda person, take care of my stuff, have been anything but “hard” on these lights, and they’ve been unsatisfactory. Without getting into the details, let’s just say my interaction with NiteRider customer support was less than satisfying. Zero, zip, nada appreciation for my loyalty. The OLED headlight still works fine after two seasons. But I’d steer as far away as I could from their taillights. Longevity sucks. I’m likely to opt for the Specialized Stix Elite 2 Taillight or the Lyzene Strip Drive Pro Tail Light to replace the latest NiteRider that broke.

Paul K.

Unreliable-stops working

Familiarity:

I've put it through the wringer

Don't waste your money! A light is a fairly simple thing and you shouldn't need to replace it regularly. I like things about this light: vertical configuration, different flashing patterns for visibility. HOWEVER they are flat out unreliable. I have had 4 of these (2 warranty replacements) and all 4 crapped out. Two just stopped working altogether: the light could not be turned off and when the battery ran out it was gone. The other two stopped taking a charge and eventually died away. I rarely write reviews. Want to keep people from wasting time and money as I did.

Jeffrey P.

Nice and Bright

Familiarity:

I've put it through the wringer

I've used it for about a year, riding for about 1,000 miles. The solas performs well, it's very bright so it can be seen far away. After one year, the battery still charges well and lasts per specification. The only complain I have is the on/off/mode switch, it is not that easy to switch from one mode to another. Otherwise, everything is great.

Acorn

Died after 3-4 months

Familiarity:

I've used it several times

I bought this because I thought this more expensive light would be more reliable and have longer battery life than the cheap $15 variety.

king.aj591962

Weak battery life

Familiarity:

I've used it once or twice and have initial impressions

Very nice light, bright and flashes prominently. Unfortunately, using either flash mode the best length was 3 hours then the battery dies. Not acceptable. They quote 4.5 and 6.5 hours. Not in my case. Returning for a different type of light.

Thomas D.

Unreliable

Familiarity:

I've used it several times

The actual light part of it works as advertised. But it has lots of issues. It doesn't stay in position very well, sometimes it will shift and I'll find at the end of my ride it's now pointing down. Not too helpful to have a rear light facing down. The rubber cover over the charging port is difficult to put back in so I'm never sure if it's covering it and preventing water from getting in. There doesn't seem to be anything in the manual about the charging light indicator. Sometimes I plug it in and there's no light so I'm not sure if it's charging or not. Sometimes after a few hours the light will turn bright red. Then after that it will turn blue. I think that means it's fully charged. But not sure. All in all I wouldn't buy it again.

Sm

Bright but not waterproof

Familiarity:

I've put it through the wringer

I used this light for most of this winter, mostly with fenders, but I recently took it out on a road ride with a lot of spray from melting snow. Afterward, it turned on but never worked quite right again - the flashing modes were all wonky and it became difficult to turn off. The placement of the USB charging port at the bottom of the light, directly above the rear wheel, seems like a bad idea.

Matthew H.