Reelight Rl721 bike lights are a set of front and rear bike lights. They are always on because they are powered by your bike’s movement. If you put them on your bike, you will never be without bike lights again. That said, they are not going to provide sufficient light for some kinds of night-time riding. However, they will keep you safer by ensuring that you are never in danger because your bike light’s battery ran out while you were halfway home.
 |  |  |  |  |
Reelight Rl721 Bike Lights – Backup Lights for Safety
I have lights on the front and back of my helmet, as well as on the front and back on my bike. I use rechargeable batteries, and I’m pretty good about switching them regularly.
Still, I’m not perfect, and I wanted to make sure I was never caught cycling home from work without lights. That’s why I bought a complete set of Reelight Rl721 bike lights.
Please click here to view the Current Best Price of Reelights on Amazon.
Reelights are Powered by Electrodynamic Induction
Reelight Rl721 bike lights are powered by electrodynamic induction, which means that power is generated as your bike moves. This is thanks to a pair of spoke-mounted magnets passing over a copper coil (inside the light unit). Once you have them mounted, they are always on. You don’t have to remember to keep the batteries charged, or even to switch the lights on. As long as you’re moving, your Reelight Rl721 bike lights will be on.
Note that the lights will not work at full capacity when you first get them, as it takes a while to get the capacitor charged up. After this first time use, however, they are up to speed within a couple of minutes of starting your bike journey.
Related Post: 7 of the Best Bike Lights for Street and Trail Cycling
Legal Issues and Reelight Rl721 Bike Lights
These lights were invented in Denmark, where there is a legal requirement to have lights on the back and front of your bike. They meet the legal requirements of most countries, and even offer a left side driving option.
Reelight Option with Steady Lights (non-Flashing)
A few countries (such as Holland and Sweden) have laws against flashing lights, so Reelight offers models with a steady light (the SL150 series). These are handy if you don’t want to annoy people with flashing lights.
Related Post: When to Use Flashing Bike Lights – and When NOT To
Some people claim that because these lights attach to the bike’s axles, they are mounted too low to meet the legal requirements of some countries. I am not sure about that. However for me it is a moot point, because I would not use these lights as stand-alones. I use them as extra or back-up lights.
Other Bike Lights
My primary tail light is my intensely bright Serfas tail light (reviewed here). I love that I can easily and quickly move this light to a different bike. I have been transferring this light from bike to bike for about 25 years now.
My favorite bike head light is my very bright Lumintrail headlight (reviewed here). It packs a lot of value in a very affordable small package. For less than $15, it also ships with a basic tail light. Check out the best current price of this head light on Amazon by clicking here.
| | | | |
Fitting your Reelight Rl721 Bike Lights
The compact Reelights Rl721 Bike Lights will fit most bikes. Reelight recommends that there should be no more than 3 mm between the magnet and the light. Mine were poorly fitted by my bike shop, with the front set touching and the rear set more than 3 mm apart.
I had to adjust them to get them working perfectly, but it really was not brain surgery. The kits ship with all the accessories you need to mount them.
Please click here to view the Current Best Price of Reelights on Amazon.
Related Post: 5 Ways to Stay Visible in Traffic When Cycling
What I Like Most about Reelight Rl721 Bike Lights
The most important thing is that I don’t have to worry about batteries. Which also of course makes them really planet friendly – always a great thing. However, for me the greatest benefit of the Reelight Rl721 lights is simply that my lights are always on, even when it suddenly gets darker, or the batteries on one of my other bike lights run down.
This could potentially save my life. I know a woman who was hit head-on by a car while she was cycling after dark, because she did not realize that her front light battery was completely dead. (Luckily, she survived without remarkably few injuries.)
How Reelights Help with Bike Safety
Reelights are on during the day as well. I once spoke with a bus driver who told me he prefers cyclist to have lights on even in the daytime, as he can see them from two blocks away. He said he finds it hard to see them at all without lights.
Bearing this out is a study conducted by Reelight and other researchers with 4,000 cyclists over one year. This study showed daytime lights on bikes reduced accidents by 19%, and reduced injuries to cyclists by a staggering 47%. Thank you to Canadian safety activist and academic Neil Aronson for drawing my attention to this study.
Related Post: Best Bike Light under $40 – Serfas Thunderbolt Tail Light Review
Another Way to Light Up Your Bike for Safety, without Having to Think Too Much About It
For decades now, I have been a fan of various kinds of wheel lights. These are tiny LED lights that you fix to the spokes of your wheels. On more than one occasion, I believe they have saved my life. This is because they make you visible to motorists approaching you at a T-angle. For example, sleepy people pulling out of side streets in the very early morning. I love them as a safety feature, but they are also a lot of fun because you can usually change the colors and patterns.
These LED wheel lights are not self-charging, but they run on batteries which don’t need to be recharged for many months at a time. All you have to do is switch them on before pulling out. I always use them in low light conditions. The ones below are highly rated and very affordable.
Bottom Line on Reelights
We highly recommend Reelights bike lights because they are an easy, affordable way to be safer on your bike. If you cycle at night, the single most important thing you can do is make sure you are visible.
Please click here to view the Current Best Price of Reelights on Amazon.
More About Bike Lights
To read much more about bike lights, see our Average Joe Cyclist Guide to Bike Lights. If you want a light that will enable you to see your way in pitch darkness, see my review of the super bright Lumintrail headlight.
| | | | |
Related Posts
Related Post: Unleash Your Cycling Potential: 7 Reasons Why Every Cyclist Should Use a Power Meter
Related Post: 7 of the Best Cycling Balaclavas
Related Post: How to Use Bike Reflectors to Be More Visible
Related Post: How to Dress for Winter Cycling – Cycling Clothes that will Keep You Warm and Dry
Related Post: 7 Reasons to do High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) on Your Bike – and How to Do It
Related Post: Cycling Training Plan for Novices and Complete Beginners
Check Out Our Most Popular Posts! | ||
| ||
Did you enjoy this post or find it helpful? If so, please support our blog! We write this blog because we love cycling. But we also need to earn a living, so we would appreciate it very much if you click through to one of our reputable affiliates for your online shopping. We are proudly affiliated with Amazon, which sells pretty much everything, and has outstanding shipping and return policies. When you buy from our affiliates we make a small commission, and this is the only way we earn any income. Plus, it costs you nothing at all - a real win/win situation! We here at Average Joe Cyclist do not receive any information AT ALL about who you are, where you live, or what your dog's name is. Buying through our Amazon links is simply an anonymous way to thank us for our efforts, like tossing a few coins in a tip jar. Except that it is Amazon who tosses the coins, not you! | ||
