QUICK SUMMARY: I like this product enough to equip all six of our family's bicycles with this combo unit. They're easy to attach to the handle bar (once you understand the mechanism), easy to remove, and do a good job helping others to see you. Don't expect to use this headlight to illuminate a dark road at night, though.
There are six reasons why I like this set:
1) LED lights are much more energy efficient than the old-fashioned, incandescent light bulbs I used to use growing up. Saves money on replacement batteries.
2) The headlight beam, when focused correctly, is very bright and can be easily seen by an oncoming car from a faraway distance. Similarly, the red tail-light, when properly focused, can also be easily seen from an approaching vehicle.
3) The physical size of both the headlight and tail-light are very compact, so they look nice on the bikes.
4) They're weatherproof enough so if you're caught in the rain, both devices should keep working for you.
5) They're easy to mount on the handlebar and seat post. I used one of the rubber inserts to ensure a tight fit on the handlebar. The headlight doesn't require a screwdriver to install; the tail-light does need a screwdriver.
6) The headlight is easy to detach from the bike. I liked this feature when I was nighttime riding, and I wanted to stop and take a look at an armadillo along the road. So, it doubles as a handy flashlight, too. The tail-light is easily detached from the mounting bracket, too, but you'll probably do that only to replace the batteries.
I have four caveats to share with you:
1) The headlight isn't good enough to illuminate a dark road well enough that you can safely ride at night. You can do it, but the road will be dimly lit up. There's only one white LED in the headlight. It's fine if you're riding at night on a well-lit road and you just need a headlight so others can see you. If you need a headlight to really light up the road for you, look elsewhere.
2) Both the headlight and tail-light need to be properly focused so an oncoming vehicle can actually see you. They need to point almost straight ahead so the beam can be highly visible to an oncoming or approaching vehicle. If not pointed correctly, the bright intensity of the LED lights won't help you become visible to others.
3) Even when the lights are correctly focused, the bright light can only be seen from a relatively narrow field-of-vision. I would have preferred the tail-light to slightly offset the leftmost and rightmost LEDs so the tail-light could be seen by a wider field-of-vision. Because the field-of-vision is so narrow, take time to evaluate whether you've correctly installed the lights by moving 50 or 100 yards away from your bike, and looking to see how well the lights can be seen. (It's helpful if you work with another person to install the lights, where one person makes the adjustments, and the other stands far away to evaluate the results).
4) Stupidly, you press the headlight button once to initiate a blinking action, a second time to have a steady beam, whereas the tail-light is just the opposite -- click once for a steady beam, twice to initiate a blinking action.
In short, recommended!Get more detail about
Planet Bike Beamer 1 and Blinky 3 LED Bicycle Light Set.
