Blaze Laserlight front light

Due to the badly designed mounting system my blaze laserlight has fallen off the bike many times, including twice in a very busy central London rush hour commute. The cyclist behind nearly fell over and it was easily a life or death situation. Needless to say after the drop every time the mounting steel pole just gets more bent and the light itself more damaged. The light itself doesn’t even work now as the internal wire seems to be detached somehow so the light turns itself off as soon as I hit a gentle bump on the road.

Bear in mind this is a bike light costing £125 and it broke gradually over ONE year I would definitely recommend anyone NOT to purchase this light. Blaze customer service certainly did not help by refusing to offer a replacement and instead try to blame the user for not mounting the light properly... completely unacceptable.

I wish they had just produced the laser symbol projector for a lower price, and not combined it with a normal light. I'd buy a symbol projector for perhaps 30 pounds. Already have a good expensive dynamo light so I'd really only be interested in the laser.

I don't think the laser projection will make much difference in terms of safety, so I wouldn't want to spend so much money on it. The symbol is invisible on wet roads and, when visible, there are only very limited situations where a bike symbol in front makes any difference at all. It won't stop close overtakes, and I can't imagine that drivers who pull out of side roads would notice the bike symbol if they don't see my front light.

As a driver, I find the symbol confusing. If I hadn't read this article, I probably wouldn't realise that the symbol is connected to an actual bike. It's all very nice on the dark empty roads in the adverts, but on a busy road it would just be another one of the hundreds of lights, reflexes from advert boards and other distractions. If it gets my attention at all, I might focus on the symbol trying to figure out what it means, and it would distract me from noticing the actual bike.

The only realistic situation - and why I would perhaps pay 30 pounds - is on shared paths; it can alert pedestrians when you approach; a bell often has disadvantages (some people find it aggressive, others don't hear it at all). It could be a way to reduce conflicts on shared paths, at least for cyclists who generally try to be courteous.

I wasn't looking to purchase one of these due to the big price tag, but found one for half the RRP. Can't say I've had any problems with the bracket, the laser projection is a bit of a novelty thing (it can actually be pretty distracting) but the light is pretty decent and the construction and design of the unit is very nice. The new black one looks good too.

Had one since they first came out. Personally never had an issue with the first bracket coming loose, and Blaze did ship a modified one free of charge. I love the look + feel of the light but yes its heavy and an expensive bit of kit for what it does. I've had it as my secondary light on my commute bike all year and its never come off or came near to coming off in a lot of riding. It could benefit from a simple clip arrangement with a bit of cord to hold it on if it it did come loose (my front camera has this). I don't like the charging cable ... why not use a standard USB ? Making the socket waterproof is easy. I don't like the mount much either. I find the lazer mainly a gimmick and it doesn't work well in the wet or under streetlights - so I rarely turn that on. I also find the image is blurred and shaky. It is quite good, however, if you are on a shared use path as pedestrians see the bike shape even when they have earphones in. I usually only have the Blaze on in flash mode as a secondary running light most days. Am I happy I kick-started it? - Yep. Would I buy it at £125? - Nope.

I reviewed the light when I got one (I was one of the backers of the original Kickstarter) and found the bracket to be rubbish.

http://humancyclist.blogspot.com/2014/02/blaze-bike-light-is-here-but-it...

Not specifically about this light, more about headlights in general.
Last night, I drove (yes, I drive as well as cycling) along Aston Lane, in front of a rider whose headlight was angled upwards so that it shone directly into my rear view mirror (in a Xsara Picasso). Apart from being anti-social, this must have meant he could not see the road surface in front of him which is a very risky situation in Birmingham.

There's a very in-depth review including many shots in real-world use courtesy @beztweets here: http://mashing53.wordpress.com/2014/11/26/gunpowder-gelatine-cycle-light...

Basically it seems to be a bucketful of meh. For £125 there are many brighter, better-mounted lights out there. The laser is a gimmick at best, and - as Bez finds - basically disappears in the wet (see below blatantly lifted image from Bez's site - Property is theft dude! ). This is yet another seemingly workable 'safety' device that is impossible to prove works. I'm sure that having spunked £125 on it, owners will acutely recall and wax lyrical about the 1 in 100 cars they think gave them more space because of the laser image.

I have one of these, and find the bracket to be fine - it's never caused me problems.

But the laser concept sadly doesn't really work in highly trafficked areas - it's completely overwhelmed by car and street lights on my London commute. To the extent that I don't bother switching it on any more.