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Rear lamp: B&M Toplight line plus

Specifications:

StVZO approval no: K659 (on reflector) + K658 + K751
Mass: 52 g (with lock nuts).
Size: 93.5 mm width, 44.7 mm height, 16.8 mm thickness.
Light source: 2 red LEDs.
Mounting method: On the rear rack, 50 mm bolt distance (80 mm is also available).
Cabling/connectors: There are 2 connectors for 2.8 mm female plugs as used on standard double strand wires you can buy from a bike shop, you can also use wires without connectors, remove the insulation at the ends, and clamp these in the lamp with a lever.
Construction: Plastic, housing cannot be openend, with galvanised bolts sticking out and stainless steel lock nuts.

Price: ca. € 25,-

Pictures:


Beam shots

See the camera settings page for more on the setup and settings to make pictures of the beams of taillamps.

Out of a corner (showing how much light is cast upwards, forwards and to the sides) [ F3.9 & F1.8 ]:



Wallshot (showing the beam pattern):



Visibility from various angles (0°, 45°, 90°, 135°) [ 0.5m, zoom x3, F3.5, ISO80, 1/250s & 1/60s ]:





Comparing taillamps

Experiences

Wide light, whether that's through an actual surface or a pseudo surface created with separate bars doesn't seem too interesting to me. I will however do tests to see if there is a difference, e.g. for estimating distance. What is noticeable is that the Toplight line plus is not annoying, no sparkling effects in your eyes at a short distance from the lamp, in contrast to the Toplight flat plus and the Toplight flat S plus. This is my favourite of the B&M rear lamps.

On the rear you can see a small red piece of plastic which actuates a switch that switches off the standlight. This is to make a bike stand out less and can be done with newer versions of the Cyo too. I'm not sure how useful it is. Standlights are not new, many bicycles have a standlight, since many years before the Line plus was introduced.

This is really the nicer version of the flat S plus: No loose junk (hardware or stuff to fasten cables) and a bit smaller/lighter. I'm not sure why this one is so expensive. Why can't B&M just nuke the flat plus/flat s plus and the gazillion versions they are made in and just sell this one for the price of the flat s plus?

Annoying for following traffic until which distance?: Not annoying at all...
Visibility: Good.
Visibility by reflection: To be tested.
Ease of connecting wires: Very good for bare wires (with a lever) as well as for 2.8mm plugs.

When I measured on a 6V direct current source, the current was only ca. 20mA. I need to check this for an alternating current source (dynamo) because 20mA does not conform StVZO (the minimum according to StVZO is 0.3W at 6V, i.e. 50mA).

Design- and thus review considerations for taillamps

See Theory for taillamps.

Conclusion

For the price this is sold for, it should come with stainless steel bolts.

This is my favourite of the B&M rear lamps, and in fact the best one I've tested so far (i.e. until mid July 2011). Recommended.

Note: I heard from 2 people that the standlight in their Line plus didn't work any more due to a bad/intermittant contact. After that I found some more messages on German websites about this problem. You can't fix such things as the lamp can't be opened without damaging it.

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