Product Description

Princeton Tec Swerve LED taillight. The Swerve uses two high-powered LEDs - a combination of a diffused lens and a collimated focused lens creates a very bright 180 degree beam pattern that alternates between a wider beam and a narrow beam. Because the eye must juggle these two beams it doesn't get a chance to relax, and the resulting is a very high level of visibility. This technology makes the Swerve one of, if not the most, effective tail lights on the market. Batteries Included

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #27159 in Sports & Outdoors
• Color: Red
• Brand: Princeton Tec
• Model: SWERVE
• Released on: 2008-05-13
• Dimensions: 1.10" h x 1.60" w x 6.60" l, .30 pounds

Features

• Two High-powered LED, two AAA batteries power through the darkest conditions
• Toggle switch design for on the go operation
• Proprietary flash pattern
• Includes-seatpost, saetstay, handlebar and clip mounting options

Customer Reviews

Princeton Tec Swerve Bicycle Tail Light
I was planning a 650 mile bicycle tour and wanted a bright, reliable tail light for the tour. I had read good reviews about the Princeton Tec Swerve and purchased one for the tour. A week before leaving I put it on the bike with one of the heavy duty o-rings it came with. Mounting it to my seatpost was easy and it felt secure. I turned on the light and positioned the bike so that I could walk down the street and observe the light during nighttime conditions. The brightness of the Swerve was impressive! A friend was also doing this tour and having seen my light purchased one for himself. A few days later we started the tour and after only a few miles of riding, we noted that both our lights were off. Cycling the switches turned the lights back on, but they would again turn themselves off after a few miles. After the day's riding we checked the placement of the batteries, and finally replaced the batteries, just in case that those that came with the units were defective. Changing the batteries with new ones made no difference; the result was the same. It appears that the lights are not very shock resistant and do not handle bumps in the road well. Needless to say this was very frustrating to discover at the onset of the trip. We also discovered that the batteries did not last nearly as long as advertised. They lasted about ten hours in flash mode as opposed to the advertised seventy hours. Finally I encountered rain during a two hour period one morning and after the rain, I discovered that my light would not turn off, regardless of switch position! I opened the light and drained a small amount of water from the light's interior. The rubber gasket was intact, placed properly, and the unit was snapped firmly shut, and yet water still got in.

In sum I would say that the Princeton Tec Swerve's brightness is great. It needs to be more reliable and more water resistant. The battery life is ok, but not nearly as long as advertised. With its turning off by itself and lack of water resistance, I cannot recommend this light.

OK taillight light if not concerned about size/weight
The Princeton Tec Swerve is a bright double-barreled upper-lower 1/2 half watt LED light. Its flash pattern is a somewhat slow alternating 4-flash from the upper diffused lens then down to the lower clear lens. The Planet Bike Blinky Superflash has a faster strobing pattern. The light is bright, although it seems brighter through the clear lens. The large switch makes it easy to turn off/on when using gloves and when you don't want the light on all the time such as when riding in and out of darkened locations such as tunnels, under an elevated roadway, etc. The light is larger than the Planet Bike Blinky Superflash and slightly heavier. I will use the clip mounting option on my seat bag instead of using the bungee cord mount as I would rather not take the chance of the light flying off when I hit a large bump. I plan to use both the Swerve and the Superflash on my nightly commutes. I may put some clear tape around the case seam to make it more resistant when it rains. All in all, it's a decent taillight.

vs Planet Bike Superflash
The Swerve is supposedly brighter than the Planet Bike Superflash, which has a single half watt LED along with smaller flashing LEDs. The Swerve has a pair of half watt LEDs. 70 hr burn time.

It's made in China, doesn't have the greatest mounting options, as the Taillight angles down if you are on bumps. I didn't really see it as being that great. It's heavy, cheap looking.

I love the Planet Bike Blinky Super Flash, It costs less and is a great Taillight.

Planet Bike Blinky Super Flash 1/2-Watt Blaze LED Plus 2 eXtreme LED Rear Bicycle Light