Accessories

Urban Tested
I used the lightset a full riding season before commenting. The price is right. The visibility is excellent. The mounting is simple. Probably the best bang for the buck in bicycle lights. Please note the rear light is functional in both urban and country riding. The headlight is a little suspect out of the urban setting. I would not use the 1/2 strobe or full strobe mode for the headlight out of the urban setting. I highly recommend this product.

Durable spotlight that could use better mounting brackets
I've used these lights for almost two years and have ridden with them in rain and cold (to 40F or so) temperatures. I ride a ten mile commute (5+5) where I come home close to midnight, so I use the lights on a regular basis for perhaps a 1/2 hour to an hour at a time. I ride mostly on city streets with the occasional driveway bump, curb hop or park trail. I rarely ride over rocks or logs or any other rough terrain, though I do fold the bike to bring it indoors or put it into a car trunk.

The front light has four LED's mounted like a diamond, two in the center with one on each side if it. The rubber covered power button it on top near the front of the light and is fairly easy to press. I almost always use it in all-on mode, since the side LEDs seem to add a wider pool of light as I ride. I seem to get about a 5 foot wide 'spot' with a bit of ambient light around it the way I have it adjusted.

The rear shell of the light comes off after you unscrew a small wheel at the rear and allows you to access the 4 AA batteries inside it, also arranged like a diamond. If the bike or light gets a good shock, one battery can come loose from it's contact, but wrapping a small rubber band around the batteries before putting them back in shell keep them in place. I get about 2-3 months of bright light then a month of dimming before I realize I have to swap out the batteries.

The light slides into a small rail on the front clamp, and allows you to ratchet-swivel the light to compensate for angled handlebars. The bar on my bike was a bit too thick to allow me to mount it at first near the center stem. However, after removing one of the two small rubber pieces inside the clamp ring, I found it widened enough mount it closer to the left grip where the bar isn't so thick.

(side note, my Dahon's handle bars seem specially designed NOT to work with some Blackburn products. A bar-end mirror was too thick to fit inside the tube, and needed some Dremel work to get it to fit.)

I noticed after about 6 months that the swivel point had worked loose and the clamp fell apart, allowing the relatively top-heavy light to fall off skittering along the road. The lamp itself faired well, but I was never able to get the two clamp pieces to stay together tightly, so first I used duct tape, then a zip-tie to firmly mount the light to the handlebar. Since the mountain bike style bar has a slight angle to it, the spot of light is now angled slightly to the side. I can use my thumb to slightly adjust the beam in a pinch if I really need to see directly in front of me, but the pool of light is 'almost' enough to not really be necessary. If I could mount it closer to the center of the bar I wouldn't have the angle issue, even with the zip-tie.

The rear light had 3 large LED's and 4 smaller ones. I normally use them in the all-on setting as with the front one. (I think the flashing lights make the rider look a little goofy) The red rear light is bright enough that it can be used as a 'coming home' light if I don't want to bother those sleeping as I come into the house as I look for navigate the house.

The small screws holding the rear shell together is a pain to remove without using a tiny screwdriver. The 2 AAA batteries last me about 3-4 months at a reasonable brightness. A rubber seal on both lights seem to make them weather resistant, as I haven't noticed any water or corrosion inside them when changing the batteries front or rear.

The rear light mounts to the seat post with a plastic 'radiator hose' style clamp with a groove for the pen-clip style clip of the rear light to slot into. I found I could remove it fairly easily after a bit of practice, as I has small teeth holding it to the clamp when you slide it in.

After a few months, I found the rear clamp cracked, allowing it to swing loosely on the seat post. I ended up using another zip-tie to tightly attach it to the post, which holds tightly but now prevents me from using it as my late night entry light. I just cut the tie when I need to replace the batteries and then use a new zip-tie to secure it again.

IF the mounting brackets held up over time, I'd have given these lights 4 stars, and if the front light fit over the thicker part of my handlebar, I'd have given it 5 stars. For the price, they do throw out a good pattern. Just don't trust the mounts

Great Lights, Great Deal!
Bought two of these for my wife and myself. They are very bright and easy to install. The batterys are no problem to put in, all you need is a jewelers screwdriver for the rear light.(Go buy one of those kits they sell for glasses, less then 2 bucks). The rear light is very bright as well as the front one, although the front one is really only good as a warning light not a headlight. This is a good set for someone who rides around the neighborhood that has some street lights. Good for the casual rider.

Great Combo Pack
This light combo pack is great. Very bright headlamp and the taillight has a clip to put on my bike bag and a clamp to install in the seat post.

Best lights bang for the buck
These lights are bright! I ride most days to work and often come home in the dark. I've had one other set of lights that were pretty decent but the Mars set is way brighter. The front lamp is esp nice since you can see it really well from the side too. That way all those right turning cars at red lights don't plow me over.

The clip for the rear light is very well made but I do have some problems with the front light clip. It just doesn't slide & click so well. Also the front light is rather heavy so if the bracket for holding it to your handlebar isn't tight it can slip.

Overall tho I think its one of the best I've seen and pretty cheap too. Long battery life too.