At a glance Great primary lights for around town, good secondary lights for longer country rides and ideal for cyclists with more than one bike
Tested by
Matt Swaine, tester for The Bike List
Performance
An inbuilt desire for new bicycles means I currently have three sitting in garage. I'd have far more if my bank balance allowed, I had sufficient space and my equally bike-loving partner would allow it. But three is currently sufficient for all my needs: one that folds down for taking on the train, one that hauls lots of gear for continent-crossing adventures (now a thing of the past but I can still dream) and one for skinny race days and fast commutes.
But here's the problem with living a polygamous life wed to more than one bicycle: they all need kitting out with the basics. I've spent a couple of years shifting my one light mounting from bike to bike, rather like those three women in Greek mythology who share just one tooth and just one eye. So Knog's lights offered an instant solution to that.
Their innovative
clipping system means they can quickly be attached to any bike seat
post and easily removed without requiring a light-specific clip. A
large rubber loop curls round the post and clips onto a hook on the
body of the light keeping it securely in place.
The first light I tested for The Bike List was the Knog Gekko 3 LED, which was something of a disappointment. It kept switching itself on in my bag so the batteries ran down quickly and the three LEDs were fairly feeble.
The Skink Front and Rear lights come packing 4 LEDs and a variety of flashing modes, which makes them far more potent out on the road. I have used them by themselves around town and as a back up light for extra visibility and security on night rides on dark country lanes. And in these two roles they excel.
Unlike the Knog Gekko, these two lights feature an on-off switch that's much harder to switch on accidentally. That means I can throw them into my bag after a morning commute and won't find the lights flashing pointlessly in my bag come home time.
And the real reason I like these lights so much is that they allow me to switch them between my three bikes and use them on review bikes for this site. And for my money that makes them an excellent purchase.
Buy from www.wiggle.co.uk
Knog says:
A short play in one Act Steve: Will you marry me? Jennie McAllister: No. Steve: Do you want a convenient device that wraps round most bike bits, flashes in different "rad" ways and looks hot like you're hot? Jennie McAllister: Yes.
- Burn time: 30 hrs (constant) 220 hrs (flashing)
- Dimension (MM): 45 x 58 x 41
- Weight: 58g
- Batteries: 2 x AAA included
- Low Battery Indicator
- LED Specifications: 4 Superbright Rear LEDs
- Modes: Red LED - 5 flashing, 1 constant White LED - 2 flashing, 1 constant
- Water-resistant, superslim, flexible silicon body, integrated clipping feature, tooless quickrelease mounting
- Visible up to 600 metres
- Note: Safety light only
For more details, see www.knog.com.au
