Oxford Ultratorch Slimline R50 Rear LED

Oxford's Ultratorch Slimline R50 rear light is simplicity itself, and packs very good performance for the money.

• Pros: Great value, decent performance, easy fitting
• Cons: Not as bright as some, secureness of rubber insert

Sometimes bike lights can be over-thought, over-complicated, over-priced things. Be-seen safety is all well and good, but just how many modes and clever fitting systems do you really need? Surely, as long as it fits well, sends out enough light to attract attention in a given mode for long enough, that's enough.

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Thankfully, for a relatively paltry £17.99, Oxford has in the R50 a light that ticks all the important boxes without emptying your wallet.

The bracket is a simple case of a rubber wedge that fits to the back of the unit via protruding nodules to create a mouldable interface between it and a seatpost or seatstay, held on by a rubber band.

Unfortunately that rubber band is quite small, so aero seatposts are out unless you can source a bigger one separately, but it's good for standard posts and narrow stays.

The rubber insert covers (and protects) the USB charging port, and you can partially pull it away to easily access it. It's not naturally the tightest-fitting thing, so you need to take care to make sure the indents are properly slotted in place to ensure decent protection from water ingress. I found that a good fit on the bike provides the necessary pressure to create a decent seal against wet rides, but – perhaps indicatively – Oxford doesn't state any certified waterproofing ratings for the R50.

In terms of output, the R50's COB LED can put out an adequate 50 lumens in its high mode, with medium, low and eco modes available too. You can cycle through these with a single click of the power button, and switch them off with a long press. There are also four flash modes which you can access with a double-press of the power button – these come in a corresponding high, medium and low modes, as well as a nifty strobe/quick flash mode at medium light output.

You get 2hrs claimed burn time (mine tapped out at 1:52hrs) on the brightest static setting, and near-enough 6hrs if you have it on the highest flash setting. The standout settings are the high flash mode as it offers look-at-me visibility for the duration that most of us are likely to be out for a weekend winter ride, as well as the medium strobe-like setting.

While it's not as bright in terms of actual light output, it does add credence to the theory that 'disruptive' flashes – those that jar with natural light wavelengths – are as effective as sheer bright light. You really are forced to notice it, and the great thing is that it gives you a whopping 23 hours of life out of the rechargeable 500mAh Li-pol unit too.

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Because battery size and capacity aren't that big, recharge times are handily quick – a couple of hours at most – and the unit weighs only 27g. That means it's a convenient unit to fit, unfit, carry with you and recharge at a moment's notice with a mini USB cable (supplied).

At £17.99 it's cheap too, so you could easily afford to buy two of these units and fit one to each of your seatstays if you wanted without really feeling much of a financial pinch. The only thing it's missing is a clip to fit it directly to saddlebags or backpacks (like the one built into Blackburn's DayBlazer 65 and 125 units), but at this price it's hard to criticise it for this.

All-in, this is a simple rear light that does the job of making sure you're well seen, with ample light output, good mode choices, and easy operation and fitting, in a conveniently sized package at a very good price.

Verdict

Given the affordable price tag, it's a mighty little unit