The Raz Pro Smart Tail Light is a product by Shanren, a company that in the last few years has developed some interesting cycling accessories with innovative features yet affordable prices. The Raz Pro offers unique smart features that make it much more than a simple light. You can get it in 2 versions according to the mount option you prefer. One is to fix it to the under saddle rails and the second option allows mounting the light on a helmet or on a seatpost. They also offer the mounts as a separate purchase.
The main features which make these lights really interesting are Brake Warning, Road Bump Warning, Colour Selection, Light Sensing and Auto Wake-up as well as Synchronisation.
Brake Warning operates thanks to a sensor that detects a sudden slowing down motion and activates a brighter light as it is standard on motorised vehicles.
Road Bump Warning uses the same sensor but this time it detects a jolt in the bike caused by hitting a road bump or an uneven surface. This is useful when cycling with others as it will warn them by flashing a continuous white light for a few seconds.
Light Sensing allows the light to detect the level of ambient brightness and adjust its luminosity accordingly.
Auto Wake uses the motion sensor to detect whether the bike is moving. When stopping for an assigned time the light stops flashing and restart once you begin to move again.
Sync is a fun feature. When you have more than one of these lights or are riding with others that do, if they are set up with the same flash mode they will automatically synchronise and after a few seconds start flashing together.
The Raz Pro Tail Light is setup using a simple App available for iOS as well as Android. Via this App it is possible to customise all the features as well as the colour options. Once these are setup the light is used by operating a single button and you don’t need to use the App anymore, unless you want to modify the features or have an accurate read of the battery charge. Despite being advertised as a Tail Light the fact that you can customise the colours means that you can also use it as a front light and mount it on the handlebar, for example using the seat post mount.
What I most liked about the Raz Pro is how responsive the Brake and Road Bump Warnings are. For cyclists using their bikes in cities or riding in traffic, these are very useful features that beyond making you more visible can increase your safety.
The advertised battery runtime of 24 hours seems a little optimistic and might be achieved by using the light without some of the smart features enabled. When these are all turned on, they do affect the battery charge which doesn’t come as a big surprise. I tested my unit in full daylight which would trigger a brighter light and with all features enabled after 2 hours of riding it retained 62% battery charge. Given all the extra functionalities This is quite good but if you are planning longer rides I would recommend disabling some of the smart features such as Road Bump Warning, Ambient Light or even the Sync function unless you are riding with others.
One thing I would change is the magnetic charge cable. I am not sure if it was done to make the light as compact as it is but as nowadays many gadgets use mini USB cables, it would make the Raz Pro Tail Light more compatible and should you misplace the cable or even lose it, you could still be able to charge the battery using cables that you probably already have.
The Raz Pro Tail Light retails in the UK for £29.99 and in the US for $30.99
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