Review of Princeton Tec Swerve Taillight

Princeton Tec Swerve Taillight
By: Princeton Tec Average Rating: 2.0 Total Reviews: 2
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Princeton Tec Swerve Bicycle Tail Light

On: 2008-08-11

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 days 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 lights 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 Swerves 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.

vs Planet Bike Superflash

On: 2008-06-14

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. Looks bright.

70 hr burn time.