I bought the Avantek turnsignal light to replace an aging taillight onmy bike rack and in anticipation of the return to eastern standard time. I wanted a brighter light and turn signals. It has become discouragingly apparent that drivers do not either understand bicyclist hand turn signals or even notice them. I find that often they interpret the left-hand turn signal as cause to swing a bit wider to my left to pass me. If one is not careful one will left hook oneself into an automobile. In short, the bicyclist needs additional help on today’s distracted, unaware or uncaring motorists. 

I was pleased with the appearance and features of the taillight and signals. The taillight has daylight and nighttime flashing modes as well as a steady light. A bonus feature are two laser lane markers that fan out from underneath the light housing. The turn signals are LEDs arranged in an arrow shape. Perfect for broadcasting intent to those around me. 

A wireless control mounts on the handlebars. It is simple enough to operate with four buttons. The top two buttons operate the turn signals while the bottom two control the taillight itself and the laser lane markers. Its operation is not difficult to learn, but it may take a longer ride or a couple of shorter commutes to have it feel automatic.

The taillight is powered by two triple AAA size batteries. To install the batteries, the back cover must be removed by unscrewing two very small screws on the rear of the housing. I can see this being a pain in the future when I have to replace the batteries. It worries me that such a tiny screw is easily lost and that finding a replacement !ay be a challenge. Fortunately the kit comes with the screwdriver needed.

The control module is powered by a 2032 battery. The back cover must also be removed to install it. There are four small screws to remove to do so. Then the card drops out so that the battery can be inserted.

Installing the light took more work than I would have liked; partially because I needed to mount the light on my bike rack and also because the handlebar attachment for the control seems to be designed for mountain bikes with smaller circumference handlebars. The light only comes with a seatpost mount. This would be obscured by my bag on most days so I ixnayed the ostpay. 

There is a learning curve with this light. There is a white button on the bottom of the taillight housing that must be pressed once to turn it on. The light flashes twice and you are ready to go. Choose a steady or blinking mode with the lower left button on the controller. 

Choose a lane steady or flashing mode with the lower right controller button. To signal left or right, use the top left or top right button respectively. To turn off, press the taillight button. below the light housing. The light flashes once and you are ready to go …. e.g. the bike is parked and you are on foot or at home. Turn off the controller signal by pressing each lit button until the mode indicators are no longer lit. Don’t forget to remove the controller if the bike is parked in a public space. It snaps into and out of its holster.

All of these features make sense but the joy is tempered by the directions not being clearly printed and in a very small font in the package flyer. The fact that the handlebar mount is lacking in diameter size is disappointing especially considering today’s handlebar sizes. I would think that more roadies will be wanting and using a turn signal than are mountain bikers. Plus a lot of mountain bikes may have wider diameter handlebars than the controller attachment can handle by default. I ended up using a longer screw, drilling the mount a bit wider to accommodate. Readers may be able to find a long screw of the correct diameter to avoid drilling. I was facing darkness and a deadline and so went with what I had at home.

The first day I used the signal light, I felt like drivers were giving me an extra wide berth. That speaks volumes to its usefulness. When I arrived at the end of my work day at the bike rack, also on the first day, the controller light was blinking and not responding to any input. 

I ended up riding home in the dark with no tailloght. Fortunately I run a 750 lumen headlamp and also have a 100 lumen light strapped to my helmet as a backup. It is enough forward and side to side illumination to easily he seen.  

What I determined later was the factory supplied battery was depleted. I might have known it was a possibility because the startup instructions included instructions for setting up that included installing a 2032 battery. However, since it was working when it arrived and since I saw the battery when I was doing the setup, I assumed it was a bonus that the amazon partner had supplied .

I can’t make any commentary on the customer support. I had emailed the company when the controller battery was low …. I did not realize the battery was the cause …. The guy at the claybox address got back to me the next morning asking for my order number in order to assist me. I replied immediately but haven’t heard back since then. Maybe I got the wrong guy. I don’t know. For what it’s worth I figured it out and was back and riding in an evening. 

Now that I know how to use the taillight and controller, I am pretty happy with the functionality. Not as impressed am I with the attachments. The control adapter snapped this morning in the cold when I tried to remove it. That will be a time sync in trying to fix it. Hopefully it will weld with some glue but I am not feeling confident. I may email my higher power to ask why these roadblocks keep popping up to challenge my efforts at bicycle safely. At any rate, I will try to make it work. 

Afterward: Once again this evening I found myself in the dark without a good strong blinker light. Fortunately I have a fallback tr taillight this time. The controller is charged up. The taillight blinked twice to indicate ready, but no connection and no taillight. There is that backup light though …..

Bottom line on this taillight is that it has great features but poor implementation. If I can determine user error in the future, I will upgrade my review, but for now I cannot recommend this product for serious nightime cyclists and commuters.