While most bike lights on the market are a basic combination of smart sensors and different lens designs, the iGSPORT ET6 adds some unique features. iGPSPORT has taken the COB LED taillight design and taken it to the next level with customizable animated emojis. Instead of the standard synchronized LED displays, each LED is controlled separately allowing you to display everything from cat animations to sliding text. Retail price for the iGPSPORT ET6 is $39.90 which includes a saddle rail mount and GoPro to Garmin adapter. The taillight features 274 COB LEDs in a dense grid with a library of animated emojis available through the iGPSPORT app. It’s also a smart taillight with a brake sensor and ANT+ / BLE connectivity that can connect to compatible iGPSPORT computers to adjust the emoji based on current metrics.
The iGPSPORT ET6 smart bike taillight offers a dense grid of COB LEDs that lets you display unique emoji animations.
| Retail Price | $39.90 |
| Rating | 8.0 / 10 |
| Measured Weight (g) | 47 (taillight), 24 (saddle rail mount) |
| Likes | + Bright and dense grid of COB LEDs + Unique and highly detailed emoji animations available through the app, + Adjustable braking indicator and automatic turn signals with GPS connected |
| Dislikes | – No custom emoji creation option at this time (i.e. limited to official emoji sets) – Lacks the standard modes like daytime flash modes or pulsing effects – Limited long distance visibility with lack of a focused LED |
| Where to Buy (US) | iGPSPORT |
UNBOXING
The iGPSPORT ET6 taillight comes in a small cardboard box with white and orange coloring. A glossy graphic of the taillight is shown on the front along with a reflective grid of dots that simulates the COB LEDs. Inside the box you’ll find:
- ET6 taillight
- Saddle rail mount w/ hardware + Allen key
- Garmin to GoPro adapter
- User manual
Note, iGPSPORT does not include a seat post mount with the taillight.
MOUNTING
iGPSPORT utilizes a standard Garmin mount on the ET6 which uses a quarter turn design to securely lock into place. The mount is actually bolted onto the body of the ET6 instead of being molded into the base which is surprising to see at this price point. That means you could replace the mount if it were to fail or iGPSPORT could offer alternative mounts in the future. Like the iGPSPORT TL50, the ET6 only comes with a saddle rail mount that bolts onto the saddle rails. It’s a sleeker way to mount the light up high and right underneath the saddle but it means you cannot use a saddle bag. If you wanted to mount this light on the seatpost you would need to buy a Garmin seatpost mount which is easy to find. The saddle rail mount has a GoPro interface with a Garmin to GoPro adapter included that lets you easily adjust the light angle.
FIT & FINISH
Visually, the ET6 has a modern rectangular profile with a thin plastic body and red lens. It has a compact form factor that is only 63 x 39 x 17 mm or 2.5 x 1.5 x 0.7 inches that has a minimal body vs lens ratio. The red lens has a curved design that ensures the light is visible from side angles and it has a dense grid of COB LEDs. Despite the plastic construction the light has a premium feel with a nice weight to it and semi-gloss black finish. Branding is limited to iGPSPORT on top of the computer and ET6 printed on the side in silver. There is a single raised plastic button on the side to control the light which is not backlit but has a red painted line in the center. The rear of the light has a textured finish that makes it easy to grip along with a rubber cover to protect the USB-C charging port.
One of the key features of the iGPSPORT ET6 is the 274 COB LEDs arranged in a rectangle behind the red lens. The high density display of LEDs are controlled to an internal chip to individually control each LED which allows the ET6 to display elaborate animated graphics. It has more LEDs than most competitors like Knog which enables iGPSPORT to display more detailed animations at a larger scale. The light is rated for a maximum of 30 lumens with a maximum runtime of 30 hours, but runtime will vary depending on which features are enabled and the animation used.
USER INTERFACE
The user interface of the ET6 is very simple with a single button interface. Holding the button turns the light on and off with mode memory to ensure you turn the light back on in the same mode. A single press cycles through the emojis while a double press cycles through emoji sets. However, the single press only does a temporary change if you have a iGPSPORT computer connected as your data determines the active emoji animation. With a computer connected the emojis will automatically cycle through the different animations depending on a speed or other metrics. It’s not really clear what the levels map to and they don’t seem to be customizable with the current app.
iGPSPORT does show that speed is broken up into 5 km/h increments from 10 km/h, but you can even use ride time and other metrics which would also map to the seven emoji animations within each emoji set. If you do not have a iGPSPORT connected, the emojis will automatically cycle through the different emoji animations automatically. You can also do a full factory reset by holding the power button for 5 seconds with the light off until it flashes a few times. We’d recommend being careful with that as it is easy to accidently clear all the emojis.
When you first turn the light on you see a battery graphic which shows you the remaining battery which is a nice feature as there is no other indicator outside of the app. Out of the box the ET6 comes with a single elaborate emoji of a bike riding, climbing and swimming animation. You’ll need to use the iGPSPORT app to download other options but you are limited to a maximum of 6 emoji sets on the ET6 taillight at any time.
iGPSPORT APP
The iGPSPORT app is required to do any of the customization and to download emoji sets onto the ET6. It’s the same app that iGPSPORT uses for their GPS computers like the BSC100 Max and is a free app on iOS or Android phones. While the app isn’t as polished as Strava or Garmin with some slightly strange English translations, it’s intuitive to use and quickly connects to the TL50. The app shows a graphic of the taillight along with software version, battery percent, current mode and a link to the user interface. Within the app page you also have four menu options: emoji market, intelligent function configuration, driving status notification and firmware update.
The “emoji market” is the main way to find and download emoji sets to customize and update the ET6 output modes. At this time, the only emoji sets are all from iGPSPORT with no customization feature. That means you’re limited to official sets which include animations, scrolling text, and even data display (i.e. display power / heart rate / speed or other values with scroll text while connected to iGPSPORT app). We are doubtful iGPSPORT will allow for full custom user generated animations as that would open the door to mature or potentially discriminatory text / graphics. You can download up to 6 emoji sets to the device, adjust the brightness of each mode and assign the associated data metric to it for automatically changing the emoji with a connected iGPSPORT GPS.
Otherwise, the app also lets you adjust the brake warning graphic from things like an exclamation mark or X as well as brightness and constant/flashing illumination. There is also the optional turn reminder option that will display a turn signal if you have a iGPSPORT GPS connected with navigation active. The other options are a configurable auto-sleep, sharing emojis by bumping against another ET6 and the option to auto-loop emoji sets which is defaulted on.
LIGHT OUTPUT
Out of the box, the iGPSPORT ET6 comes preloaded with a single very elaborate cycling animation that shows road cycling, mountain biking, swimming, tennis and even archery animations. Each emoji set has seven animations which will automatically cycle through if you do not have a computer connected and the “emoji loop display” option enabled in the app. If you do have a iGPSPORT GPS computer connected then the animation will update between the seven options based on internally set levels. You’ll need to use the app to download other emoji sets onto the ET6 taillight.
While the animations are all pretty impressive, particularly the animated cycling / swimming / etc one, iGPSPORT has not incorporated any standard flash modes. That means there is no irregular daytime flash or even an eco flash mode or normal riding. For us that means the ET6 is more of a commuter or urban light as the COB LEDs lack the long distance visibility of taillights with focused LEDs like the Trek Flare R or Ravemen TR500. This light is more fun as a non-serious commuter style light that will get you compliments. For this light to be more useful we would have liked to see a hybrid lens design like the KNOG Blinder R150 or at least some traditional flash modes.
As far as battery life, the claimed runtime is 30 hours with the default cycling emoji and 50% brightness. The actual runtime will vary depending on how often the brake sensor is triggered and if you change the emoji or brightness. We found that our runtime was around 20 hours with the brake sensing on, and closer to claimed time with it off. The brake sensor’s customization graphics are a nice addition to the standard flash / high brightness constant modes found on other taillights so at least cyclists near you might interpret it easier. Calibration of the brake sensor is a bit sensitive with false positives that can reduce the runtime, but it works well otherwise.
THE VERDICT
Overall, we found the iGPSPORT ET6 emoji taillight to be fun and expressive taillight. With the dense COB LED grid the animations and graphics are surprisingly detailed with fun cycling animations to cat animations. There are enough options to please anyone and it’s a fun conversation starter compared to standard flashing taillights. The simple Garmin mount design and saddle rail mount work well, but it would have been nice to see a seat post mount included. As far as negatives, there is no customization of the emojis at this time and it’s not clear how the attribute settings are mapped to the seven emoji animation designs. The COB LED design of the ET6 and lack of daytime flash modes or a focused LED mean this light is more of a fun urban or commuter style taillight than a high visibility taillight. That said, the iGPSPORT ET6 is a fun way to add some personalization to your bike at night.
Disclaimer: The product for this review was provided by iGPSPORT. The views expressed on this website are solely those of the authors and are here to help people make an informed choice before a purchase. The authors or the blog itself does not get any monetary compensation from the product manufacturer or third-party websites/vendor links that are posted here.