The iGPSPORT TL50 is one of iGPSPORT’s latest smart bike taillights that combines a unique design with a surprisingly affordable price point. It’s a brighter and smarter version of the iGPSPORT TL30 with a similar compact design and lightweight construction. Retail price for the TL50 is an affordable $24.90 which includes a saddle rail mount and a body clip. The TL50 features a bright 50 lumen output with a COB LED ring and a center focused LED. iGPSPORT has added a number of smart features such as a brake sensor and group synchronization as well as ANT+ and BLE connectivity of the taillight.
The iGPSPORT TL50 smart taillight combines COB LEDs and a focused center LED into a striking lens design for day or night riding.
| Retail Price | $24.90 |
| Rating | 9.0 / 10 |
| Measured Weight (g) | 21 (taillight), 24 (saddle rail mount) |
| Likes | + Striking design with grooves in lens and curve COB LEDs, + Surprising amount of features for the price point + Combination of COB and focused LED ensures short and long distance visibility |
| Dislikes | – Seat post mount is not included – Lacks a simple multi-level battery status indicator on taillight – Custom light mode has limited adjustment options |
| Where to Buy (US) | iGPSPORT |
UNBOXING
The iGPSPORT TL50 comes in a white cardboard box with white and orange colors scheme and a glossy tail light printed on it. Inside the box you’ll find:
- TL50 taillight
- Saddle rail mount w/ bolts + Allen key
- Garmin to GoPro adapter
- User manual
iGPSPORT does not include a seat post mount with the light.
MOUNTING
The taillight has a standard Garmin mount molded into the plastic base with the top and bottom shaved down to accommodate the USB-C slot. It’s the standard quarter-turn design you see with many products on the market that uses two extended tabs that lock into place. iGPSPORT only includes a plastic saddle rail mount with the TL50 which has a two bolt design that clamps on to saddle rails. The mount has a GoPro receiver with an additional bolt that can be used with the included GoPro to Garmin adapter to adjust the angle of the taillight. It’s a simple design that helps mount the taillight right under the saddle. While the mount works well, it is not compatible with most saddle bags. If you have a bike setup and want to use a saddlebag, you’ll need to purchase an aftermarket Garmin seatpost mount or Garmin to body clip adapter.
FIT & FINISH
Visually, the TL50 has a compact square shape with red curved lens and eye-catching details in the lens. The inside of the lens has actually been etched in a clockwise twist pattern that contrasts with the counter clockwise LED indicators. Combined with a focused center LED the effect is a very striking design that looks interesting whether the light is on or off and reminds us of flowers or industrial fans. The taillight is very light at only 21 grams with a thin plastic body with simple iGPSPORT branding on the side. There is a single plastic button on the top to control the light with a red line painted in the center to help identify it. To charge the light you pull off the very flush fitting rubber cover on the USB-C port by pulling up on the small cutout.
One of the most striking features of the iGPSPORT TL50 is the LED design. It’s an interesting combination of 10 radially placed LEDs and a single center LED. The outer LEDs each have a curved water-droplet like shaped lens above it that gives each light a curved appearance. With the light on you can see how the curved LEDs play off the counter-rotated curves cut into the body of the lens. iGPSPORT has even added some premium touches like power on and off animations that turn the LEDs individually on or off. The outer LEDS provide a nice glow which helps achieve the 280 degree side visibility while the center LED has a focused lens for long distance visibility. While the light isn’t the brightest on the market at 50 lumen it’s still daytime bright.
As far as battery status, there is a single LED between the main LEDs below the single button interface. The indicator turns green for a few seconds when you turn the light on, or flashes red when the battery is low. You have to turn the light on to see the battery status, which is why we wish iGPSPORT had added a simple battery status checker like other Magicshine or Trek lights. To get a more accurate estimate of the battery status you need to use the iGPSPORT app or connect the taillight to a compatible GPS computer.
USER INTERFACE
The user interface of the TL50 is very simple with a single button interface placed on the top edge of the taillight. 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 available six modes which can be customized via the app. You can actually turn off modes in the app which lets you simplify the available modes to only what you want to use. Holding the button for a few seconds with the light off also does a factory reset which clears any modifications to the modes. iGPSPORT has incorporated mode memory to ensure the taillight always turns on in the same mode it was shut off in.
iGPSPORT APP
To adjust any of the more advanced features like brake sensor, auto-sleep or mode customization the iGPSPORT has to be used. 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: light modes, intelligent function configuration, driving status notification and firmware update.
The “light modes” option lets you change the current taillight mode as well as disable any of the six modes. You can also adjust the “custom” mode settings by switching between constant/flash, adjust brightness and change the flashing frequency. It’s a nice feature but we would have liked to see more customization options like pulsing and other animations to make it more useful. The oddly named “driving status notification” lets you enable / disable the brake warning and customize the indicator between solid / flash and adjust brightness. You can also enable a “temporary stop double flash” which puts the light in a eco flash mode if the auto-sleep feature is enabled. Finally, the “intelligent function configuration” lets you enable/disable group sync, synchronized shutdown and auto sleep as well as adjust the auto-sleep timeout. There are a surprising number of options with the app, but the default settings work well enough that most riders shouldn’t need to use the app.
LIGHT OUTPUT
iGPSPORT has programmed the TL50 with six modes out of the box with two constant modes, three flash modes and a custom mode. The constant modes are a standard low (3 lumen / 12 hour runtime) and high (12 lumen / 4 hr) which activates all the LEDs. Flashing modes are more interesting with a daytime flash (50 lumen / 26 hr) that has an irregular on/off pattern for daytime riding. There is also a night lash (5 lumen / 14 hr) that switches between dim/bright that ensures you are always visible at night. Our favorite mode is the light wheel mode (3 lumen / 12 hr) that has a Knight Rider style rotating illumination pattern that turns on the individual LEDs in a clockwise pattern. Finally, there is a custom mode that defaults to a slow flash but can be customized using the app.
Given the small size of the TL50 it is surprisingly bright with a curved outer lens that results in 280 degree visibility. The lens design is also very striking with it’s clockwise and counter-clockwise details that looks more premium than the iGPSPORT TL30. With the combination of the focused center LED and COB LED the TL50 also gives you the best of both worlds: long distance visibility and a nice warm glow. The TL50 is daytime bright but taillights like the Ravemen TR500, Trek Flare R or Magicshine Seemee 300 offer longer distance visibility during the day. We also found the brake sensor calibration to be on the less sensitive side as it would only trigger for harder braking which we prefer over high sensitive calibration that can have a lot of false positives. However, the brake sensing feature is something we still don’t think is that useful and generally results in less predictable battery runtimes.
THE VERDICT
Overall, we found the iGPSPORT TL50 to be an attractive and compact bike taillight. iGPSPORT has combined COB LEDs and a focused LED into a compact gem-like form factor. The taillight features a surprising number of features for the price point including modern USB-C charging port, brake sensor and even customization using the App. While it’s not the brightest taillight on the market, it has a striking design and is bright enough for day and night time use. We liked the saddle rail mount and use of a standard Garmin mount, but wish iGPSPORT had included a seatpost mount. The only minor downside is the lack of a clear multi-level battery indicator on the taillight itself. That said, the iGSPORT TL50 is a highly competitively priced smart bike taillight with modern design and features.
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.