Whether you have a 200 or a 2000 lumen bike light, cars and other traffic may still not see you at night. To stand out from the crowd you’ll need to be creative. Planet Bike’s Bottle Blinky, a bicycle side light, is a great way to get people to notice you. Designed to sandwich between your frame and bottle cage mounts, the Bottle Blinky has 6 bright amber LEDs to improve your side visibility. Combined with a traditional headlight, tail light and reflectors, the Bottle Blinky can ensure you are visible from any angle.

The Bottle Blinky is a surprisingly effective and simple bike side light that improves your visibility when riding. With multiple surface mounted LEDs, long runtimes and creative output modes the Bottle Blinky can make you stand out from the crowd.

Although the LEDs are only rated for 7 lumens, the surface mount design makes them very bright and an excellent ‘to be seen’ addition for anyone riding in the dark. The creative mounting and low profile design also means you can leave the Bottle Blinky on your bike year long. With upto 100 hrs of run-time from the two AAA batteries, you also don’t have the normal recharging anxiety that comes with modern devices. 

CategoryBicycle Side Light
Rating9.5/10
Retail Price$20
Measured Weight (in g) 54
Likes+ Improves side visibility
+ Easy and Convenient mounting
+ Impressive run-time in Superflash mode
Dislikes– Brittle plastic housing
– Easily obscured due to low mounting
– Long press does not turn light of
Where to Buy (US) Planet Bike

UNBOXING

As with other Planet Bike products we have reviewed, we were impressed with the packaging. The Bottle Blinky is prominently displayed on a thick cardboard backing without any unnecessary plastic or other materials. On the card you’ll find their usual red and white graphics with the full specs printed on the back.

In the box you’ll find:

  • Bottle Blinky
  • 2x AAA batteries pre-installed

MOUNTING

One of our favorite parts of the Bottle Blinky is the creative mount design. The light is directly molded onto a plastic rectangular piece that is designed to fit between your bottle cage and frame. The plastic is surprisingly thick and since it is screwed into place, you can leave it on your bike year round. Unless you have a longer multi-purpose bottle cage, the Bottle Blinky should also be compatible with any bike.

Planet Bike Bottle Blinky - Mount
Mounts under the Bottle Cage

FIT & FINISH

The Bottle Blinky features a simple low profile design. With the light off, the dark colors and mounting location blends in with the bike. Although it’s uncommon to see a AAA battery powered light these days, the batteries make sense on the Bottle Blinky due to the mounting design. Also, as with a traditional battery design, the light will dim until the battery is dead, instead of suddenly dying.

To replace the battery you simply have to pry up the lens cover. This can easily be done while the light is installed on the bike, but we did find the plastic was soft and showed marks after removing the cover. Additionally, with only an IP64 rating, you have to ensure the rubber gasket is property seated to ensure water doesn’t get into the electronics. 

Planet Bike Bottle Blinky - Top and Bottom
Front and back of light detached from Mount

The modes can be switched with a single press of the large rubber button on top of the light. However, a long press does not turn the light off, which is a little unusual. You have to cycle through the modes to turn the light off and due to this, there is no need for mode memory either.

LIGHT OUTPUT

The Bottle Blinky comes with three different output modes. First is the steady mode which runs all 6 LEDs at a constant power. Second is Courtesy mode which ramps the two corner LEDs up and down in power while keeping the center LEDs on each side constant. The final mode is our favorite, Superflash which flashes the outer and center LEDs erratically. The runtimes for the modes are 24 hrs, 27 hrs, and 100 hrs respectively. Even though the maximum output of 7 lumens doesn’t sound like much, the lights are surprisingly effective. Similar to the Orb bottle light, the Bottle Blinky also highlights your pedal motion as it illuminates part of your legs while riding (aka biological motion).

Planet Bike Bottle Blinky - Light output
Night shot of steady mode

THE VERDICT

Overall, we were impressed with the simplicity and effectiveness of Planet Bike’s Bottle Blinky light. Despite only having a 7 lumen output, the six amber surface mounted LEDs were bright and significantly improved side visibility at night. With the simple plastic mount that fits between your bottle cage and the bike frame, the Bottle Blinky is also a light you can leave on your bike year round. Although it has a low IP64 water resistance and uses AAA batteries, the Bottle Blinky is a great light to add to your stash for improved safety if you are riding in low light conditions.

Disclaimer:  The product for this review was provided by Planet Bike. 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.

2 Replies to “Improve your nighttime visibility with Planet Bike’s Bottle Blinky”

  1. Thanks to your reviews I purchased and have been extremely satisfied with both the Fenix BCR21 v2 Headlight and now the Bottle Blinkies too…. So far so good after a half year of regular use, (approx. 10 to 15 hrs per week). Plastic still snaps into place with a positive ‘click’ when swapping batteries, (weekly – due to the use of rechargeable AAA’s), and the rubber seal has remained intact. The fact that this light does NOT use a pre-installed li-ion battery, but instead runs on AAA’s, is a BONUS as this light will never wear out. I have the pricier, (more powerful), “Brightside” rechargeable side light on my road bike and Bottle Blinkies occupying the MTB & Cross bikes. Honestly prefer this Planet Bike model for its overall practicality. I have to run an additional battery bank inside the road bike’s top tube bag which connects to the Brightside lamp to ensure it remains powered for long (6hr+) rides, whereas the Bottle Blinky barely requires bringing a couple of spare AAA’s. Another plus is the clean installation beneath one’s bottle cage: This also happens to be an excellent place for some additional weight on the bike, (low in the frame, aiding stability). In spite of its low placement, this light is still quite attention-grabbing and, (as other reviews have mentioned), I have noticed the benefits at intersections and crossings, along with passing vehicles providing wider berths. Lastly, there is now a pleasing amount of supplementary light illuminatung the bottles and drivetrain / bottom bracket areas of the bike along with the immediate roadside beyond. Well done, PB, for bringing such a useful and potentially life-saving accessory to market – will never ride without a Bottle Blinky again!

Leave a Reply