The full-featured smart taillight

With advancements in technology, bike taillights can do more than simply provide illumination. Modern taillights like the Smart Bike Light Cliq can detect braking, sync output modes wirelessly with other taillights nearby and even alert you if your bike gets stolen. Launched from a successful Kickstarter campaign where it was marketed as the Rayo, the renamed Cliq is still one of the most advanced taillights on the market today and offers 90 lumen output and Bluetooth technology. With a current discounted retail price of only $44.99 the Cliq has an impressive feature set that includes a 6-axis motion sensor and 3 LED design. The simple one button interface is augmented by the Hautegrid app that allows for full customization of each of the three LEDs independently. The Cliq comes with a simple rubber strap mount for round seatposts as well as a clip and strap mount. Smart Bike Light also offers $9.99 replacement mounts as well as additional mounts for aero seatposts and saddle rails.

The Smart Bike Lights’ Cliq is a highly customizable smart taillight with a daytime visible three LED design.

Retail Price	$44.99 ($9.99 for additional mounts)
Rating	8.9/10
Measured Weight (in g)	48 (taillight), 10 (seat mount), 20 (aero mount)
Likes	+ Daytime visible + Customize each LED output independently using app + Three LED design offers unique output modes
Dislikes	– Poor instructions – Lacks a battery status indicator on the device – Requires a lot of force to connect mount parts
Where to Buy (US)	Smart Bike Lights (note – use with caution as many have reported long shipping delays or do not receive the light)

UNBOXING

The Smart Bike Lights Cliq comes packed in a compact white box with a graphic of the Cliq printed on the outside. Specs and details are printed on the sides and back.. Inside the box you’ll find:

• Cliq taillight
• Micro USB charging cable
• Instruction manual
• Plastic light holder + rubber pad for seatposts
• Clip attachment
• Strap attachment
• Rubber strap for round seat posts

We also looked at the optional aero seat post mount kit which come sealed in small plastic bag. The mount comes with:

• Plastic light holder
• Flat rubber pad
• U shaped rubber pad
• Long rubber strap to accommodate larger circumference of aero seatposts

Depending on the shape of your seatpost you can use the appropriate pad on the holder. Note the included instructions aren’t very clear so it takes some trail and error to assemble the mounts.

MOUNTING

The Smart Bike Light Cliq uses an industry standard plastic tab and rubber strap style mount design. What’s different about the Cliq is that the mounts are modular which allows the taillight to be mounted at three angles – parallel or 15 degrees upward/downward. On each side of the Cliq you’ll find rectangular indents for the three positions. Provided with the light is the main holder which snaps into the indentations. If you plan to mount the taillight to a round seat post then you simply add the rubber cushion to the back and wrap the rubber strap around your seatpost. If you prefer to mount it on a backpack or saddle bag, then you remove the rubber cushion and snap the clip into the rear of the holder. There is a third mount that is referred to as “molle” which allows you to connect the taillight to headlight straps as well that also clips to the holder piece.

Note, it requires quite a bit of force to attach the clip or strap connector to the holder. That means you need to use something flat to pry the mount attachments apart if you want to swap them out as the plastic tabs are very stiff. We’d recommend exercising caution and using something wide and flat to compress the tab downward to remove the pieces. Smart Bike Lights also offers additional mounting options for $9.99 that includes aero seat posts and saddle rails. We had the aero mounting pack which includes a longer rubber strap, two cushions (one flat and the other with a U shape for sharp seat posts). Aside from how difficult the mounts are to remove, the rubber strap feels well made and durable enough for daily use.

FIT & FINISH

The Smart Bike Lights Cliq has a simple rectangular profile and large clear lens. Constructed primarily of plastic and with a matte finish the taillight can easily tuck behind round seatposts for a sleek look. The clear lens is large and extends from the base which helps improve the side visibility of the Cliq. There is nearly no branding on the taillight which gives it a premium appearance. A large rubber power button can be found on the bottom of the taillight and offers great tactile feel. On the back of the taillight you’ll find the rubber gasket that covers the micro-USB charging port. We’ll admit It’s a bit surprising that the Cliq doesn’t use a USB Type-C charging port given all the smart features.

CUSTOMIZATION

One of the more unique features of the Smart Bike Light Cliq is just how customizable it is with the Hautegrid app. The app itself is free and uses Bluetooth to quickly connect to the Cliq. Unfortunately all the customization features are limited to the app, the single button interface can only cycle through the modes that turn the light on/off. That means if Smart Bike Light decides to stop updating the app you would not be able to access these features. It’s a downside of most newer smart devices and effectively limits the lifespan of the device. Lights like the Lupine Rotlicht avoid this issue by replacing the app with a complicated multi-button press and hold design for customization – it’s a nice alternative but confusing to use. That aside, the Hautegrid app offers an intuitive design customization features even the high-tech Shanren Raz Pro lacks. Note unlike the Raz Pro, the Cliq does not have a multi-color LED design so you are limited to red though.

• BRAKE SENSOR: Not only can you enable or disable the smart braking feature and the sensitivity of it per mode (note it’s disabled by default) but you can even change what the light does when it detects braking. That’s a feature we’re excited to see as it lets you decide how the light reacts and maximize the visibility for each mode. As with other brake sensor equipped lights, on higher sensitivity levels there will be more false-positives as the brake sensor can be triggered by potholes or bumps in the road. We found the lower sensitivity mode worked well on the road and offers an additional safety feature to keep you visible. Even though most other riders or cars won’t understand what the brake sensor means, the change in output mode helps attract attention.
• ANTI-THEFT: Using the app you can enable or disable the anti-theft feature. If you’re within Bluetooth range of the Cliq, have the Hautegrid app active and motion is detected you’ll receive an audible alarm on your cell phone and notification that the bike has moved. Because you have to stay within Bluetooth range, the anti-theft feature is really only useful for quick stops where you stay within a close distance of your bike. True bike anti-theft or tracker devices require their own SIM cards and subscriptions services. For that reason we think the anti-theft feature won’t be particularly useful for most cyclists but is an interesting feature for quick stops. If you’re concerned about having bike lights stolen we’d recommend using anti-theft bolts such as those found on the Orb Driod lightset.
• GROUP SYNC: With group synchronization enabled the Cliq can sync the flash timing of other Cliq taillights within Bluetooth range. It’s feature we’ve also seen with the Shanren Raz Pro and helps the visibility of multi-rider groups and the synced flash will make the group be more visible and appear larger. Although this is a useful feature it requires you to convince the people you ride to also buy a Cliq and won’t change the blinking patterns of the other lights. That means if other riders have customized their output modes or are on constant modes, you won’t get the full synced effect.
• OUTPUT MODES: Using the app, each of the four output modes can be customized. Not only can you rename each mode, but you can adjust the intensity and flash pattern of each LED independently allowing for full customization. Note you can’t reorder the output modes are add remove them as you can with the Raz Pro.

Overall we found the app easy to download and intuitive to use. There are registration or email validation required, you just download it and sync to the taillight. Again, the main downside is that nearly all the customization features can only be accessed via the app.

LIGHT OUTPUT

The Cliq utilizes a three LED design with carefully designed optics. The top LED uses a total internal reflection (TIR) lens design to improve close-distance visibility. An exposed center LED emitter provides a wide beam for improved side visibility. Finally a third TIR style LED on the bottom has a more focused beam for long distance visibility. Together the combination of the three LEDs is more than bright enough for daytime visibility and offers some unique output mode combinations. From the factory there are four pre-programmed output modes: mode 1 (top glow, middle blink, bottom constant), mode 2 (top blink, middle surge, bottom glow), mode 3 (all low level constant) and mode 4 (all medium level glow).

Using the Hautegrid app you can rename the four modes and customize the flash pattern and intensity of each LED independently. It’s a fun feature that allows you to come up with any output pattern you desire. The only downside is that your runtime will vary widely depending on how you configure the modes. With the lack of a battery status checker on the taillight itself, there is only a low battery indicator, it’s easy to run out of power while riding (note the app shows the battery percentage). We found the multi LED design worked well and offered the similar long distance visibility as the highly focused Light and Motion Vya Switch while still offering a large illumination pattern and side visibility. The large clear lens reflects the LED lights and ensures you’re visible even from the side. It’s not quite as good as the bulbous NiteRider Bullet 200 but retains a sleeker flat sided shape.

THE VERDICT

Overall, we found the Smart Bike Lights Cliq taillight to be highly customizable and bright. The three LED design combines short, wide and long beam distances to ensure the Cliq is visible from all angles. With it’s built-in motion sensor and Bluetooth connectivity the Cliq can be fully customized using the simple Hautegrid app. Although the Cliq lacks an ambient light sensor for automatic day/night mode (something the Magicshine Seemee 200 has), the Cliq has every other smart feature you could desire. Some of the features such as the anti-theft alarm and group sync aren’t useful for most riders but the 90 lumen taillight is bright and has great daytime visibility. The mounts are also easy to use, although require quite a bit of force to switch attachments. That said, if you’re looking for a smart taillight that offers full customization of output patterns the Cliq is very well priced and bright.

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