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I've had my Cube Travel Pro for a few years now, and it's been well used in all sorts of weather (it's my commuter so it's covered in road gunk). It has hub-powered front and rear lights which has been great for commuting.

Unfortunately, the rear light stopped working recently. The rear light is wired to the front light and must have a built-in capacitor as it stays on when stationary (whereas the front one is only lit when moving).

I have managed to remove the rear light from the mud-guard and confirmed that its the LED units itself which is dead. Unfortunately the part is out-of-stock everywhere it's listed :/

It's one of these: https://www.tredz.co.uk/.Cube-Acid-Dynamo-Mudguard-Rear-Light-Pro-D_236213.htm

My question is whether these rear lights are likely to be fairly inter-changeable? If I buy another branch which is 6V ac, and 0.6W rated (which the current one is) - should it work just the same? Obviously I'll have to be a bit creative about how I mount it. Also is the rear-light-stays-on-when-stationary feature fairly standard, and what's it called?

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Yes, any modern LED generator rear light should be fine. Some brands to look at are Busch + Muller, Spaninga, and Hermanns. Recreating the mounting and wiring cleanly with the new light is another consideration and depends on what you're working with.

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    I've had good results with cheap generic mudguard-mount rear lights with standlights, but I've drowned a B&M Secula (it lights, but the standlight doesn't, after a very wet weekend). Longer lasting at less than 1/3 the price. But the B&M Linetec that goes on the top of the mudguard does look nice
    – Chris H
    Commented Apr 2 at 8:47
  • I like having a second battery powered rear light as backup. I’ve had rear lights fail without me noticing. A small light like the busch+müller IXXI weighs only 35g and works great as a backup and for additional visibility.
    – Michael
    Commented Apr 2 at 11:48
  • As a general rule and based on my experience with flimsy, overpriced and badly designed B&M headlights compared to no-name Chinese products from the department store, I'd buy the cheapest lights you can find. They are all compatible.
    – Peter - Reinstate Monica
    Commented Apr 3 at 8:10
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My question is whether these rear lights are likely to be fairly inter-changeable? If I buy another branch which is 6V ac, and 0.6W rated (which the current one is) - should it work just the same?

Yes, any dynamo rear light will work, and they are no longer 0.6W but much less. This means that with modern LED rear lights, if you still run a halogen front light, you should use 3W 6V 0.5A bulb and not 2.4W 6V 0.4A bulb in it since the dynamo produces the full 0.5A and the rear light consumes very little current.

Also is the rear-light-stays-on-when-stationary feature fairly standard, and what's it called?

Standlight. It's implemented in one of two ways:

  1. AA or AAA batteries out of which energy is drawn only for few minutes after stopping, so the battery life will be much better than it would be if these were pure battery lights that consume battery power even at speed

  2. Supercapacitor.

I would prefer supercapacitor devices these days, since the AA or AAA batteries do in fact occasionally require replacing or charging if you use rechargeable ones. I'm not sure if AA / AAA standlights are still available. At least in 2008 they were fairly common in low-end dynamo rear lights. I would assume these days supercapacitors are very cheap.

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