Two Rear LED Bike Lights - A joint CPF Review

[mtn_dance]

Have you asked Planet Bike if there are dealers / distributoes in the UK?
http://planetbike.com/page/support/us/
mailto:[email protected]

 

[jch79]

Guys,

Check out what I just found - a real-world video comparison between the Super Flash and the TL-LD1000 - check this video out! It's got the lights mounted on trees or something, and (at night, obviously) a guy driving up toward them w/ a video camera. He tests them on constant on, flashing, and with the car's headlights off. Very cool! (And, agrees with my conclusions & lux readings above.)

http://www.sumo.tv/watch.php?video=2497966

john

 

[greenLED]

Sweet vid! The SuperFlash :rock: but we knew that already.

I'd say you can see the SF at least at twice the distance of the others.

 

[mtn_dance]

Guys,

Check out what I just found - a real-world video comparison between the Super Flash and the TL-LD1000

SpeedDub.Nate is an active member over at MTBR and one of the more valued techno-weenies for his analysis. :twothumbs

 

[HEY HEY ITS HENDO]

Terry,buy a couple or three off E-Bay see link ....

http://cgi.ebay.com/Planet-Bike-Sup...ryZ22689QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem

ship them to Unforgivens small package forwarding service, to forward to you

http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/showthread.php?t=141638

sell the other two to cover your outlay, you may even end up with one for free :twothumbs

 

[eltel999]

Thanks Hendo and mtn_dance; I've sent the ebay member an email about UK shipping. If that falls through I take Unforgiven up on his excellent forwarding service.

Cheers guys!

 

[auroreboreale]

Superflash, glove/mitten-capable switch?

Great Review All!

As a bike commuter North of 60 where I have to deal with 19 hour long nights I had shelled out a pretty penny last year for the Cateye LD1000, the big one shown in the images, largely because it's AA batteries last longer before freezing in cold weather. I get about 2 weeks out of 1800mah NIMH cells. But I have also been using a pair of 2XAAA winkies on my saddle bags as well to give motorists an idea of my bredth...

I caution all not to trust plastic winkie=light mounting clips or brackets below -10C or for longer-term use. Usually there is a way to tape over the end of a clothing clip and use that on fabric loops on bike bags, or to screw the light directly to a metal strap such as a bent bike-rack adapting skewer.


I can get some of the Super Flash lights from MEC and likely will However, as a mail-order customer I will ask you lot first----where is the On /Off switch and is it big enough to turn on and off while wearing at least gloves which we wear under our mittens?

vélorution!
illumination!

 

[Argon]

Yes you can defiantly turn it on and off even with thick gloves on, The switch is on the bottom and you squeeze it by holding the top and pushing the bottom in, it is however plastic and it may not last in cold climates as you need to slightly bend the plastic to turn it on. At least that is how I remember it.

The company did offer to send me a replacement and I have since sent them my address, but that was well over 2 months ago so I'm not going to hold my breath. I will send them a follow up e-mail just that I have been busy and have only now remembered due to this thread popping up again.

 

[Buck]

Guys,

Check out what I just found - a real-world video comparison between the Super Flash and the TL-LD1000 - check this video out! It's got the lights mounted on trees or something, and (at night, obviously) a guy driving up toward them w/ a video camera. He tests them on constant on, flashing, and with the car's headlights off. Very cool! (And, agrees with my conclusions & lux readings above.)

http://www.sumo.tv/watch.php?video=2497966

:thumbsup: Thanks for the link!

I like the comment in the titles that the Cateye goes out of phase and looks constant-on, but could use some more emphasis on how USELESS that is! (My DSL is too slow to play Utube smoothly, so I muted it and missed any narration that might be in there.) I can't believe that so many users fail to realize that from any distance, particularly through a rain-streaked windshield, all those out-of-phase twinkly modes just blur into a faint, steady light. Which is STUPID and USELESS!!! I still need some work on explaining this to people I meet on the road in a way that's quick and effective yet not preachy or arrogant. I'm afraid preachy and arrogant comes pretty naturally

Has anyone done a head-to-head of the Superflash or these Cateyes and the Mars 2.0? Of the lights available at REI a couple of years ago, the Mars seemed like one of the brightest cheap lights, and had minimal useless twinkling modes, but it wouldn't take much to convince me to upgrade as a second light or move the Mars to my road bike for fair-weather commuting. I'm sure that I compared the Mars and a couple of Cateyes at the time, but I don't remember the results.

 

[bbaker22]

Has anyone done a head-to-head of the Superflash or these Cateyes and the Mars 2.0? Of the lights available at REI a couple of years ago, the Mars seemed like one of the brightest cheap lights, and had minimal useless twinkling modes, but it wouldn't take much to convince me to upgrade as a second light or move the Mars to my road bike for fair-weather commuting. I'm sure that I compared the Mars and a couple of Cateyes at the time, but I don't remember the results.

Well, I have the Mars 2.0 and just ordered a Superflash (on sale for $20 at Nashbar). So, in a week or so, I could do some type of comparison...

baker

 

[jch79]

Well, I have the Mars 2.0 and just ordered a Superflash (on sale for $20 at Nashbar). So, in a week or so, I could do some type of comparison...

baker

Baker-

That'd be great to see! :thumbsup:

I love that this thread is still alive and kickin'!

john

 

[varuscelli]

There was some comparing of the Super Flash and Mars 2.0 and 3.0 (with ties back to this thread) going on in the Bike Forums in the following thread. Some good comparison notes were made on visibility, durability, etc., that you all might find of a bit of interest if you haven't seen them.

Best Value for a Tail Light (on the Bike Forums).

 

[greenLED]

I don't do Bike Forums, but here's another related thread over at MTBR:
http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=259757

I kinda like that home-brewed Altoids light! I tried the masses a while back to come up with something like that, but the idea never went past the rough proto stage.

 

[varuscelli]

I kinda like that home-brewed Altoids light! I tried the masses a while back to come up with something like that, but the idea never went past the rough proto stage.

Yeah, the execution wasn't the prettiest, but I'd give it high marks for creativity.

 

[greenLED]

BTW, Al or J, do you guys have access to one of those Mars blinkers? It'd be cool to add a side-by-side comparo against the SuperFlash and verify those claims on the bike forum.

 

[jch79]

I don't have one, and I don't know anyone that has one... I don't want to buy another rear bike light just yet either! :shrug: But it'd be interesting to see what the comparisons are... my thoughts: clustered 5mm LED's aren't going to beat the 1/2 watt in the SuperFlash as far as visibility goes. But again, that's just me speculating!

 

[springnr]

Inova could adapt the 24/7 into a bike tail light. Maybe a translucent case or some side leds.

 

[varuscelli]

BTW, Al or J, do you guys have access to one of those Mars blinkers? It'd be cool to add a side-by-side comparo against the SuperFlash and verify those claims on the bike forum.

I don't have one but at the price I'd be tempted to get one -- reasons being I could do some testing and then put it on my wife's bike when I'm done. I need something for her bike from and from what I've read we could do a lot worse than the Mars 3.0. My wife doesn't ride that much, but we're trying to get out and do more that way as a family, and since it's so easy to get caught out at dusk/dark, I'd rather she had something on her bike in any case.

How's that for rationalizing my way into one of 'em? :devil:

 

[greenLED]

How's that for rationalizing my way into one of 'em? :devil:

Looking forward to the pics!


springnr, long before I started using the SuperFlash, I used the 24/7 as bike light. The strobe on that thing is uber attention-getter, that's for sure. I even got a local Trooper to ask about it once. IMO, the 24/7 and the SuperFlash have the most "attractive" flashing safety patterns.

I either clipped the 24/7 to my pack or to my belt, but I didn't quite like either solutions because the light may not point in the "right" direction all the time while riding. Often I pass riders with blinkers on their packs, but because of how they're wearing them, the light ends up pointing upwards, thus making the blinker effectively useless.

Some places have restrictions as to what colors and flashing patterns you can use as bike blinkers, so the 24/7 may not be a universal solution.

 

[PWBotha]

Hi all,

In the UK the Superflash is sold under the well known "Smart" brand. 3 differences are that all 3 lights are on when set to constant mode, the rear cover is black instead of white and the bracket is an absolute joke and I'm not exaggerating here. You simply can't ride the bicycle without the light falling off the bracket. I fixed it quite easily with one cable tie but that's not the point. Whoever decided to supply the light with the bracket is a bloody Idiot.

On the packet, it advertised http://www.fisheroutdoor.co.uk (the importer?)which sells them via the website for the same price I bought mine from a shop in Edinburgh.

BTW, the light does say "superflash" on it. It's the same, honest.

Regards,
-Pieter.