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Old 03-08-01, 11:22 AM
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RainmanP
Mr. Cellophane
 
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Location: New Orleans, LA
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Someone's post about seeing a lost blinkie flashing forlornly by the roadside reminded me of some irritation I have had about these little critters.
My first blinkie was a Vistalite 7 LED that cost about 22 bucks. I had it for a couple of months. I did not like it very much from the beginning. Replacing the batteries required removing two tiny phillips head screws. This was not that difficult, but required an extra tool in the seat bag just to change batteries in an emergency. Also, the clip on it was not that snug and it escaped one day while riding the loop on the back of my seat bag.
My second blinkie was a brand new model superbright Specialized thingie that uses the same little batteries that cycle computers use. I was hesitant about buying something that used batteries that I can't recharge or get at any drugstore, but my bike shop buddy convinced me this was the latest and greatest. Also cost just over 20 bucks. The clip on this one is very short and integral with the body, ie, cannot be replaced. Guess what? It snapped off the very first time I tried to clip it to my seat bag! I didn't want to hassle the shop because they had done a couple of favors for me so I just rubberbanded it to the back of my rack where it serves as a backup.
Irritated with these "state of the art" superblinkies, I order two inexpensive (on sale for $7.99, regularly 9.99) 5-LED blinkies from Performance. I love these! Use 2 AA batteries, replaceable by snapping open, but still water resistant, and the clips are big enough to clip on even heavy fabric and are designed such that it looks like it would be very difficult for them to accidently come off of most things.
I just ordered a couple of similar looking items from Nashbar because they use 2 AAAs and are a little smaller.
Any other experiences?
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