Commuting - viewpoint flashpoint rear light

Anyone use this? I was gonna pick one up but the reviews on performancebikes.com are absolutely horrid.

Just use the Planetbike Superflash like everyone else. There's no competition.

Steve

If you do want one of the FlashPoints, DealExtreme has what appears to be the same light for under $4 shipped.

+1 on the SuperFlash, great 2AAA taillight.

With winter moving in I got a Superflash last week. Great light, it's got that aircraft anti-collision flashy light thing going that I love!

I use the Viewpoint Flashback. I've had two of these for a year now. I bought them because they were cheap. I have them mounted on my rear rack. I have'nt had any problems with them. I use rechargeable batteries in them and the run time is acceptable to me. Cars see me, and that's all that matters. But if I'd known about the SuperFlash I probably would've bought that.

As cheap blinkies go, it's the daddy. It's not quite Superflash, but then Superflash isn't quite DiNotte either. In any case, I've run them and thought they delivered pretty good bang for the buck.

I've been running one for about 6 months now. No complaints at all. It is screwed to my rack so takes a fair amount of jolting. Being in Colorado, however, it's only been rained on 3 or 4 times!

I can't get mine to keep running. Take it apart, remove the batteries, put them back, and it'll work. Turn it off, and it won't come back on.

My Superflashes have worked every time. Best under-$30 light you can buy, I'd say.

I had one fly of the little mount it comes on when I went over a bump at high speed. Busted into about 10 pieces.

I use three of them on the back of my rack. I've had them for a couple of years now with no problems.

***Disclaimer***
1) I have them screwed into a metal mount, so I'm not relying on the built in clip.
2) All three are wired to a flashlight case, so I never have to pop them open to change the batteries.

Both of these modifications have saved a lot of wear and tear on them. Thus extending their functionality.

They are adequate especially if you are a cheapskate like me. I have one.

The NightRider one (looks EXACTLY the same) is slightly brighter. Don't pay more than 6 bucks for it.

As others have said, just get a Superflash. There's nothing better (besides DIY) until you get to the Dinotte price point.

Just use the Planetbike Superflash like everyone else. There's no competition.

Steve

+1 I got quite a few compliments during the Fall riding with the local bike club. As the light started to get dim for after work rides I'd use the Superflash if I was at the back of the pack. Others told me they could see the light from a better part of a 1/2 mile back. I also saw someone with the DiNotte light. The Dinotte was shockingly small, and very bright, but it didn't seem that much brighter than my Superflash. At a price difference of $19 vs $150, the Superflash is a superb value. I also saw lots of people with a varierty of other tail lights and most were completely useless. With any ambient light remaining most other tail lights were completely washed out, while the Superflash and Dinotte were extreamly easy to see. Both my hybrid commuter and my road bike have the Superflash.

Happy riding,
André

I use 2x superflash. One on the bike set to constant, one on my helmet flashing. I always like to have one constant so that there's a reference for drivers to get depth perception from, and I usually set the higher of the two to flash for enhanced visibility.

I used to use a Cateye TL-LD1000 as my "constant" light but the bracket broke a few months back and it's probably sitting in a ditch now.

I used to have a viewpoint and it fell off my seat bag a couple times and got all banged up, got a superflash so it could mount to my seat stay and still have my seat bag...

In terms of output, no comparison... Superflash wins my a mile, well I guess a 1/2 mile. Although, my first really wet ride and the superflash was acting funky. Dried out OK but not too reassuring...

OKay.. well.. good suggestions. I may then look at teh mars 3.0 as it is $10 cheaper at performance than the superflash.

Mars 3.0 is okay; the new 4.0 might be a competitor to the Superflash, though.

The Mars 4.0 that I compared to a SuperFlash was noticably brighter on flashing mode, equivalent on steady mode, and appears to have a larger "hot spot" (a good thing). The seatpost mount of the Mars 4.0 is still that ridiculous worm-drive type, unfortunately.

I have a ViewPoint Flashpoint High Intensity Taillight its really bright for a AA tail light thats for sure, I dropped on and broke it but for $14.99 I picked up another since it was my fault. I've had a few lights and can say for a AA it is bright. Many other lights that are bright but for the price hard to beat.

I've used a couple. They are very bright for the price. After a year they developed a problem - going dim as in dead batteries - even when the batteries are recharged. For a while giving them a whack restored the brightness. At a random interval they'd go dim again. Not good.
I've now switched to Dionette. I have, however, modified it to use an RC battery pack (7.2v) or water bottle battery (6v) because the Dionette does suck power.

I've never had a problem with Performance.

I have a Mars 3.0 that I found in a parking lot with a broken clip. It was pretty bright so I rigged up a velcro attachement mechanism in place of the clip. Then I looked up reviews. People said they like it but the clip breaks too easily.

Another Planet Bike Superflash user and believer here. It's inexpensive and it works great!

http://tinyurl.com/6ldfpd

I have a gift card to performance and their price on the superflash is $30 (in store) $20 for the flashpoint, and $15 for the mars 3.0.
seems the flashpoint is pretty poorly constructed though.

The mars 3.0 will break, and sooner than later. The spread is great, and it's very bright, but the clip won't hold it in the bracket over bumps. Mine fell off an avg. of 3 times each before breaking the bracket from bouncing on the pavement...all 3 of them.

I then got a TL-1100 and have grown disappointed with it. It's bright, but the up/down beam spread is very narrow and the adjustments are crappy. It ends up being hard or impossible to aim perfectly (on my bikes anyway), combining with the poor optics makes it really hard to make full use of the brightness. I can't imagine it working very well on hills either.

Listen to everyone else, get the Superflash. Very intense and a more than decent spreadin all rear facing directions, easy on batteries too. Stays secure, great mounting options. It really can't be beat in it's class so far IMO.

The Mars 4.0 does look promising though. I was looking for one locally this week, to no avail.

hmmm. so is the superflash worth the extra $10 I would have to spend on it? or should I just get the flashpoint

the flashpoint is a decent 2nd blinkie. its also nice because it doubles as a reflector. some states require you to have a rear red reflector. however the leds are really dull. go to the store and pick up the flashpoint and the superflash. even with store lights/daylight the superflash hurts your eyes when you stare at it. its only a 1/2 watt, but its really nice. also the unique eye catching flash. look on youtube.

hmmm. so is the superflash worth the extra $10 I would have to spend on it?

Absolutely.

I was thinking it was a good second light, but Performance (Viewpoint is the store brand) really likes to cheap out in weird ways. Like how mine failed after a few months because it got knocked a little hard when my bike toppled.

So I wrote one of the bad reviews on the site. :D