Originally Posted by
Papa Tom
OK, I'm fried. There's too much out there to choose from and I'm seriously thinking about just dropping this whole thing, lest I have buyer's remorse later on. Once again, I think this is why sales of everything imaginable are not what they should be.
I think if I'm going to pursue this any further, I need a new approach. Automobile manufacturers are bound by certain standards for how bright a tail light needs to be. They build one into a car and we buy it. And we don't then go out and spend the next year trying to find one that's brighter or has a better flashing pattern. So how can I apply this to my purchase of a rear blinkie for my bike before I slash my wrist?
* How many lumens are ENOUGH (no more/no less) for daytime riding?
* Is a straight flashing mode sufficient, or do any of the other fancy blinking patterns really make a big difference in the daytime?
How have other people here handled this ridiculous decision-making process? I don't want two, three, or four lights and I don't want to have to replace the one I buy for many years. I want to pick one that works WELL ENOUGH and be done with it!
You are letting the
perfect be the enemy of the
good. In other words, you are way over thinking this. Any light will be fine for daytime riding (no light is fine for daytime riding as well). Just pick one. Don't worry about blink patterns nor about lumens nor about whether the light is turbo or not. Honestly, it would be hard to go wrong with a Planet Bike Super Flash. It's relatively bright, flashes or not depending on how many times you push the button, can be fit to a rack and doesn't cost a lot of money. It uses AAA batteries that can be rechargeable or not.
I have several of them. There's not a thing wrong with anyone of them. Two AAA batteries last me a year or more of riding...even on steady and even when stored in garage at subfreezing temperatures...but I use them only at night from August to April.
Just buy one an use it. If you don't like it, buy something different later.