After forays with many other taillights over the years, I have equipped my bikes with a combination of Cateye TL-LD1000 and Planet Bike Superflash.

I got the TL-LD1000 first because it was available 1 year before the Superflash. If I had to do it again, I would go only with the Superflash. The TL-LD1000 has a few advantages, but the Superflash has many more:

– From what I see, the TL-LD1000 is completely water-resistant; the Superflash is decently water-resistant. My current commute is 50-65 minutes long, and I have no problem with light rain with either taillight. But in a hard downpour, some water got into the Superflash that is attached behind my rear rack. No water got into the TL-LD1000 that is attached behind my rear rack and into the TL-LD1000 and Superfhash that are attached to my seatpost. Nothing critical, except the offended Superflash didn't stop blinking until I removed the batteries to dry it. It now sits in a small plastic bag.
(P.S. I had to resort to the same treatment for my Planet Bike Beamer 5 blinkie.)

– Exactly on axis, both are almost equally bright, but the Superflash wins hands down if you are 5 degrees off axis. On the other hand, from far away, I think that the TL-LD1000 (steady) looks more like a motorcycle taillight, while the Superflash just looks like a very bright dot. Not sure what would be the best, so it's probably a tie.

– The Superflash blinking mode is horribly effective! Great for those dark days or even when you are riding into the sun. On this aspect, the Superflash wins hands down. On the other hand, don't use the flashing mode at night (except maybe with 2-3 other Superflashes in steady mode).

– The Superflash is 1/2 or 1/3 the price and half the size of the TL-LD1000. It's also lighter.

– The Superflash uses AAA batteries, yet they seem to last quite a long time. I had mine since November and changed one set of batteries recently. My TL-LD1000 use rechargeables and I recharge them fairly often.


In spite of our rough roads, I haven't lost any taillight yet, but they are bolted and glued in place, and I have zip ties around the TL-LD1000 too. I would not attach a TL-LD1000 on a rack trunk (aiming is way too critical) and I would not recommend attaching a Superflash on a rack trunk unless yours is a very rigid one. If you do so, check it empty and full to make sure your taillight doesn't point to the asphalt or to the birds.