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Niterider v. Superflash. FIGHT

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Niterider v. Superflash. FIGHT

Old 02-28-07, 03:31 PM
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Niterider v. Superflash. FIGHT

I just got my PB Superflash in and rigged it up to compare to the Niterider taillight I already had. Going to try to make a video at some point, but for now a subjective review: the Niterider's brighter by a decent bit. Of course, for twice the price not including a battery it should be. The difference isn't huge, perhaps 20-30% brighter subjectively, but it is real. Did the test from about 20 feet, at night, standing both directly behind and off at a 30 degreeish angle.

Just wanted to add a datum to the forum, since I've never seen this comparison done directly--perhaps since they're rather different beasts in terms of cost and required other components.

Ari
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Old 02-28-07, 03:49 PM
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What does "brighter" mean to you?

More lumens or more noticable, or both?

Were you comparing in steady or flashing mode?
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Old 02-28-07, 03:56 PM
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Originally Posted by JeffS
What does "brighter" mean to you?
More lumens or more noticable, or both?
Were you comparing in steady or flashing mode?
Good points. Was comparing in flashing mode. Will try to do a steady-mode comparison tonight, especially since their blink patterns are fairly different.
I don't quite grok the distinction between more lumens and more noticeable.... The NR seemed to be brighter. I also remember thinking that the PB blink pattern seemed like it would be more noticeable up close, but since the smaller LEDs weren't very bright at a distance it just made it wasn't as noticeable as the steady blink of the NR. I realize that goes against the usual wisdom (that erratic patterns are more noticeable), and I'm a bit puzzled myself. Maybe I need to test them not both on at the same time to compare the blinking patterns....

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Old 02-28-07, 04:27 PM
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Originally Posted by gsk3
I just got my PB Superflash in and rigged it up to compare to the Niterider taillight I already had. Going to try to make a video at some point, but for now a subjective review: the Niterider's brighter by a decent bit. Of course, for twice the price not including a battery it should be. The difference isn't huge, perhaps 20-30% brighter subjectively, but it is real. Did the test from about 20 feet, at night, standing both directly behind and off at a 30 degreeish angle.

Just wanted to add a datum to the forum, since I've never seen this comparison done directly--perhaps since they're rather different beasts in terms of cost and required other components.

Ari

It's been done a few times in the forums. It's on video. You might need new batteries in the Superflash.
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Old 02-28-07, 04:34 PM
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Originally Posted by gsk3
I don't quite grok the distinction between more lumens and more noticeable.... The NR seemed to be brighter.
Ari
I guess I'm thinking that a light that puts out fewer lumens, but has a more eyecatching strobe pattern, or more focused beam, could be "more noticable".

Not trying to give you a hard time... just curious - knowing we put way too much thought into lights around here.
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Old 02-28-07, 04:42 PM
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Originally Posted by 2manybikes
It's been done a few times in the forums. It's on video. You might need new batteries in the Superflash.
Hm. Searched but couldn't find anything terribly satisfactory:
https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...iterider+video
https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...iterider+video
That last one has a video clip, but it seems like they're off-axis. Still a decent comparison I guess. I agree the PB seems brighter there, but the NR seems whiter, which either indicates pixel saturation or means the color tint could make it seem brighter (since the eye doesn't respond to red as well). Either way the flash pattern still seems slow to me on the PB.

These should be new batteries (the ones that came with it). I think I have a fresh set of AAA's at home that I can test.

Anywho, didn't mean to offend anyone, just to add an observation. I'll probably send the PB to a friend and keep the NR just because they're about even and the NR's more convenient as far as batteries go.

Ari
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