good blinkers
 

I commute an hour in NYC each night. My wife and I each have 2 Planet Bike Beamer 3 lights which work great in Blink mode. However, I have bought 5 Planet Bike rear red blinkers in the past year and they all dangerously have failed me. When I set them on blink mode, it takes maybe 10 blocks before they somehow switch to steady mode and then if I don't notice and quickly switch them back to blinking mode, they eventually just turn off.
Does anyone know how or why this happens?
Can anyone recommend an affordable and dependable $20 blinker for me?

Cateyes are really good.
Here's a $20 one (before shipping, though the 10% off coupon code w229 will knock off a couple bucks).
Or, if you can afford $15 more, the tl-ld1000 is really great and nearly impossible to miss on the road.

I use Cateye LD600 which my neighbours tell me they can see from way down the block. Cateye also has a small parts store if you have quirky sized tubes and/or need extra mounts for additional bike(s) which I didn't figure out until I after bought three more lamps to get additional mounting brackets. ~19$ at lbs.

Do you ride in the rain as well? I'm thinking some of the blinkies may have taken some water damage seeping into the housing. Where do you mount he blinkies that fail constantly? I find the cheap Bell blinkie I got with the combo LED/Xenon light + tailight combo works ok and cheap as a secondary light. I mought htat tot he seat post while I have another blinkie at the rack. I find the blinkie under the seatpost hardly ever gets wet enough which I think would have water seep in.

I have not have this problem with PB blinkies (I have both the 7-LED and the Superblinkie) I did have this problem with a cheap MEC that was mounted in such a way that my rack was tapping it from the bottom. When I have had rear lights clamped to my seatpost I have not experienced any trouble.

Where were your lights mounted?

Yes try www.allelectronics.com and get their strobe light ($8.95). I have been using a similiar one I got from Radio Shack nearly 20 years ago. RSs strobe was not built to take vibration but I fixed that with some clear silicone caulk. Flashes some 30 to 100 times a minute depending on voltage. So strong people do not want to draft me at night.

Well so far I have not had trouble with PB and the Super Flash is the only light I would buy now.

Hmm, I ride pretty darn rough roads (especially in the spring; ouch) and the PB SuperFlash hasn't switched modes on me yet. I wonder if your button is a little too close to the plastic and it's getting set off on a bump. If this is consistent, and your case is snapped on properly, I might experiment with sanding down the button just a touch so it won't switch modes when you hit bumps.

I have two Vistalite Super Nebula 5 blinkies on my bike. They've been going strong for over 5 years.
http://www.pricepoint.com/detail/115...=16&zmap=11535

Have had a similar failure problem on one of 2 mounted.....in my situation, tracked it back to a slight imperfection in plastic case....used a jewelers tool and scraped a small bit of case away...solved that problem for me.....however had a different, much more major, problem with both lights.....water intrusion (1 month of use)...sanded contacts, replaced rusting batteries.....took a bit of clear tape and covered joints.....needed a magnifying glass to do this...(I get stubborn "occasionally")....no issues in last 2 months.

Yeah, I love my SuperFlash, but I'd be happier with it if it was as sturdily built and waterproof as my Cateye TL-LD1000. The Cateye I'm quite sure I could tie to a lead weight, turn it on and toss it in a bucket of water and a day later it'd still be flashing. The SuperFlash I'm sure wouldn't last 5 minutes. But the SuperFlash puts out a better light pattern so that's what I use until it fails.

I wouldn't even care if they had to raise the price $5 or even $10. Ninja cyclists aren't paying $20+ for a blinkie anyway, they're buying $3 specials at Wal*Mart. The market that's buying the SuperFlash at $20 would pay $25 I believe.

Planet Bike Superflash ($25), the Planet Bike Brt-7 ($15), and the Cateye LD-600 ($20). Out of those three the superflash is beyond a doubt the best and the Brt-7 is pretty damn bright too. The cateye is bright as well, but it does tend to drain batteries faster than the other lights.

For anyone who's worried about their blinkies failing due to exposure to water, I have a (partial) solution for you. Crack that thing open, and coat the circuit board with nail polish. You can cover everything but the button/switch, battery terminals and LEDs. Make sure you get the leads of the LEDs, too. I recommend clear nail polish, for obvious reasons. But really, any old colour you can swipe from your wife's makeup kit will work.

I also have the Cateye LD600 and at one time it was the brightest LED on the market...well it's still the brightest rear tail light I've seen used in this town that doesn't believe in lights of any kind! My LD600 is now 5 years old and it still works very well and I still get comments on motorists as to how well they can see me.

The new SuperFlash is a brighter light then the Cateye LD1000 though and actually cost less then the Cateye. A new rear light from BLT called the Super Doppler DX may now be the brightest taillight on the market even more so then the Superflash.

By the way many countries prefer a non blinking rear light for cyclists and Germany forbids them; in America we don't care if it blinks or not just as long as you have one. Most safety people will tell you that it has been found that people tend to underestimate the distance to blinking lights, and also that drunken drivers are attracted by them, and there is evidence that they are harder to place than a steady light; I think you should keep your light and use only the steady mode, that's what I do, only my barends blink and that's only to save the little button batteries.

I also use a amber xenon flasher on the front along with my headlight because bicycle headlights are nowhere near the size of a cars so again motorists are unsure of the distance you are from them or don't see the light at all because it is so small; so the flasher gets their attention first.

An even lower tech solution : a plastic bag around the light.

Superflash is ~$14.95 CDN ( ~$10 USD) at www.mec.ca . That's whereI got mine from. BTW the Maglite 2xAA 3W lights are cheapest at MEC for $19.50 where as other places want $25-27 for it. Buy a tail cap clickie on Ebay or online and a flashlight mounton the bars then you can use that on your bike at night in conjunction with your mainlight so you have something to 'high beam' someone or a car if you're at an intersection. You know how cars often do a quick high beam to signal other cars before they move at the 4 way stops instead of getting out of the car to yell. Also useful for a quick flash on anothr biker going the wrong way or on a path that forgot to turn thier lights on a distance away.



Zero_Enigma

Thanks for all the great input.
I have a Mtn. Rack on my rear and have a wire basket bolted to that for my school books and work clothes. Then I cut off a 12" piece of broom handle and sawed grooves in it to line up with the vertical wires of the basket and mounted the handle horizontally on the back of the basket with tie wraps. Then I mounted my 3 blinkers to the broom handle. This puts the lights 3 wide and behind all the duds in my basket. If I put the lights on my seatpost, then my books and clothes would be in the way.
So that is where my lights are. Somehow, though I ride in all weather, I have not been in much rain in NYC in the last 6 months so I don't think it is water.
I called Planet Bike, and they say that they did have a bad batch come out of China last year. I probably got several lights with bad switches. They are gonna send me new lights after I mail them mine.
I am gonna try that nail polish trick though.

I went on Cateye's website after reading your good reviews of the ld-1000. I quickly realized that I owned 2 of those last year. I bought the first one because it had soooo many LEDs. The first one worked great for a week or so. Then, it would switch from a strong blink, to a really dim blink. A few taps on the case would result in a strong blink again. A few blocks later it would be a dim blink. I exchanged it for another at my LBS and I had the same problem. I must sound like I abuse my lights, but I am really gentle with all my lights and careful to keep them dry as much as possible.

I can't recommend the Planet Bike Superflash highly enough. Nashbar runs them on sale for $25 on a regular basis. I've used two of them every day for going on 5 months now, and all I've had to do is change the batteries once. I've heard good things about the Cateye LD-1000, but I like the Superflash. The ultimate rear light is the DiNotte tail light, but it's way expensive.

I can personally attest to the fact that the Cateye LD1000 and the serfas/performance 9 led flasher

http://www.serfas.com/lights/TL-2000.shtml

both die at various times, due to losing connection to power at battery contacts. The perf lights are built cheap with terrible battery contacts. After X numbers of battery changes the contacts work lose and either short out to the circuit board or lose contact with battery. The cateye appears to be more sturdy but still loses contact (on 3 different type batteries), even when its nearly new.

Like one previous poster, i used vistalite eclipse flashers for years with no problem - however, they are weak LEDs compared to the newer ones used today. Although they don't look much better than the perf flashers, they did in fact never die during a ride.

I like the perf flashers (really bright, wide angle, cheap) but the eventual sporadic failures is a serious safety issue. My workaround solution is to use multiple rear flashers, and inspect them regularly during ride in case they need a gentle "whack" reactivation.

I have considered modifying 2-3 of these perf flashers with leads soldered directly to board, and running them off a common lithium battery. Also attaching them all to one mounting point with provision for battery mount. A little project for my collection of defective up perf flashers. I used to return them to Perf for replacement, but lately they haven't listed them on their website.

The PB superfllash is on my list for next taillight "trial".

I had a xenon strobe die on me recently after very little use.

What part of the light are you caulking to provide vibration dampening / prevent circuit break?

That big honking capacitor? Seems like it would break leads quick from vibration due to mass.

I just use an automotive taillight from superbrightleds. Doesn't flash, but it's not gonna fail.

If I really wanted to I could rig something to flash between "brake" and "tail" light modes, but I just wired it to high (brake) all the time.

This only works of course if you have a 12V power source.

I have some cheap blinkies that will turn off with any kind of shock, even riding over a bump in the road.

That's one reason why I went to the Cateye TL-LD1000 as my primary taillight and the TL-LD500 on my trailers and as a backup taillight on the bike. I chose the 500 because it's also a CPSC certified reflector.

On the bike with no trailer I run the 1000 on the seatpost and a 500 on the back of the rear rack or a Mars 3.0 on the back of my helmet. With a trailer I run a 500 on each rear corner of the trailer.

I ride at night every day that I ride to work, and have had coworkers tell me that they could see me from over a mile away.

The first strobe I had did break where one lead from the Big Honking Capacitor" :D (nice choice of words) went into the circuit board. They were so cheap I just risked using some translucent caulk I had used sealing my sliding porch doors. I squirted the goo under, and around the big capacitor, half burying it. After the stuff set I screwed the casing back around the circuit board and put the yellow-clear plastic cover back over the strobe tube. No problems now. I zip-tied it to the front of my rear rack so that light would flash in all directions. I also take it off the bike and use it on my two person kayak once a year when the wife and I paddle out into Richardson Bay to watch the fireworks offshore of Sausalito.

As far as ruggedness I have bent my handlebars going off-roading on my touring bike yet the strobe keeps working.

Thanks ken. I'll try the silicon immobilization technique on my next xenon strobe. I also mounted mine in same location.