Bike Forums - Superflash Reviews

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Quote:

Originally Posted by nakedsushi (Post 4467225)

I'm in love with the superflash so take my review with a grain of salt.

How effective has it been for you? Very effective. I think it's most noticable in the blinky setting, but even on solid, it's pretty damn bright. I let the BF borrow mine before he got one and some cager actually gave him a compliment on how bright it was while he was riding at night.

How well does it hold it up? Seems to be holding up pretty well. I've dropped one a couple of times on the ground (I had one of them clipped to a less than ideal spot on my messenger bag) and that one still works.

Does it get affected by rain? It doesn't rain that much in LA and I haven't ridden in rain yet, so no idea here.

How often would I need to change the batteries? Of the two I've gotten two months ago, I haven't had to change either. I think they could go for another month or two.

Where and/or how many places could it be mounted? It comes with some mounting material. I have one mounted on my seatpost and one I clip either on my pants or my bag when I ride.
For the $20-25 I paid for both (got a discount on the first one, paid full for the 2nd), I say they're the best in the price range. The BF doubted the superflash's greatness and got some other branded rear blinky, but he soon saw the light and ended up getting a superflash for himself.

One thing that I like about it, but is pretty minor, is that there isn't a pesky small switch or button to have to look for. You just squeeze the bottom part and the light goes from blinky to solid to off. It comes in handy when you're already on your bike and you need to quickly turn the light on without having to pay too much attention to it.

I have ridden in the rain with mine, no problem.
As for visibility, I use one on my helmet and one on my trunk bag. A riding buddy caught up to me one morning last fall when I had both going and said he thought there was an ambulance or some other emergency vehicle on the path! That's visible. He went out and bought his own.
An excellent light.

Someone posted that it didn't work in weather colder than 20 degrees.

I think that may have been the batteries they used, as mine worked well in -20 degree weather commuting this winter in Minnesota. I just used regular non-rechargable AAA batteries though, not rechargable ones.

It's only 2 LED's though. Isn't it better to have 5 or more LED's?

Quote:

Originally Posted by macteacher (Post 6453536)

It's only 2 LED's though. Isn't it better to have 5 or more LED's?

Buy 3 of them. It'll set you back about $45 at MEC. The Superflash is effective because of the weird blink pattern. It's blink, blink, BLINK!!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by macteacher (Post 6453536)

It's only 2 LED's though. Isn't it better to have 5 or more LED's?

It's better to have brighter led's. The new lights are much brighter than the older lights, even with less leds.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2manybikes (Post 6456958)

It's better to have brighter led's. The new lights are much brighter than the older lights, even with less leds.

True. I recently saw a cyclist as I was walking down the street who had a 5-LED headlight. However, the LEDs weren't that bright, which explained why I didn't really see him until he got himself physically separated from traffic.

Brighter is brighter, simple as that. An array of dim lights only looks like a wider dim light, not a brighter one.

Oh yeah --

The main LED of the Superflash puts most other commercially-available LEDs to shame -- indeed, I don't know of any sub-$30 store-bought blinky that's as bright. It's brighter than my [now discontinued] Cateye LD-1000, 9-LED Viewpoint light+reflector, Serfas Stop Sign, etc etc. The Dinotte taillight is the only one I've got that's brighter, but, of course, it should be.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BarracksSi (Post 6457372)

TL-1100 is much brighter and can be had for $30.

While the SF is a good light I have no idea what the much more visible TL-1100 gets no love.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ziemas (Post 6459001)

TL-1100 is much brighter and can be had for $30.

While the SF is a good light I have no idea what the much more visible TL-1100 gets no love.

Because around here the Superflash may be bought for less than 15 $ while the TL-1100 needs to be special-ordered... for 50 or 60 $.

I have a couple of TL-1000 at home, and I put them gradually out of service to replace them with Superflashes. Why?

- Seen from far away, on axis, one Superflash seems as bright as one TL-1000.
- I have my homemade bracket behind my rear rack; two Superflashes take a little less space than a single TL-1000, so I have a little room for a red reflector.
- Two Superflashes are cheaper than a single TL-1000, so I could afford a permanent installation on my single bike, my tandem and my daughter's bike.
- Two independent taillights offer some redundancy.
- When in steady mode for 2 hours per day, rechargeable AA batteries last 3-4 days in the TL-1000, while rechargeable AAA batteries last 2-3 weeks in the Superflash. In other words, the Superflash seems to use its power much more efficiently.
- The Superflash blinking mode is much more eye-catching when I ride in fog.
- And finally two Superflashes are brighter than a single TL-1000.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ziemas (Post 6459001)

TL-1100 is much brighter and can be had for $30.

While the SF is a good light I have no idea what the much more visible TL-1100 gets no love.

The limited availability of the TL-1100 is the deal killer. The price of a Superflash is $14.75 before tax at MEC.

I don't find Superflash all that bright, and I wouldn't be impressed by the TL-1100 either.

In combination of size, form factor, battery runtime, and brightness. PB SF wins, even more so than my homemade light.

If the Cateye 1000 or 1100 is aimed properly, it is a better light than the SF, in my opinion. For one thing, it adds more side visibility and a wide array of blinking patterns.

On the other hand, the clip on the SF makes it very versatile and the batteries do last forever.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michel Gagnon (Post 6464284)

Why are you comparing the TL-1000 to the SF when I was specifically referring to the much brighter TL-1100? It's not an honest comparison at all.

As for the battery life of the TL-1100 I think you are using bad batteries. I get over three weeks of use flashing for over an hour a day with my TL-1100 using Sanyo Eneloop batteries.

As for price, the TL-1100 can be had for $30; it's not $50 or 60. I don't know about you, but I'll pay the extra $15 for a better and more visible light.

I'm also going to disagree with you on the fog. The TL-1100 produces a huge beam of light which lights up the surrounding fog that just can't be missed.

One of my local shops stopped carrying TL-LD1100s. I asked about them and the response was that they had several complaints about them having junk clamps and falling off/being lost.

Interestingly, I discovered today that unless something odd is going on with my lights (they should be even, as they're both using fresh batteries), my girlfriends PB Blinky 3 is actually brighter than my Superflash from shallow to moderate angles.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Abneycat (Post 6465021)

One of my local shops stopped carrying TL-LD1100s. I asked about them and the response was that they had several complaints about them having junk clamps and falling off/being lost.

The belt clip isn't tight enough. Mine bounced off the seatbag. It click firmly into the seatpost mount though. On the otherhand I have a blackburn mars 2 and the belt clip is too tight, very hard to get off. Can't win.
When riding around I look for bright bike lights. The very bright ones seem to be either the pickle or the superflash. I don't notice much difference between the two.
What I do like about the pickle is its very easy to tell if its on or not, just put your hand down into the side LEDs beam.