Bike Forums - Best value for a taillight

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I have SuperFlash on 3 of my 4 bikes..

Quote:

Originally Posted by JeffS (Post 5289203)

Until it breaks off (the Mars that is) - has happened to a lot of people.

My vote is for the Superflash - no contest.

Are you confusing the larger 3.0 with a different seat post bracket with the 2.0? Definite problems have expressed by many people regarding the 2.0 mount. Both mine broke in a few months of use. I have only seen one comment about the seat clamp breaking on the 3.0 and Blackburn replaced it. The reviewer even thought it might be his fault from because he overtightened it. A hose clamp could have been substituted.

What is breaking on the 2.0, the belt clip or seat post clamp? Or both? I would like to know what to watch for. Thanks.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JeffS (Post 5289203)

Until it breaks off (the Mars that is) - has happened to a lot of people.

My vote is for the Superflash - no contest.

Do a side by side comparison and you'll be quite surprised. I know I was.

Quote:

Originally Posted by diff_lock2 (Post 5287166)

My wintergreen tin was really nasty (forgot some candy in there). More info on the light:

Its not water proof (yet).
1w Red led (luxeon) (5eu)
2x 1.2v AA cells for 2.4v direct drive.
i used arctic silver5 to create thermal contact with the tin (which i sanded with a scotch-brite pad)
And some generic luxeon lens for around 2eu.

I used a dipole switch cause thats what i had. and the batt cradle was like 30cents. probably cheaper in the states.

I say again (despite my Wintergreen versus Cinnamon comment)...very creative! I applaud your ingenuity. ;)

Quote:

Originally Posted by dekindy (Post 5287273)

I ride in pitch black in the winter with a group. I have both Mars for redundancy and better visibility when it is pitch dark. I got a view of our group from behind once. It was a sight to see. Everyone had their light in the brightest flashing mode and many have two tailights. You cannot believe how much visibility a group like that creates. It looks like a fire scene with all the firetruck lights and police car lights flashing. Motorists probably think they are approaching a bad accident scene!

I'd love to be standing at the side of the road and see that go by. Can't say that I've ever been witness to such a nighttime drive-by before. Probably pretty spectacular... ;)

It's really too bad about the Mars 3.0, because I like the concept of that light, but the execution just sucked.

I never experienced the cracked mount (I had two of them) but they would occasionally slip completely free over a bump and clatter to the ground.

The screws (an incredibly annoying idea, btw) corrode badly, so I'd recommend greasing them. But even so, you'll have to guard against stripping the threads of the light. It's a fine line between getting them tight enough to seal, and tight enough to wreck the damn thing.

Both of mine ate batteries to an alarming degree, such that I rarely finished a day of commuting (1 hr each way) without discovering that my bright rear flasher had turned into a dim rear glimmer.

[oh, and because I was changing the batteries so often, the screw heads started to get rounded off. At the end of my Mars 3.0 experiment, I had at least one screw that I would have had to replace had I not simply chosen to pitch the whole thing instead]

I replaced them with Superflashes. Long battery life, super bright and if I lost the side visibility, I've made up for it some by using three of them with one on the left chainstay pointed off axis (and slightly up) towards traffic.