+1 ^^^ You will not

I had a Magic Shine headlight and it was junk, it lasted 4 months, I tried to get it replaced under warranty and sent it back and they returned the item and I had a UPS code to prove it was delivered, they never bothered to return my dozens of e-mails, nor return any of my dozens of calls. So after about 3 months of frustration I gave up.

I noticed the original poster wanted a cheaper tail light, Dinotte is not cheap at over $150. However the BlackBurn Mars 4 is the brightest AAA or AA battery light on the market tied with Radbot 1000 for brightness, Both the Mars 4 and the Radbot 1000 use the same 1 watt LED bulb but the Mars 4 adds two 1/2 watt leds (one on each side) for side illumination making it far brighter from the side then the Radbot which is nearly impossible to see from the side. But be forewarned, the Mars 4 batteries do not last anywhere near as long as the Blackburn claims, they use 2 aaa bats and they will last about 7 to 8 hours on steady and about 15 to 18 on flashing. Thus you should invest in rechargeable AAA's and carry a spare set in your saddle bag. The Radbot AA bats will last far longer (at least twice as long) due to AA bats and only one led to power. The Mars 4 sells for about $22 and the Radbot 1000 for $25...not much of a difference in price.

huh?!?!? my Radbot-1000 uses AAA.

Dinnotte 140L....$119

https://store.dinottelighting.com/sha...t=products.asp

Yeah - this is another "big deal" about lighting - whether or not you can afford to operate two or at least "own" two lights -so as to assure emergency replacement.

If someone says Dinotte is a lot brighter - then - I want them to come and see what happens when I run two MS lights in "pulse mode." I guarantee they attract more attention then any single light.

My mistake, I thought I read they used AA's.

Ohh a sale. I'm sure that the original poster who was looking at the price level of the Radbot is now going to be jumping at the chance to spend $90 more.

agreed....

+1

I'm thrilled with my 300R. It's well worth the money.

I ended up ordering the Magicshine MJ-818 bike light set from dealextreme. I'll report back later.

I hope you are satisfied after trying it out. And you should know -you can add another light for as little as $40 by buying just the light head.

I run two light heads in blink mode using 6xAA battery pack. It is true that some of the other lights are "just about" as good. But only a Dinotte - or some other big battery-powered light is going to provide the kind of flash of an MS tail light. You can't get that kind of power from most 3xAAA or 2xAA lights.

I saw a You Tube video of this light and it has an odd flash cycle to it, it flashes dim for about 1 second then pauses for 1 second , then flashes real bright for 1 second, then pauses for 1 second, and repeats this pattern. Is this pattern over ridden? See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dE6_BOcUJ7w

It seems like a really bright light, my question is, based on my experience with the headlight from the same folks, is it's reliability. I think I'll wait before I get suckered into another to see if any complaints come up over time.

Planet Bike Super Blinky.. good visibility day or night

That light is only a 1/2 watt LED, it's now old technology. The Blackburn Mars 4 uses 1 full watt led PLUS two 1/2 watt leds (one on each side) for side illumination which makes the Mars 4 the best light for side visibility. Plus having once owned a Super Blinky, my experience showed it to be fragile, it quit after about 4 months, I sent it back for warranty replacement and it was never returned...that was over a year ago. I called and e-mailed various people and nothing, after a relatively short while I gave up since $20's wasn't worth the time I was spending trying to get it back!

I rarely use my diNotte rear light anymore because my riding partners refused to ride behind me. It was just too bright. I now use the PBSF.

I've ridden behind a Dinotte, and it's not that bad. I think the worst is the Mars on flash, drives me nuts.

I am sure the Blackburn product is good if you say so and is probably the best light for side visibility if that is your feeling about it.
However I doubt I will ever purchase the Blackburn light as, unlike your experience with the Super Blinky, my 2 Super Blinkys have been nothing short of superb in the area of reliability and that would include excellent weatherproofing qualities as they have endured the monsoons of Seattle where I cycle with no problemo since purchasing them over 5 years ago. They are the ultimate in low maintenance with long intervals of dependable, highly visible performance between battery charges. As far as fragile goes....of course they wouldn't survive being run over by a 16 wheeler. ( my helmet mounted Photon Freedom Fusion headlight might)
I am also wondering about price here.
Certainly, if the Blackburn is lower priced than a Super Blinky and is superior as you say perhaps I should be looking into it.

If you look at the specs of the Super Blinky vs the Mars 4 you can help to know that the Mars 4 is brighter due to it using 1 watt LED for the main bulb vs just a 1/2 watt for the Blinky. Some LBS's carry both and some will even have bats in them and you can test them for yourself. But as you say, the higher watt of 1 watt plus and additional two 1/2 watt led's puts a load on the AAA bats so they don't last as long as the Blinky; so I carry spare bats in case a set dies.

Here's a You Tube example of 3 different ones included is the Light & motion vis180, Mars 4, and Blackburn Flee: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpCAXJKz1p8

Here's another of the Mars 4 vs the Smart Super Flash which is the same as the Blinky I believe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2ReR0j3fHE

I saw an interesting upcoming light from Cygolite at one of our distributors' sites:


Cygolite Hotshot

2 watt emitter, USB-rechargeable, ~50hr runtime, US$40 MSRP if you buy it with just a USB cable (as opposed to a charger). That's encroaching on the territory of a DiNotte 140, in a self-contained light. I have no idea what the mounting options are like, but I'll have to get one and check it out in person. The distributor estimates it'll be available on 8-8: https://www.jbimporters.com/web/check...t_number=97427

Also worth noting: the listing mentions OSP, which is Cygolight-speak for user-programmability. I don't know if that means changing the flash rate/pattern, or the brightness on steady-burn.

OSP allows you to change the light level of each of the 3 modes of brightness AND the flash tempo to tailor suit your needs. It's interesting feature, the only time I've ever used the OSP function is for the middle setting of brightness; it seems the factory set it to high just slightly dimmer then the highest setting, so I adjusted to be more in between the high and low setting.

100 hours on one charge. I wonder if the light is regulated or the battery is replaceable. This might be a good replacement for my Radbot 1000 with only 15 hours of blinking on puny AAAs. Good job mechBgon, please keep us updated

Leave it to Cygolite to make a better light and at a reasonable cost. I wonder what the cost will be for the new tail light?

With a USB cable (so it can be charged from a computer), it's US$40. With a wall charger, it's US$50. I have a leftover mini-USB-type charger from my last cell phone, so besides charging from a computer, I could just re-use that.

Mine is arriving Tuesday, and I'll try to post some preliminary info Tuesday night.

I got mine for $32 from modernbike.com. The shipping was $7 unless you chose some items for which shipping was free. So I got something I needed anyway for $7 & the order came up to the same $40 with free shipping. It'll arrive on Tuesday. I mean, for that price, there is not much one can lose....

That would be great to find out how that light works. What tail light to you have now? Do a side by side comparison and let us know how the Cygolite fairs. I would assume with a full 2 watt LED instead of 1 watt of the Mars 4 or the Radbot 1000 it should be at least 50% brighter. Also let us know how the side illumination is, in other words if a car is approaching from your side how well can they see you. Side illumination is extremely important, that's one of the reasons I got the Mars 4 because they have two 1/2 watt leds (one on each side), and this thing is very visible from the side.

Thanks.