Looking For a Low Profile Daytime Front Flasher
 

With daylight savings time starting next weekend (yay) I'm looking for a low profile front flashing light. I'd like something in the 250-300 real lumen range with a slow flash option. This is strictly a "be seen" light for daytime use. I currently use a Lezyne Super Drive XL but that's overkill for daytime only use. I'm willing to spend up to $50 or so but cheaper lights would be welcome if they work.

You're not going to find a self-contained light any more low-profile than the Knog Road 2. It's 200 lumens, has a sane, slow, alternating lens flash mode, and is right around $50, but just a tick over; if you not particular about color, you can grab a purple one on Amazon right now for $52.10 shipped.

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5343/9...5757d45d_b.jpg

When I just care about being seen I use this. http://www.blackburndesign.com/light...l#.UxM3l9yhlZ4

I saw this lamp being advertised over on MTBReview. I don't own one myself but the ad says that it has 3 flash modes. I figure one of those is likely a slow flash. I wouldn't mind having one of those myself but really I have no need. My Gloworm lamp has a bright slow flash setting but it is so bright I only use it when really needed. Otherwise I have one of the small 70 lumen Performance Axiom mini-flashers which I find really quite bright and good enough to alert people to my presence when the sun starts to get low in the sky.

I just saw a good review of these USB rechargeables: http://www.amazon.com/Bookman-Rechar...ble+bike+light.

I don't know how many lumens they are though.

The Flea is 40 lumens. That won't fill the OP's request for 250+ lumen daytime blinkies.

In keeping with the subject of having a good strong 200+ lumen front blinkie for day use I have some thoughts / ideas to add to the discussion; Do any of these lamps have "mode memory"? I ask this because it would be real nice to have a lamp like this that you can turn on/off and have it save the last mode you were in so you don't have to cycle through the entire menu when you turn it back on. This might not seem to be so important to some people but if I were using a lamp like this I wouldn't necessarily want to leave it on and just use up the battery when not needed. I would just want to use it when I feel I need to use it and have it at my beck and call at a moment's notice ( without having to cycle, press and hold...etc ) to get to the mode I want.

This falls along the line of "useability". I want a slow flash and I want it instantly. If I want to suddenly catch the attention of someone pulling out of a driveway I don't want to be dilly-dallying around while trying to dial in a flash mode! Do any of these lamps have this kind of feature? if they do I'll buy one. My Axiom has the slow flash as the LAST of 4 modes in the cycle ( and it has no memory ).

Right now the only thing I have for "instant on/off flash" is my helmet torch which uses a five mode drop-in ( with memory ). This works but is a very bright/fast strobe/flash. While useful it has it's limitations. I'd really like to forgo a helmet light when riding in the day. I suppose I could buy a small CRC123A version for the bars but the flash would be too fast to use for more than a moment ( without annoying everyone around me including myself ).

The Knog does, yes:

Looking at the video I didn't really see a "slow flash". Does this lamp have a slow flash?

I just talked to a guy who just bought a couple of the Vivid Pro's. While it doesn't have memory per say it does have a separate flash menu with the slow flash being first in line. Down side is you have to "push/hold" to get to the slow flash but that could work, at least for me as long as you don't have to press real hard ( and the pressing doesn't throw off the aim of the lamp ). I'm waiting though to hear from him about the frequency of the slow flash. . To suit me it has to be at least one flash per sec. or longer.

Continued from my last post: The Origin Vivid 8 Pro supposedly has a slow flash that is 2 flashes per sec.
That's still pretty fast IMO. Still, when it comes to lamps that have a white flash option the less the output of the lamp, the more acceptable the higher frequency of the flash. My Axiom flashes 2 flashes per sec but it is only 70 lumen. If that frequency was used with a lamp with a 600 lumen plus output IMO it would be quite obnoxious. My old MJ-808E has a flash rate of about 2 per sec. I would rather that it be 1 flash per every 1.5 sec. because it is so bright. I should also mention that the longer sequence would also help conserve power which is always a good thing.

Thanks guys, I ordered one of the Origin Vivid 8 Pros.

I thought this wouldn't fulfill your 'low profile' requirement until I saw the Origin 8 Vivid Pro you've ordered. Anyway, it doesn't cost anywhere near $50 and it puts out way more that 250-300 lumens, so perhaps you wouldn't have liked it anyway. Uh, the slow flash - and it is quite slow - is in the S-O-S pattern. Shrugs - nobody has offered to come to my aid yet. ;)

We each have our own desires and methods of operation, and it's all good. I think my headlamp would flash for more than a day and a half continuously, so I personally don't have any issue 'using up the battery' and I just let it run rather than try to switch it on just as I see a potential situation developing.

Reelights are attached down by the hub , thats low profile , right?

Knog Blinder Road 2 or 3 is a great light for this. Has a number of different modes to use, including an option with one light flashing and one light steady. It does have some downsides - no side visibility and small buttons are easy to control. Luckily it turns on in the same mode you turn it off in, which is a real time saver. My main hesitation with this light is I am not 100% confident in the attachment strap and metal clip. It seems like it could easily fall off if you hit a big pothole, but maybe this isn't a big problem as long as you use the right sized silicon strap (it comes with two).

Don't care for the looks. I should've mentioned I wanted 250-300 real lumens, not ebay lumens. My Super Drive XL at 500 lumens is just overkill for a daytime flasher. Plus the mount on it is getting kind of noisy with 10k miles on it so that was the other reason I wanted to get a summer light.

Anyways I got the light next day from Pricepoint being in CA. It does sit higher than I'd like but I don't think you're going to get much smaller than this for 200+ real lumens. I'll probably run it under the bar next to the stem for a more stealthy appearance. Probably won't start using it for another month or so when the daylight doesn't run out towards the end of my ride.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-C...0600922870.jpg

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-A...0601108121.jpg

That's not to my taste at all, but it looks like the colors match your bike.

I think for 200+ lumens you're not going to get something small and sleek. Still I would prefer if the mount had less "stack" to it so the light didn't sit up so high.

That's a funny thing for you to say, because the Knog Roads (200 and 300 lumens) mentioned and pictured upthread, have virtually no stack and are small and sleek. Did you miss them, somehow?

when I'm approaching a side road while traveling on the right side of a lane on a sunny day with speckled light and full tree cover ad deep shadows including hedges along the road, and there's a car coming from the side road looking for cars (not bikes) and likely doing a rolling stop (not a stop at all) I want the biggest brightest most alerting light on my bike. mine has saved me from being hit many many times because the cars see me and actually stop their car. while I admit looking ridiculous in open areas it's those few moments you need it unexpectedly that saves lives. in my opinion

They are more expensive and no better looking aesthetically IMO. I did consider them though.

I agree, a front flasher gets the attention of drivers which is a good thing. But my 500 lumen light is overkill for a daytime front flasher IMO. Most of the time I'm angling it down, even during the day, so it's not too obnoxious. I try not to be the guy with the retina searing light on full blast at all times.

right, I forgot about that, I do angle mine down periodically, actually I angle mine up periodically cuz my magicshine tends to angle down slightly over time all on it's own from vibration