I ran a test of bike taillight run times a while ago, with all lights in the steady “on” mode. Since most of us run our taillights in blink mode, I decided to repeat the test for the same set of lights in blink mode.
Just like last time, the lights are, from left to right, the MEC Saturn, PB Superflash Turbo, PB Superflash Stealth, PB Blinky7, and the PDW Danger Zone. All these lights have superbright LED’s and 0.5W or 1.0 W LED’s in various combinations. The list prices range from $9-37. Just like last time, I used rechargeable AAA’s (NiMH) from Duracell, with the white tops, which indicate that they were made in Japan.
Here is a video of all five lights in blink mode, at the start of the test, and after 68 hours. After 68 hours, only the Superflash and the Blinky7 are still alive, but only the Superflash is bright enough to be usable as a “be seen” light.
Time lapse does a poor job of showing lights in blink mode since the camera is taking a picture only every 600s (5 minutes). Nevertheless, it is useful to use the video to see when each light cuts out.
The time lapse ends after 85 hours, at which point the PB Blinky7 is still running, but it is far too faint to be effective.
The run times are summarized as follows:
I’ve included the earlier measurements for steady mode for comparison.
Conclusion:
I would continue to pick the Planet Bike Superflash as my favorite taillight. The blink run time of 80 h is within shooting distance of the advertised time of 100 hours. It is probable that the runtime could in fact exceed 100h if you used alkaline batteries, rather than the AAA rechargeables that I used. Unfortunately, MEC seems to have dropped the Superflash, in favour of the Superflash Turbo and the PDW taillights, which I think is a real mistake. I e-mailed them about this, but they responded that they might be able to find a couple of the older lights if I needed one (I already have three so I am set).
note that MEC still sells the superflash as part of a set for $43 which is a good deal, but it comes with the Blaze 1W headlight which I think is inferior to the 2W version.
Thanks for doing this addtl. research for all of us city cyclists out here who run their taillights on flash mode all the time! Very helpful when it comes time to buy a new light. Personally, I generally run rechargeable batteries in all my lights and since my longest commute times are only 20-25 min. long I don’t worry too much about how long it takes between recharges. I suppose if you’re a cross-country cycle-tourist, ultra-distance rider/ rando rider going thru the night(s) it is a big concern.
A good follow-up to a great article. Thanks.
Thanks for running this test. I’m exactly of the same mind as Tim Potter – I use rechargeable batteries, so 20 hours on a charge is perfectly fine for me. The number 1 criteria I have is being seen at least 1/2 mile away.
that’s fine, but keep in mind that the Turbo and the PDW fade much faster than the Superflash, and so it is still possible that they could die in the course of a half hour commute. As long as you have a regular recharging routine, that is fine. However, the regular superflash takes a long time to fade, and so I can get in many commutes while it is noticeably dimmer before I bother to recharge the batteries. I wish that PB would offer a steady 1/2 power mode on the turbo, like they do with their headlights, so that you could get the best of both worlds. On the other hand, I don’t know if half power gives you twice the battery life….. I’ll put that on the list of tests to do in the future.
Thanks for doing this test! Even if it does only confirm my initial suspicions it’s just great to see the hard data. I would have liked to see how a Radbot 1000 does but can pretty much guess. And I share your regret that MEC is no longer carrying the Superflash, which is still my go-to rear blinky.
I compared the Radbot 1000 to the superflash here. The runtime is not that much different than the PB Turbo. Also, I was disappointed that my Radbot 1000 crapped out so I couldn’t include it in this test. I haven’t seen the 0.5W version of the Radbot in Canada.
Hey jn, one complaint i’ve heard is that some of the superflash can turn themselves off, perhaps through some jostling or loose wires?
I’ve never experienced that, but definitely a worry. Superflash is still a good light if you ask me and your test confirms what i suspect about the runtimes.
I had this problem with the Radbot 1000, not so much with the Superflash. The one exception was when one of the lights was mounted too close to a rack, and I think over hard bumps, the bottom switch was being pushed.