Lightman Stobe very disappointing...

Easy Rider

Hello commuters,
I work graveyard shift, so my bike commute is in the dark both ways and being the Pacific Northwest it's often raining as well. I ride busy urban streets so I'm always looking to increase my night visability. For the rear I've been using a combo of a red Trek Disco Inferno and a Blackburn Mars 3.0. They're both pretty good lights. A couple weeks ago though a guy on a road bike passed me who had a super bright red strobe light on his bike. It had an odd pattern too - a quick double flash and then a brief pause before the next double flash. Very attention grabbing and I could see him easily from a half mile away. I wanted to add that strobe to my light set up so I searched online and eventually found the Lightman Xenon Strobe which I thought was probably what he was using. WRONG!! I just got an amber Lightman Strobe bike commuter model a couple days ago and frankly it's pretty much worthless in my opinion. It does cover a wide angle, but it's not nearly as bright as the Disco Inferno or the Mars 3.0. In fact with those two lights going you can't even tell the Lightman is turned on, it just gets lost. Plus even by itself it's slow blink rate of about one flash per second is not very attention grabbing. It's like being followed by a construction baracade. I read so many positive things about the Lightman online I was sure I was going to be impressed with it but I'm severely underwhelmed. I will probably return it if I can.
So has anyone else been disappointed with this thing or am I the only disgruntled one? And does anyone have ideas on what the mystery double flashing strobe might be that I saw?
Thanks for the help!
Gordon,
Portland, Oregon

garage sale GT

MARPAC? LED Safety Lights


MARPAC Signal Lite?
Safer than Flares, Portable and Visible Over a Mile!

Turn on the power of an emergency signal that?s visible for up to 1-1/4 miles. Ideal for emergency and utility vehicles, commercial trucks and even private automobiles. A dual function light--flashing or steady beam--in red or amber.


Not sure if it's what you saw or how fast it flashes but for $17 it may be worth a shot, from laboratory safety supply.

SEAcarlessTTLE

I used to use a red Lightman strobe as my only taillight but had similar concerns about the low flash frequency. On the other hand, I think it's definitely beats most LED-based lights for uniform visibility across a wide angle. Most LED-lights (not sure about the two you mention) are only bright when mounted properly and viewed from directly behind the bike. (This makes them poor for mounting on bags, jackets, etc.)

The taillight I now have on my seatpost (with the Lightman covering side visibility on one of my panniers) is Planet Bike's new Blinky Superflash, which might be what you saw. It has an unusual blink pattern with a pair of standard LEDs and one stupid-bright LED with a lens that alternate, two blinks at a time: low low high high low low high high. (There's also an steady, all-on setting.) My guess is that it's not as bright from the side, but I got it anyway, because it's so ridiculously bright from the rear, and I like Planet Bike's support of bike advocacy.

Easy Rider

I've seen that Planet Bike blinky up close and it is wicked bright but I don't think that's what was on this guy's bike that passed me. I'm pretty sure what he had was a Xenon strobe of some kind. But exactly what it was is still a mystery.

G