I have a few cheap Chinese lights with a "strobe" mode but am looking for something similar with a slower flash, say, once per second or so.
It's mainly for road riding where I need extra attention without causing seizures! I used to have one from China but someone borrowed it years ago (then lost it) and I can't remember what it was.
Does anything exist like this in 2017?
When it comes to "flash" function it's important to know how and where you want to use it. If your intention is to use it on the road in full daylight then you need something with some punch. At least 200 lumen. Also important to know how much money you want to spend.
I have my own road bike set-up with two kinds of flash options, one for full daylight and one for sunset/night. Daytime use requires more power to be noticed. Typical torch type strobes are too annoying. Bright is okay but it needs a slower flash frequency. I have two lamps I own that I've found have a nice daytime flash. The
Gemini Duo is my "Go to". Press and hold the remote and you instantly have a perfect, very bright daytime flash. The other lamp I have with a good daytime flash mode is the
Gloworm X2. The X2 has what I jokingly call "an atomic flash mode". Gloworm calls it, "Beacon mode". It is slower than most flash modes but it produces a sharp super bright pulse at the lamp's maximum output ( 1500 lumen ). If that don't get you seen nothing will. I've opted for the Duo ( for road use ) but only because of the wireless remote and the easy on/off function of the lamp. ( ...not to to mention that the top button on the remote gives me "Instant steady High beam"...very useful at times )
The next category of flash is for sunset / night function. For darker environments you don't need the higher output to get seen. I prefer a typical mini LED flasher, something I can mount on the bars or front fork and not take up too much room. The one I use is similar to the
Serfas USL-5. ( mine was a Performance Axiom brand but is no longer available AFAIK ) While only listed as 70 lumens the optics of the mini LED's make very good use of the available light. It is VERY noticeable at sunset and at night. I also use one of the Raveman lights ( CR-500 ) for road use and while they include a few flash modes in the UI, I still prefer the mini LED flashers for flash use ( mini flasher is just brighter IMO ). I use the CR500 for it's steady cut-off beam pattern and the Duo is used only for back-up, flash or high beam use.
Of course there are many other affordable options. If you look on Amazon you will see a lot lights geared for road use. You might also check out the **COB type front flashers ( similar to Serfas Thunderbolt-front...**COB = "Chips On Board". ). Some of those are quite bright as well and the
Chinese clones are fairly cheap. I don't think they would work that well in full day light but with two...Eh...maybe.
