Product Review - Planet Bike Superflash Micro

Welcome to the cycling side of the blog. Where, instead of what coffee I'm drinking, you are subjected to me talking about bikes, and bike related things. So let's begin.

Up for review today is the Planet Bike Superflash Micro rear bike light, pictured below.

Wait, what? A product review of a disassembled product? Mhm. That's exactly what's happening here. This is going to end up being a mix of review and teardown.

This light was purchased for my girlfriend's bike about a year ago. It was used occasionally, and as far as lights go, put out adequate light for letting people know you were in front of them.

But then, it died. I've not disassembled it and looked far enough to determine if it was because of a bad lithium ion battery, or a lack of adequate charging protection, but either way, the battery now reads 0V from positive to ground. There's burn marks between the two where the battery leads were soldered to the board, so it looks like it overcharged, then arced across, killing the battery, and potentially other parts of the circuit.

Build

So, now that we know it's dead, let's talk about how they built it.

The lens and body of the light were glued together, requiring the use of a knife to get in and pry the two apart. It certainly was not designed to be disassembled.

The circuit and battery assembly are held in the body by a rubber gasket, which also serves as a cover for the USB charging port. It's possibly designed like this to help limit the circuit board from being vibrated apart. A very real possibility if it's attached to the frame of a bicycle.

The on/off switch sits in the middle of the lens, attached to a spring. There is not a rubber seal or anything around it, so I wouldn't try submerging this light in water, since that is just about the only entry point (unless you left the USB port cover open.)

Final Thoughts

Would I buy this light again? Maybe. It's one of the least expensive rechargeable rear lights on the market, and I can't guarantee any of the other ones have better overcharging protection. Instead, I'll stick with a warning about charging batteries. Don't leave them plugged in overnight and unattended, because you never know if there's nothing there to prevent them from frying themselves.