I guess keeping an ear to the ground & Phaedrus graphs helps but i don't know about thetime lag in a switch -probably is a few days to a week so not like a share. In the GFC I had some super in cash and it is only just now growth is catching up. The effect is muted by the NZ dollar going down when shares go down which makes overseas shares not so bad but the main effect is the shareprice.
I have switched mine last week to conservative, which makes me feel bad when you get a good day like yesterday, shares up and NZ dollar down but overall the price of oil is making me nervous. I figure don't bee too greedy and I have made 15% or so recently so sitting on small gains will still be OK overall. The whole inflation, money printing thing is a risk as your money gets eroded in cash but it is the only place to be in a bear, except maybe some overseas bonds.
I definately am trying to ride the switches with superlife - there seems no limit and do it on the internet for no cost.