Advise on Super bright daytime running lights please ?

[BADGER.BRAD]

Hello all,

I have recently brought two identical Mid price point folders ( second hand but mint condition) Originally for me and Mrs Badger to use mainly on gravel tracks around a local Forest, Canals and other off road routes plus the main purpose which was for me to fit some exercise into my long commute by leaving my car part way into my commute and cycling too and from it. This would have been off road and would of saved me 8 miles of driving on my commute so wouldn't have added too much time, This has proved to be impossible due to gearing issues and a major hill either way on my commute. So plan B may have to come into action. Plan B will involve me cycling narrow, rough, twisty up and down 60MPH plus roads in early mornings as early as 3 am and with at least 8 months of the year in darkness even if I am travelling later. So I wish to have some super bright lights One to see the surface of the road which can be very poor and two to see where I'm going and three to be seen well in advance. These will also be used as day time running lights on for fun rides in my local Rural location. I commuted by bike for 20 plus years in the past but this was in built up well areas but at this point there didn't seem to be any reliable lights ( something always broke on them) and you either lost the whole light as the mount failed ( rear) or the charging side or light just failed it just didn't seem to work that the more you paid the longer they lasted with some cheap lights lasting longer than lights costing many times more. I apologise for the long preamble to this but I'm looking for some USB chargeable bright lights with real brackets ( not those held on by an over weight elastic band) with good reliability and at the mid price point sort of range, any ideas ? ( Sorry I'm being paid by the word !)

 

[Drago]

You are aware that super bright lights don't help, and may even make you less safe?

Without getting too technical, these bright lights can interrupt the observers view, break up your outline against the surroundings, and thus deprive other road users of the visual datum their brain requires to accurately calculate both your speed and direction of travel at any given moment.

Suzuki and Honda, the latter of whom owns the world's largest searchlight manufacturer and thus has world class expertise in optics to call upon, researched this in the 80s. The phenomenon is well understood and is why motor vehicle DRLs aren't daft bright, although many contend theyre still brighter than the ideal.

 

[fossyant]

https://www.merlincycles.com/magics...Affiliates&utm_campaign=kiesproduct-shoparize

These are good - got two (ended up with a free one as I had an early release model that 'may' have had a power save option, so Magicshine sent me another). It has a dipped beam, and a main beam for unlit sections. Also has a day mode where the dipped beam is on, and the main beam will flash slowly. I commute with one, so use various modes and use the spare on the CX bike in daytime mode.

The dipped beam is other path user friendly.

 

[winjim]

Please don't dazzle drivers or anyone else with super bright lights. It's annoying and dangerous.

You can see reflectives at a surprisingly long distance. Pedal reflectors and reflective clothing which emphasises the human form will mark you out clearly as a cyclist.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

The Lumintop B01 is a great front light. More than adequate for your needs, and unlike most front lights focuses the light on the road, not owls high up in trees. For the rear, any modern led light will be up to the job. As to the bracket; unless you have a rear rack, then plastic or elasticated rubber mounts will be order of the day.

 

[bikingdad90]

Riding on fast roads seems less than ideal, what about a plan c, adapt the gearing on your bike to suit the hills?

 

[PaulSB]

My first thought would agree with @bikingdad90 and suggest you adapt the bike and yourself to commuting on quieter and safer roads. What you describe sounds extremely dangerous.

As regards lights I can't advise on lights suitable for the dark you'll encounter. What I would advise is do not consider "super bright." As both a cyclist and driver I can assure you such lights are a danger to you and other road users. I've made this point many times. If a cyclist's lighting does anything other than shout "I am a cyclist" this is a failure. If I can't immediately identify the cyclist I'm distracted, wasting valuable seconds while I work out what is approaching.

If you want, as part of your post suggests, "daylight running lights" have a look at Exposure. I use the Boost range. They're very good daybright lights and also good for night riding.

Overall I think you need to revise both your route and lighting plans.

 

[Anthony-C]

> the visual datum their brain requires to accurately calculate both your speed and direction

If you look out beyond the harbour at night it takes quite a while to work out which lights are the ones moving and sometimes even which ones belong to the same vessel. That's what's wrong with superbright lights, you can't see through the fuzzy splash to make out what's happening against the background.

Everything gets worse with age but back when I was a sharp-eyed 1100 rider I was crossing the road one day on foot. There was a bike parked in the distance and dazzling because of the camber (to get more lean on a windy day), or so I thought until just before it swerved to avoid me.

 

[fossyant]

There are alot more lights coming out with good dipped beams - The magicshine is more than enough to ride on unlit paths with the main beam off, although I've some farm tracks where one press of the 'remote' pop's the main beam on. Also, if you look at some of the cheap 'newboller' or 'rockbros' lights, you'll see alot of them are 'dipped. There is a profound cut off.

As for rears, have a look at the Magicshine Seemee range. I use a 300 for commuting and a 200 during the day. They feature day modes and things like group ride mode. Added advantage is they both have a lens that spreads 100 lumen of red light onto the road below you. They also have a brake mode, which works very well.

 

[mjr]

Please don't dazzle drivers or anyone else with super bright lights. It's annoying and dangerous.

Also, wildly illegal and an easy penalty ticket from any oncoming police driver you blind. Just don't. Get a dipped light for on-road use, even if you want a brighter one off-road on something like one-way MTB loop trails.

 

[BADGER.BRAD]

adapt the gearing on your bike to suit the hills?

I did another post on the gearing but it seems impossible to fit gearing suitable for the original planned commute without making the bike unusable for anything else. In my experience with bicycle lights flashing is what makes it stand out and says bicycle, anything else just get obliterated by the more powerful motor vehicle. Just an experience with lighting proving that lighting can be beaten by idiots, I was driving an Articulated lorry with a 70 foot trailer on at 4 am in the morning carrying a wide load at 16 foot wide I had an escort vehicle not to far in front with flashing beacons had front and rear beacons, side trailer lights highviz load markers and red and white ticker tape hanging at intervals along the load. I was travelling on a well lite dual carriageway on my way to the motorway and was just crossing a gap in the reservation when some plonker in a on coming white van turned across the carrageway and slammed straight into the trailer. Luckley for him the side underun bars were real ones designed and built by our mechanic ( rather than the modern for show ones) and he bounced off it totalling the van and destroyed the specialist load that had been years in the planning. When I got to him he was a little stunned and said sorry I never saw you mate ! At this point ( although I already knew this) I realised that no amount of saftey equipment can beat a moron and if he could see that what chance do you have on a bike ? Probably an odd thing to say taking my original post on this thread into consideration.

 

[BADGER.BRAD]

and suggest you adapt the bike and yourself to commuting on quieter and safer roads

Unfortunately this is the only choice I have ! I live well out in the sticks and my place of work is in a hell hole so leaving the car anywhere near that would most likely result in a much longer commute than expected when my car vanishes or get trashed by the locals. The situation is not helped by my total lack of space at home ( I need to use the car to store the bike) or the fact I have a really small car meaning the bike has to be a folder to fit inside.