Bright front lights at night

[SpokeyDokey]

Can't really blame the guy for his "flounce" he comes onto the forum , makes a perfectly reasonable request and immediately gets attacked for it. He is right, there are far too many of you on this forum who come across as "holier than thou" with your "up yourselves" attitude!!
I came away from this forum because of the attitudes of some of the members but thought I would take a look back into the forum tonight but i guess I needn't have bothered, its still the same old shoot just a different night. i will now leave what I once considered to be a good forum for good.

@steve50

You have a point. Sadly, it is often not possible to say anything negative about cyclists on here without threads descending into fairly vitriolic deflection tactics.

At the end of the day there are irresponsible cyclists on our roads as well as car drivers etc. Quite why it does not seem possible in some quarters to mention one group without dragging the other in is a mystery to me.

Living to the north of Kendal in a rural area we too suffer with idiots on bikes with extremely bright lights that are not properly angled down out of the line of sight of other road users. Without wishing to be too divisive they are usually, but not always, MTB'ers returning late from eg High Street that have lord knows how many lumens pumping out of helmet mounted lights. They are *loody dangerous and they have scant regard for other road users and on several occasions rendered either mine, or my wife's, sight useless for a short period of time on our unlit lanes. I am well aware that some car drivers are in the same 'scant regard' group but this does not mitigate the action of this (minority) of cyclists.

No doubt though, this is our fault not theirs.

 

[KnackeredBike]

While the OP is being very car-centric, he or she does have a point: most bike lights are quite poorly designed for road use, with a simple cone of light rather than a properly-shaped beam. IMO, the best solution is a light compliant with German regulations, which puts the beam where it's needed - on the road.

I always love this advice, "buy a German light" as if it's at all reasonable for cyclists to need to understand the one country they should buy a light from, and then import such lights at considerable expense. Perhaps cyclists are entitled to expect most lights on the UK market to be fit for UK roads and delicate UK driver's eyes.

Lights too bright, lights too dim, no lights at all, why aren't you wearing hi-viz, flashing lights are so distracting, sorry I've just knocked you off your bike I didn't see your lights...

 

[Markymark]

Can't really blame the guy for his "flounce" he comes onto the forum , makes a perfectly reasonable request and immediately gets attacked for it. He is right, there are far too many of you on this forum who come across as "holier than thou" with your "up yourselves" attitude!!
I came away from this forum because of the attitudes of some of the members but thought I would take a look back into the forum tonight but i guess I needn't have bothered, its still the same old shoot just a different night. i will now leave what I once considered to be a good forum for good.

Double thread flounce.

 

[mjr]

I always love this advice, "buy a German light" as if it's at all reasonable for cyclists to need to understand the one country they should buy a light from, and then import such lights at considerable expense. Perhaps cyclists are entitled to expect most lights on the UK market to be fit for UK roads and delicate UK driver's eyes.

Some UK sellers do stock some German lights and one of the supermarkets has some on special at least annually for the last few years. Decent lights are actually cheaper than a lot of the shoot ones. Even if you do import, is £6 postage really considerable expense? Some UK shops are charging almost that.

I agree that insufficient and offroad lights should be labelled as such but sadly manufacturers, retailers and government seem not to care.

 

[User482]

I always love this advice, "buy a German light" as if it's at all reasonable for cyclists to need to understand the one country they should buy a light from, and then import such lights at considerable expense. Perhaps cyclists are entitled to expect most lights on the UK market to be fit for UK roads and delicate UK driver's eyes.

Lights too bright, lights too dim, no lights at all, why aren't you wearing hi-viz, flashing lights are so distracting, sorry I've just knocked you off your bike I didn't see your lights...

You seem to be arguing against things I haven't said.

 

[mjr]

[...example...] No doubt though, this is our fault not theirs.

No, it's their fault. It sure as hell isn't mine or @Drago's though and that was where this thread seemed to go really badly downhill. Total autoderailment by the OP and a retraction would have been better than a flounce.

 

[cyberknight]

Oh and all the idiots with HID lights in reflector headlights that dazzle on high and low beam.
Bloody awful things

So bright you cant even see indicators sometimes, i end up being extra careful even if they are indicating i cant be sure , thats whole other thread of course .

 

[Flick of the Elbow]

There's only one thing worse than blindingly bright front lights coming at you on an unlit cycle way or narrow country lane. It's when the moron in the saddle has them in flashing mode.

 

[mjr]

It's when the moron in the saddle has them in flashing mode.

I'll see your flashing mode and raise you a strobe mode. I mean WTF manufacturers? Is that mode there in case cyclists want to hold a disco?

 

[crazyjoe101]

It makes no odds who blinds me, it has the same effect on my eyes whether it's the usual blinded-by-full-beam on country lanes or the rarer unwanted light show from a stupidly over-bright strobe light on some handlebars.
The only reason I'd pick on drivers more is because they are the biggest group of road users, are supposed to have training in using their vehicles properly and their vehicles have lights specifically designed not to dazzle.

 

[Mr Celine]

I've only been blinded once that I recall recently. On my commute home where I leave streetlit roads and turn on to an unlit single track lane I was dazzled by what appeared to be a motorcycle with a HID lamp on full beam. There being plenty of room to pass a motorcycle I kept going, but fortunately the driver of the oncoming vehicle stopped. I only just managed to skid to a halt two feet in front of what turned out to be a black BMW Supermarktpanzerkampfwagen with only a nearside headlight.
I'm off to a BMW forum to upbraid all their members about this, back shortly once I've flounced.

 

[PMarkey]

I tend to find that since switching to Busch and Muller lights both battery and dynamo that most cars on country lanes tend to dip their lights probably because they mistake me for a moped or other form of motorised two wheeled transport ? YMMV

Paul

 

[freiston]

I tend to find that since switching to Busch and Muller lights both battery and dynamo that most cars on country lanes tend to dip their lights probably because they mistake me for a moped or other form of motorised two wheeled transport ? YMMV

Paul

I have B+M dynamo lights and the difference it made to motorists' behaviour was marked - not only more dipping but also fewer pulling out in front of me. My previous lights were either an old Cateye incandescent HL-500 or a bright and expensive but poor beam-pattern Fenix bicycle lamp. The Cateye has been going strong since the 1990s and the Fenix was bought to replace it and light up the country lanes. The Fenix is now consigned to the spares drawer and the Cateye has been upgraded with an LED converter bulb and rechargeables; it now does a sterling job on my folding bike around town. I have been out with my nephew so that we can see the lights on both bikes from both perspectives (rider and other road user). My nephew was impressed with the B+M front light and remarked that as it approaches, it does look like a bright moped light and also that it does not dazzle.

 

[raleighnut]

Drago, I bow to your Guru status, .

Why, none of us do.