Green front lights?

[Joe24]

I was in Blackpool when it was half term, and i saw alot of cyclists, mainly people and older kids on mountain bikes, with green front lights on their bikes. I saw someone in Nottingham yesterday aswell. I have'nt seen them before, i thought it had to be a white front light. Are they allowed, and whats the point in them being green and not white?

Cheers

Joe

 

[Dayvo]

Er, I think you need your eyes tested!
Unless you mean these:

http://www.hippyshopper.com/2007/10/ecoutlets_green.html

 

[Arch]

No dayvo, it's quite likely. They'll either be a hangover from the past or very cheap. For a long time it wasn't possible (or it was very expensive) to produce white LEDs, so they tended to come in green for front lights, so as not to confuse with red or amber. Not sure about the legality now - but when it was still an issue LED lights weren't legal on their own anyway, so you should have had a white filament light as well...

Mind you, I saw a guy the other day with a red LED light ziptied to his handlebars for a front light. Never mind, it probably worked out, as he was riding the wrong way down a one way street...

 

[Dayvo]

I stand corrected!

Just found this:

http://www.rideyourbike.com/lights.html#frontblinky

Makes sense though. We never see green stars, so why should green lights be successfull?

 

[gbb]

No dayvo, it's quite likely. They'll either be a hangover from the past or very cheap. For a long time it wasn't possible (or it was very expensive) to produce white LEDs, so they tended to come in green for front lights, so as not to confuse with red or amber. Not sure about the legality now - but when it was still an issue LED lights weren't legal on their own anyway, so you should have had a white filament light as well...

Mind you, I saw a guy the other day with a red LED light ziptied to his handlebars for a front light. Never mind, it probably worked out, as he was riding the wrong way down a one way street...

Blimey....i hadnt even thought about why they were green, i just accepted they were, not why.
Undoubtedly right Arch, it nearly always is the cheaper versions that are green.

FWIW, You can therefor seperate MOST cyclists into two camps

Good roadies who use 'proper' lights
BOBs who go for the cheapest option available.

Tongue in cheek there....i have a clip on green for emergencies

 

[gavintc]

Possibly a mariner cycling back to his boat showing his starboard side?

 

[Joe24]

That makes sence Arch. They were on just cheeper mountain bikes that were riding along the pavements.
The lights didnt seem to old, so it must be a thing with cheeper lights.


Cheers

 

[TheDoctor]

Dead right - white LEDs have only become available comparatively recently. The first Vistalights I had (nearly 15 years ago) were green or yellow for the front and red at the back.
Mind you, Argos do a set of lights with a one watt white led abd a decent red rear one for about £15, so not so expensive anymore.

 

[Pete]

We never see green stars...

Hmmm.... thought I may as well check that out. Probably right, unlike blue, white, yellow, orange and red, green doesn't seem to figure in the H-R diagram; one reference I looked up states that some astronomers have noticed a slight greenish tint to the star Zuben-Eschamali* (Beta Librae) but I can't claim to have checked it out myself...

*no, I can't pronounce that either! Spellings vary.