Lights On?

[Norm]

IMO, Smart 1/2 watt rears are about all you need. Rear lights are only ever to be seen, not to see, so a bank of LEDs will suffice. Again, my advice would be to vary height and to mix fixed & flashing.

My £50 solution would be a pair of Smarts on the bike and, if you wear a helmet, a pair of Frogs on that. Otherwise, get a light to mount on your back (jacket, rucksack etc) somewhere.

Fibre Flares are fantastic too, although some have build quality issues.

 

[albion]

Coming back home tonight near my right turn sirens were wailing ahead so I moved back left to allow the the police car to safely overtake on my side.Once past I quickly moved over for my right turn off the main road only for some total idiot driver to fast pull out of the side road and try to swipe me off . I was saved by hard braking. It takes wits to react to the idiots out there. It was obvious to anyone more than a half wit that I had stopped to both turn and wait for the emergency vehicle from opposite direction. So that LIDL light at the full 3 watt setting is of little benefit against brain dead rush hour drivers.

 

[sabian92]

You're right, not a lot is going to help a driver that can't see a chap on a bicycle in daylight. OTOH if your light isn't significantly more visible than a cyclist, and I mean by an order of magnitude, then you most likely have older and weaker lights.

I've got Smart Polaris 7s. The front one is a bit weak but the rear one isn't too bad for riding on lit roads (which is what I do). They're only a few months old but they were half price and I can't afford anything else at the moment.

That is why emergency services don't use flashing lights, yes?

In all fairness, how many cyclists do you see with massive sirens mounted on their bike?

 

[BentMikey]

Sirens? But surely we're talking about lights performance?

A big bucks bicycle light on flash is mistaken for an emergency vehicle fairly regularly, according to drivers that comment to me. My riding mate, a copper, thought my Dinotte was a traffic car stopped with reds only on.

 

[Norm]

In all fairness, how many cyclists do you see with massive sirens mounted on their bike?

 

[cyberknight]

Sold mine in the end , i did not use it enough to justify having one .

 

[BentMikey]

Sometimes the horn is very useful:

[media]

]View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qi0ZhXbqceg[/media]

 

[subaqua]

all lights on this morning as was dark and dismal at 06.30.

couldn't beleive the amount of cyclist out there without lights, never mind how they were riding.

had to laugh at them in "winter " clothes while i was tootling along in lycra shorts and a short sleeved top.

 

[fimm]

I apologise, I don't think I made my point at all clearly. I was having a mini-rant about the proliferation of daylight running of lights - for that to be useful on a bicycle you need to spend a lot of money - I'd bet that Origamist's set-up cost more than some bicycles... I'm just not convinced that we gain anything by running lights in conditions where the visibility is good.

I was on my road bike this morning - a lot of the cars had their headlights on, but I don't believe I would have been any more visible if I'd got out the various lights I use on that bike (I know some of them are Smart, and I've got a bigish Cateye at the front). Those will all come out in a few weeks when it gets properly dark.

 

[fossyant]

all lights on this morning as was dark and dismal at 06.30.

It was dismal at 7.30 too.

Where is this Indian Summer we've had the last few years - it's been nice upto the end of October. Feels like November out there.

 

[albion]

I was having a mini-rant about the proliferation of daylight running of lights - for that to be useful on a bicycle you need to spend a lot of money -

LED prices have shrunk dramatically recently so next year they will be massive in the home domestic market.


3W LEDS are very visible on a dull winters day so the new 'also cheap as chips' 7W ones will also appear on bike stuff very soon.

 

[SquareDaff]

I'll turn my lights on in any situation where a drivers visibility is impaired (i.e. fog, rain like this morning) - but agree with not seeing the point of lights turned on in normal daylight.

 

[BSRU]

I'll turn my lights on in any situation where a drivers visibility is impaired (i.e. fog, rain like this morning) - but agree with not seeing the point of lights turned on in normal daylight.

I think having lights on is down to people's own personal experiences, before riding with lights on I suffered a fair few SMIDSY's now it is very rare and normally not a SMIDSY but a SMIDGAF or "Sorry mate I was on the phone and that was more important than looking".

 

[Origamist]

I apologise, I don't think I made my point at all clearly. I was having a mini-rant about the proliferation of daylight running of lights - for that to be useful on a bicycle you need to spend a lot of money - I'd bet that Origamist's set-up cost more than some bicycles... I'm just not convinced that we gain anything by running lights in conditions where the visibility is good.

Fimm, the torch was 65 quid. More than some will pay for a front light for sure, but certainly not in the £300-500 price bracket.

Here are the details: http://www.fenixtorch.co.uk/led_torches/fenix-tk35.html I got mine from Hong Kong.

 

[clarion]

I'll turn my lights on in any situation where a drivers visibility is impaired (i.e. fog, rain like this morning) - but agree with not seeing the point of lights turned on in normal daylight.

True enough. Anyone not seeing an acre of contrasty red jersey coming at them (me not you, I hasten to add) just isn't looking at all.

But I can't believe that anyone would not have lights fitted all year round. Don't we have night time in summer, then? Do we not have rain & fog? Is there never low light blinding drivers who are following too close for the conditions, and for whom a flashing red light at the rear would be a benefit?

ftr, I have an IQ Cyo (and sometimes a flashing Hope Vision One) up front, and a Smart 1/2 watt at the rear (supplemented by a FibreFlare, which is very visible from most angles, and is an unusual shape, so gains attention).