Lights

[hackbike 666]

Thanks for that.I've got a smart and a blackburn.

Flashing four LED.


Smart one Watt.

Steady.

That fenix which BM recommended is very good as a back up though.

 

[Bodhbh]

Ay-Ups up front, and at the rear depending on the bike, a Blackburn/B&M racklight on constant + a flashing Cateye.

Was coming to the conclusion the Ay-Ups were OTT for the urban commute (I didn't buy them for that) however, lot of new potholes about atm and I notice cyclists with brighter lights earlier, so I would think they help me be seen. They are angled at the floor approx 3m in front, if angled any much further forward are likely to cause aggro - cars flashing, peds swearing/commetting/scattering, etc on a pretty predicable basis. Will angle them higher on country lanes tho.

Ay-Ups also a pain on a hack bike having to remove them + battery at the shops, missed out on the Tesco lights which sounded good for that with a couple of hose clamps.

 

[gbb]

Regarding helmet mounted lights...two things are a bit concerning.

My wife was telling me the other week...she saw this guy coming toward her, and as his head was moving around, she found it very disorientating. She said, it was so distracting it made her feel a bit funny.

Then, last week i was riding in the countryside...and i thought ?..what the hecks that in the dark distance A light, that seemed so high, i thought it was a low flying plane. Moving a bit as it came toward me, i really couldnt work it out, and found it distracting as well.
Of course, it was a guy with a helmet mount light. I was surprised how high it appeared in comparison with 'normal' lights

Is there an arguement that helmet mount lights distract and confuse motorists ?

 

[BentMikey]

had one little 'fast hatch' swerve round me in an agressive manner. She then had to slam on her brakes 30 yards later due to traffic. I caught up at T junction but deliberately let the car go before I pulled out. Cost me maybe 5 seconds and I just didn't want any further interaction with the idiot.

Ooh good cycle craft! Gold star for you for holding back.

 

[BentMikey]

I was having a discussion tonight with a work colleague who was annoyed at a cyclist who had a green led for the front...then again I have seen a red used as a front light.

Surely that's a bad cyclist using old tech LEDs that are so poorly visible, but an even worse colleague for not being a tolerant road user and keeping their cool?

 

[phaedrus]

Shimano Nexus hub dynamo with light sensitive switch. B & M standlights front and rear, which stay on when I stop at junctions etc.

I don't even have to think about lighting - everything is automagic.

 

[BentMikey]

Shimano Nexus hub dynamo with light sensitive switch. B & M standlights front and rear, which stay on when I stop at junctions etc.

I don't even have to think about lighting - everything is automagic.

They're great, aren't they!!! Sometimes I'm tempted to go back to my SON, but I so like the light weight and awesome lighting power of my Fenix.

 

[John the Monkey]

I suppose that use of the flashers would tend to mark me out as a bike, but coupling them with a steady light seems to mitigate that effect slightly ..

The use of flashers is largely to draw attention, and keep it. The brain is more likely to habituate to something that's constant (in the way that a smell might seem very strong when you enter a room, but seem no longer noticeable after a few minutes). Apparently the brain finds this harder to do with an on/off light source, so you've more chance of the driver registering and continuing to be aware of your presence with a flashing light.

The downside to flashers is that it can be harder to judge speed and distance, so I use a steady light with the flashing lights to try and mitigate that effect.

Of course, if I wanted serious room given me, I'd ride a recumbent, which are treated by drivers as though a horde of unseen recumbents are just out of sight, waiting to pounce on the unwary driver passing them too close... (Seriously, I've seen Manchester buses that wouldn't give a monkeys about DF riders pass 'bents with a couple of car widths to spare...)

 

[John the Monkey]

Incidentally, what about this...?

http://urbanvelo.org/light-lane-concept/

 

[mr_cellophane]

led lights are legal, as are flashy lights, although a single front flashing light isn't recommend. The legal requirement remains, as ever, for white at the front and red at the back. Red at the front though has got to be about as stupid as no front light - any motorist waiting to pull out would think the cyclist was going in the other direction

I saw a cyclist just moving off in Bishopsgate with a red light on the front of his helmet yesterday.

 

[John the Monkey]

I saw a cyclist just moving off in Bishopsgate with a red light on the front of his helmet yesterday.

I've seen a bike mounted front facing red led in Crewe once (and for a happy moment, thought I was going VERY fast to catch that fellow ahead up so quickly). I've not seen that guy again since though.

 

[thomas]

Incidentally, what about this...?

http://urbanvelo.org/light-lane-concept/

I like the idea, but I wouldn't use it instead of a normal light (as shown in their photo).

 

[Origamist]

Ay-Ups up front, and at the rear depending on the bike, a Blackburn/B&M racklight on constant + a flashing Cateye.

Was coming to the conclusion the Ay-Ups were OTT for the urban commute (I didn't buy them for that) however, lot of new potholes about atm and I notice cyclists with brighter lights earlier, so I would think they help me be seen.

I like to have powerful lights for an urban commute as there are a lots of competing light sources to contend with...

 

[HLaB]

The last few day since I moved my lights further apart on my bars (I use 2) a lot more of the cars that I might expect to pull out but are edging out more slowly into the middle of the road but are giving way. Does anybody think the new light positions are causing this ?

 

[MacB]

Ooh good cycle craft! Gold star for you for holding back.

Ah, is a lot of cycle craft just common sense then? By the way, I'd have taken similar evasive/non-confrontational action had I been in my car.