Oh my giddy aunt... (terrible cycling accessories)

[adscrim]

I wear a Fibre Flare across the back of my head when it's light up time. A number of friends who have seen me cycling through town have commented that the red 'smile' makes me stick out more than the average seatpost mounted rear light. Didn't cost $140 though.

 

[Beebo]

I wear a Fibre Flare across the back of my head when it's light up time. A number of friends who have seen me cycling through town have commented that the red 'smile' makes me stick out more than the average seatpost mounted rear light. Didn't cost $140 though.

Loads of people on my commute wear lights attached front and back.
This is not a new invention, it's a very expensive solution to a problem that doesnt exist.
You can buy one of these for £15!
http://www.highonbikes.com/topeak-h...g-light.html?gclid=CKemp_-OmsECFSrjwgodypYASA

 

[Ganymede]

I wear a Fibre Flare across the back of my head when it's light up time. A number of friends who have seen me cycling through town have commented that the red 'smile' makes me stick out more than the average seatpost mounted rear light. Didn't cost $140 though.

They look good. I looked at their website but wonder if they have any UK stockists. I sometimes clip a red flashing light to the back of my commuting coat but they are better quality than my spare light.

 

[Archie_tect]

Those will be TRAFFICATORS then, some while since I used that word last

My dad had a rusty old black split screen Morris Minor with those.

 

[adscrim]

They look good. I looked at their website but wonder if they have any UK stockists. I sometimes clip a red flashing light to the back of my commuting coat but they are better quality than my spare light.

Loads of UK stockist - I got mine at Wiggle.

 

[tyred]

Those will be TRAFFICATORS then, some while since I used that word last

Invention of the devil. I spent an unfeasibly long time trying to get the stupid things to work on an early Morris Minor that a friend was restoring. They'd stick out, stick in place, appear to be working but not fall back into place properly when switched off, or unlatched themselves going around corners. If it had been my car they would have went straight in the bin and flashing indicators fitted.

 

[swee'pea99]

Loads of people on my commute wear lights attached front and back.
This is not a new invention, it's a very expensive solution to a problem that doesnt exist.
You can buy one of these for £15!
http://www.highonbikes.com/topeak-h...g-light.html?gclid=CKemp_-OmsECFSrjwgodypYASA

Putting the cost to one side, just as an idea it seems quite a good one to me. The added height and movement can only aid visibility; it also means you don't face that 'do I leave the lights on the bike or take them with me?' when you're locking up in the street for a few minutes dilemma (also means you don't have two cumbersome lights to accommodate if you do decide to take them); and it's an altogether neater solution than sticking a pod on top of your bonce. Like I say, whether it's worth $140 is a whole different issue; but the basic idea seems sound to me. (Incorporating voice-activated indicators would make it even better.)

 

[Keith Oates]

I don't think I'll be spending any money on one of those when I see them in the shops.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[marknotgeorge]

Don't see a problem with this either apart form the fact that I hate being dazzled by by helmet lights. But people do it anyway so the designer obviously thinks there is an opportunity.

I still think the lights should be on the bike in the traditional manner. A mad idea, why not a bike with built in lights and hub dynamo? If Raleigh could build commuter bikes like that in the 1950s, why don't I see anything similar on sale today?

They do. Even Raleigh. But only, it seems, for the German market...

 

[w00hoo_kent]

Putting the cost to one side, just as an idea it seems quite a good one to me. The added height and movement can only aid visibility; it also means you don't face that 'do I leave the lights on the bike or take them with me?' when you're locking up in the street for a few minutes dilemma (also means you don't have two cumbersome lights to accommodate if you do decide to take them); and it's an altogether neater solution than sticking a pod on top of your bonce. Like I say, whether it's worth $140 is a whole different issue; but the basic idea seems sound to me. (Incorporating voice-activated indicators would make it even better.)

Or. You end up with lights that aren't where people are expecting to see lights so they are more likely to miss you, when you turn your head you stop showing significant light to the front or back, the front facing light will either be so bright as to be dazzling to other road users (I've followed someone with a spotlight on their helmet, it shone straight in to the rear view mirror of the car in front of him repeatedly and can't have made the drivers life easy) or too dim/diffused to illuminate the road properly. It'll make the helmet heavier which will make wearing for any length of time more tiring (and the helmet also looks quite hot having less vents in it). If you have an off and you hit your helmet on the tarmac you'll have to decide whether to throw away your lights, or ride with a damaged helmet.

I'm quite pro having an extra rear light attached to your helmet and have just 'upgraded' to the Chilli Products version of the flare (largely because it was a decent deal at the bike show) to replace the cheap single LED thing I had there. But I'd never use it instead of bike lights. As is obvious, no fan of front facing helmet lights.

 

[swee'pea99]

Or. You end up with lights that aren't where people are expecting to see lights so they are more likely to miss you, when you turn your head you stop showing significant light to the front or back, the front facing light will either be so bright as to be dazzling to other road users (I've followed someone with a spotlight on their helmet, it shone straight in to the rear view mirror of the car in front of him repeatedly and can't have made the drivers life easy) or too dim/diffused to illuminate the road properly. It'll make the helmet heavier which will make wearing for any length of time more tiring (and the helmet also looks quite hot having less vents in it). If you have an off and you hit your helmet on the tarmac you'll have to decide whether to throw away your lights, or ride with a damaged helmet.

I'm quite pro having an extra rear light attached to your helmet and have just 'upgraded' to the Chilli Products version of the flare (largely because it was a decent deal at the bike show) to replace the cheap single LED thing I had there. But I'd never use it instead of bike lights. As is obvious, no fan of front facing helmet lights.

I really don't think turning your head temporarily is going to hamper your visibility - quite the contrary, I would have thought. Other things being equal, if you're trying to catch the eye, movement is good. As for 'illuminating/dazzling' - this is clearly intended as 'be seen' lights, not 'see' lights. Urban commute, not out in the countryside at midnight. Can't see weight being a big issue - two or four AAA batteries would be my guess: no biggie.

I say again, I don't wear a helmet, so I'm really not bothered either way. But I can see how it would make sense for a particular kind of cyclist/cycling.

 

[Ganymede]

Or. You end up with lights that aren't where people are expecting to see lights so they are more likely to miss you, when you turn your head you stop showing significant light to the front or back, the front facing light will either be so bright as to be dazzling to other road users (I've followed someone with a spotlight on their helmet, it shone straight in to the rear view mirror of the car in front of him repeatedly and can't have made the drivers life easy) or too dim/diffused to illuminate the road properly. It'll make the helmet heavier which will make wearing for any length of time more tiring (and the helmet also looks quite hot having less vents in it). If you have an off and you hit your helmet on the tarmac you'll have to decide whether to throw away your lights, or ride with a damaged helmet.

I'm quite pro having an extra rear light attached to your helmet and have just 'upgraded' to the Chilli Products version of the flare (largely because it was a decent deal at the bike show) to replace the cheap single LED thing I had there. But I'd never use it instead of bike lights. As is obvious, no fan of front facing helmet lights.

I agree with you. Wasn't there a recent post on this forum about someone being told by a polis that it was a bad idea to have a helmet front-light because of the turning-the-head factor? And, of course, that it's illegal not to have a white light actually on your bike anyway so even if you liked the helmet light you'd have to have both.

 

[Over The Hill]

When driving I do find helmet lights really bad. Firstly it is difficult to judge where the bike is a light up high is hard to judge for distance.
Also if you look to the side then your back light is no longer behind you.

Lights have changed greatly in recent years with led and all sorts of advances. I think we could just do with a great big led rear light the size of a saucer on the back of a bike. The lights need to be at least as big and as bright as car lights. The technology is there to do this but still lights are small and not overly impressive.

 

[w00hoo_kent]

Rear lights seem to fall in to three categories. None - Cheap and Marginal - Fine. Once you spend 7 or 8 quid on a light you're going to get something that will do, especially if you spend 7 or 8 quid on a second light and run both of them, one solid, one flashing. As with a lot of these one man band inventions, I'm not sure the problem he is solving really exists.

The problem I found on the Fridays rides I did this year is a few of the rear lights are too bright, it's a bit like following a car with fog lights on and no fog. I made a point of not being one of the bikes following close behind those. (Not that Fridays rides are particularly bad for this, it's just the time when I'm following the biggest variety of bike lights.)

 

[glasgowcyclist]

When driving I do find helmet lights really bad. Firstly it is difficult to judge where the bike is a light up high is hard to judge for distance.
Also if you look to the side then your back light is no longer behind you.

Lights have changed greatly in recent years with led and all sorts of advances. I think we could just do with a great big led rear light the size of a saucer on the back of a bike. The lights need to be at least as big and as bright as car lights. The technology is there to do this but still lights are small and not overly impressive.

I used to have a pair of Cateye TL-LD600 LED rear lights arranged in a T formation on my seatpost. I'd seen it on another bike and from a distance it looked like a single light the size of a plate.

GC