I nearly got a tan at night. Lights that are too bright!

singlespeedexplosif

The issue in country lanes is not being seen, but being able to see enough to ride. I've had several instances where my lights have failed to penetrate through pissing rain adequately, leaving me crawling along, painfully aware that if I can't see the side of the road then a car definately won't see me untill too late.

agreed entirely.this is why you should run bright lights at all times. Unless it's a full moon off-road night ride..

cee

or you have had your carrots.

Rich158

Carrots don't help, they go mushy and fall off the bars after a week or so

gtvlusso

spen666 wrote:

gtvlusso wrote:

I went out last night to get pizza, in the car (Bear with me here!). .....

Did the Bear not scare the pizza shop staff, or did it stay in the car whilst you went into the shop?


Do bears like pizza? if so what sort does it like?

A planet pizza Capricorn (Goats cheese, caramalised onion, Rocket, tomato and cheese) + a Caesar salad with bacon and chicken...I don't think they care very much for taste, it is simply about food for them! The bear drove, it was less drunk than I was.

I should learn English as a first language!!

m0scs

I'd rather P off a few car drivers with flashing rear lights than get flattened into the tarmac.

I dont use a front strobe, as Im mainly riding down unlit roads and need a good high powered beam to see and avoid the numerous potholes and other hazards.


High powered front lights are not really needed in well lit urban areas and own opinion is that the best safety measure is to wear luminous clothing., As a car driver, it certainly leaps out at you from a good distance away.

Welsh Pirate

Since Ive been commuting in the big smoke over the last four years I've gradually upgraded and improved the lighting on my bike.

Why? Cos there are so many dozy numpties out there who don't look properly and can't drive. They either don't or choose not to see cyclists in their field of vision and drive accordingly.

I currently run:

Front: Ay ups on the handlebars and a Exposure Joystick on flashing on a helmet mount.

Rear: Two Smart 1/2 Watt LEDs on flashing.

It may appear to be overkill, but drivers see me and give me room. In my experience the room that you are given by passing drivers is generally proportionate to how well you are lit.

Untill the standard of driving in this country amongst the sizable minority of terrible drivers improves, I will continue to use powerful lights on my winter commute.

I hasten to add that my aim is not to dazzle, merely make my presence unmissable and try and avoid the classic SMIDSY :evil:

mrchrispy

Dinottes front and rear, the brighter the better.
flashing on the rear with a smart 1/2 watt on constant
flashing on the front.

might be over kill and annoying to some drivers but getting killed is worse. it is bright and does sometimes confuse drivers when they wonder what the feck it is coming up behind them in traffic, helps when passing traffic on the right.

schlepcycling

cee wrote:

schlepcycling wrote:

cee wrote:

lights that are too bright can be annoying. I dont think it is a problem for off-road lights particularly, take the ayup roadie set.....

The angle that they are set at can as said by other be really poor.

That's not the fault of the lights though. I have a set of the AyUp lights and the angle they are at is not set as you state but can be set by the user. Both lights can be rotated individually and I most definitely have mine pointed at the road. So if you're having a problem with someone with these lights then it's the person that set them up that's at fault, blaming the lights is unfair

erm...i don't understand why you are disagreeing with me.....that is exactly what my point was.....doesn't matter whether they are on or off road lights, but if the rider doesn't point them at the road about 6-10 feet in front of them....

I can't think of a light that the rider cannot change the angle of...even the hope ones with the integrated stem have adjustment...

Apologies I did indeed misread your post sorry, just read it again and it was the line 'the angle that they are set at' I misunderstood that you were referring to the angle they are set at.....by the user......sorry again. :oops:

biondino

So many people haven't seen me lately that I'm tempted to banish my doubts and upgrade. Rather a lot of back reading to do...

cee

schlepcycling

rb1956

I don't think in practical terms you can ever have lights on a bicycle that are too bright, unless you're riding in a group, when you might worry about your rear light. Group riding isn't much of a factor for commuting, unless you're in one of those "Bike Bus" things. I replace the high-intensity rear light on my saddlebag with a dimmer one for group rides, because the angle of my SQR bag points the light up into the following rider's face. I leave the high-intensity light mounted on the seatstay alone because it's directional and well below a following rider's eye-line. And yes, I ride with two independent lights front and rear, because they can't be trusted... :shock:

Generally speaking the brighter the lights are, the more directional the beam (or vice versa), so I'd echo the advice to mount and aim them carefully. We don't need more regulations for the cops to not enforce...

Cheeky Tosser

During 25 years of daily urban commuting I've had many close shaves with our four wheeled friends (generallly taxi drivers - grrrrr). Autumn and spring evenings are the worst when the light starts to fade and it is not quite light and not quite dark. I wish I had a penny for every time a car has pulled out of a side turning on the left or turned right across my path.

Over the years I have used many models of lights and have finally settled on a Fenix TK11 on the bars and a Blackburn Mars 3 flasher on the back. The TK11 gives out more than 200 lumen and the difference it has made is remarkable. Cars no longer pull out in front of me and if I am turning right I feel far less vunerable positioned at the crown of the road. Many more oncoming cars slow down to let me complete my turn.

The brighter and whiter beam from the Fenix certainly makes me more visible to other road users and surely that is the thing that matters. I remember the many times when I was out on the motorbike the classic motorists response after a near-miss was "sorry mate - didn't see you". Well they can see me now and I'm jolly glad they can.