To Flash or Not to Flash

singlespeedexplosif

well no arguing with that. Better to have the Smart on constant though IMO. Or, even better, 2 Holy Hand Grenades, 2 fibre flares, 1 helmet-mounted Photon Backupz AND a Smart on constant (my current setup)

Wallace1492

singlespeedexplosif wrote:

well no arguing with that. Better to have the Smart on constant though IMO. Or, even better, 2 Holy Hand Grenades, 2 fibre flares, 1 helmet-mounted Photon Backupz AND a Smart on constant (my current setup)

Hang on, you have these on your handlebars?

iPad

OK, here's the plan.

Smart light on the Bike set to constant with another Smart light on my bag set to flashing.

One light on the front set to constant with one set to constant, although that may make me look like a motorbike strapped to a pushbike...!

I've got my yellow day-glo jacket, but what I don't have is a rear reflector (cos there's no room on my seat post) or pedal reflectors (cos I thought they ruined the look of my spd pedals).

singlespeedexplosif

one on my seatpost, one on my rack.

Wallace1492

iPad wrote:

(cos I thought they ruined the look of my spd pedals).

And if a lorry did not see you, could it not ruin the look of your mush?

BentMikey

Wallace1492 wrote:

iPad wrote:

(cos I thought they ruined the look of my spd pedals).

And if a lorry did not see you, could it not ruin the look of your mush?

Isn't that a tad emotional and unrelated? A bit like "We must save the children..."

iPad

Wallace1492 wrote:

iPad wrote:

(cos I thought they ruined the look of my spd pedals).

And if a lorry did not see you, could it not ruin the look of your mush?

Yeah, yeah I know. :oops:

I never thought that they were that effective, but reading some of the previous comments I may well concede that point and put some on later (if I can still find them).

Wallace1492

BentMikey wrote:

Wallace1492 wrote:

iPad wrote:

(cos I thought they ruined the look of my spd pedals).

And if a lorry did not see you, could it not ruin the look of your mush?

Isn't that a tad emotional and unrelated? A bit like "We must save the children..."

Sorry, to be honest it was meant to be tongue in cheek!! Just highlighting safety concerns being overidden by looks.

Some have said they are quite effective, I never thought they were, I have touring pedals that dont take the reflectors. However, after reading some previous threads have opted for reflective ankle bands.

Cafewanda

So the reflective ankle bands currently decorating my bike should be worn now? :oops:

To be fair I do wear bright yellow legwarmers (and also as armwarmers) and found some gloves in the same subtle colour over the weekend.

FeynmanC

UndercoverElephant wrote:

Also, for those with two front lights, ever considered that you look like a car that's REALLY far away?

I have 3 front and 4 back.

Front- 1 tesco 3w torch mounted down the stem and 2 flashing smarts either side (it looks like a spaceship blasting off, not a car coming towards them! :oops: )

Rear- 1x Blackburn Mars 4 on the seat post (still), 2x Smart 1/2w's either side on frame (flashing) and a cheapy (flashing) attached to the saddlebag (it looks like a MASSIVE spaceship blasting off :oops: :oops:

EDIT: oh, and a fenix l2d on my helmet, that i've not tried in anger yet...probably still, AND an old smart kidney on the back of my helmet set to flash.

Plus the flashing led armbands that Aldi were selling on my wrists and on the back of my backpack.

PLUS the matching front to the cheapy rear, attached to the shoulder strap of my rucksack so it kind of lights up my face a bit...gotta give the girls what they want lol!!!

LifeintheSaddle

Seeing as my entire cycle route is lit up by street lights I flash front and back.

Although I find having a very refelctive high vis jacket really makes the biggest difference. This became clear after a friend got knocked off his bike while wearing all black but with lights flashing and steady on front and back.

In the city the lights can just drown out against all other lights, especially at busy junctions, it doesn't matter whether they're flashing or not.

UndercoverElephant

Tonight will be my first time actually cycling in the "proper" dark. Thus far I have two rear flashers: one smart half-watt on the seat stay, and one reflective flasher on my backpack. I also have the obligatory rear reflector.

I have a single front flasher torch, which is brighter than the sun (well, the sun in Scotland). I've used it in last-weeks twilight conditions, and even the spill around the main beam makes signs flash from a quarter of a mile away. Like I say, it's quite a fast strobe, and is easy to see by.

I also have a couple of the disco Spoke-lit wheel lights, so I'm even visible from the side. Hopefully should be fine.

squired

All this talk of lights reminds me of this time last year when I passed a woman who was riding on a bike with the white light at the back and the red light at the front. I politely commented that it was highly dangerous to do that, to which she responded that she had put them on the wrong way round and couldn't be bothered to switch them back! Can't tell some people!

The real question these days is whether you should be using what is technically "legal" or what you need for the road conditions. A friend of mine was riding back from London for the first time in ages last week. He told me he needed a powerful light to point at the road as there were so many potholes that he simply couldn't see. A BS light probably wouldn't do the job. In the same way, I doubt a so-called legal light would help me on the un-lit country lanes I hit the second I leave my office.

BentMikey

Good lights will outweigh reflective/hiviz anything. Every time.

SmellTheGlove

My 2d worth - if you must have a flashing front, then run with a second one, permanent-on. It's possible for another road user to give a glance in the flasher's off period and completely miss the presence of the bike. On the occasion when I was that other road user nothing messy ensued, but lesson learnt.

Also - keep your batteries charged. The difference between a set of run down old alkalines (yesterday) and some fresh 800mAh nimh (tonight) in my admittedly crappy old rear LED light was quite incredible. For LEDs, higher current I believe = better output (within limits which a spark on here will probably be able to tell us about...)

Enjoyed the dark ride tonight - and not a single cyclist out of a dozen or more without lights. There's never a Gaily Male reporter around when you need one is there?

BentMikey

SmellTheGlove wrote:

My 2d worth - if you must have a flashing front, then run with a second one, permanent-on. It's possible for another road user to give a glance in the flasher's off period and completely miss the presence of the bike. On the occasion when I was that other road user nothing messy ensued, but lesson learnt.

It's possible even with just a steady light. It's called a scan error, when the other road user looks behind you, and then the next glance is in front of you, and you're caught in the no-look angle between their two glances.

garrynolan

As a car driver as well as cyclist, rear flashing lights are easier to see. A steady + flashing pair at the front is also easy to see. FYI - putting a backpack on OVER the hi-viz vest is not a good idea!

FeynmanC

garrynolan wrote:

As a car driver as well as cyclist, rear flashing lights are easier to see. A steady + flashing pair at the front is also easy to see. FYI - putting a backpack on OVER the hi-viz vest is not a good idea!

+1

As i've not got a hump, thats why i've put a couple of the ankle/wrist straps with the flashing LED's from Aldi on the back of my bag, set to flash.

At some point i'll get a hump cover thingy, but The Lady has just found out she's being made redundant

Coriander

BentMikey wrote:

Good lights will outweigh reflective/hiviz anything. Every time.

Do you think so? I have one of those (probably terribly naff) Foska skeleton jackets and apparently you can see the bones from at least half a mile away with no problems.

I always feel that my jacket makes me much more visible than my lights do.

BentMikey

Firstly, I think you're assuming that any observer is accompanied by a light. That's not always the case, whereas lights are visible all the time. Secondly, decent lights will outshine reflectives, big time.

p.s. I have both the bones and pirate jackets, LOL!

prawny

Coriander wrote:

BentMikey wrote:

Good lights will outweigh reflective/hiviz anything. Every time.

Do you think so? I have one of those (probably terribly naff) Foska skeleton jackets and apparently you can see the bones from at least half a mile away with no problems.

I always feel that my jacket makes me much more visible than my lights do.

I saw a woman on the path tonight with a high viz vest on and no lights, well I say I saw her, I heard her squealing first :shock: you could hardly see her without lights, I think lights are more reliable than reflectives but both is best.

deptfordmarmoset

squired wrote:

All this talk of lights reminds me of this time last year when I passed a woman who was riding on a bike with the white light at the back and the red light at the front. I politely commented that it was highly dangerous to do that, to which she responded that she had put them on the wrong way round and couldn't be bothered to switch them back! Can't tell some people!

The real question these days is whether you should be using what is technically "legal" or what you need for the road conditions. A friend of mine was riding back from London for the first time in ages last week. He told me he needed a powerful light to point at the road as there were so many potholes that he simply couldn't see. A BS light probably wouldn't do the job. In the same way, I doubt a so-called legal light would help me on the un-lit country lanes I hit the second I leave my office.

Just last night we were on a shop stop on a fairly dark road in Wapping when a woman cheerfully rode past with a red light on the front and back of her bike. I have to say she was quite noticeable but I did spend a good while trying to understand why she might have done that. It probably wasn't all that dangerous because she stood out but I'm damned if I'm going to try doing the same.

JamieW

last week was riding up A38 between wellington and taunton. Guy on a mountain bike commuting home with no lights or high vis on... i was a lil scared for him as its a fast busy road with little road lighting.

on subject of lights currently riding with 2 back lights - one constant and one on random flashing.

front cateye el600 rechargeable and exposure joystick helmet mounted. the joystick has a cool mode which keeps it on low power constantly with a high power flash. the flashing defo gets u noticed!!

jedster

Best solution is definitely two lights front and back, one set flashing, one set constant.

Flashing lights definitely grab more attention but constant lights allow people to judge distance better - a good thing!

BTW - please be careful with high power flashers. If they are not dipped properly they really destroy people's vision which is NOT in your interest or anyone elses. The reason is quite simple, when they flash on the viewer's pupils narrow, when the light flashes off the viewers eye has to adjust to the low light (i.e. they can't see much), the puil dilates just in time to be zapped again. This is not a problem if they are dipped and the lights are still very noticeable.

J

BentMikey

There is no problem with bright lights, at least until rain drops start to vaporise as they fall past your lights.

beverick

I run both bikes with two front and two rear lights fitted.

I have a cat eye LD1100 in constant mode on either half way up the seat stay or rear pannier rack - bike depending. I then have an LD600 in flashing mode on the seat post of either bike. I also stick a flashng five LED 'Smart' lamp in the back of my collar.

On the front I have Smart 5 LEDs in flashing mode on either bike and, this evening, the Cateye EL320 in constant mode will make its debut.

I also have wheel reflectors on the commuter 'hack', pedal reflectors on both bikes (new ones on the hack) and large (4cm sq) reflectors front and rear on either bike. I also have an impressive amout of 'scotchlite' trim on both my clothing and the panniers.

I still go invisible at junctions though.....

Bob

UndercoverElephant

Like I said, last night was my first real night ride. A couple of thoughts:

1) Flashing is great round town.
2) When there are no street lights, flashing quickly becomes very scary. Solid beams only.
3) My wheel lights are superb, I saw at least one car not pull out into the side of me because of them, they also become a complete ring of light over 20 mph. And they change colour, so I become disco elephant.

I also saw a guy last night, on a black MTB, with no reflectors, no lights wearing mostly dark clothes with a black backpack, texting whist he cycled along a main road. Made me feel much safer. :roll:

beverick

UndercoverElephant wrote:

Like I said, last night was my first real night ride. A couple of thoughts:

........

I also saw a guy last night, on a black MTB, with no reflectors, no lights wearing mostly dark clothes with a black backpack, texting whist he cycled along a main road. Made me feel much safer. :roll:

Only one? You can't have been out long.

Darkly clad and unlit cyclists are "de rigueur" around here!

Bob

Stu22_v

My commute is through country lanes and there are only street lights for a 200m stretch when i leave the office. I often joke with the lads in the office that i look like a christmas tree when i leave to go home, but it's better than getting spread up the road by someone using the lanes as a high-speed short cut.
I use MiNewts x2 on the front, a solid rear red and have cheapo tesco's flashers on my lid. I wear a high-viz jacket (by Altura - it's very bright), and there are reflective bits on my panniers and legs/shoes.

Last night, i almost hit a woman walking between two villages on my way home - no pavement, she was in black clothes, earphones in, no idea. Was toying with stopping and giving her one of the cheapo lights from my helmet, but decided my need was greater and she could look after herself. Was also a bit wary of stopping by a lone female in the middle of the countryside - didn't want to scare her.

On the whole, i enjoy commuting at night - it's quite nice. I often see badgers, deer and foxes on my way home - their eye-reflections give them away!

UndercoverElephant

Stu22_v wrote:

Was also a bit wary of stopping by a lone female in the middle of the countryside - didn't want to scare her.

You don't ride a Cyclocross bike too, you beast!