booo strobe lights
11-10-15, 02:56 PM
#1
GATC
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booo strobe lights
Happy to see this pop up right when I am spending a bunch of my commute looking anywhere but where I'm going so I don't get strobe-induced seizures from oncoming traffic.
https://nextcity.org/daily/entry/bic...nking-problems
In addition to all that, flashing bike lights make for a terrible experience for other bicyclists unfortunate enough to be nearby. Again, at best it’s merely annoying. Anyone who’s sat at a red light on a popular bike route can attest to the fact that it’s frustrating and uncomfortable to have a powerful flasher going off right in front of you as you wait for the light to turn green. At worst it can be dangerous. When a rider with a flashing front light passes by going the opposite direction on a dimly lit or unlit street or bike path it leaves you temporarily blinded and vulnerable to hitting hidden objects and potholes in your path. Of course this can happen with bright, steady lights, but flashing exacerbates the issues.
11-10-15, 03:48 PM
#3
Senior Member
I don't use the strobe setting on my headlight, anymore. Because While I was out of traffic, at the time. I crashed while making a simple turn.
11-11-15, 09:19 AM
#4
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Not any brighter than the passing cars. And the lights are on the far side of the road with cars in between? Just like driving in a car, avert your glaze for a moment, or maybe this, don't look at them? I run the blink and a steady on the bars. When I am driving my car, the bikes I notice first have blinking lights. My cygo light has flicker mode. So not a full strobe but a flicker of brightness while the background light doesn't diminish. Noticeable, not annoying. Start there. YRMV. And I get home safe, the only thing that matters.
11-11-15, 10:24 AM
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I don't like strobes either but I do use auxiliary flashing head and tail lights on the road. Those who use strobes on MUTs deserve to be slapped.
11-11-15, 11:39 AM
#6
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And those who populate MUTs mindlessly deserve to get blown up with my strobe. When another cyclist approaches from up ahead I simply put my hand over the light until we pass.
Dog walkers, Meanderthol joggers, hands-across-the-path-for-peace idiots, kids on scooters spread out side to side, ear bud users, and any other rude behavior on the MUTs get served up some rudeness in kind. They do get the Hell out of my way too.
Dog walkers, Meanderthol joggers, hands-across-the-path-for-peace idiots, kids on scooters spread out side to side, ear bud users, and any other rude behavior on the MUTs get served up some rudeness in kind. They do get the Hell out of my way too.
Last edited by JoeyBike; 11-11-15 at 11:42 AM.
11-11-15, 11:44 AM
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And those who populate MUTs mindlessly deserve to get blown up with my strobe. When another cyclist approaches from up ahead I simply put my hand over the light until we pass.
Dog walkers, Meanderthol joggers, hands-across-the-path-for-peace idiots, kids on scooters spread out side to side, ear bud users, and any other rude behavior on the MUTs get served up some rudeness in kind. They do get the Hell out of my way too.
Dog walkers, Meanderthol joggers, hands-across-the-path-for-peace idiots, kids on scooters spread out side to side, ear bud users, and any other rude behavior on the MUTs get served up some rudeness in kind. They do get the Hell out of my way too.
11-11-15, 11:57 AM
#8
Senior Member
I'm fine With a low-lumen strobe light but I detest the morons who blast me With their megalumen Chinese wonderlights flashing madly .
11-11-15, 11:59 AM
#9
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I only use strobe in day/dusk/dawn conditions. As soon as it is dark enough that my body can't be seen well from ambient light it goes to solid.
I've never had an issue with other cyclists strobe, but I also avoid paths and stick to the roads where it is not an issue unless one of the cyclists is riding against traffic.
I've never had an issue with other cyclists strobe, but I also avoid paths and stick to the roads where it is not an issue unless one of the cyclists is riding against traffic.
11-11-15, 12:47 PM
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My helmet light has a semi strobe option that I like. Just a flicker of a brighter light, without the light itself cutting out. Other than that, I don't do strobes up front. It would drive me crazy
11-11-15, 01:07 PM
#11
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Everyone should be polite and pay attention to their surroundings when using any "roadway". This would be catering to me, and everyone else.
In contrast (they call it reality) it's a rudeness free-for-all on almost any popular MUT/MUP. I hate to be left out.
In contrast (they call it reality) it's a rudeness free-for-all on almost any popular MUT/MUP. I hate to be left out.
11-11-15, 01:11 PM
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11-11-15, 01:25 PM
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11-11-15, 02:52 PM
#14
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The only cyclists lights I ever have issue with are the helmet mounted ones.
One only needs light for the roadway ahead, not to look at other drivers and blind them.
Like this morning I was waiting for oncoming traffic to clear for a left turn and some oncoming cyclist ride thru and looks right at me leaving me unable to see any other traffic for a few seconds while I'm in middle of active intersection.
Those should be illegal for road use.
One only needs light for the roadway ahead, not to look at other drivers and blind them.
Like this morning I was waiting for oncoming traffic to clear for a left turn and some oncoming cyclist ride thru and looks right at me leaving me unable to see any other traffic for a few seconds while I'm in middle of active intersection.
Those should be illegal for road use.
11-11-15, 03:07 PM
#15
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The only cyclists lights I ever have issue with are the helmet mounted ones.
One only needs light for the roadway ahead, not to look at other drivers and blind them.
Like this morning I was waiting for oncoming traffic to clear for a left turn and some oncoming cyclist ride thru and looks right at me leaving me unable to see any other traffic for a few seconds while I'm in middle of active intersection.
Those should be illegal for road use.
One only needs light for the roadway ahead, not to look at other drivers and blind them.
Like this morning I was waiting for oncoming traffic to clear for a left turn and some oncoming cyclist ride thru and looks right at me leaving me unable to see any other traffic for a few seconds while I'm in middle of active intersection.
Those should be illegal for road use.
I like the concept, and out in the sticks its OK, but most of my commute is just too congested.
11-11-15, 04:55 PM
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And those who populate MUTs mindlessly deserve to get blown up with my strobe. When another cyclist approaches from up ahead I simply put my hand over the light until we pass.
Dog walkers, Meanderthol joggers, hands-across-the-path-for-peace idiots, kids on scooters spread out side to side, ear bud users, and any other rude behavior on the MUTs get served up some rudeness in kind. They do get the Hell out of my way too.
Dog walkers, Meanderthol joggers, hands-across-the-path-for-peace idiots, kids on scooters spread out side to side, ear bud users, and any other rude behavior on the MUTs get served up some rudeness in kind. They do get the Hell out of my way too.
11-11-15, 05:05 PM
#17
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Yes, but on a MUT the correct choice is to not "get attention", its to slow down for prevailing conditions.
11-11-15, 07:29 PM
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Might as well dismount and walk. Why do i have to BEG for my sliver of space on a bike path? Why should i give up and cater to rude or mindless path users? There is a simple solution: Selective strobe bomb! Works great.
11-11-15, 07:39 PM
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Blinking lights?
Why? What do they actually do?
Don't count on others noticing YOU as much as you noticing THEM. Nothing is 100% safe but you are the ultimate safety device.
Why? What do they actually do?
Don't count on others noticing YOU as much as you noticing THEM. Nothing is 100% safe but you are the ultimate safety device.
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11-12-15, 02:26 AM
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Oh they notice the strobe day or night i assure you. Its not too uncommon for the car in front of me to pull over. Maybe they think i am a cop?
I generally run the strobe by day and steady at night. But on special occasions like high school football traffic or MUPs with rude patrons i hit the strobe. The whole world freezez like a deer in the headlights of a car.
The strobe increases my safety a thousand times over. But like Groucho Marx said about cigars and sex - "You gotta know when to pull it out". Same with the strobe.
I generally run the strobe by day and steady at night. But on special occasions like high school football traffic or MUPs with rude patrons i hit the strobe. The whole world freezez like a deer in the headlights of a car.
The strobe increases my safety a thousand times over. But like Groucho Marx said about cigars and sex - "You gotta know when to pull it out". Same with the strobe.
Last edited by JoeyBike; 11-12-15 at 02:35 AM.
11-12-15, 04:21 AM
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And those who populate MUTs mindlessly deserve to get blown up with my strobe. When another cyclist approaches from up ahead I simply put my hand over the light until we pass.
Dog walkers, Meanderthol joggers, hands-across-the-path-for-peace idiots, kids on scooters spread out side to side, ear bud users, and any other rude behavior on the MUTs get served up some rudeness in kind. They do get the Hell out of my way too.
Dog walkers, Meanderthol joggers, hands-across-the-path-for-peace idiots, kids on scooters spread out side to side, ear bud users, and any other rude behavior on the MUTs get served up some rudeness in kind. They do get the Hell out of my way too.
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11-12-15, 08:25 AM
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11-12-15, 10:16 AM
#23
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33% of all people over 40 have some degree of night blindness. This mostly manifests it self as the inability for the eyes to adjust quickly to lighting changes. I have had this since I was 12. While all bright lights bother me, strobes can literally blind me temporarily.
11-12-15, 11:00 AM
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This is 99% perceptual. Most bike strobe lights don't strobe brighter than their high setting. Blinking means they turn off for most of the time, that's why using those settings you can stretch battery life 2x or even close to 10x in some cases. Eyes take minutes to adapt to dark, not the fractions of a second between flashes. If these type of blinking lights are blinding you, the problem is not a physical one.
I personally find cars with xenon lights much more piercing and annoying that any blinking lights I've run across while cycling or driving.
I personally find cars with xenon lights much more piercing and annoying that any blinking lights I've run across while cycling or driving.
11-12-15, 11:19 AM
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Strobe for day, solid for night. It's not hard.
At night I run two taillights, one on solid one on strobe because I can't react to people coming from behind me and I want to be as visible as possible. (Yes my panniers are also reflective.)
At night I run two taillights, one on solid one on strobe because I can't react to people coming from behind me and I want to be as visible as possible. (Yes my panniers are also reflective.)