"Turn your ********** light off!"
09-19-14, 09:11 AM
#151
Senior Member
When it is dark out, I run 1 light on the helmet, and 2 on the bars, one of those blinking. MA law states the white front light should be visible from 500 feet. I have paced it out, it is really far. What it comes down to to is my safety trumps all. I am not rude, but do not care if someone is bothered. Yes, I point my light down on the mup. Cars have maybe 1 turn or 2 -3 seconds to see you. Throw in darkness, cell phones, rain, mist, fog or snow into that mix. My lights are blazing, side lights, wheel lights 3 rear lights etc. If the cars SEE you, it is a great start. I also do not want to out run my lights, 700 lumens is just enough to see far @ 20-25 mph on a dark road. You want to see the potholes, and DO NOT want to spook a skunk crossing the path. Trust me on this.
09-19-14, 09:15 AM
#152
Banned
When it is dark out, I run 1 light on the helmet, and 2 on the bars, one of those blinking. MA law states the white front light should be visible from 500 feet. I have paced it out, it is really far. What it comes down to to is my safety trumps all. I am not rude, but do not care if someone is bothered. Yes, I point my light down on the mup. Cars have maybe 1 turn or 2 -3 seconds to see you. Throw in darkness, cell phones, rain, mist, fog or snow into that mix. My lights are blazing, side lights, wheel lights 3 rear lights etc. If the cars SEE you, it is a great start. I also do not want to out run my lights, 700 lumens is just enough to see far @ 20-25 mph on a dark road. You want to see the potholes, and DO NOT want to spook a skunk crossing the path. Trust me on this.
*edit: If it's poorly designed to throw light everywhere, I can see why that's necessary.
09-19-14, 09:19 AM
#153
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I happen to buy into the notion that blinking lights make it harder to actually tell where a bike is. That's why I almost always have a non-blinking light in addition to a blinking light. But at least regarding tail lights, I think blinking lights are so ubiquitous on bikes that I prefer to have one. I have never been tempted to have a front blinking light. I just don't see that many situations where people don't see me, and it drives me crazy to have one on my own bike.
09-19-14, 09:20 AM
#154
Senior Member
My contribution was that I disagree with your statement above:
Most of the fatal crashes I've read about involve a driver claiming they did not see the cyclist. I don't know if I've ever heard of a situation where a cyclist was killed due the driver seeing the cyclist, but mis-judging the distance, due to the extremely bright blinky.
Most of the fatal crashes I've read about involve a driver claiming they did not see the cyclist. I don't know if I've ever heard of a situation where a cyclist was killed due the driver seeing the cyclist, but mis-judging the distance, due to the extremely bright blinky.
09-19-14, 09:21 AM
#155
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I have had a similar situation but from a cop. He stopped me and told me that my flashing lights (dual Niterider 350's and dual Serfas TL-60's) allowed him to see me miles away and asked where I got them... I told him where and said I use them just for that purpose and it seems to have worked. I ride past cyclist on my new place to work in my car and most cyclist don't have a light that goes beyond 20 feet which makes no sense on a road with a speed limit of 60-65. Just continue on your way and be safe
09-19-14, 09:24 AM
#156
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That ties in with the point of my earlier post. I want to be seen. That said, for the most part, I assume the worst in motorists and am always prepared for them to pull out in front of me.
09-19-14, 09:26 AM
#157
Banned
It's selecting the option that doesn't make sense (flashing vs. solid beam) based on the only comment that someone fatally striking a cyclist can say (I did not see the cyclist).
09-19-14, 09:28 AM
#158
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I happen to buy into the notion that blinking lights make it harder to actually tell where a bike is. That's why I almost always have a non-blinking light in addition to a blinking light. But at least regarding tail lights, I think blinking lights are so ubiquitous on bikes that I prefer to have one. I have never been tempted to have a front blinking light. I just don't see that many situations where people don't see me, and it drives me crazy to have one on my own bike.
09-19-14, 09:29 AM
#160
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Okay all you German light enthusiasts - there has to be a reason why you who have them love them so much, so I made a bit of a splurge to find out for myself.
IXON IQ Premium LED + IX-Back senso Set | Busch + Müller
front and rear combo. Now, what do you do about charging? Looks like the charger that comes with it is a 220 Volt (which, I suppose makes sense since it comes from Germany). I guess I can try and find a converter. Any other issues you have found with replacing batteries?
Thanks
IXON IQ Premium LED + IX-Back senso Set | Busch + Müller
front and rear combo. Now, what do you do about charging? Looks like the charger that comes with it is a 220 Volt (which, I suppose makes sense since it comes from Germany). I guess I can try and find a converter. Any other issues you have found with replacing batteries?
Thanks
09-19-14, 09:32 AM
#162
Banned
Okay all you German light enthusiasts - there has to be a reason why you who have them love them so much, so I made a bit of a splurge to find out for myself.
IXON IQ Premium LED + IX-Back senso Set | Busch + Müller
front and rear combo. Now, what do you do about charging? Looks like the charger that comes with it is a 220 Volt (which, I suppose makes sense since it comes from Germany). I guess I can try and find a converter. Any other issues you have found with replacing batteries?
Thanks
IXON IQ Premium LED + IX-Back senso Set | Busch + Müller
front and rear combo. Now, what do you do about charging? Looks like the charger that comes with it is a 220 Volt (which, I suppose makes sense since it comes from Germany). I guess I can try and find a converter. Any other issues you have found with replacing batteries?
Thanks
I think it should use standard "AA" cells in the front light and standard "N" cells in the rear.
Any standard AA/N charger should work.
Last edited by acidfast7; 09-19-14 at 09:41 AM.
09-19-14, 09:40 AM
#163
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I have a couple of Supernova and a Luxos U. My commuter has a B%M lyt. I have a Princetontec battery light for backup. It flashes, and you have to cycle through the flashing to turn it off, drives me nuts.
I am probably going to get a Cygolite for my fatbike, will not run that in flashing either
I am probably going to get a Cygolite for my fatbike, will not run that in flashing either
09-19-14, 09:42 AM
#164
Banned
The IQ2 headlight design does a fine job .. the diode is in the top* facing down into the reflector , shaping the beam..
placing the diode in the center of the reflector like a glorified flashlight is all too common in most battery headlights & many Dynamo ones .
* in contact with the heat sink , part of the way you can overdrive the diode,
09-19-14, 09:44 AM
#165
Senior Member
I am aware of the whole of the purpose of aids to navigation and their respective color and charactersistic, but I was speaking only to the point of the poster in that in practical application flashing helps distinguish them from background lights. Entering a busy port, with all of the lights of the city in the background, if the lights didn't flash, they'd be nearly impossible to discern from background lights. If you can't distinguish them from background lights, you certainly can't determine their distance.
You are right that a steady light will be easier to track and judge distance, but only if it is distinguishable from other lights. There are some really good bicycle lights available these days. There are plenty of lights however, that aren't bright enough to stand out. In those cases, if they were flashing, it'd help them stand out without them being a safety hazard to other road users.
You are right that a steady light will be easier to track and judge distance, but only if it is distinguishable from other lights. There are some really good bicycle lights available these days. There are plenty of lights however, that aren't bright enough to stand out. In those cases, if they were flashing, it'd help them stand out without them being a safety hazard to other road users.
Similarly, a car has a difficult time around bikes that have strobes running. A flashing light is very hard to track, given all the other things a driver needs to be concerned with.
09-19-14, 09:45 AM
#166
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Fahrrad Nabendynamo silber DH-3N20: Amazon.de: Sport & Freizeit
I think it should use standard "AA" cells in the front light and standard "N" cells in the rear.
Any standard AA/N charger should work.
I think it should use standard "AA" cells in the front light and standard "N" cells in the rear.
Any standard AA/N charger should work.
09-19-14, 09:47 AM
#167
Senior Member
He could say that he was on his phone doing mobile banking:
SD Man Charged In Death Of Minnesota Bicyclist « CBS Minnesota
Lots of distracted drivers out there. I'll do my best to get their attention from as far away as possible.
SD Man Charged In Death Of Minnesota Bicyclist « CBS Minnesota
Lots of distracted drivers out there. I'll do my best to get their attention from as far away as possible.
09-19-14, 09:51 AM
#169
Banned
He could say that he was on his phone doing mobile banking:
SD Man Charged In Death Of Minnesota Bicyclist « CBS Minnesota
Lots of distracted drivers out there. I'll do my best to get their attention from as far away as possible.
SD Man Charged In Death Of Minnesota Bicyclist « CBS Minnesota
Lots of distracted drivers out there. I'll do my best to get their attention from as far away as possible.
I also don't let people that hit cyclists influence my decisions. I look to the regulations that make sense.
09-19-14, 10:56 AM
#170
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Bike lights usually flash slow enough to not be in the frequency t range that would cause seizures. I personally think that they are highly irritating, though.
09-19-14, 10:58 AM
#171
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When it is dark out, I run 1 light on the helmet, and 2 on the bars, one of those blinking. MA law states the white front light should be visible from 500 feet. I have paced it out, it is really far. What it comes down to to is my safety trumps all. I am not rude, but do not care if someone is bothered. Yes, I point my light down on the mup. Cars have maybe 1 turn or 2 -3 seconds to see you. Throw in darkness, cell phones, rain, mist, fog or snow into that mix. My lights are blazing, side lights, wheel lights 3 rear lights etc. If the cars SEE you, it is a great start. I also do not want to out run my lights, 700 lumens is just enough to see far @ 20-25 mph on a dark road. You want to see the potholes, and DO NOT want to spook a skunk crossing the path. Trust me on this.
* Lower powered blinking lights on bikes makes sense. But I don't see you having any right to be as obnoxious as an emergency vehicle that expects you will stop driving and pull over to the side of the road when it comes by.
09-19-14, 11:18 AM
#172
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I feel much safer now.....Knowing that people that get seizures from blinking lights are driving.....Everyone knows there are no blinking lights in real life.....
09-19-14, 11:22 AM
#173
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If that's illegal, they're going to run out of paper to print tickets on before they even get to the cyclists.
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Work: the 8 hours that separates bike rides.
Work: the 8 hours that separates bike rides.
09-19-14, 12:04 PM
#175
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My contribution was that I disagree with your statement above:
Most of the fatal crashes I've read about involve a driver claiming they did not see the cyclist. I don't know if I've ever heard of a situation where a cyclist was killed due the driver seeing the cyclist, but mis-judging the distance, due to the extremely bright blinky.
Most of the fatal crashes I've read about involve a driver claiming they did not see the cyclist. I don't know if I've ever heard of a situation where a cyclist was killed due the driver seeing the cyclist, but mis-judging the distance, due to the extremely bright blinky.