What kind of lights do you use?

[cranky]

I'm looking for a lighting solution. I could post/research this in other threads but I like Living Car Free and I figure you all must be doing similiar riding as me: Probably urban, probably everyday, rain or shine.

As the wet weather approaches my region, and the time change next week, I'm really concerned about being visible in rush hour traffic. There are a lot of unsafe drivers here, and I want overkill on lighting, particularly from behind and during rain. One or two blinkys seems inadequate to me, I'm thinking I pretty much want to be lit up like a Christmas tree.

Reflectors also seem inadequate as they depend on the motorist having proper headlights. And in order for them to reflect, the light has to hit at the right angle.

So what kind of lighting systems do you use?

[humancongereel]

you know, i usually think of boise as pretty unsafe (think pickups with gunracks, hummers, mass suvs and the like with drunk drivers and people who aren't used to seeing bikes that aren't off-road, on the sidewalk, or in play grounds), but i still just use one flasher of the cheapest variety. maybe i'm gambling here, but i've been fine even when the batteries run out a few days before payday and i'm stuck for a bit. i wouldn't sweat it, just if it lights and you can afford it, i'd not worry.

then again, i'm not in redwood city, so i can't say anything about conditions there.

[cerewa]

Buy what you want, but my rechargeable batteries on my rear blinkie are dead and I haven't bothered to charge them, so I ride at night with nothing but reflectors and a 3-LED white blinkie up front. I feel fairly safe because my orange mesh vest has several reflective stripes all the way across the back, plus I have pedal reflectors. I haven't seen any cars at night with no working headlights, and headlights point to the right (the direction that will help them see me when they're behind me, but not in front.)

[late]

Hi,
reflective stuff is great, but if it's dark you want light.
This boils down to money. I have a Planet Bike Alias because
a hundred buck light was all I could afford. It's a pretty good
15 watt halogen. But it can't hold a candle to the more expenisve ones. In real darkness it's fine. But under dim street lamps, it gets washed out by the ambient light. And that awful ambient light obscures crap on the road. Get the best you can afford.
I'm thinking about getting a second 15 watter when I can afford it.

[Walkafire]

I have the Performance ViewPoint EVO Dual Headlight System Now at 129.00
10w and a 20w halogen... I ride most of the time with just the 10w.
With both on (30w) It's like play time!!! WOW it lights up the night!
http://www.performancebike.com/product_images/150/40_1599.jpg

For the Rear...
I have a Blinky mounted (I had to rig) on the back of the Rear Rack
I have a Blinky on the Seat Post
I have a Blinky on my Helmet (Bell Metro...took me a while to get to like it)

[Biker2004]

All I use is a Schwinn thing that people in front of me see easily but I STILL slow down when I approach them on sidewalks...there are streets that now have 3 lanes so I'm forced to use them unless there is a bona-fide lane marked on the street.

[genericbikedude]

As my cross bike makes the graudal switch to beaterdom, I may build a new wheel for it with a dynohub. Sheldon Brown says good things about them.

[Thor29]

I recommend the Cateye TL-LD600 rear light - easily recognizable due to its long cigar like shape. It is one of the brightest lights out there and unlike some of the other lights, the lense doesn't fall off when you hit a pot hole. I actually had a guy comment on how bright it was during my night lap in the 24 Hours of Adrenalin Race at Laguna Seca (a team mountain bike race). You are absolutely right - reflectors aren't good enough because the car could be coming at an angle that doesn't light up the reflector. Besides, on a foggy gray Bay Area morning (or night), a really bright rear blinkie light will catch someone's eye much sooner to alert them to your presence. Here in San Francisco, I don't need to be able to see the road at night since there are plenty of streetlights, so I use a Cateye HL-EL 120 in the front set on flashing mode (I like this light because it uses a little strap to mount to the bars so when you remove it there is no mount left behind. This also makes it easy to use on multiple bikes.) If you have to travel through darker areas, I recommend the Light & Motion Vega - a compact rechargeable LED light. Very cool, but expensive.

[kf5nd]

Cygo Light Night Rover NiMH $74 great one

[becnal]

Blinkies on tire valves.
Blinkies on rear of rack.
Blinkies on my pants clips.
10 LED front light, 10 LED back light.
And a bell!

[andygates]

Lumicycle 12 and 20w lamps forward, one with a glow ring (it's awesome, like the Eye of Sauron, and cars just *part*) with a CatEye skinny LED backup and a white reflector and white reflective tape on the bullhorns.

Two CatEye TLD600s on the rear, loads of reflective tape and one seroious reflector on the mudguard. That's good enough that drivers have stopped me at lights and complimented me on them. Add a blinky if you like - and run them all on rechargeables that you routinely change every weekend or whenever, so that you never feel inclined to be miserly with your lamps just to save a buck on batteries.

Pedal reflectors. Tireflies on the trailers. Tons of reflective tape on the trailers - they light up in outline like something from Tron.

[karmical]

planet bike wht blinkie mounted to bars up front- which i turn off when entering areas where it's not the cars i worry about...

red blinkie tied just below my seatpost for the rear-

reflective- straps on chrome bag; tabs on timbuk2 bag;

and both shoes i ride with have reflective material...

[ulle53]

dual cateye LED's on front, even the local cops have commented on how well they could see them - headlights are required on bicycles riding at night here in texas

[2wheeledsoul]

Urban flaregun:
Dual 10 watt home made halogen headlamps running on NIMH packs.
One 6 LED, four AA flashlight, reflecto tape, and multible amber reflectors mounted on the helmet.
Bright green tireflies on the valve stems, w/ wheel reflectors.
Multible reflectors, reflecto tape, and lithium powered LED taillights mounted on the rack and panniers.
Break n' shake glowsticks velcro strapped to the downtube (optional).

[Roody]

you know, i usually think of boise as pretty unsafe (think pickups with gunracks, hummers, mass suvs and the like with drunk drivers and people who aren't used to seeing bikes that aren't off-road, on the sidewalk, or in play grounds), but i still just use one flasher of the cheapest variety. maybe i'm gambling here, but i've been fine even when the batteries run out a few days before payday and i'm stuck for a bit. i wouldn't sweat it, just if it lights and you can afford it, i'd not worry.

then again, i'm not in redwood city, so i can't say anything about conditions there.I pretty much agree. I commute every night across the central city, where there are lots of street lights and traffic is pretty slow. I just use a LED (Planetbike, $35) on the front and a red blinky (no brand, $10) on the back. I used to ride with no lights at all, but I wouldn't do that now. In the great blackout I made it home OK, but I missed my own driveway and slammed into the curb in front of my building.

Obviously You need more lighting if you ride where it's dark or where the traffic is faster. Look for bargains and discontinued models at the LBS and online. There's lots of info on lihting in the Commuting subforum.

[2manybikes]

Read the first post in the thread " Light selection guide" very carefully. Go to the linked headlight beam comparison photos to see how the lighting power of different lights compare. Everything is there. Just look around for a few minutes.

Seeing the ground in the rain, in the dark, with a car coming at you with the lights on is too much for any LED headlight now on the market. Since this does not happen often many riders think that they can get away with a lot less light.
HID lights are now available for the price of the new expensive LED lights, and the run times are about the same. That eliminates any reason to buy LED headlights for all weather riding as the HID lights are much brighter.

The best self contained LED taillight on the market right now is the new Cateye TL-LD 1000. It even has LED's facing the side. Many lights don't have this feature.
If you decide to get a Nightrider headlight or don't mind building a separate battery pack, the Nightrider taillight is visible at all angles from the rear of the bike. The self contained lights loose a lot or power if you observe them from 45 degrees off the rear view.
Back this all up with plenty of good reflectors and a small back up headlight just in case of a failure.

[maynard]

I have to share my Mod of the Alias Helmet light. I have upgraded my Alias Helmet light to the Alias SuperCircuit. This thing is light and powerful. The SuperCircuit was designed for the handlebars, but with my mod you can use it on your helmet.

Check out my mod at:
http://www.skypetips.com/bike

Get the Alias helmet 10watt and the Alias superCircuit upgrade and the Alias SuperCircuit handlebar light for full power and capability.

Send me an email if you have any questions.

Regards,

MG