Commuting - Indicator LED's

I got a couple of these 5 LED velcro'd panels so that I could attach one to the dog's collar in order to keep him in sight at night when walking.

However, my Gore bike jacket has a fold down velcro'd flap at the back of the collar, to which one of the strips fits perfectly. Now I have an additional blinkie!!

I've seen them used on gloves too. Cost about £8 including battery.

Be careful with hard objects, if you fall, you may land on them.
Esp dont put tools in your rear pockets, but lights fixed to your neck could be painful.

I've seen the gloves with them sewn in before, but not as velcro strips.

On the subject of indicators, I noticed Woolworth's had a 'bicycle rear brake light and indicator' set for sale over Christmas - it was so shoddily made I doubt whether it would have lasted five minutes, and the distance between the indicators was only an inch or two - not something I would want to rely on. I can imagine similar indicators would be okay at night (well unless you want to carry a very large battery with you) if they were mounted on a pannier rack with a foot between them.

Richard

Originally posted by MichaelW
Be careful with hard objects, if you fall, you may land on them.
Esp dont put tools in your rear pockets, but lights fixed to your neck could be painful.

These are tiny and very flat. Also the collar is padded near there and my occiput protecting helmet would (I think) protect me.

Good point about tools etc. For convenience I sometimes carry my keys in my back pocket. You've reminded me why I shouldn't Michael

I think the idea of indicator LED's is neat. I have even attempted it myself, at the cost of two blinkies and some expensive batteries (they flew off my arms...)

:(

But, how else is a guy to make his intentions known in the dark (short of a reflector tape silhouette?)

:confused:

Originally posted by chewa


These are tiny and very flat. Also the collar is padded near there and my occiput protecting helmet would (I think) protect me.

Good point about tools etc. For convenience I sometimes carry my keys in my back pocket. You've reminded me why I shouldn't Michael

I really dont like back pockets on commuting gear, If I want to carry stuff, I have bags, and small things like keys and wallet better off in a high chest pocket on your jacket. My Ron Hill tracksters have zipped pockets, but most cycling leggings dont. I need somewhere to keep gloves when I take them off, and a hankerchief or tissues.
If I was cycling in London these days, I would definately want to keep my keys and wallet about my person, too many bike muggings and pannier thefts by youths on motor scooters going on.

I dont thinlk LEDs are much use as indicators. At night, reflective piping is much more effective , and in the day, they are hardly visible. I also find it easier to signal with my palm facing back or down , than with it twist it forward, but that depends on your riding position.

Originally posted by Pete Clark

But, how else is a guy to make his intentions known in the dark (short of a reflector tape silhouette?)

:confused:

I did wonder whether they produced a glove with the LED's extending up the middle finger(for advisinfg errant motorists of your intentions), but I don't think they do.

Originally posted by MichaelW


I really dont like back pockets on commuting gear, If I want to carry stuff, I have bags, and small things like keys and wallet better off in a high chest pocket on your jacket.
I carry stuff in various places: panniers, backpack, waistpack. But one of my most unforgettable cycling experiences was about pockets and happened some years ago.

I was riding along homeward from a visit to the City Market, and it was toward sunset; my elongated shadow, bike and rider, was fun to watch on the pavement. Suddenly I saw an animated addition to it. It took four or five seconds for me to realize I'd just witnessed the shadowy representation of my billfold flying out of my jacket pocket!

I turned around and was able to retrieve it and all the contents which had flown out of it, about a quarter block behind me. I had felt nothing, and if I hadn't been amusing myself with the "shadow play," I would have had to replace my ID and credit cards (at that time I still had some!), library card, voter registration, Social Security card, etc., etc. And would have lost whatever money was in the thing, something I can seldom afford to do.

As a result I don't carry indispensable items in pockets anymore when cycling.

Try one of these

:lol:

That actually took me a minute to recognise.

Ellie

Isn't that what those subpoenaed executives have on their lips?

Originally posted by MichaelW
At night, reflective piping is much more effective...
Cyclists are the b*stard child of the transportation world and need something visible and widely recognized to signal their intentions in the dark.

Originally posted by Pete Clark

Cyclists are the b*stard child of the transportation world ...

I reckon cycling is the crazy uncle of the transportation world. He's been around longer than anyone can remember, and irritates the hell out of everyone, but you can't, in the end, get rid of him because he's family after all.

:D