vradz

Today during my commute I realized that a brake light would come extremely useful. Has anyone seen /can recommend one? I'm thinking of a sensor on the rear brake that goes up to the rear light.

Thanks, Vic

MichaelW

Brake lights only work if people expect them. I seriously doubt if drivers will respond in any rational way to a bicycle brake light.

vradz

True, but currently there simply is NO way to indicate that a cyclyst is slowing down other than observe a decrease in speed. So adding a brake light would add some marginal benefit, however small it may be. At least that's my thinking.

markhr

good old fashioned lo-tec hand signals

raoul.spam

there are two types of break lights

there are some break pads for V break that have a LED in them that reacts to pressure, the downside is you have to sick with the rubber (hehe I can say that i am not english speaking ) goes along

I have seen in a chineese marked on a trip in Budapest once break light system, that had a large back light, and also turning signals, that you could operate form a sitch that you mont on the front bar.. teh brake light funktion worked with a sensor on the break cable, it looked and was realy cheap (5$)

personally I don't think this is usefull but I hoped that answerd your question..

froze

But if your going to have brake lights then you might as well get turn signals!!

slvoid

Nashbar's got two of them, both under $10. I think they both attach pretty much the same way. The 2nd one has turn signals too.

https://www.nashbar.com/profile_morei...u=10516&brand=
https://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?c...eid=&pagename=

Nightshade

Not to be a smart pants. The BEST safety item you can add to your commute is......
A lime green safety vest.

All the dinky bike lights in the world will not do as much good for your safety as bright
lime green safety vest like road workers & police wear. These folk's don't have them
on for looks, mate. They WANT to be seen by motorist......and it works.

So save your money for these dinky a$$ed battery sucking toys and buy yourself a real
safety aid. A lime green safety vest.

al-wagner

That would work for a car also just paint it lime green and you would not need ANY lights at all. That probably bring the cost of the car about 1500.00
So when I right my bike at night they can see my lime green vest about 200 meters/yards which according to the above quote is better then seeing my flashing tail light at 1/2 miles away.
The vest only work if there is a light source hitting it.

Nightshade

Then DON'T ride at night!

My post is for the sane that only ride during daylight. Those who have a death wish enough to ride
a bicycle at night are beyond hope.

bkrownd

Now that is exactly what motorists do NOT expect, or understand, and will be totally ineffective. (Not to mention making your ride more dangerous by taking a hand off the bars.)

Brake lights are a very good idea for night riding, but they do have to flash bright enough to be obvious. When a motorist sees a red light go brighter ahead of them they instinctively know that means braking.

markhr

always worked for me but I cycle in the uk - different road conditions(more congestion, smaller cars, narrower roads)?

vradz

Thanks a lot for you suggestion - I ordered them both, will see what happens.
Props for the most useful contribution to the thread (IMHO)

catatonic

I would be the guy to engineer something, where there is a contact switch in the brake lever that activates the light, where either brake can light it up.

The way I would do it is two pods of two 1-watt LEDS each (preferably with cateye's opti-cube lenses)....put each pod above and below your current light (this assume you are as wierd as I am and mount your light sideways)...what this would do is a visible widening of the light as well as an extremely bright light, which if it can't get their attention, their eyes weren't on the road in the first place. As for batteries, they would all be conveniently stored in a small pouch that goes inside the front triangle. Just a pack of AA NiMH batteries.

roadfix

Yes.....a very small marginal benefit...

tharold

There is a way: stop pedaling. I find motorists are more mindful when I pedal, so that's what I do even when coasting. I stop pedaling when I want to telegraph that I'm slowing down. This is especially applicable to pedestrians at a cross walk. For cars, it's more important to -not- stop pedaling, since their natural tendency is to -assume- you're going slower than you actually are when they hook you.

PainTrain

My commute is at night

Luckily, my lime-green safety vest also has reflector strips

And I run several battery sucking light thingies.

DamianM

In my lurking here I've always suspected you were as much idiot as troll. Advising people in the commuter forum not to ride at night confirms it.

scoana

I have both lights slvoid suggested. Keeps the wife from riding into me. I do think cars notice them also.

froze

I didn't even know they had lights like that! I'm not even sure what to think of it!! I guess if your were riding in a close tight group of riders it makes sense, but on the street by yourself...hmm. I've never approached a cyclist in my car and thought: "gee I wish that guy had brake and/or turn signal lights so I knew what he was going to do." I don't know, it's a little odd to me. I know my current lighting system seems to agree favorably with car drivers.

jeff-o

Wire up 20 bright red LEDs in a series-parallel config, in a long chain. Stick that chain inside a hard, translucent plastic tube. Mount one tube on each of your rear stays. Apply battery power. Experience 400 candlepower of red light illuminating your hindquarters. Stay safe. Cheers.

operator

What the hell are break pads and break lights.

bwinton

They're what you use when you breakdance. The pad is a large sheet of cardboard so that you don't get "sidewalk rash" when you pull your fly moves, and the lights are there to pulse to the beat of the music, making your performance that much more impressive.

(As a side note, do people here really care about spelling, punctuation, and grammer, or is it all about the content of your posts?)

Nightshade

And your sense of humor is......busted.......right**********????

Becca

You might try the Total Geekiness thread. We talk about all kinds of lights we've geeked up. For a brake light, mine uses these switches which are 10mm square, spst pushbuttons. You'll have to make some kind of waterproof enclosure for it, but it works perfectly!