mulchie

I ride down country roads at night and am considering a DiNotte amber light so I can be seen but not blinded by my own light output.
Anybody tried this light in front?

oldmtngoat

I got one for my tour of Yellowstone...All those RV's!!! Since I returned home I am now using it on my 4:30 AM training rides and commuting. I mounted it in front. I like the flashing mode on the rides where I anticipate a fair amount of traffic coming from the sides and the rest of the time I leave it on high. However, this morning the batteries ran low, so I switched to blinky mode. On my last left turn of the morning a car going in the other direction apparently thought I was an emergency vehicle as it moved to the side of the road and stopped!

I also have the Dinotte rear blinkie and love it. My old PB blinkies just don't compare in brightness/output/sheer being seen power.

Bushman

OOOH dinotte makes an amber light? SWEET! which model is it, i cant find the amber in the Dinotte site.

Bushman

bump for amber dinotte?

mulchie

Hi, Bushman. I think it's new. Watch their site or send them an email. Or maybe get in touch with oldmtgoat if you haven't already.

Bushman

^ thanks for the info!

oldmtngoat

The amber Dinotte is already built. All you have to do is call them and they will send the link to order it. For some reason it isn't on thier web site, even though it is apparently a frequent order/inquiry.

Bushman

Thanks Ol Mountain Goat!!!

BarracksSi

FWIW, they've got it on their site now, listed as their Daytime Headlight.

I'm thinking of finding an amber light for the daytime, too, whether DiNotte or something else.

(and, as of today, they've got a cute model on the front page.. IMO, anyway )

Raffi

So is the amber really better than my headlight blinking? Could I run it blinking when my headlights are on at night without felling epileptic?
I really am thinking of shelling out the cash for this and the taillight lithium kit, but may be my headlights are more than enough? I still don't feel seen soon enough!
Thanks
R.

BarracksSi

I got the amber light, and although I've yet to formally test it myself, I think that it does help, especially in the daytime and in traffic.

My reasoning is that there are a lot of sunlight reflections from other vehicles, and drivers are so used to seeing them that they don't pay much attention. White lights, especially LEDs, have the same bluish cast that reflected daylight has, so at a glance, a bike headlight might only seem like yet another reflection.

The amber, though, is different enough that it would be more noticeable.

The closest I've gotten to "testing" is by watching for its reflection on parked cars. I can see the amber headlight sooner and with greater reliability than I can see the white 200L headlight.

I don't think that the amber is necessary at night as a "be-seen" light, and I don't think that it's necessarily a good light to see with. I also wouldn't run either of these in flashing mode at night unless there are a lot of other light sources (but if it's Vegas, the steady mode might work better since it would be more different ).

Raffi

Ya, I was thinking in the city. It might also be a great blinking addition to the steady red dinotte taillight beam in the back?

so your saying it's worth the bucks?

Did you go AA or lithium?

BarracksSi

I just don't like using anything but red in the back. It's an orientation thing: red = rear, and white = front. Having a rear-facing amber light would stand out, but it would create confusion, even if it's only a split second. Their taillight is bright enough already, anyway.

Considering that I don't know of any other ready-made amber lights that ARE bright enough to be seen during the day, yeah, I think it's worth owning.

I went with AA to match my other Dinotte lights. Sometimes I wish I went with li-ion, though.

swc7916

We have an amber Dinotte with Li-on batteries on our tandem. It's strictly for daytime use and I turn it on to slow flash on every ride. I want approaching cars to see us because in my mind, having a car turn in front of me is a greater probability than being hit from behind. I also have a Dinotte 200L and taillight for nighttime use, but use a Blackburn flasher for the daytime.

Raffi

How do you like the 200L? I was thinking of getting the package with those three things.
Thanks
R.

swc7916

I like it a lot, but I have to qualify my opinion by stating that I have no experience with other lights. I bought it mainly because I wanted the Dinotte taillight and didn't want a different light/battery combination for the front, so I got the Road Rider's Experience 200 package (https://store.dinottelighting.com/sha...unt2=285361886). I liked it enough that I purchased the amber daytime light later.

Raffi

I just went for it and ordered the Day and night visibility package. Nice set up for day and night. I even splurged for the extra 2 cell so I could helmet mount. I thought about putting the amber light there so I could always get an oblivious driver's attention by flashing directly at them? Maybe it's too bright for that?
R.

operator

The 200L is nearly completely worthless if you ride on streetlighted streets.

BarracksSi

Except that it makes you very visible from the front, reducing the chances of being cut off by cars pulling in front of you or even being doored.

Raffi

why is that? Is that so when it's coupled with an amber?

BarracksSi

No; what he's saying is that its light, from the rider's view, doesn't light the street much more than streetlights already do.

It's true, though. When I ride on lit streets, it's hard to tell where the 200L light makes a difference -- but then again, it's pretty easy to see everything anyway.

Like I said in my last post, though, making yourself more visible to the front is at least as important as being seen from the rear. I also remember an instance where I was driving and passed a cyclist, then had no idea where he was or whether it was okay for me to move back over. I couldn't see him in my rear view mirror because it was already flipped to night mode and, although he had a taillight, he had no headlight and was effectively invisible.