vmaniqui

hi all,

when riding your bike during daytime, do you turn on your headlight and rear light ? blinking or steady ? do you also have lights on your helmet or anywhere else aside from front and rear ?

TIA,
vic

chagzuki

Er, no.

msincredible

Depends on where I am riding.

If I am in the twisties, with no shoulder/bike lane and limited visibility (blind corners, shadows from trees, and/or fog) then I will often have my rear blinky on. I wouldn't bother with my headlight during the daytime though. I also try to make sure I am wearing something bright and/or reflective.

crackerdog

I use my lights in the blinking mode if I use them during the day. I always use them at dusk. The light in the sky is enough to keep the pupils small but the light near the ground is low enough to make it difficult to see detail and then add to that cagers don't see details well anyway.

vik 

I'll use my Planet Bike Superflash in the day - particularly if it's not super bright out. I also leave my dyno LED headlight on 24/7 since it never runs out of batteries and the light can't burn out.

cyclonus

I'm considering leaving them on as much as possible... I see too many bike incidents and if a day time running blinky can help, then I'll do it... although clueless drivers will hit you no matter what :/

kegoguinness

Always blinking front LED, and for the rear, always blinking PBSF on helmet and blinking seat-post mounted light. At night the steady headlight comes out, and another taillight mounted to the far fender tip, usually solid mode.
As above post duly notes, lights and stuff won't save you; your riding style goes furthest towards that end, but lights never hurt. My wife laughs at me and thinks I look like an alien spaceship

Northwestrider

In Fog, yes I'll use both lights front and rear.

nekohime

No, unless it's raining, foggy, or any other occurrence where visibility is reduced. Lights (one blinking, one steady, both front and rear) come on at dusk and stay on until I get home.

rbrian

I always use a flashing Cateye TL-LD600. If I'm going to be riding in heavy traffic, or it's raining, or just a bit dull, then I also use a flashing front LED - the one that came with my Brompton, not a make I've seen before, and not very bright. In the dark I also turn on the solid rear LED that came with the bike, and a Cateye HL-EL530.

I fitted Reelight SL100 front and rear blinkies to my 700c tourer, and use these in conjunction with a Cateye TL-LD1100 and the same Cateye HL-EL530 when it gets dark. (I bought a second mount, not a second light).

ilovebicycling

I have my front Trustfire 801 in S.O.S. mode on during the day and the the Superflash in blink mode in the back. The more visible you are to other drivers the better!

wahoonc

I typically use the senso lights from B&M they take care of themselves. I do run a PB Superflash, usually on a seatpost mount. I will turn it on if the conditions warrant.

Aaron

jomoj

no. A fluorescent or bright jacket is much more effective for visibility.

TiberiusBTkirk

even since seeing a few cyclists with a front blinker, I did same.
I velcro a photon microlight on my brake levers and set it to medium flash.

duke_of_hazard

Not to offend anyone, but the planet bike superflash is pretty much worthless in the daytime. At night it is minimally acceptable. I have the Dinotte 140 tailight on my Dahon D7, and this can be seen a half-mile away in the daytime.

Up close these cheap blinky lights look really cool and cute. But put yourself a hundred meters away and they are indistinguishable from the surroundings. A typical car can do 100 meters in 6 seconds. Subtract a few seconds for reaction time and you only leave them 2-3 seconds to safely merge into the passing lane.

If we want to be treated like vehicles, we need to look like vehicles. I don't get why people cringe at spending $100 for a taillight, when the same people gladly spend hundreds of dollars fixing their broken car lights.

ilovebicycling

Speaking for myself and from experience, my PB Superflash works wonderfully at night. I often ride at night on roads with moderate, fast paced cars and I can tell they are able to spot me from far enough back to slow down and nudge towards the middle to give me room.

I'm sure the Dinotte is as advertised but the $25 I spent on the Superflash was one my best $25 investments ever.

EM42

Yes I use DRL [Daylight Running Lights] when im riding the streets
blinking mode both front and back

during the day the front is angled 2~4 degrees to hit oncoming traffic[cars] right in the drivers eye. ..wake up... do you see me now !!

both lights are by Planet Bike 1 watt in blinking mode.

I use dual front lights at night on a high/low beam configuration continuous mode but sometimes one blinking to catch attention.

I have a reflective vest but I get too much attention from other people asking if im Security or If i work for City or Street Maintenance

stevegor

I do agree with the thought that you get what you pay for. However, awhile ago I bought a Niterider light worth about $500au which had brilliant illumination...enough to melt bitumen at 2 miles, but when the globe died and I was quoted over $200 for a replacement.....I freaked out, so I bought a cheaper LED light ($60) and it works fine.

Some guys I know spend up to $1200 for lights, but that's for crazy MTB night sessions.

alpacalypse

If I had generator lights, they'd be on all the time just because.

But the truth is, I put in most of my miles during the day and with battery lights I'd be wasting that many more batteries. I've never had an issue with visibility on a clear day. neverever. I'd be interested to hear from someone who did.

We have a tendency, as cyclists, to simultaneously overestimate and underestimate drivers. Remember that plenty of cars (although not all; daytime running lights are getting more popular) have no lights on during the day. Even without a huge amount of visual contrast, it's pretty easy for a driver to notice a moving object on the road if there's enough light around. I find that dusk is the most dangerous, when people often forget to turn on their headlights and haven't adjusted to the darkness yet. Right before sunset, especially, my light just seems to blend into the scenery.

bicycleflyer

Depends on the conditions. If the visibility is low, or a heavy overcast, or a dusk or dawn situation, then yes I will use the flashing mode. If it is a clear, sunny day then no, i do not run lights.

The only additional light that I have is a princeton tec "EOS" mounted to my helmet. Since I run dinottes on both front and rear, there really is no need for additional light. I know from what others tell me that my 140L in the rear is bright enough to overwhelm any other light that I would run, so it would be a waste. I do have a cateye TL600 affixed to the seat stay as a backup should the dinotte fail.

I do use an abundance of reflective material. I wear a reflective vest, reflective ankle bands, and I have reflective tape affixed to my helmet. In addition I have reflective tape affixed to my rear fender and in the winter I have tires with reflective sidewalls.

vmaniqui

surprisingly the comments varies. there is really no consistent pattern as far as lights are concern. but combining all the adivses, i'd say what i will do will be 2 headlights (1 steady and 1 blinking) and 2 rear (1 blinking and 1 steady) both daytime and nightime bike riding. will you say that this is the safest way ? and best combination ? oh by the way i may add another blinking by my helmet.

thanks all,
vic

KitN

No, I normally don't have my lights on during the daytime but there are exceptions like if it's really overcast making it dark even during the daytime, or there are adverse weather conditions like fog, rain, snow, etc.

ChiapasFixed

as soon as my dynamo-equipped Tikit with LED's comes in, you bet I will leave the lights on all the time!

nekohime

Ideally, I'd run one blinking, one steady, front and back on the bike, plus one steady front light on helmet for flashing inattentive drivers, and one blinking rear light on the helmet. I don't run lights during the day unless conditions warrant it for purposes of saving battery charge. See, most battery lights are basically useless in the day, so it makes no sense to run them. Reflective tape helps so much more, IMO. But that's just me. You should decide on your lights and whether to run them all the time based on driver idiocy, weather conditions, ambient street lighting, and budget.

rhm

Yup. I have generator lights, and they're on all the time, just because....