ROJA

Just curious as to what the "serious" riders think is safest.

j_amie_

blinky

patentcad

Blinky and a Don't Flatten Me Yellow shell.

curiouskid55

Blinky for battery life.

mattm

solid halogen E6 lamp, solid rear LED - both powered by a dynohub.

i keep them on 24/7, since there's no batteries!

i figure if solid lights work for mopeds, etc, then they're good enough for me. blinky=dinky in my book.

umd

Blinking rear light seems like it would be safer to me, but supposedly it is harder to judge depth and therefore the vehicle code in CA (and probably other states as well) requires it to be on steady. I will usually have one fixed to the bike on steady and on on my packpack or clipped to my jersey pocket blinking.

As for the front, I think on steady is better. Especially if it is really bright, a blinking front light is really obnoxious...

urbanknight

solid up front, 2 blinkies in the rear (one on my seatbag, one on my helmet). The solid front was mainly because my front blinked so fast I worried I would give an epileptic person a seizure causing them to crash, possibly into me!

ptle

I think you want to do steady light on the front and blinking in the back if your on the road at night. Like umd said I think the blinking in the back is safer.

the beef

blinky is a little harder to judge depth but is more noticeable. i do solid front blinky rear

drew2002

Blinking visual stimuli are better than constant for attracting attention from people's peripheral field of vision. There's a certain blink frequency which is optimal for this, which I forgot.

umd

Intuitively it seems like it should be safer, but the studies say otherwise. Blinking gets attention but confuses depth perceptions. That's why I use both.

DataJunkie

Unless my reading comprehension is off none of the options qualify for me.

Up front:
Dinotte ultra 5 on steady.
Cateye blinky blinking

Back:
Dinotte 140R blinking (or is it blinding)

I plan on adding another dinotte headlight this winter and at least one planet bike superflash on the back.
Somewhere I have another cat eye rear blinkie that I need to locate.

I may also add two blinkies angled to each side to prevent being hit from the side.
Perhaps I am getting carried away. Perhaps not.

urbanknight

You just changed my mind. Since I ride with 2 rears anyway, I will also set one to blink and one to solid.

flyingscotsman

used the blinky in the rear and solid front for years.


Saw somebody with that combo on a dark unlit road in the UK many years ago, noticed how much better at noticing the cyclist from behind it was.

mattm

regarding rear blinkies, my local riding group (Seattle Randonneurs) is against them, on group rides anyway.

and i can attest that riding behind someone w/ a rear blinky at night is really annoying. especially if you've got six or so hours to go until sunrise!

Nachoman

My rear light has a strobe option where it is a steady low (dullish) red light with a pulsating high intensity strobe. I wonder if this solves the problem of confused depth perception.

MrCrassic 

Sometime I let the front blink, but most of the time it's solid. The rear is always blinking.

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botto 

depends.

it's illegal to have a non blinking light in scotland.

it's illegal to ride with a blinking light in the netherlands.


btw - why is this being asked now?

flyingscotsman

Having not ridden in Scotland for a few years now, was wondering when did that come into force?

billallbritten

Forward facing blinking white light is limited to turn signals (yep, they were once white "in the day") and emergency vehicles in KY.

Monument Man

back = blinking
front = solid headlamp

botto 

haven't been on a bike in ecosse for awhile myself, but that was the law circa 92-94.

middle = flick knife.

flyingscotsman

Interesting as northern constabulary never enforced it and I left in 1999.

Allegheny Jet

Those are good while riding solo but not good in a group. The strobe is blinding to the guys behind.

flyingscotsman

Update found the highway code for the UK

60
At night your cycle MUST have white front and red rear lights lit. It MUST also be fitted with a red rear reflector (and amber pedal reflectors, if manufactured after 1/10/85). White front reflectors and spoke reflectors will also help you to be seen. Flashing lights are permitted but it is recommended that cyclists who are riding in areas without street lighting use a steady front lamp.