Originally Posted by
neil
I've seen a lot of people in this thread insist on flashing for "safety." But I haven't seen anything here explaining why, how, and based on what evidence is it safer. So I'm not convinced using a flashing light has any benefit. And, having tried it, I found the reflection that comes back at me made it harder to stay in control of the bike (constantly changing level of illumination means that my eyes were never properly adjusted.) If this is the effect it has on me, I imagine it's similar or worse for oncoming traffic.
So, while I have no thoughts about rear lights, and use blinkies myself as this is the standard way of identifying a bike from the rear, I will only use solid lights up front.
best way is for you to see the differnce is to look for other cyclists (especially if you are driving) and see which is more visible at night (or day). The one with a solid light only or the ones with a blinking front light.
I have no doubt you will find people with blinking lights are a lot more noticble.... and simply, visibiliyt improves safety.
I run a blinking front when commuting during daylight and run a solid and a blinking front light at night.
right now I don'tr have a whole log of lumens, but am looking to upgrade to a around 450 lumne solid light and 200 or so lumen blinking light.t