Originally Posted by
spare_wheel
cycling in the 80s was not that much more dangerous than cycling is today. i think this indicates that super bright led lights aren't the necessity that safety nannies make them out to be.
I bike commuted all through college in the 70s using a pitiful "leg lamp" strapped to my ankle. It provided virtually no lighting of the road ahead of me and minimal visibility from the back, but was about the best thing around at that time in my budget. Would I want to go back to those days? Never. LED lights are what I consider the biggest advancement in bike commuting technology over the past 10 years. It is simply amazing the amount of light power (front and rear) you can get for relatively little money these days. My $100 Light & Motion Urban 800 is brighter and holds a charge better than lights that would have cost more than $500 not many years ago. You can buy taillights for less than $30 that are much brighter than anything available a while back. Not only are the new lights brighter and safer, they also make riding in the dark much more enjoyable. I think nothing about commuting in the dark for much of the year because I can see nearly as well as daylight with my LED lights.