Originally Posted by
canklecat
Planet Bike and Serfas make taillight/reflector combinations that work well. These cost only $15-$25. They're bright enough for most low light and nighttime use. And the transparent shells serve as diffusers too, which helps with visibility even when vehicle headlights aren't aimed at the reflector -- passive reflectors can't do that.
Planet Bike only lists one light...the Grateful Red...that has a reflector on their
taillight page. Serfas lists many more (and more than I've seen from other light makers) but all of them seem to be like the Radbot with a very bright flasher. The Cateye Reflex that I linked to above is about like the Grateful Red in that it's a lower intensity light.
Originally Posted by
canklecat
And these are much more friendly to fellow cyclists in group rides and on the MUP than the ultra bright Cygolite, RadBots and similar taillights that focus the intensity with lenses or reflectors to concentrate the light.
Last night a ride monitor on our nighttime riding group asked me to turn off my new Cygolite Hotshot 50. I agreed -- it's way too much for that purpose and there's no way to turn it down, other than in steady mode. The various flashing and strobing modes all peak at maximum intensity -- only the durations can be adjusted.
A couple of points, I don't know if there are that many people doing night time group rides. If they did, I'm sure that most would take the intensity of their taillights...and headlights... into consideration. But most of us are riding alone at night on roadways. "Friendly" equals not being seen in those situations.
As for riding on MUPs at night, we really shouldn't do it at all. Here in the Denver area, most of the MUPs are closed at night so it's mostly a moot point or me. However, from a "friendly" standpoint,
any light on an MUP is isn't (friendly) to pedestrians who are walking without lights. When we ride by with
any light, our passing plunges them into darkness which takes several minutes to recover from. The photochemicals that allow us to see at night take up to 45 minutes to pass from our system and even a slight exposure to a white light source or intense red light sources causes the chemical to change shape and the clock is reset.
Try it on yourself sometime. Go to a very dark part of a MUP and turn off your lights...all of them. See how well you can navigate when you are truly night blinded. For these reasons, I avoid MUPs at night and I encourage other cyclists...especially the ones who want to be "friendly"...to do the same.