Originally Posted by
SeizeTech
I wear a contruction workers vest, and reflective leg bands.
My helmet, and bike have about 5 feet of reflective tape on it. And, I have another 16 pcs that I'll be puting on this weekend.
For the front, I have a cheapo Schwinn headlight that floods alright, and I also have one of the planet bike strobes like Mr. Beanz. Its awesome. Well, I think we are talking about the same light. My light is a 1W LED headlight that is very bright. easily 4-5 times better than my schwinn headlight.
On the back, I have a blinker on my helmet, and a second one mounted on the back end of the rear rack.
And mostly as a novelty, I have motion activated leds on my valve stems. They are blue, and have already inspired a "cool!" from a young teenager waiting a his bus stop.
Not to pick on just you, SeizeTech, but you make the same mistake that many, many cyclists make when it comes to lighting. You rely too much on passive lighting, i.e. reflectors, and too much on lighting yourself to the rear. There is nothing wrong with having lots of light on the rear. I have 5 to 8 rear light sources myself. However, even at night, the probability of being hit from behind is pretty small. You are much more likely to be hit from a left turning vehicle who can't see your small front lights or from someone pulling out of a side street. Low level white lights get lost in the background light clutter that we humans spray all over.
You need powerful front lights too. Your lights should scream "Hey, Butthead! I'm here don't run over me!" You can do that with LED, HID or halogen but make sure you know the limitations of each and how you have to deal with them. Additionally, think of how much more fun you can have with lights that allow you to operate at daylight speeds
