i run with my lights on in 400-500 lumens blink mode both day and night. the point is i want to be visible - by anyone and everyone. it causes everyone to go slow as i pass thru so i would say it's extremely effective at getting noticed. when it's bright out, it doesn't have as much of an effect unless its in the person's line of sight. which i often want. but otherwise during the day it's not as bothersome. for dark night conditions i want to be bright and annoying b/c it's so much riskier for us in general out there when the sun sets.

i've done this for quite some time after advice here that i want to be as visible and predictable as i can be - lights help me do that.

I have used the higher end models by Busch und Müller for many years now, with a dynamo hub and now on an ebike. The daylight running lights they provide in their Licht 24 models are excellent. They consist of a group of LEDs under the main part, and those are not directed at the road, but shine brightly into all directions. They are very conspicous even on bright days, visible even when backlit by a setting or rising sun, and certainly in the shadows or on overcast days.

The rackmounted tail lights have become huge, concerning the lit up area. They look like a motorbike or car tail light. Very visible, even during the day. The latest ones double-use the big reflector as lit up area too, when the light is on.

I don't like blinking lights, not on others, and therefore not on me. They are highly annoying and confusing. Many of them are cheap and small. So I don't use them. Also, they are illegal around here. IMHO for good reason, but YMMV.

(As far as I know, small "tactical" torches are actually used as defensive weapons, when on strobe. It's supposed to work quite well as such. Maybe not the best thing to use in traffic, especially when many start doing it. Imagine what traffic would look like then, at night, perhaps on wet roads.)

The Busch und Müller line of lights are not at the cutting edge of LED- brightness, and they are not gimmicky. But they are very well engineered and very well made. Once carefully installed, and especially in combination with a decent dynamo hub, you can then completely forget about them. No hassle, they just work. For years and years.

And because the daylight running light consists of those special, separate LEDs under the beam (s.a.), they work a lot better than just leaving your normal night time riding light on during the day.

You might want to give those some consideration.

Well said, [MENTION=241619]cracemosa[/MENTION]. I am a longtime fan of B&M battery powered lights and recently installed a Licht 24 enabled headlamp on my dynamo hub bike. It's a shame that B&M lights are not marketed in here the US where the cheap and gimmicky lights are much more popular. Do you know why blinking lights are illegal in Germany? Is it because they are so annoying or is there some other reason?

I have used two B&M battery powered lights.

They both broke.

Nothing's perfect. I have two broken B&M Lights too. I also have 10 or 12 more that have functioned flawlessly for thousands of miles. One of which was a warranty replacement for one of the broken ones. The only reason the other one wasn't replaced is because the retailer went out of business and B&M handles warranty replacement through the retailer. As you may recall, the magicshine clone you recommended was DOA. Still waiting for the replacement from China.

You can have blinking lights (and other, otherwise illegal stuff) as long as they are not mounted on the bicycle. On your helmet, for example, or on the clothing or backpack.

Anyway, this may be a mixture of as-far-as-I-know, in-my-opinion and in-my-experience. FWIW:

Blinking, moving lights are usually or should be a sign of a problem, danger, emergency or other special situations. Used in everyday situations or for frivolous reasons (like, say, those seizure inducing Christmas decorations) will, in the long run, lessen the sensitivity of the public for signaling those special situations.

Blinking lights, especially when it's blinking from every direction, add to confusion. Human react stronger to moving than to stationary things. Which is, of course why they are so effective in the first place. Unless everthing moves, all the time. What to focus on then? What is next, when blinking lights everywhere have lead to light and blinky inflation, so to speak? Pyrotechnics?

Too much blinking can dazzle. Or trigger seizures. Probably rare, but still true. See above, concerning the use of strobes as defensive weapons. That's the dazzle and confuse factor.

It's really a lot easier to estimate the speed of a vehicle with a steady light, also where exactly it is, all the time. Also, I find it difficult to ride behind someone with a blinking tail light. Alternating dazzle-blind-dazzle-blind. Hard to overlook (which of course is the reason why bicyclists might find them attractive in the first place), but also hard to look anywhere else. And somewhere else might be where you should be looking ...

But as for me, a bicycle that looks like a moving Christmas tree is still much preferable than a dark and silent one. I really hate that, whether I am on a bicycle myself, on my own two feet or in a car.

Almost any light is better than none. Police, in my personal experience and from what I hear from others, seem to think alike. Being stopped and fined for running illegal lighting on your bike is almost unheard of. Even less so than being stopped and fined for running no lights ... unless, of course, you are involved in an actual accident. Then having had no or illegal lighting or other equipment can lead to nasty situations - that's the rule of insurance companies and lawyers ....

Daytime my neon yellow-green parka is highly visible,

at night it's many wide reflective bands are very visible to light sources shown onto them ..

I refuse to ride a bicycle on roads without front and rear lights no matter what time of day it is. They're essential. Its such a small step to take to increase your safety...why not?

First time I was hit by a car it was the middle of the day. Honestly I feel more visible at night than I do in the day....less traffic and my four lights make me stand out quite a bit.

But in Tokyo only one in about twenty riders (maybe less) uses any rear lights at night, and it's not much better with front lights...

I tend to only use lights on my commute during the day if it is overcast or my front to strobe when the sun is low and at my back.

If I am on a road during the day I have front and rear blinking lights. If I am on a MUP or bike path (day or night) where there is no motorized vehicular traffic I have the same lights on steady, not blinking. If it's night and I am on the road I have the same lights blinking with a second taillight on solid and a headlight for me to see the road with.

Are you worried another cyclist is going to run into you because they don't see you?

That-yes and it makes me more obvious to the non cyclists.

Are you more concerned about a head on collision from another cyclist that doesn't see you without a light during the day or is getting rear-ended a bigger risk?

Neither specifically. I just want to be as visible as I can be.

Interesting that you run both a headlight and a tail light during the day on a bike path even though you don't perceive any risk of collision from another cyclist due to lack of visibility.

must be the Fredly fun factor. I've been guilty of that

Maybe all the peds are staring at their phones and looking down, ears jammed with buds. If they can't hear me, they might see me. Maybe.

The Strobe Light gets the attention of peds and others with ear buds.
The ones I see seem to be zoned out and not paying attention.

Not my experience. They are visible in low light situations, but not so much in bright sunlight.


Agree 100%

On my Cyo Premium I don't see much difference between day and night modes, the main LED is still on in day (sensor) mode.

Didn't want to start another light thread since there are already so many so I'll just add on here -
I'm looking for a light I can easily mount to the back of my seatpost.
I currently have a Serfas seat-stay light strapped to my helmet, but want another really bright light that will last a long time
Amazon has this listed as a best seller and it has a lot of reviews: https://www.amazon.com/Blitzu-Rechar...ike+tail+light
Can anyone attest to it's quality? How long does the battery last? How bright is it dduring the day, etc.

I run dyno-powered B&M lights full time on my commuter during the day and think it may have some small safety benefit; however I think my hi-viz clothing and riding style are more significant factors.

The bike paths I ride on cross streets every few blocks, and there are usually plenty of cars to look out for then. Plus there are the ipod zombies and the people oblivious to everything but their phone.

How do lights help keep you safer in either of those situations? Are you not able to slow down to avoid cross traffic or pedestrians? Even young children are able to cross the street safely and avoid pedestrians in daylight on the bike path without the assistance of headlights.

We've had a bit of a warm streak here in Chicagoland, so I've seen a lot more people out riding their bikes than I normally would this time of year. Curiously, it seems like fewer people as a percentage were using headlights during the daytime this past weekend than I normally see in the warmer months. It also struck me that most of the people I saw out over this past weekend were fast, which I guess makes sense that mostly serious cyclists are going to get out when it’s 40° in January. This recent observation has led me to believe that there might be an inverse relationship between speed and propensity to use headlights during the day. Just a theory. I have no data to back it up other than my casual observations riding on the north shore of Chicago. Seems like whenever I see a group of fast guys go by during the day there are no lights, and whenever I see a headlight during the day, the rider using it is usually not fast. Occasionally I’ll see a fast guy with a headlight during the day, but that seems to be the exception, and of course not all slow riders use headlights. There also seems to be a positive correlation between age and propensity to use lights during the daytime, but age is also inversely correlated with speed so that could just be a confounding factor. I’m not sure.

Perhaps as you get more experience with riding around others you'll be able to comprehend the benefits of being more visible. Especially when having to wait half way across 5 lanes of traffic that's moving at around 40 mph. Or after you encounter anyone so absorbed by their phone/iPod they are oblivious to their surroundings. Perhaps after you get more experience you'll be able to appreciate the benefits of increased visibility, all it takes is one close call for most of us to see why the experienced riders want to be more visible.

Occasionally I'll ride through a group of chaps playing cricket on the bike path. They serious enough to wear uniforms and have some sort of league, and often are pretty involved in their game as I approach. Yet they usually notice me coming due to my lights and move out the way so I can safely pass allowing us all to share the path peacefully. Please explain how making myself less visible to them would be beneficial in this situation.

Don't you love the looks on their faces when they finally notice you're there?