ax0n

I was riding home from the coffee shop tonight...great way to wind down a slushy, cold commute. I'm on the outside lane of a divided road with a good 15 foot wide median, and a guy going the opposite direction screamed at me "QUIT BLINKING!" and then honked his horn.

I screamed back "GLAD YOU CAN SEE ME!" and waved.

Blackburn quadrant in full blink mode. He had time to get his window all the way down and was going about 50 MPH, so he must have seen me for a good half mile if my light was bothering him that much.

hobbsc

I love my blackburn quadrant. I've been really pleased with blackburn devices in general. I've got one of their headlamps. My pals call it "the midnight sun". I'm surprised it doesn't make light saber noises when I turn it on.

rule

Heh...yeah I get that sometimes.

"Do you know that your headlight is blinking?"

"Yep, thanks for noticing."

ax0n

The blinking mode is a LOT more eye-catching. It's no HID, but for the price, it's the best <$30 headlight I've seen.

fender1

I have one blackburn on my helmet and one on my garment bag as well as a hub powered tailight and a series of reflectors. I was told I "looked like and ambulance" as if was an insult!

A_Str8

Be careful with that. It's good to be visible, but not to the degree that you're distracting to drivers. If your light is really bright, it's probably not a good idea to have it blink at nightime.

ax0n

It's a blackburn quadrant, a 4AA-powered, four LED light that is probably in the 3W range. not really all that bright. The "core" (two focused lenses in the center) is pretty narrow, and the peripheral (side) LEDs that I had blinking, are nothing to write home about. I would not call it distracting to the point of making it difficult for oncoming drivers to see or concentrate. It's just eye-catching.




The Quadrant's beam is up high, the Bell cheapo xenon is the lower beam in the photo.

zeytoun

I had (and liked the Quadrant) the side blinkies are good for traffic to your... side. However the mounting thing wasn't very good on mine, and it worked itself loose and fell off when I hit some debris on a fast downhill... now I have a similar 5-led Cateye... it snaps into place. But I do miss the combo with the center solid, and the sides blinking...

Sammyboy

I gotta say this, and I know it's heresy here, but I HATE front blinkies. Don't like 'em coming towards me when I'm riding or driving. The back ones aren't so bad, but the front ones distract me, and I'm not a fan. I'd love a powerful front light, for the purposes of being seen, and for seeing, but I'm not getting a blinkie for anyone!

Braighs

I'd have to agree with him if you were in FULL blink mode. That's a ridiculous setting. You don't want to turn the street into a rave; you just need to be seen.

zeytoun

I use the full blink at sunset, then switch to solid when it gets dark.

hobbsc

I don't know where you ride, but there's a party everywhere I go.

I'm considering a bike mounted disco ball, then I'll REALLY be seen!!!

mercator

I'm not a real fan of blinking front lights. I've had people drafting me with em recently and it makes me feel like I have a migraine coming on.

Old Dirt Hill

Sorry, but I disagree. If they see me, they probably aren't going to hit me. Selfish?..maybe, but then again I'd rather be alive than not be "distracting."

(this being said, I only run blinkies in red on the rear of my bike.)

ax0n

I run solid when it's dark. When I'm riding in the daylight or under bright street lights, it's easy for a low-output LED headlight to get lost in the ether of cars, reflections, etc.

Blinking makes me stand out when there's other bright lights to contend with. If you've seen a blackburn quadrant in full blink mode during the day or when there are other bright lights around, you'd know what I'm talking about. It's a great light, but not all that bright.

BikeManDan

I think that blinking headlights do more annoyance than good.

If you don't think your light is bright enough in solid mode then maybe you should find a brighter light

bike2math

Please, a blinking LED or even a blinking 10 watt HID is nothing compared to the distraction of a Mercedes' HID headlight. In addition, if it is so bad to have blinking lights distracting drivers why do emergency vehicles have blinking lights? The truth is: drivers will find any reason they can to conclude that bicycles are obnoxious and don't belong on the roads.

Ignore anything and everything they say. If they have acknowledged you, then they have seen you, job accomplished.

ItsJustMe

I use blinking front when I'm riding in daylight in adverse conditions. I've seen them on other bikes when driving, and they really draw attention. I don't use blinking front when it's dark, I think it's counterproductive then.

threephi

I think it depends on where you are riding as well as when. On crowded urban streets, a blinky is best IMO because it helps distinguish your vehicle as human-powered as opposed to a scooter or motorcycle.

substructure

I have a catey opticube I rigged to my helmet that can go blinkie mode. I just think it's distracting in the pitch black. But, if some wacko looks as if he/she is going to pull out in front of me, I point my head in their direction and give it a shake. Seems to get their attention.

gregtheripper

i use a blinking front headlight... people see me. thats all i care about. all the streets are lit, so i don't need my path lit. once i started using it i immediately noticed a difference in peoples reactions..

Ngchen

Well, I dislike front blinking lights precisely because of the connection to emergency vehicles. In many (if not most) states only emergency vehicles are allowed to have flashing lights visible from the front. Something I've noticed though is that bluish front lights such as LEDs and such do tend to be more noticible than yellower ones like halogen ones, given a brightness. IMO, having a working light is more important than its flash/non-flash status; however worldn't a flashing front light create distortions in your own vision due to the stroboscopic effect?

ax0n

In Kansas, it's legal to have flashing white or orange lights anywhere, and flashing red on the rear. Only blue is reserved for emergency vehicles.

uphillbiker

I think blinking headlights should be illegal everywhere. Regardless of how small the wattage is, the strobing effect on drivers is not a trivial issue.

There are a lot of other options for increasing visibility. Nothing wrong with wearing a reflector jersey--those are very easy to see. Upgrade to a non-blinking light of a higher wattage (just point it down and to the right, like the orientation for "dim" lights on a car).

Try these things (intended for RC toys, but could easily be adapted for biking applications):

ttp://epyaya.com/index.php?cPath=21_195&osCsid=2c70ebb4e063afd807b121c85de758ac

Falkon 

quit blinking hahahaha I like that one.