SDRider

You know, some of the brightest lights I've seen come in really small lightweight packages. They only light for a few hours but with rechargeable batteries they are perfect for commuting. Of course they are expensive...

I think this sums up any decent lighting system:

Small and Lightweight
Inexpensive
Bright light

You can pick only two.

JohnBrooking

I have a bottle generator as a backup, but the wire came loose last week and I haven't gotten around to fixing it yet. I got the generator for just this reason, as well as because I tend not to get into the "recharge daily" routine until after DST ends, but would occasionally find myself out after dark unplanned starting in the early fall before I get into that routine.

flipped4bikes

With the Dinotte 200L, you can have all three!

thdave

I rode home yesterday at dusk. It was raining and the wind was howling--29 mph with gusts over 40. I needed my generator lights, but they were fickle and stopped working. Boy was that frustrating. All I had was the blinkie on the back of my helmet. So, sometimes people have the best intentions but it doesn't work out.

Don't know what to do--lately, my lights work about half the time when it rains.

Getting back to these cyclists who rode without lights, they could have been stuck. Time change just happened Saturday and they just didn't consider that. Also, there are lots of people who think the street lights are enough. The problem is they can't be adequately seen by others, and they don't realize it.

JohnBrooking

I think you're exactly right. I would consider my Cygolite Rover to be moderate on all counts.

On a related note, recently my LBS guy started stocking some flashing lights (the set contains both a white headlight and a red blinkie) that work by electrical induction. Spoke-mounted magnets induce electricity in magnets mounted to the fork or stay, so the lights flash in time with the wheel rotation. No batteries, no drag. Of course you might want something steadier in the front if you need to see by it, but for being seen, sounds like a great system. I think it was under $100. I'd seriously consider it if I was in the market for more lights, but I'm not currently. I forget the brand, but you can probably find it with Google.

flipped4bikes

And you know they're UDW because?

AGGRO

Because the live in a canyon, that's id one in San Diego.

I-Like-To-Bike

Then I take it you are an above average "schmuck" on a bike because you know all the rules and follow them religously to the letter at all times. Not like all those dumb people.

I-Like-To-Bike

Another possibility, for various reasons, standing out may be considered a bigger problem than being seen by the wrong people. For example, ever ridden in many inner city neighborhoods at night with many of the bored locals lounging about?

I suspect many of the immigrants on bikes also may not wish to draw attention to themselves.

ghettocruiser

Cyclists I see on the roads are mostly lit like other road users.

Cyclists I see on the sidewalk are mostly unlit like other sidewalk users.

DataJunkie

They could also be too poor to afford such safety items. When you are more concerned with where you are sleeping next or what to eat, lighting ranks very low on ones priority list.

thdave

I'm not sure about this. Don't the magnets cause drag when they come close to each other--they attract each other, right? So you have to fight that when you pedal.

AEO

ok, I see what you mean. Perhaps schmuck wasn't the best word to use, but it was the only word I could think up of at the time. I don't know all the rules, I just know more about it than others because I actually bothered to read up on them.
I don't follow all traffic rules to the last letter. Stop signs for instance, I treat stop signs like yield signs.
I don't claim to be smarter than everyone else, I just use my common sense and think hard to keep myself alive and relatively free from injuries.
Being prepared for foreseeable conditions (darkness, rain, snow, etc.) is not that hard. It's just that some people refuse to smarten up for one reason or another.

AEO

Magnets do cause some drag and add rotation weight, but you actually won't really feel it compared to dynamo style generators.

H23Nutcase

because his profile says SAN DIEGO and he might have been biking along the US-Mexico borderline when he saw those riders.

rocks in head 

my big headlight was on the fritz last week, and I was navigating by the ambient light because my front backup blinkie was just enough to make me visible to oncoming cyclists...

So I was in ninja-cyclist clothing (well, really I was wearing my reflective vest) but seeing someone coming with an HID on the trail, I'd have to completely stop until they passed and my eyes re-adjusted to the ambient light... it's really blinding when you don't have your own little light puddle to focus on (taking a tip from the driver's ed book / driving in general).

Only one person held a hand over their light for me, and it was AMAZING the difference... so even though we all look down on those without front lights, please for their safety and common courtesy, put a hand or something over the light for them... it only takes 3-4 seconds, and it greatly helps the other people out!

rocks in head 

Yes. I live in Anacostia, Washington DC, and not only am I the only one I ever see on a bike, I'm usually the only white person outside of their cars on my way home... I get wierd looks because everybody thinks I'm crazy, but I've yet to have a bad experience, besides the usual bored youth jumping off the sidewalk at me.

But I can't speak for everybody, so your point may be valid. It's all perception... I was scared of the area until I actually got around it / moved there.

BarracksSi

I think this is the funniest reason. There's really no way to not look dorky on a bike. Maybe less-than-superdorky, but it's inescapable.

SDRider

No, I'm in North County San Diego (about 50 miles north of the border) and none of the people I saw last night were illegal immigrants. In fact, one of them was on a fairly nice looking full suspension mountain bike.

Markok765

My friends ride BMX and FS MTB. None of them have lights, but I have a blinkie from Blackburn on my bag. Probably doesn't look cool if you don't ride a road bike.

EDIT: Most of these people don't ride bikes as their main form of transport.

HauntedMyst

Most of the people I see riding at night don't have lights and its infuriating. I believe in Illinois you need a front light and a rear reflector - pathetic. Front and rear lights and reflectors should be required. No wonder so few people take cyclists seriously, they don't take themselves seriously.

gosmsgo

Around here the police department will not pull over a bicyclists for anything.

You could be riding down the wrong side of the road without lights and they would just roll right by.

gosmsgo

What are you even doing on a bike forum?

Its obvious that you are not exactly a true believer in cycling. I do not like automobiles and yet I do not hang around on www.ILOVECARS.com

Craig

They're called Reelights.

I've moved since last winter, and my evening commute is a LOT darker (almost no street lights, darn that dark skies ordinance) than last year. I'll definitely have to upgrade to better lights, my cheapo Blackburn leaves much to be desired. But the thing that's killing me is that on a significant portion of my ride I'm on a narrow MUP and the folks coming towards me with no lights scare the crap out of me. Maybe that will be better when I have a better light myself.

Bekologist

i see a lot of bicyclists without lights around Seattle.

Oh well. Their loss and their risk.

I also see a lot of dedicated commuters around Seattle starting to run high powered LED's in the DAYTIME for very good front visibility. I picked out a Niterider Trinewt on flash this morning in the daytime from over a half mile away. The new high powered LEDs are very impressive.