Raiyn

I've got a whole thread based on the concept illustrated above. I call it "Stealth" Reflector.

Please keep in mind that reflectors and /or reflective tape is no substitute for lights and are to be viewed and used as supplements to a lighting system not in place of one.
Please consult your local laws

BAH

The pimpin is nice of course, but the reality is, these lights can be seen like no other. Get a couple of these strapped to your bike and not only is it fun, but you really do feel safe and seen!

BAH

It's true, we can't wait for night to fall around this house

I-Like-To-Bike

Not quite. Take a picture from the rear with an automobile between the camera and the lit/reflectorized cyclist. Especially relevant for those whose lights are only mounted low and ride on unlit highways at night in traffic.

harleyfrog

BAH: Thanks for the info. I've been eyeing/lusting over these for quite awhile. Love to get me a set and do some night riding myself.

littlewaywelt

Raiyn, why is your drier stealthified?
jk.

HiYoSilver

Ah, an old photographer. You can't really give ISO settings, etc. How do you set an ISO setting on a digital camera, or a Fstop. You don't change even focus, most are automatic. Yes it's tricky. Yes it involves a timer. Yes it involves a helper. In the Denver area it involves either shots in the cold or very late at night as sunlight lasts sooooo long. Hint of rain tonight so turned on lights, but they were not to see just to be seen.

Interestingly enough, with it still mostly light I could see bemused expressions on drivers as I went by.

harleyfrog

Actually, it's pretty easy to change the ISO setting on a digital camera; I find myself having to do it half the time I take pictures (and, no, I'm not a professional photographer). My wife used to work at an antebellum house that's owned by the National Park Service, and no flash photographs are allowed in the house. One year, I was working as a volunteer and my job was to take pictures during the Christmas program. During the third tour I was on, I had the park's digital camera dialed in to take remarkably good pictures without a flash simply by changing the ISO settings and, if I recall correctly, the white balance and timing. It didn't take much to get a huge difference in picture quality; and that was with indoor lighting.
(Of course, digital cameras vary in picture quality, so there's one more variable to consider.)

Outdoors at night, you will really need to fiddle with the settings (ISO, exposure timing, etc.). But then again, that's part of the joy of digital cameras: you can see the results instantly and make changes without burning through film. A huge advantage to people like me (although I will admit that film photographs are infinitely better than the best digital).

I would like to take a photography class, but all the ones I see require you to have an SLR camera, which I don't have and digital SLRs are well outside my means and needs.

Sixty Fiver

Got some new helmet lights... Planet Bike Spok lights that are said to be visible from 1 mile.







https://ecom1.planetbike.com/3042_1.html

HiYoSilver

Valid point.

Sixty Fiver

Get helmet mounted lights... at the very minimum a rear light will really increase your visibility.

I have a 1 watt helmet light but do not regularly use it on my commute, I actually think that it is too bright and that I can become a hazard to motorists since it points everywhere I am looking. Blinding an oncoming driver is not a good thing.

It is a great light for when I am in car free areas or riding the trails at night and even without it I still have plenty of light.

banerjek

Me likey. I'd never thought about putting the battery on the helmet. BTW, what's the take-a-look grabbing?

I-Like-To-Bike

Has anybody ever figured out the effect of lighting hardware on a helmeted head if the helmet is actually called on to perform its life saving miracle trick?

spokenword

This topic came up on the randonneuring mailing list (we do a fair amount of 24 hour+ rides, and proper illumination tends to be a poular topic) and someone posted a [url="https://www.smf.org/standards/b/b95std.html"]link to the Snell helmet safety certification, with an emphasis on the following bit in construction standards:

"Any feature projecting more than 5 mm beyond the outer surface must readily break away; all other projections on the outer surface shall be smoothly faired and offer minimal frictional resistance to tangential impact forces. "

Basically, what that translates to is ... if you must have a light strapped to the outside of your helmet, it must be strapped with something like velcro that can readily tear away in the event of an impact. You do not want to zip tie the item to your helmet, as this will compromise the security performance of the helmet.

Once, while on a 600k ride, I had issues with an extension cable that linked my battery pack to my light, so I wound up using the shorter cord rather than the extension, took the battery pack off the frame mount and the lamp off my handlebars ... zip-tied the battery pack to the back of my helmet and the light to the forward section of the helmet. I found that the weight of the pack caused the helmet to tip so far back on my head that it basically eliminated any protection of my forehead. Not an ideal configuration.

Sixty Fiver

The Spok lights are mounted with velcro straps and I did think that they could be easily torn off... I will have to watch for low branches when I am out mountain biking.

wb647

My winter beater (which at the time was my only bike!).

I-Like-To-Bike

Sounds as if the velcro is an effective breakaway fastening in a glancing angle impact. A direct impact may drive the hardware like a chisel right through the helmet. IMO, if the helmet is considered by the cyclist to be a necessary safety device it is unwise to reduce its ability to function as intended.

devildogmech

Don't be too sure. I just got my wife a Nikon D40 (Dig SLR, 6.4mpxl - The lenses more than make up for the lack of mpxls) for $650 with a lens, tripod, memory card and cleaning kit....Its factory reconditioned, thats why the good price.

d2create

You're kidding, right?
Not all digital cameras are fully automatic.
Maybe if using a cell phone, but many point and shoots have manual controls, and of course all digital slr cameras have full manual controls. ISO, f-stop and shutterspeed having nothing to do with "old vs new photographers". There were fully automatic film cameras, too ya know.

Sixty Fiver

My multi use / multi impact helmet is far harder than those Spok lights and I would have to land square on the top of my head for them to be driving into the helmet where I would expect their lightweight little cases to shatter. I would not expect my lightweight road helmet to work as well it's shell is as thin as paper.

On the flip side I have been noting driver reactions to my prescence on the road (at night) and with the new helmet lights blinking away and the rearward reflective profile I have been getting a lot of room when cars pass.

It makes me think that those reflectors that sit on an arm and extend a few feet out from the bike are a great idea.

slvoid

Am I the only one going for the stealth look?

donnamb 

Yes.

slvoid

You know, they can't hit you if they can't see you?

d2create

Actually you're right. That would totally take care of the problem of rednecks chucking soda bottles at us from their pickups.