I like it.. I might do that, only a little narrower. The hanging flags / triangle would be my real motivation. I don't think I need more than one taillight.

Gotta agree, the flag will be useless when you are moving, and especially at night. You need something reflective and more likely to hang down to catch headlights.

Since you've gone to this extreme... I have one more suggestion... something I saw one time that really made an impression on me... a light shining on your back. I ride this arterial road with a speed limit of 50MPH, and one night I saw a cyclist ahead of me that instantly said "cyclist." He had a light on his back rack, aimed at his back... there was no question about what he was, there was no mistaking him for a motorcycle or any other object on the road.

At the time I was using a triple belt beacon (incandescent bright random flashing) setup with a red led flashy, so I felt pretty good... but when I saw his setup, I realized he had trumped me.

FoxFire
 

A FoxFire Commuter bike light. http://www.ledsafetylights.com/safet...p?ProductID=85 I bought a red one and an amber one.

I would rather be a live chicken than a dead turkey. It might be overkill but if someone ever does hit me and if I survive when it goes to court and they see pictures of my setup I or my family shouldn't have any problems winning my case. Helen Keller could see me. The law in Florida says for night time riding that a headlight and a taillight is required but additional lighting is suggested. I won't use this all the time just when I am going to work or coming home from work. That's why I have it quick release.

My workmates say that I look like a Christmas Tree going down the road without the bar. At least I get noticed..:D If people run into the back of a City Bus this setup is no guarantee that I won't ever get hit, but it should help to keep from getting run over..Cheers

Thanks for the that. The FoxFire looks huge!!!

Will I survive?
 

That sound like a neat idea but I went with this instead..http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/h...14_3659953.gif..I seen several other bikers at night wearing these (Diehard Bikers) and I seen the vest before I even saw their flashing lights. ANSI Class 3 level 2 vests are designed for high traffic areas over 55 mph and that is what I encounter at night. Got it from Alertshirt..http://alertshirt.com/wiraja.html

The flag is basically for day time use but I have put some reflective tape on it but I have to try it to see if it stays on, if not I'll get a reflective flag or use something else. On my ankles I use the reflective snap bracelets because I also noticed that the pedals going around is usually about the first thing you see of a bicyclists at night due to the reflectors on the pedals.

Trial and error with this setup will help me decide to keep it or lose it but from what I see now is that it might and should work..And the idea for the center FoxFire commuter light I got from another poster in these forums...Cheers

Fred all the way...Where's Fred?

I was thinking that, then looked at OP's location. If I had to commute in Florida, I wouldn't feel comfortable without a RAAM-style chase vehicle following me.

A triangle reflector, like I was thinking of:

http://www.brightideasusa.biz/yieldsymbol.html

Get one of these:

http://www.aussiehire.com.au/images/arrowboard.jpg

Thats good if the bar just comes off in tight spaces. I just have 2 rear lights at the moment, but its still summer ;-)

This is a great thread! The sarcasm is evident, but to the OP's credit, no matter what the response, you got responses! Like Kelly Bundy said in Married...With Children: "they may call me bimbo, but at least they call me".

On a serious note, I ride a lot at night. In the city I feel fine with one rear light on my helmet and sometimes one on the frame, but I ride into the suburbs a bit, too, and there the roads are twistier, darker and car speeds are higher. I really like your setup and might rig something like it for just such occasions. Thanks for posting!

I do a lot of riding on winding country roads with tree-lined turns. I want as much lighting as possible on the rear of my bike. I have 2x PBSF blinkies, 1 on either seat stay, and a B&M Seculite wired taillamp with integrated red reflector hardmounted on my fender; plus a orange/yellow SMV triangle on my saddlebag and I wear a reflective sash and ankle bands.

Smile and they wonder what you are up to.
 

This is a nice idea and is better than the flag, only one needed..Thanks for the link.

I figure that someone will gleam something from this thread and wonder why they never thought of it and try to improve on it and the sarcasm is noted, just brushed aside and besides I'm a City Bus Driver in Florida..Nothing upsets me..Need I say more? Cheers..:D

Fred here.

While I don't quite have your setup, admittedly I have gone nearly that route on my commuter... and at one time have used as many as 4 rear facing blinking lights and 3 white forward facing lights and a rescue strobe. Currently I have two forward facing lights in a Nite Rider system and three rear facing lights. One being a 24 LED steady on Nite Rider light, the other a PBSF... and the third just a regular blinky located right on the back of my saddle.

I like the vest. Dorky as heck, but if a motorist can't see it, they should not be on the road. You just cannot have enough reflective stuff on at night. Good price on that vest too.

Now if only we could wake up the texting drivers!

It is not something I would use, I do a lot of loading on/off the bus and squeaking through narrow places. That being said, it is a good execution. You might look into SOLAS (Safety Of Life at Sea) tape to cover the boom. That would make it even more conspicuous.

To make it break away in the event of some impact google up something called a frangible coupling. Same thing they use on stuff mounted near runways. Obviously you probably need something that breaks at a lower stress but I'm sure somebody makes it.

John

Overkill for my purposes, but on a 55mph road in Florida I'd go a little extreme as well. Now you just need a bunch of Superflashes attached to some wire to spell the word "Detour" and have a left arrow underneath it :).

Aesthetically its not great looking, but functionally it is fantastic. As long as it works for you and has the desired effect you were going for then that is all that matters.

Very Nice...

Thanks..The white that you see in the picture on the bar or boom is 3M reflective tape, the boom is all black..I might order some of the SOLAS for my backpack..Cheers.

It does feel like overkill, but as someone who drives at night, one of the biggest problems with cycles is judging just how far away they are. LED lights are so bright, they can be very deceptiv.

The large area and distance between the lights will give drivers a much better sense of how close they are and how quickly they are overtaking.

I'd keep the blinking lights in the center and the outside lights constant on.

If you're going to the trouble to mount a light bar, you should at least take advantage of the horizontal space to do the running sequence from right to left that says in universal language "go the fark around".

you know

. . . . X
. . . X X
. . X X X
. X X X X
X X X X X

. . . . X
. . . X X
. . X X X
. X X X X
X X X X X

I am humbled. Just yesterday I removed the three tail lights I had on my bike because I felt like they were getting a bit clumsy. I thought mine were pretty amazing, but...I'm speechless.

It look like you might have an interesting handlebar setup also.

lol...this is great.

Video
 

Here is what the setup looks like in the dark. Two lights steady and all steady and all flashing and then without the FoxFire light...






You wanted to see a video of them, here they are..Cheers..:D

hopefully you dont cause any seizures