have you tried hanging small bells from the handlebars?

mmm... hassenpfeffer! i think i might go bike hunting tonite with my magicshine...

Great choices. How about a backup light for the helmet later on, it'll help you see into the curves etc...

Well when I read it, it sounded to me like the OP would be riding on roads with low traffic volume as well as trails.

For reference:

In my opinion, based on thousands of commuting miles in the dark, the tail light is the most important piece of equipment. Get the best you can afford, or borrow some money and get one that's a step up from what you can afford. Unfortunately, most people buy a great headlight but then get a mediocre (at best) tail light. For the record, I have a PBSF, and while it is great for running in the dark, it is a mediocre bicycle tail light.

For the OP, I'd seriously consider not getting the PBSF, and rather get the MS tail light. It's significantly brighter than the PBSF. You can get it, the MS "Y" cable, and the MS headlight for $8 more than the MS/PBSF combo you mentioned.

No, but I've yelled at them and honked my Airzound horn. It doesn't seem to matter what I do, they feel compelled to run across the path in front of me at the very last possible moment. Usually it starts by them hopping away from the path, so I don't slow down. But then suddenly, before I can react, they turn around and run right in front of me. Believe it or not, this is exactly what the rabbit and the opossum did that I hit. I've had countless other rabbits do this that I've narrowly missed.

The good news is that they're soft enough that when I do hit another, I'm confident I can roll right over it without crashing. I'm not going to hit one on purpose, but if you've ever experienced what I'm talking about, you know it's inevitable.

i know a guy who lost a few teeth and broke his arm after going over the bars, while successfully avoiding a small dog on a footpath. his mistakes:
1) he shouldn't have been cycling on a footpath
2) having broken rule #1, he was going too fast
3) he had a very heavy backpack, which raised his center of gravity, making him more likely to go over the bars
4) he didn't alert the pedestrians (bell, voice) to keep their dog close
5) he tried too hard to avoid the dog

anyway, once you see an animal in the headlight, it's freaked out in "fight or flight" mode and not thinking clearly. it should hear bells before you see it and run away from the sound. this should avoid a collision with small furry animals. next time it may be a skunk and you may not be so lucky.

you don't want to clean up anything like this -
http://www.atwistedspoke.com/wp-cont...-1-600x472.jpg

I could try a bell and see if it makes a difference. I'm skeptical though.

not like a bicycle bell... like a mini cowbell or something that can just hang from the handlebars or stem and make noise when the bike is moving. i'm not sure if i was clear on that...?

i've been told that bells keep bears away from backpackers, and keep well-fed cats from catching birds.

I was running at Minto Brown Park in Salem Oregon, doing at best a 7 minute pace, when a rabbit came out of nowhere when I was in mid-air and I came right down on him. You're right, very soft landing. By the time I was able to stop and look back he was hopping off the trail so I don't even know if he was hurt or how badly. I weigh almost 175 but I like to pretend that I land softly.

I have a headlight that straps onto my head with 5 led's in it, I use it for camping. I was planning on having it for repairs (to make them hands free) but being able to look through the corner may be useful.

Also, to answer the trail vs. road bit, I could ride path the entire way, HOWEVER, the bike paths are not very road bike friendly, and since my commuter bike is also my "play bike" I would prefer to keep the skinny tires and such. So I may choose to take the road for part of the trip and take the path for the other part where it's in better condition.

Also with critters, I'm worried about them too, as I know there are a ton of ground hogs on the path near work. I've had some near misses in the daylight.

Thanks again for all of your replies.

I got a Velo Orange bell for $7.99 at Olympic Outfitters (Olympia, WA; not sure why it's $15.00 through Velo Orange) and it seems to be working. So long as I can see them enough ahead of time to ring the bell. Only time will tell. On a side note, Olympic Outfitters was a VERY cool bike shop. I could have spent hours looking around in there, but I had my young children with me. In the end, they probably saved me from spending a lot more there than I did...

Well, I completely disagree. And, I think most people, including the commuters in these forums, have it wrong. Most people spend their money on a decent if not great headlight and then skimp on the tail light. I have found that 99% of the time, I could get by without a headlight (do I want to, no? but, I could). A dim flashlight would work in absolute darkness once the eyes adjusted. Everywhere else there's enough ambient light that I could get by.

Speaking of eyes adjusting, have you ever considered how much light pollution there is in the cab of a vehicle? While the dome light may be off, the dash lights are lit up, and occaisionally there may be street lights or on-coming headlights. Human eyes take about 30 minutes to fully adjust to darkness. Your tail light has to compete with all of the light pollution. Buy a mediocre light if you think that's what your safety and life is worth.

Ok, I ride year round so I need lights off and on, depending on when I go to work and when I get home. I have been working from 6:30 am to 9:00 pm lately so lights are ocassionally needed but in winter are imperative.
Dont want to break the bank? Go to amazon.com I got a set of 5 red blinky lights with tube or velcro mounts so you can mount on bike and yourself, also was able to get spoke lights really inexpensive too and found they are really bright and make you side visible. Next hit the local Home Depot for headlamps. A set of 4 was I think 10.00 and I was able to mount on my helmet both front and back by threading through vent holes. Bell makes a great front headlight for under 20.00 check your local kmart or Target. And while some neon clothing can be pricey look for arm warmers. A less expensive way to be seen.
Good luck

That is why I started wearing a helmet. A rabbit came out of nowhere on a fast downhill run. I almost went down, I decided if things like that were going to happen, that a helmet might not be a bad idea.

trail or road? night, day or dusk?

i really don't think my radbot-1000 paired with a 0.5W PBSF clone (soon to be upgraded) is skimping. not where i ride. somewhere on the boards i recall a story of someone riding through a wide open desert during the day with a dinotte, and catching up to a truck driver at a truck stop. the truck driver commented on how far away the light was visible. if i was riding there, i'd get a dinotte. on my sub/urban rides that would be like pointing a laser in a driver's face. brighter is better... only to a certain point. that point depends on riding conditions.

i've got two lights on front, but they're mostly for being seen. on my sub/urban rides i very rarely need a headlight to see. if i was riding on trails i would probably have a magic-shine headlight and just a small (PBSF, cherry-bomb, et al) blinky in back. i've thought about getting a magic-shine, but i prefer not to blind oncoming traffic - on a trail at night that's usually not a concern. at any speed faster than a slow walk, i would not want to rely on my eyes being adjusted to the darkness. i don't like those kinds of surprises.

about the bell - you need a bell that rings itself as the bicycles moves. this gives the animals much more advance warning, before they're "stunned" by a headlight. really, sleigh bells would be perfect.

Coming in late, but really wanted to second (or third, or fourth, or whatever it is by now) the reflective hi-vis clothing.

In PA you should be able to find something that's hi-vis orange suitable for wearing hunting, ideally with some hi-vis yellow and reflective strips on it. If I had to choose only one aspect of the hi-vis gear it would be the reflective strips. Seriously, they catch the light from a considerable distance. It never ceases to amaze me when I'm out on my bike in the dark just how far ahead something can be and still be lit up like a Christmas tree by nothing more than my head torch or front light when it's got reflective strips on it.

A lot of Schwalbe tyres have reflective rims. Again (I think someone already mentioned this) they are well worth having. It's remarkable how far away they can be seen with only a very small amount of light falling on them.

When I'm cycling in fading light I put my rear light on some time before I put my front light on. I figure traffic coming up from behind needs as much help as I can possibly give it to see me, whereas traffic ahead of me is less of a threat because it's probably pulling away, or on the other side of the road, and also of course I can see it. Where I live most of the places I'd cycle are lit at night so the front light is more to be seen than to see. Sometimes I cycle in places that aren't lit, in which case I find a head torch to be indispensable, not least because it illuminates where I'm looking rather than where my handlebars are pointing.

it's not a question of either/or. during the day, reflectives are nearly useless. at night, flouro is nearly useless. it's about having the right gear for the conditions.

why not have them on all the time?

"First, Be visible: Wear visible clothing and use lights—day and night. It makes a huge difference from a driver’s perspective. I have lots of stories of cyclists seemingly coming out of nowhere at the last second. I can usually see a red tail light three or more blocks away while some lighting conditions can hide cyclists until I’m almost on top of you. Seriously, please, get front and back lights and use them all the time—I do." - http://publicola.com/2010/10/26/qa-w...buses-coexist/

when i drove a car (and on the very rare occasion that i still do) i run headlights (not just "daytime running lights") 24/7. even for a car, this increases conspicuity and in many countries it's proven to decrease multi-vehicle collisions. i think that's why new cars have "daytime running lights" but that doesn't turn on any rear lights.

Since the question (and indeed the thread title) was about night commuting I mentioned how visible reflective strips are at night.

Because it seems like a good way to use up the batteries for minimal gain. Personally I dont find cyclists are meaningfully more visible during the day if they have lights on. Perhaps it's just that where I live cyclists are a fairly common feature on the roads, or that I usually spot them far enough ahead that it wouldn't make any difference if I could have seen them further away.

Personally the only times I've seen a cyclist seemingly coming out of nowhere have been when the cyclist was doing something of almost Darwinian levels of boneheadedness. Like the guy wearing black clothes on a black bike after dark with no lights or reflectors. Or the guy on a dirty bike wearing camoflaged clothing when cycling on a fast road with a tall hedge beside it.


"First, Be visible: Wear visible clothing and use lights—day and night. It makes a huge difference from a driver’s perspective. I have lots of stories of cyclists seemingly coming out of nowhere at the last second. I can usually see a red tail light three or more blocks away while some lighting conditions can hide cyclists until I’m almost on top of you. Seriously, please, get front and back lights and use them all the time—I do." - http://publicola.com/2010/10/26/qa-w...buses-coexist/

when i drove a car (and on the very rare occasion that i still do) i run headlights (not just "daytime running lights") 24/7. even for a car, this increases conspicuity and in many countries it's proven to decrease multi-vehicle collisions. i think that's why new cars have "daytime running lights" but that doesn't turn on any rear lights.[/QUOTE]

+1. I like night riding, but you risk sharing the road with drivers who are intoxicated and/or tired, dozing. You can light yourself up anyway you want but I think the mindset has to be they are trying to kill you, so you need to be always on the defensive. If you read about riders who got hit at nght or in the early morning, I doubt any additional lights would have made a difference.

Oh, and don't have your bike rear lights look anything like taillights, you don't want a drunk running up your back. You want them to flash.

I'm not so experienced as you other bike riders. I do want to add when I ride just to RR in the morning squirrels are always in my path. I don't have a bell but I do warn with a light yell LOL. Also do you know why squirrels always run back the same way? Its because they know whats there. They don't have good eye sight so they go backwards . They don't know if a dog ,cat...etc is on the other side. So its safer for them to go where they have been. I've avoided some hits knowing this.

Funny you say this. I've been riding my 1985 Trek 300 Series this summer for commuting and I don't have a bell on it. I've found barking like a dog at the rabbits seems to be as effective as ringing the bell. Barking doesn't work when passing other people though - er, um - or so I'm told.

I run two rear lights, a cat-eye LD610 on solid beam, so driver's can have an idea how far away I am(whether or not it works I have no clue.), and a PBSF turbo on blinky. I haven't been hit yet, "knock on wood." Definitely do get the best you can afford for the rear regardless. My whole bike lights up like X-mas though when headlights hit it. I've got that reflective tape stuff on the frame and a set of light-weights on the wheels.

When you see cross traffic approaching from the right, move as far left you're safely able to. They're more likely to see you there.

This applies in the daytime, too, but even more at night.

Reported. ******bag.

try drooling and foaming at the mouth, while barking.