I ride strictly on the roadways, I have some fairly powerful front and rear lights, and I definitely keep my lights on steady mode at night. I can see the use of strobe head lights in daylight hours in high cross traffic areas, and low power strobe taillights at night.

But I have to reach all the way to the middle of the handlebars and fully depress the button on my headlight twice to switch from flash to steady. And that button's got some stiff action, yo; a brother could break a nail if he's not careful.

Maybe the OP should just get better sunglasses.

Jeez. I wish I had the coin for some retina burners so that my night blind self could be hated on as well. Some people just need more light to see by, period. That being said, I do have a question:

Since most lights are using full power while in strobe or flash mode, maybe it's not so much the power behind the beam as it is the flash rate itself?

Front lights, I set them to be in flashing mode only when in a street with lots of light (streelights, store fronts, signs), I can see well, I am pretty visible, but want to attract extra attention. I use solid mode most of the time.
Rear red LED flasher, I always have flashing to save battery and I think flashing is readily identifiable as a bike. Rear flasher is not bright enough to bother anybody, IMO.

I most likely ride the same bike paths as the OP and flashing lights don't bug me. I do what most people do when they drive at night with high beams approaching, look down and to the right. They cyclist is gone in only seconds so really give people some slack. At least they have lights! It is amazing how many ride those same paths with no lights.

Says the guy who lives in Ohio and has no idea what the west side bike path in NYC is like.

I run my helmet lamp on solid, but was mortified the other day when I caught the reflection of it still being on after I came out of a store! I must have blinded the clerk. I thought I had shut it off!

Some days I run the flashers, some days I don't bother. Night-time I like to run a rear rack blinkie, another flasher aimed at the cars mounted on the handlebars, and the aforementioned helmet light on steady. I like the helmet light so I can "make eye contact" with drivers crossing my path laterally, usually from side streets. I feel MUCH safer being able to point a good light directly at drivers heads if I fear they haven't seen me. If the car isn't directly behind or in front of me they may miss my lights if it weren't for the aim-able helmet one.

I also appreciate that my tires have a reflective strip, and sometimes run "side marker" lights by way of spoke reflector shaped lights in the wheels. I also like to run one clamp-on rear-facing reflector and pedals with reflectors in them. When I drive and see them, the distinctive motion of pedal reflectors is unmistakably a bicycle. I actually add reflectors to pedals that don't have them! I should get some sort of Fred cred for that! Who else does that!

I rarely roll down bike paths or MUPs but if they crossed roads frequently or had lots of pedestrians I'd probably switch my rear blinkie to solid but keep the front flasher flashing. If it was pretty deserted and had good sightlines where roads crossed it and there were actually other cyclists on it, then I'd either go dark or solid, either way switching off of flashing.

Meh, my light doesn't even have a flashing mode.

There is so much debris, etc. on MUPs around here that I generally avoid them in the dark. If I did ride them, flashing mode would not allow me to see the hazards (or pedestrians, or dogs), so yes, I think it's silly.

yeah, the entire world has always lived in the same place and never left their little fishbowls. Try again, kid.

Well, yeah...looking down and to the right is what one has to do not to be blinded. That's not the point. Don't you think it's a bit silly to have to not feel comfortable on the bike path with your fellow cyclists? The duration and the possibility of avoidance are not the issue. The issue is that it happens when there is not a need for it. If I'd use an analogy: if a few people that pass you would slap you, you wouldn't die, you could ignore it, but you wouldn't feel as good as if those people would smile at you... It's not just the front lights (almost everyone has focused on the front lights). There are some powerful rear lights, too. Try to bike behind someone with a flashing Redbot, for example. Yes, one can slow down to put a bigger distance between the "offending" light and himself, or speed up to pass the person. But again...why to take evasive actions on a bike path with fellow cyclists? If someone is sooo insecure that he/she needs strong lights in the flash mode on the bike path, the person has some serious mental/emotional issues. Let's mix a little bit of intelligence and human kindness and we can all enjoy night biking.

Well, I ride that bike path pretty much every day (and night) these days and I agree with him. I think what we're talking about is not necessarily every flashing light just the ones of extremely high wattage and lumens.

It's appreciated if you aim them down and keep the real bright ones on steady while on a path. If that's just way too much for you then so be it. I'll watch for you as you're coming down the path and make sure to have my sunglasses handy to accommodate your very special needs.

I use two front headlamps. I run a cheapy Cat Eye powered by AA batteries on flash mode and then the powerful Stella lamp on solid beam. The cheap Cat Eye is bright enough to attract attention but not so bright as to distract oncoming cyclists.

I run a dinotte rear light and am just about to add an ultrafire red torch too. I ride on a cycle path for a very short part of my journey - I'm not going to turn around and turn them off / down, my ride consists of fast roads with lots of traffic and lorries etc. I need all the light I can get.

I'd also be nice if other cyclists backed off my rear wheel - they always seem to have to emergency brake when I slow / stop for a give way sign.

For the front I run 3 lights and will probably add another....

Hey, good for you. You've travelled. Have you ridden extensively in New York City? How about the west side bike path?

All I'm saying is basically what you just said. All bike paths are not created equal. The one I regularly ride on after dark ALWAYS has people on it where they're not supposed to be, ALWAYS has ninja riders with no lights at all, and ALWAYS has cars crossing it every few blocks. It's also very well lit, and I guarantee you nobody is being "blinded" by my blinkies, and I STILL have to use my bell often. It's has all the issues of riding on a road, with the (wonderful) exception that there are no cars in your lane. However you've traded them for people, most of whom don't know they shouldn't be there and lots of whom are wearing headphones, and you still have cars making turns. In some ways you have to be more careful about the turns, because the drivers don't see a "road" and don't expect "traffic".

Now if I was in, say, Ohio on an MUP without all the peds and cars, I'd set the thing to solid. Of course.

Why is that so hard to understand?

Not when you have to contend with residential driveways, cross streets and business entrances.
Having to deal with sinners who are late for mass and think they can use 50ft of the MUP as a shortcut to salvation is why I have a Knogg Bullfrog and a Sigma Sport light set on flash.
Did I mention Deer? Flashers get their attention, steady/no lights do not.

Ditto!




If I run flashing lights in a MUP its because I forgot to turn them off. Its too much of a hassle for me to reach beind me. Its not that I have emotional issues, or maybe I do since I can't be bothered to turn off a light.

You're basically making the same mistake some people do of assuming things. There is always a reason why someone does something. Even salmon cyclists.

Gotta think outside the box and deal with it. If it bugs you that much wear shades.

I like the cateye on strobe, on my helmet, with a MagicShine on the bars. The cateye is there only as an attention getter for drivers to see - I can aim it fine by looking at the car, but in normal riding posture it pretty much shines at the same spot as the MS.

On the back I have two PB strobes, a PB blinky on my helmet, and a steady red on the rack. I have seen too many commuters that have surprised me because of the faint rearward lighting, particularly in the rain/fog. But I don't want to blind anyone in the front, so using a high-Lumen up front on strobe doesn't seem to be needed.

I don't get the point of flashing lights. Ever, really, except in daylight, overcast or foggy conditions. The only flashing light I use is a very low power blinky on my helmet. And in the dark, I even have that on solid as it's main purpose is for me to see my computer.

Same here. IME, they don't make a difference. I prefer to be able to see what is in front of me, so I always have lights on solid. Not that my dynamo headlight has a flashing mode, nor does my MiNewt Mini USB for the other two bikes.

I think the most important is that you have a light.

Also, I don't get the purpose of the flashing lights that are more off than on... If I had a flasher, I'd rather it be more on than off.

I useReelights, which, due to the nature of the lights, are always on strobe. Then again, I do the vast majority of my commuting on NYC streets, rarely on MUPs, so they're nice to have.

The point is visibility. Not being able to see, but being seen. To each his own, but I use the strobes on my bike much the same reason an emergency vehicle does - visibility.

+1 Steady lights tend to blend into the background on the road, but strobes do a much better job at standing out and getting others' attention. My commute is about 2/3 streets and 1/3 MUP. I'll put the steady light on while riding the MUP because I actually need the light, but on the street I run my strobes day and night. I also will use the strobes on the MUP if it's dusk-ish, just because it helps me stand out...steady lights don't make you very visible in twilight IME.

My night setup: NiteRider 250 (strong steady), PlanetBike 1W (weaker blink). People seem to see me just fine.