Three Dinottes: Bought lights for DayTime Safety: They also work well for night riding.

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/h...dlights006.jpg

I'd recommend one of the Amphipod Xinglet jogging cross belts. It's the same kind of reflective harness/belts that police wear for motorcycle/traffic directing duty. Very lightweight, reflectively, hi-viz lime green straps, fits over any clothing, and best of all folding into something as small as a knit cap. I hear the flashing version is quite bright, but that the watch batteries the active flashers use burn out quickly. I personally just use the standard hi-viz reflective one.

If you have a set of fenders you might consider adding a reflective stripe or 12 square inch "cotton tail" as once required by British/Dutch law on bicycles for traffic visibility.

The only time I've been hit by a car, I was wearing one of those vests. It was dusk, I was under a street light, she had her headlights on, I had right of way, she was at a stop sign and waited until I was directly in front of her before accelerating into me. Of course, she claimed she couldn't see me. The other forty years have been without incident. Do what makes you comfortable, but sometimes...

Marc

Suggestions?

Even a relatively small front white LED blinky is useful. I can't tell you how many times the rather low output Citibike white blinky lights have caught my eye as I was crossing a bike lane in NYC on foot in the daylight or with a random cyclist blowing through a red light. They catch the eye more than I expected.

Depends how much you're willing to spend, how much runtime you need, and the brightness you want.

I have $30 flashlight setups to $200 dynamo setups. I also have this light coming in the mail soon, it will be very comparable to $200 lights sold by mec.

http://www.fasttech.com/products/160...00-lumen-white

I still think Dinotte tail lights are among the best daytime visible tails you can buy. The 300R or 400R are all most people need and the daytime 400R light is among the brightest money can buy (yes I know there are brighter lights out there.) For a front flasher that is daytime visible you probably don't need to spend more than ~$50. The more expensive headlights just allow you to see the road in front of you in the dark.

Hmm, we paint school buses, taxis, and heavy construction equipment with (semi) hi-vis yellow/orange, but just imagine a world where ALL motor vehicles, cyclists, runners, and commuting pedestrians were plastered in that color. Accidents would be a thing of the past.

Lots of cyclists seem to be using faulty logic to assume that hi-viz clothing doesn't help. Just because you got hit by a car wearing hi-viz does not mean that it doesn't work. You could reach plenty of similarly bad conclusions using that logic:

- Helmets don't work because I got hit by a car while riding with a helmet.
- Brakes don't work because I got hit by a car while riding a bike with brakes.
- Lights don't work because I got hit by a car while riding a bike with lights.
- Etc, etc.

Try using some common sense. Hi-viz clothing makes you more visible -- much more visible. That's why highway crews are required to wear hi-viz clothes. Scientific studies have proven that hi-viz yellow-green is the most visible color to most people. Google it if you don't believe me. Making yourself more visible makes it much more likely that drivers will see you, but it doesn't guarantee it. There are no guarantees with any safety measure. If you get hit while wearing hi-viz clothing there could be many explanations. The driver could have been texting, talking on the phone, tuning their radio or any number of actions that took their eyes off the road. The driver could have been distracted, daydreaming or simply a bad driver. The driver could have intentionally hit you or meant to give you a scare. The driver could have been color blind. Likewise, the cyclist could have been at fault. The cyclist could have been weaving or veering to avoid a pothole. The cyclist could have taken too much of the lane. The cyclist could have been riding in the dark with no lights.

You know what I think? A lot of cyclists refuse to wear hi-viz clothes because they think it's ugly or nerdy. I can understand that, but I value personal safety over appearances. Apparently many cyclists feel otherwise judging by the numbers of them I see wearing black, gray or dark clothes while cycling on busy roads.

Sort of safety related, do you use a mirror?

Thank you, Leebo. As I was reading through this thread for the first time I was surprised it took 60 posts before someone suggested a mirror as well. I echo other's suggestions re: bright lights (strobe setting) for daytime use. I am also a fan of Dinotte Lighting products. As I upgrade all of my cycle wear I'll be looking for bright colors from here on out. But, back to the mirror, I consider that as crucial an item for cycling safety as the other items discussed.

AAH why can't the aldi here in America carry stuff like that? I am looking for something just like that!

i bought for $40 a light from china and they say it is 2000 lumens! I am not sure if that is accurate but I know that when it blinks I can see it light up street signs in daylight 2-3 blocks away. it also has two led so it makes a bigger block of light.


I agree I feel naked without my mirror I have found myself looking for my mirror while walking down the street to see behind me. :lol:


I am still looking for a high viz jersey and jacket. something like this of they make a waterproof one too.

I also got this which I think is a steal for £20.

https://www.aldi.co.uk/en/specialbuy...ycle-tool-kit/

I just got one of those (not the flashing one). I find it ideal for cycling, for all the reasons you already stated. Plus the model I have has a small pocket in the chest portion - perfect for stowing the mini garage door opener, so I can activate it and roll right in without fumbling in either my jersey pockets or trunk bag.

When I got my 300R I was surprised how much brighter and noticeable it is compared even to my 2-watt Niterider Solas. I have the 300R on continuous in the dark and flashing during my daylight commute with the two Solas flashing (both in the dark and during the daylight) mounted on the seat stay. Yeah, I'm pretty sure anyone paying any sort of attention to the road ahead of them will notice me.

Since part of my commute is on unlit surface streets until I get to the unlit MUP, I do want more than a $50 light. In my case I started with a Niterider Lumina 650, then added a Dinotte XML-3 (claimed 1200 lumens) - and I'm thinking of adding a dynamo setup the next time I replace a front wheel. Still trying to figure out which I prefer on the bars and which on the helmet. These run either in continuous or flashing mode, depending on whether it's dark or light outside. Pricey? Maybe, but I think it's money well spent. YMMV

+1000000

Hi Viz clothes, multiple lights up front, multiple lights in the rear, bells, horns, defensive lane positioning, situational awareness, etc. These all will decrease the potential for an accident. None will eliminate the possibility of an accident. You can do everything right, and just be unlucky enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Of course. I find it much easier to glance in my mirror to see who/what is behind me than to keep turning my head. Plus, at night, a quick glance in my mirror tells me if my Dinotte 300R is positioned correctly ('cuz it "paints" the pavement behind me with red light).

I recently saw a commuter with a whistle hanging around his neck. It was a weird intersection where the bike path is shielded from view from the parallel freeway exit, then when the bikes emerge, everybody has to wait at the same light. He used the whistle to get peoples' attention before chancing the intersection, which is surely smart, because that off-ramp is full of people that have been commuting at 60mph for the last half hour, and expect to be able to roll the red light, turn right and get up to 60mph again.

This morning I wish I had a loud horn... during my early morning commute a car was approaching from a minor side street looked like he/she wasn't going to stop so I yelled loud enough that he/she jerked to a stop. My command voice isn't what it used to be, the yelling gave me a sore throat.

hi-viz jackets are super stylish.

http://www.tgstore.eu/images/JWESSU0800.jpg


hi-viz vest otoh are not.

... ... what if, instead of yelling yourself sore, you had simply scrubbed off enough delta vee to assess the situation calmly... maybe its me, but I absolutely cannot see a downside to that alternative reaction...

H

Absolutely agree, however, IMO, your point would have been better illustrated with an actual hi-viz cycling jacket. I have the cycling version of the runners jacket pictured above and, also IMO, it is actually more stylish (and functional) than the runners model you linked. That makes it pretty stylish indeed, since that runners jacket isn't sack-cloth and bunting. FWIW.

H

situational awareness.

i am fairly certain that i feel safer wearing black and biking sans lights than you lot do wearing hi viz and lit up like xmas trees.

Hi-Viz clothing is the best answer. However, it always comes down to a crap shoot when it comes to elderly cataracts and drivers cell phone operations.

I don't think Hi-Viz is useful. I never saw in on the continent but everyone in the UK uses it. Most people in Germany usually cycle in black or dark colours.

Anyone intelligent enough to use the term "situational awareness", is too intelligent as to make such an inane statement as this.

Anyone with the candlepower to be hired as an expatriate worker in a STEM career is likewise much too intelligent to be making statements like the above.

I can't tell anyone what or how to feel, but I can suggest that perhaps they are missing the point: is it better to 'feel' safer or is it better to BE safer? Try reporting for work as a highway flagger without your hi-viz and see where you get. Just because German cyclists don't wear hi-viz... I mean... they don't wear helmets either, for the most part... does that mean that these things are truly not useful, or is it that they are maybe not that useful in GERMANY, where there are stiff penalties for motorists that maul cyclists because "they didn't see them... " In the U.S. and U.K., drivers are held to much less of an account for their actions. Cyclists have fought back against the mounting CARNAGE by doing what they can, to be more visible. Is that such a bad thing? Really? Is it so bad to want to take some steps to tip the odds in your favour (sic) at night. Or even in the daylight. Being contrarian only works when there isn't anyone around as smart or smarter, who can call you on it. It also isn't cool to be contrarian when the issue is a life and death one.

H

Fair enough ... I agree with you.

However, FYI, most people make fun of the Germans because they always wear helmets compared to everyone on the rest of the continent, which tend not to wear Hi-Viz nor helmet (Dutch for example).

why do you keep rubbing it in? Kidding. looks like a decent kit but I really like that jacket.