non sequitur

:lol:

you're on fire tonight

en fuego

Just for the sake of a discussion, let us apply the logic posted frequently by at least one poster in A&S: Just because there is no accident data to support the theory, does not mean the problem doesn't exist.

Maybe some of those unexplained bike-car accidents, especially hit and run, could be the result of motorists "blinded" by another bicyclist shinning its lighting firepower into the motorist's face. Could be a good phony excuse for not seeing a bicyclist, though not hit and run behavior. "I couldn't see anything due to a jackwad cyclist going the other way blinding me."

Another possibility is that there are so few cyclists ridding at night in most places in the U.S. that the presence of a few obnoxious ones with blinding lights hasn't made it to the surface of media attention.

wow, that is a constructive response

:thumb:

[MENTION=36008]Leisesturm[/MENTION] - not sure if your reply was directed at me or you just quoted me to bash MagicShine's lumens ratings.

Luckily there are no tree branches going across the road in my state, so I'm safe with just one light. I agree that the AAA battery-powered lights are worthless for headlights.

I can't speak for Burlington but here the media loves to make hay of every dumb@#$% move by a cyclist. Here is a fine example:
http://blog.oregonlive.com/commuting..._by_bicyc.html

And since there are an awful lot of cyclists riding at night here, it's clearly not a major issue.

yes...and so are my lights.

Again, only for the sake of discussion, with no intent to cast aspersions on BF posters, maybe "blindings" by jackwad cyclists in Portland are so common that it is a dog bitting man story and therefore not a good media story. At least until someone claims it as the cause of an injury/fatality.

Here in Oregon the cops don't enforce any light requirements unless they feel like pulling a Terry stop to check for papers. Not on bikes and certainly not on cars, many of which have aftermarket fog or running lights on all the time. Or HIDs. I'm definitely losing the light wars. I swear once I can retire I'm never riding at night again, bicycle or motorcycle or even a car.

that should be "Ockham's razor"

:sigh:

i weep for humanity when people distill elegant concepts into a "poster" and employ it incorrectly :(

I just got one yesterday. Having just ran it down the road and back once, I like it.

This page from Amazon has a few user submitted pics that convinced me to get one. It's one of the best $5.83 I've ever spent on a bike item.

alternative spelling.

no...

this village is still spelled Ockham.

How do they spell München in Ockham?

and in the 13th century alternate latinate spellings were common.

hth.

it is still Ockham today.

do you always repeat gibberish like a parrot?

:lol:

They don't employ München.

i'm very sorry that your parrot speaks gibberish, acidfast7.

Some of the finer points are not worth arguing: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occam%27s_razor. Yes, it is Ockham, now what? I also use Occam. Does that make me a cretin? There is plenty to disagree over even if we stick to only debating bike topics. All is lost if we also start debating the etymology of arcane philosophical constructs.

H

Yes (and a parrot who repeats things with understanding their meaning.)

edit: That's unfair. I like your handle, so I apologise.

Thus far, parrots have passed every high-level cognitive test we hairless primates have thrown at them:

http://www.livescience.com/14708-par...-thinking.html
http://psycnet.apa.org/index.cfm?fa=...1995-28085-001

And then there was Alex:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/10/sc...rrot.html?_r=0

There is a lot of people who cannot stand the blueish tint of the common LEDs.
I will only buy LED lights that are, Neutral or warm white 2700k - 4200k. With a minimum of 80 CRI rating.

I try to do this, too, although it's easier to aim the light down and to the right side of the MUP, so I do that 90% of the time. If I try to shield the light I end up covering the whole thing and not being able to see anything in front of me.

As I've been curious about this issue myself, I recently found this post out of Australia: http://the-riotact.com/led-bicycle-l...e-paths/108054 I think I'm going to try that plastic hood idea. I have the same light as the OP.

Good link. :thumb:

The OED cites both Ockham and Occam, and source citations refer to "William of Occam" as the author. But then, they're English.

Just finished placing the order Greg, thanks for taking the time and the info!

This thread, and the one linked are good reads for me. With several recent bicycle / auto accidents in our city recently, including two cyclist deaths it is easy to get caught up in the paranoia of the "more / brighter lights is better!" approach. And while I do have a relatively bright set of front / rear LEDs I am trying to find that balance of a rider that can see and be seen, but at the same time I also want to be seen as a cyclist that is responsible and respectful, both on the road and on the trail. Lately, I have been focusing more on ensuring I can be seen via reflective devices / materials versus simply adding more lights.

I do appreciate the comments re: etiquette for trail riding as I understand different needs for lighting on MUPs versus that while sharing the road with other motorized traffic.

I do the same when on the MUP (and turn my head so my helmet light is pointing "off road"). Some days (nights) it seems like about half the people coming in the other direction return the favor (one of them a couple of days ago even said "thanks" - I think); other days (like last night) it seems like almost no one else does.

I put some hockey tape along the top 1/3 to 1/2 of my lights and it reduced glare significantly. I aim the hotspots to just below the windshield level of on coming sedans and I've never had a single complaint afterwords. I get plenty of throw without producing glare.

I've tried just aiming it down but it would be excessively short throwing to reduce glare to the hockey tape levels. Almost unusable to have to point it down that low.

The hockey tape doesn't actually contact the glass of my NR lights, just the rim.

http://i.imgur.com/xiIGwM2.jpg

A quick question to Magicshine (and clone) users.

Is it okay to leave the battery connected to the light when not in use? I ask this because the mode button is continuously lit, and I'm a bit worried about the quality/safety of the Li-Ion battery pack.