Mounting strobe & reflector on rear rack
 

late this summer I rigged a rear reflector & strobe on my back up road bike's rear rack. donated the bike & put the rack on another bike. yet to use it on the road, in traffic, but I was pretty happy finding some hardware to get it all screwed on

I Put some on a trunk bag and could move the bag to a different bike.

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/h...dlights020.jpg

Two comments:

1. You could have a cleaner look if you went to a Portland Design Works Radbot or a Cateye Reflex, both of which have integrated reflectors unlike the Planet Bike Super Flash. I have several PD Super Flash lights and I really like them but I just wish they had an integrated reflector

2. Put a ziptie around the bottom of the Super Flash and the mount. One of the reasons that I have several of them is because they tend to bounce off when rack mounted and I find them. I'd have more if I hadn't lost some of mine:rolleyes:

Make sure the ziptie is around the light and the mount both and not just around the light. I've found that it doesn't have to be tight and I can even slide mine off if I need to take the light off without cutting it.

yeah some day when these cr*p out. I lost a few as well so now I actually use a fresh rubber band doubled over. I place it between the top led & the bottom ones so it doesn't obstruct them

He just wanted to show off his discovered Fix..

You did Good

Youi mounted the reflector upside down, it says top on the bottom.

Planet Bike and Serfas make taillight/reflector combinations that work well. These cost only $15-$25. They're bright enough for most low light and nighttime use. And the transparent shells serve as diffusers too, which helps with visibility even when vehicle headlights aren't aimed at the reflector -- passive reflectors can't do that.

And these are much more friendly to fellow cyclists in group rides and on the MUP than the ultra bright Cygolite, RadBots and similar taillights that focus the intensity with lenses or reflectors to concentrate the light.
Last night a ride monitor on our nighttime riding group asked me to turn off my new Cygolite Hotshot 50. I agreed -- it's way too much for that purpose and there's no way to turn it down, other than in steady mode. The various flashing and strobing modes all peak at maximum intensity -- only the durations can be adjusted.

So both of my bikes have taillight/reflector combos. I use the brighter lights only in traffic on public roads, day and night.

Regarding mounting security, the Planet Bike Rack Blinky 5 type mount works well. It hasn't bounced out even on the roughest roads, yet it's easy to unclip and remove if necessary.

But I don't trust the similarly designed plastic clip on the Cygolite Hotshot 50 on anything other than the included mount that bolts to the seat post or elsewhere. That clip doesn't have enough tension to hold reliably.

The Blackburn plastic clips on the 2'Fer and similar lights holds much more securely. It has more tension and little nibs to grip more securely.

cuz of where the holes lined up with the brackets & available clearance. guess I'm doomed ;-)

edit: look again - it says "TOP" at both the top & the bottom! guess I'll live?

(which is good cuz I almost mounted it sideways)

Planet Bike only lists one light...the Grateful Red...that has a reflector on their taillight page. Serfas lists many more (and more than I've seen from other light makers) but all of them seem to be like the Radbot with a very bright flasher. The Cateye Reflex that I linked to above is about like the Grateful Red in that it's a lower intensity light.

A couple of points, I don't know if there are that many people doing night time group rides. If they did, I'm sure that most would take the intensity of their taillights...and headlights... into consideration. But most of us are riding alone at night on roadways. "Friendly" equals not being seen in those situations.

As for riding on MUPs at night, we really shouldn't do it at all. Here in the Denver area, most of the MUPs are closed at night so it's mostly a moot point or me. However, from a "friendly" standpoint, any light on an MUP is isn't (friendly) to pedestrians who are walking without lights. When we ride by with any light, our passing plunges them into darkness which takes several minutes to recover from. The photochemicals that allow us to see at night take up to 45 minutes to pass from our system and even a slight exposure to a white light source or intense red light sources causes the chemical to change shape and the clock is reset.

Try it on yourself sometime. Go to a very dark part of a MUP and turn off your lights...all of them. See how well you can navigate when you are truly night blinded. For these reasons, I avoid MUPs at night and I encourage other cyclists...especially the ones who want to be "friendly"...to do the same.

Are you referring to unlit MUPs? If so, I find your points to make sense. My MUP is lit, and it seems to me I'm not doing much to affect people's visions. I keep my headlight aimed down and out of people's faces, and it's not all that bright.

Planet Bike's combo taillight/reflectors are occasionally still available even after being officially discontinued. I see the Rack Blinky 5 and Grateful Red still available on a couple of sites.

I ride the local MUP at night several times a month -- technically it's not closed until after 10 pm. Occasionally I see walkers and joggers, since there are homes adjacent to some parts of the path.

I find it pretty easy to see at night with little light, especially on overcast nights when city lights are reflected off the cloud cover. I keep my headlight on low, aimed downward, and use my dimmest red taillight. Pretty much the same as the city bikes I see at night, which don't affect my dark adaptation. Occasionally I see others using lights that are unnecessarily bright for the MUP, but the main problem is aiming the lights directly forward into the eyes of oncoming cyclists and pedestrians.

There's only one long section under heavy tree cover, and I use brighter lights aimed ahead mostly because of the critters crossing the path -- lots of raccoons, possums, etc. I can quickly tip the light downward if I see other cyclists or pedestrians.

We don't have any lighted MUPs around here. I don't think we have any within 900 miles of here (Chicago being 940 miles away:rolleyes:) Almost all of the MUPs around here are pitch black and even darker than most streets as they tend to be in the wooded sections of town along the rivers.

You are missing the point. You are operating under the delusion that your eyes are night adapted. If you are using any kind of white light, your eyes aren't night adapted. Basically, if you have light that are bright enough for you to see anything, you are night blind.

And therein lies the problem for pedestrians who aren't using lights on the MUP...which most don't. Their eyes are night adapted and when you ride by with a light bright enough for you to see by, they lose that night adaptation. Once you've passed, they are plunged in the darkness and it takes a while for them to recover their night vision. It doesn't matter if you dip your lights or turn them down. The damage is done as soon as they see the white of your lights.

Try it yourself. At the long dark section, turn off your lights and see how dark it is and how well you can ride without lights and you are night blind.

You sure do like an argument. Or getting the last word on every filibuster. And I say that as someone who loves the sound his keyboard makes. So have at it after this post.

Yeah, I understand the concept of dark adaptation. We did the nighttime training maneuvers in the military, including nighttime orienteering. Our squad won that competition -- despite my nearly complete lack of a natural sense of direction because I can read a compass and topo map and could see well enough we didn't need the red or blue filtered flashlight and none of us smoked cigarettes (which got a rival squad eliminated by an ambush -- those lighters show up for a mile or more across the Camp Pendleton terrain in some areas, and even a glowing cigarette tip can be seen from a surprising distance with dark adapted eyes).

And you're overstating the differences in a typical suburban and urban area. It's never dark enough on most of our MUP for anyone to attain totally dark adapted eyes. At a minimum there are utility lights within a quarter of a mile of practically every point along the MUP. The one exception might be that stretch with a heavy tree overhang that feels like riding in a tunnel.

Most of the pedestrians I see along the MUP at night have their noses buried in their phones, their faces lit up blue. Nothing my bike lights do will make a difference. The handful of folks who aren't using lights and reflectors aren't likely to stumble off into the non-existent woods and be eaten by non-existent bears because they were blinded by bicycle lights. The biggest risk to pedestrians is stumbling 50 yards down the bank into the river while playing Pokemon Go.

I yield the remainder of my time to the gentleman from Colorado.

This is a rack tail light I found after doing some research:
https://www.serfas.com/products/view...ights%7Cpage:6

It's on sale at biketiresdirect for $15 plus $5 delivery. Runs on two AAs (included) which can be recharged through USB port. The rack bracket is $5 extra if you wish to make it removable. I mounted it permanently by the means of a bolt through the body and into the rack. 35 lumen and wide throw lens make it visible even during a not so sunny day. Quite satisfied....

I'm looking at that Serfas to replace an old VistaLite VL-300 (three red LEDs and reflector/diffuser). The VistaLite is an interesting keepsake but not really bright enough for traffic, although I use it for nighttime group rides and on the MUP since it's not bright enough to blind anyone.

Did you need to drill through the Serfas body to mount it as you described? One thing I like about the old VistaLite is the built in bolt and thumbscrew, with a set of three short lugs to mate with holes in standard rack accessory holes. It's reasonably secure yet easily detachable with a deliberate motion. I'd like to see something similar for other rack lights that don't need to be removed often to change or recharge batteries.

Yep, I had to drill through the body which was easy to do. I could have gotten the rack bracket and and use a zip tie but this was easy to do. I just got another one together with a rack for my Bianchi and will do the same thing. Looks like there is no real alternatives to this light at any price but with the exception of the mounting, it's exceptional.

PVC....almost as handy as duct tape http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/o...l/IMG_0965.jpg

So are we just supposed to not discuss a topic? Yes, I make arguments during a discussion because I am trying to persuade you (and others) to my point of view. I may reject your arguments during a discussion because I happen to disagree with them. But when you post something like this, it seems you don't want a discussion at all.

Sorry but I reject the whole "my way of the highway" idea of discussion. That's not a discussion...that's just a pronouncement or to put it in less expensive words, "my mind is made up and nothing is going to change it". Frankly, there are too many people in the world who have that point of view.

Contrary to what most people think, I can be persuaded if your argument is strong enough. I can change my mind and I have in the past. I'm a professional scientist and I'm open to all kinds of new ideas but the idea has to be a good one or it doesn't get past the filters.

Okay, you have some experience with using night vision. Then why do you talk about your eyes being "night adapted" when you are using lights? Surely at some point in your training, they demonstrated what happens when you are exposed to even a small amount of light when your eyes are night adapted. Most people have no idea what light does to their night vision because they don't go out at night without the benefit of street lights or car headlights. But some do.

Think about some poor smuck out for a walk with his dog on a dark bike path and is comfortably and well adapted to the dark. Along comes some jerk on a bicycle with his lights blazing. Even when pointed down, the lights are much more than the dog walker is adapted to. In the few seconds that it takes the bicyclist to pass, the dog walker goes from being able to navigate to being totally in the dark. Go back to your training and think about what that would have done to you.

You are understating the difference and/or ignoring that not everyone rides in strictly urban, suburban or rural areas. It's a big country and lots of people ride in lots of different places. I would consider 1/4 mile to be a very long distance indeed from a light source. In my particular area, bike paths tend to be in more park like settings where there are few lights, the paths are along rivers and many of them are 200 to 400 yards from the nearest light source and are screened by a lot of trees. They are damned dark and, after a few encounters with walkers in the past and a "well duh!" moment (as well as a few encounters with park patrols since the path is closed at night), I decided that riding on the paths with lights was, well, rather rude. I have other ways to go, so I don't take those routes at night.

I seldom have seen a pedestrian on an MUP with "their noses buried in their phones" either day or night. Some but certainly not "most". I agree that those who might deserve just about anything they get.

However, by exaggerating your argument into the non-existent, you demonstrate both your lack of knowledge and/or your lack of empathy (given your previous training) with regard to path users. No, they aren't going to be eaten by bears...although it's not impossible here in Colorado. What they could do is stumble over debris, cracks or roots in or along the trail and become injured. As the trails in my area are along creeks and they are usually asphalt paths, there is ample opportunity for things to fall over of you can't see where you are going.

Sorry but I just can't be that selfish.

PVC works for me.

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/h...2003GTO037.jpg

Clever. That would solve the problem I'm having mounting a rear facing video camera with the existing mount designed for clamping onto handlebars.