Slow enough and amber maybe not so bad but really any sort of flash or strobe doesn't work well for me.

The 16KPH is about right. I can try and test that on my ride home tonight but that is pretty close maybe it is 10-11 MPH but I just press the button and usually my computer is so dark I don't bother with it.

veganbikes: I am not worried about the flashing amber light on the front of my bicycle in my eyes In daylight. I can place it were it is not a distraction to my vision. I'm thinking that I might attract some Karen with the amber light on the front. Thanks for the reply on the speed at witch the high beam is available. I read that the M99 DY Pro needs the dyno hub that has the 3 watt output so it functions correctly. In other words they want you to use the Son 28 not the Son Delux.

New bicycle lighting technologies always present opportunities for the "dim bulbs" among us to use them incorrectly. One perfectly annoying example of this behavior is the use of flashing head lights on dedicated bike paths. (or even worse -really powerful lights that are adjusted for maximum forward throw) I have no problem with there usage on normal public roads.

In either case, experienced cyclists should realized the limitations and nuances of using a device that can affect other road or trail users. (we all like the guy with blue-tooth disco speakers blaring from his handlebars) wink

I'm lucky enough to ride many trails that have considerable cycle traffic. If everyone I encountered on these trails used the poor cycling judgement I mentioned - I simply wouldn't ride the trails anymore.

Luckily - only a few A orifice cyclists do so far - but it's getting worse.

I almost never ride on an MUP and If I did I would turn off my flashing lights while on the MUP. The daylight visible lights are for the dim bulbs in those motor vehicles. My dyno headlight is a cut off style instead of a flood and the dyno taillight does not flash. Because of those new electronic devices I found that I need more lighting to avoid becoming a road cookie. Cellphoneitis is a real problem and the cause of much pain. I also have a bell and a horn that I appropriately use depending on conditions.

It does not display on your computer? It displays on mine. Maybe try using a different browser.

I like my Knog headlights. The ones I have are called Blinder, but they're only 400 and 300 lumens. There are two LEDs on each, four settings: one with a continuous flood pattern and the other is more focused, a continuous spot pattern. Of course, one of the light settings is flashing from one light to the other, and the fourth one is both lights at once, for going through tunnels. I like the flashing function and can aim the light downward. The flash draws attention while a constant light can be subconsciously ignored. I personally don't think they're that obnoxious unless you look directly at the light.

Tourist in MSN : Thanks for the reply, it now shows up.

It is not so much your vision it is other users of the trail. In the end if I am blinded by someone else's light in that moment (as my worst self) I am hoping they go blind and cannot ride anymore so there is one less flasher on the trail. I probably don't know the Karen you know but the Karen I know is not a cyclist she is school teacher and very nice. Actually I know two and the other also not a cyclist.

I did check and it turned on at 9.9mph (but because the light on the display wouldn't stay on I could further test it but I checked it while I was coasting down a bit and it worked nicely. Mine is connected to a 28 but yeah the Delux may not be as easy.

veganbikes: The tail flasher I currently use is the brightest one I could find at the time. I run it on slow pulse and only use it on the street around cars.It is never on at night. If someone were to ride with me or I was to ride on a trail then it would be turned off. I have dyno lights for night and hate with extreme prejudice people who use flashing lights at night. From what you have been posting I guess you ride on some trails or MUPs. Morons with flood lights and some with flashers in low light conditions are common there. Prior to getting a tail flasher because someone texting sideswiped me with their car I was rear ended by an idiot whom did not inform me he wanted to draft me. I was slowing for a light when this happened. I was not hurt but he was. Although I no longer live in that area I sometimes head down there to visit relatives. I found that the tail flasher helps keep miscreant roadies from getting to close.

I see people flashing lights all the time day or night and for my eyes and others eyes the time of day doesn't matter. A red taillight is usually not a problem most of the time some of the really super mega ultra bright ones can be a bit crazy if stuck behind for long periods maybe but that is a rarity for me and they are still not as bad as a white flashing light even some dimmer ones. Much rather have a red light flashing then any white light.

Dyno lights are so great though I will say that first few seconds is a bit annoying when the light is getting going before the capacitor is charged but it my light and not getting in my eyes. However with a good number of the dynamo stuff it is STvZO compliant so it won't blind someone which is quite nice.

The floodlights aren't great and not needed but so long as they aren't flashing I can usually deal a little better. My eyes are happy with lower light and back in the day I had really excellent night vision but I think with lights getting brighter and brighter all over the place (not just bikes) it is not so good anymore.

veganbikes: B&Ms new head light that will hopefully be out soon has the low beam, high beam and a daylight flood. That in addition to my Airzound horn and loud screams might be enough to avoid being a road cookie at busy intersections.

Loss of night vision is also an age thing. Mine is not very good anymore and age is the only thing I can blame for that.

It could be that but most people still consider me young...luckily my eyesight is still good generally just night vision is less than optimal.

Actually, I like it when cyclists on bike paths use a front light. I find that the lighting on paths due to shade from trees often makes it difficult to see oncoming cyclists - a flashing front light is helpful in that circumstance.

Tourist in MSN: I have read that the blue light spectrum in LEDs is hard on our eyes. I read on Peter Whites site a few years ago that the halogen bulb lights were easier to see with than the LED lights for older people. I have read about what they call the temperature of the LEDs. I notice that some LED car lights are more harsh on my eyes than others when out at night. I purchased some Sylvania LED Globe Bulbs to replace the 60 watt incandescent bulbs in my bathroom. They only use 6 watts. They were advertised as putting out light that is closer to sun light. They are not harsh on my eyes and bright as hell. I wonder what temperature the bicycle LED lights are.

That rain jacket is a fairly decent daytime flasher all on it's own. I use this one. Supermarket shoppers ask me to turn it off. Small children scream and point. I simply don't understand the angst exhibited by so many over riding a bicycle in traffic. If I had that much fear about it I wouldn't do it. Amber lights are running lights. You didn't advocate for them, I'm just using this post to vent my spleen. Sorry. A steady Amber light at the front of a bike is a waste of time and money. A flashing Amber light at the front of a bike will be confusing to cagers and cyclists alike. Whhhyyy??? It's really not as hard as some of you make it.

Yellow or amber as some call it is universally used as a warning flashing or not. I Don't believe is would cause confusion to other road users.

Stationary hazards use steady or slow flashing amber lights. Large vehicles use steady or strobing amber lights as side marker/height references and warning. Slow flashing amber lights are used as directional indicators on vehicles of all sizes. These are conventions and I see no good reason to go against them. It, of course, causes confusion if only momentary. For all my unique individuality, in matters vehicular, I am straight up predictable and conventional.

Amber fog lights used to be fairly common on vehicles in the incandescent lighting days. My 2005 vehicle has halogen running lights that are on in daytime, at night the running lights go off and headlamps come on. The halogen running lights were a bluish white, the halogen lamps have a higher kelvin temperature than the normal incandescent bulbs. I am not a fan of looking at bluish lights, so I swapped out the regular blueish white bulbs for yellow halogen bulbs in the running lights. I think that people can see me better without eye strain that way. They are only on in daytime, so they do not aid me at all as a driver in seeing things. If you do an internet search for yellow H10 bulbs you will see the bulbs I am talking about. Nobody could confuse those with turn signals.

In the early days of PC computers, monitors were usually green and black, some were amber and black, very few were light gray and black. The green and amber were in part chosen because those colors are in the middle part of the color spectrum, easy for the eyes to see. I had used both amber and green years ago before computers started using color screens, found green and amber to be very comfortable on my eyes.

For anyone wanting to be truly antisocial, the Magicshine RN3000, with a 3000 lumen front flashing mode, is on sale for $80 for Black Friday.

Why? Seriously why put other people in danger just to be "antisocial" (well technically another "a" word but I digress) I get companies love to sell dangerous lights because some fool will buy it therefore making them money and because there is no regulation and oversight they can do it. However we as consumers should recognize and realize that it is dangerous and not be promoting for them. There is zero argument for a flashing white light being safe because in the end when people have to look away or close there eyes the safety is completely negated by putting someone else's life at risk.

Thanks for this.

I hadn't come upon this thread until today; makes for interesting and informative reading. I don't ride after dusk though so my white bike (one from PlanetBike) headlight I've typically run on a patterned strobe setting but with what I'm reading here that's going to change. My rear TREK CarBack radar's light flashes red, my helmet-mounted PlanetBike red is set for steady.

No one has ever commented on what they're seeing as we encounter one another during our rides so what I'm reading here serves as a good idea of what's a Best Practice protocol.

BTW as for 'color temperature': Wasn't a big deal until the advent of photography when color film was created and transparency film was King. Different slide films were designed to yield 'normal' looking whites when exposed under lighting that closely matched the formulations of the dyes used in their engineering. Use the wrong film for the prevailing lighting produced either orange-ish or blue-ish results upon processing.

In more common practice now, white light is perceived by humans across a range of Kelvin temperature levels according to the circumstances of their viewing it. 2,700°K is a Warm White, roughly comparable to the tungsten filament electric lamps prior to the advent of LED's. 3,400°K is uncommon but still 'artificial' in nature. "Cool" white can be anywhere from 4,000° to 5,200°K while 'daylight' is often 6,000°K or greater. The higher the number the 'bluer' the resulting light when illuminating a white object.

There are LED lamps (bulbs if you wish) now that have selectable color temperature settings. The user has only to slide a small switch on the lamp (or in an app on their smartphone) to adjust the lamp's 'white point' to a higher or lower temperature.

The human eye / brain 'organ' is remarkably adaptable in its ability to adjust perception according to circumstances, why we often don't perceive a change in illumination unless there's something wrong about it to give us an idea of what's not quite right about what we're seeing.

Color temperature is a single adjustable parameter in Planck's black body radiation emission curve. For a true black body, like the sun, 5000 K to 6000 K corresponds to normal-looking daylight.

If you are using it to characterize a multi-spike emission curve, like from a fluorescent lamp, or an LED, it is a less reliable guide, because it is trying to describe the peak of a one-mode curve that is a best fit of the various spikes in the emission spectrum. In my aquarium (back when I had one), anything lower than 5000 K looked like a tank full of urine from a dehydrated horse, and it wasn't uncommon for people to use 10,000 K to 20,000 K fluorescents to make it look good.

Exactly! Different sources of light have different proportions of wavelengths in the visible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum (and invisible, at least to us humans), what our eyes react to that our brains then interpret as 'color'.