Jerrys88

I'm into being noticed on the road. During the day I wear a bright neon yellow construction-worker vest with red reflector stripes built in no matter where I'm going and I don't give a @%#*# what I look like in it. I wanna be noticed, period.

Now, as a new commuter, I'm looking into lighting for when it starts getting dark on my commute home. I have three goals 1) Be as noticeable as possible to cars 2) Have the road in front of me as bright as possible 3) Do 1 & 2 the least expensive way possible.

The options for lighting mentioned here are absolutely dizzying and paralyzing, so if anyone has any "sum-it-up" suggestions, I'd be very grateful. What I think I've gleaned so far is that going with a high-tech flashlight for headlight gives most bang for the buck and going for one that takes AA and rechargeable AA batteries is a good way to go. Choosing which one(s) is another story (help!).

Anyway, my question is about tail lights. When I think of cars driving up behind me and what I'd want them to see, my answer is ME and my BIKE, not a spot of light, no matter how bright. In other words, the part of my body and bicycle that face the driver make up X amount of area. The beam from a tail light takes up Y amount of area - way smaller than X. Ideally, shouldn't we want OURSELVES to be lit up? So, my question is, why don't tail lights light up the RIDER, and are there any lights designed to do that?

cooker

One important thing is consistency. You want to be immediately recognizable as a bike so it's important that your lighting be not too different from other cyclists. Another is power. Use their lights to light you up and that means reflective clothing etc.

Jerrys88

I don't know if I want to look like other bikers. Lately I've been eyeing bikers at night and my conclusion is that having a little red light emitting from the back of their seat is woefully inadequate, no matter how bright. That's what made me think of lighting myself up instead.

I shouldn't really say "instead." I have in mind to definitely wear reflective clothing covering a large area of my back and have a bright light shining on it, but also attaching a Planet Bike Superflash on constant mode to the each of my ankles (attached to the velcro collars I put on my pant hems) or on my pedals (light + movement). Wouldn't lighting my reflective back up make me more noticeable before car headlights reach me?

Barrettscv 

I'm also considering a white blinky that will shine towards me. I could install it on my rear pannier.

rm -rf

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jerrys88

I don't know if I want to look like other bikers. Lately I've been eyeing bikers at night and my conclusion is that having a little red light emitting from the back of their seat is woefully inadequate, no matter how bright. That's what made me think of lighting myself up instead.

I shouldn't really say "instead." I have in mind to definitely wear reflective clothing covering a large area of my back and have a bright light shining on it, but also attaching a Planet Bike Superflash on constant mode to the each of my ankles (attached to the velcro collars I put on my pant hems) or on my pedals (light + movement). Wouldn't lighting my reflective back up make me more noticeable before car headlights reach me?

Reflective materials send light back to the source, so the reflection would go back toward the light, not the following drivers. And Superflashes can be seen from a wide angle, but most of the light is sent in a beam. They work best if they are pointing straight back.

A reflective vest and reflective velcro straps on your ankles, a Superflash or a Dinotte on your bike and a steady red light on the back of your helmet is easy and effective.

More lights if you want them:

Spoke lights

I've seen vests with embedded LED lights, but they aren't very bright.

Have you seen electroluminescent wire? Photo gallery



Or what about battery powered 20 LED Christmas lights?

Jerrys88

Cool suggestions, rm-rf - thanks! I like the idea of stringing my vest up with christmas lights, and I love the spoke lights, although I have to search for ones that I could attach to my Brompton folding bike which has 16" wheels with thicker-than-normal spokes. Love the luminescent wire, too - will have to look into it as well. I really do want to be RIDICULOUSLY lit up. Your comment about reflective material only reflecting back to the light source is interesting. Still I wonder if lighting up my back up would still have the advantage of presenting a larger lighted area regardless of reflective material, but then christmas lights just might do the trick. All of this in addition to the ankle Superflashes and a nice bright headlight should do it I think!

ken cummings

I use an old Radio Shack Xenon strobe much like the ones on www.allelectronics.com . Look at one in their on-line catalog. When mine goes off (50-90 times a minute) it lights up my back and everything else in a 360 degree circle. ~$10.00 . Mine runs on anything from 6 to 15 volts and up. Do not put it where you can see it while riding as you will be blinded.

Bill Tarling

I put fast strobing brake lights just below and to the side of my tail light. I have them angled slightly outwards and upwards -- it seems to have made a good difference getting drivers' attention when I start braking.

Having them spaced a bit below and to the side slightly makes the lit area look a little bigger and wider, and they can still see them well as they near my side.

chainstrainer

Well, if it's dark why couldn't the driver's lights be the source that gets you "lit up" assuming the back of your vest is plastered with reflective fabric? If you want more visibility you probably could figure some way to mount one of the many flashlights mentioned in this forum to your rear rack, chainstays or seat post and aim it toward your back in flashing mode. Let us know what you come up with.

ks1g

For a AA-powered tail lights, my favorite bright economical remains the PlanetBike Super Flash, and the Dinotte for stupid bright and $$ but it's my life I'm protecting! I run both, usually in flash modes. Agree that a simple blinkie or 2 is better than nothing but often inadequate for alerting cars. I tried a number of AA-powered headlamps and went with a Dinotte 200L (run steady when I need illumination and on flash when I want to be noticed). I carry 2 spare NiMH or Lithium AA 4-packs in my bag as spares and mount a small Cateye opticube on my helmet running in flash as something to point at other vehicles. If my route involved more riding on busier roads, I would add a reflective vest. My backpack does have a fair amount of reflective material, however. I'm considering adding vehicle-style red and white reflectors, mostly for legal reasons. The state motor vehicle code requires it for bikes and if Ghu-forbid something happened to me, I want to make sure my wife has every opportunity to take the jerk/jerkette to the cleaners in my honor/memory.

kleng

here are some supplementary lighting ideas, my main light is the dinotte 140R



Helmet - Knog Frog


Bar ends


Jacket with planet bike super flash


Flashing wirst or ankle band

mastronaut

Just remember you may end up being a well lit moving target for the beer chucking crowd out there...

cyccommute 

Instead of using one source, use several. I usually carry between 4 and 6 attached to various parts of me. The bike is a good source of steady light that gives motorists something to gauge your distance from them. That's why at least one (bright) light is on steady. I have a helmet mounted light that moves with me and catches their attention because it's mobile and flashing.

It issue with using a light to illuminate a reflective material is that you'd have to use a white light. Even a very bright red light probably wouldn't reflect brightly enough. Red light is very low energy and our eyes really can't see it that well. If you use a white light to illuminate the vest, you'll have a white light that the cars can see...and see better than your red tail lights. We have been trained to expect white lights on the front of vehicles at night. A motorist seeing a white light will think you are coming at them and not moving away. Their judgement of your speed and distance will be way off. That could lead to disaster. Better to not go too far out of the norm and just use a bright rear facing red light...or, rather, several of them.

Jerrys88

Great suggestions everyone - thanks so much.

Here's what I've settled on for now:

Superflash Taillight
LED leg bands
Ledtronics reflective vest with built-in LED lights (think this will address my wish for larger lit-up area from front and back)
LED spoke lights for side lighting
Fenix L2D flashlight for headlight

I will add some reflective stickers to my fenders, helmet, maybe to bike frame as well, and maybe also reflective tape between some spokes. I like the idea of adding a small flashing light on my helmet that I can point to drivers as well (thanks ks1g).

Thanks for all the responses and suggestions - the information I learn here has been so helpful.

Jerry

cyccommute 

I think your concerns are a little misplaced. Getting hit from behind is a low probability, even at night. Most people can see stuff in front of them and have been trained to notice red as a danger sign.

Collisions from the front such as from turning vehicles is far more common and far more dangerous. You seem to be falling into the same thought processes as many people. Sure, you can get by with a small front light but you'd be better off by adding at least another front light to the arsenal. Mount one on the helmet so that you can point it towards other road users and can see better into corners. A brighter light then the L2D wouldn't hurt either.

Also be aware that LED lamps don't have much side spillage. You can be very dark to cars coming from the side. Their lights don't hit reflective material until you are in front of them and then it's too late.

Chris_F

Check your local vehicle codes. Most apply to bikes and most require that all rear facing lighting be red. In my state blinking red is specifically illegal, although I've never been stopped for it. I usually wear a reflective construction vest, and have a red blinky on my seat, helmet, and back. The only time I've had a problem was with a car pulling out in front of me (despite a white blinky and a headlight on my helmet). I almost t-boned him in the driver's door.

In other words, don't fixate on rear visibility. Front visibility is just as important.

Jerrys88

Thanks for pointing all of this out, cyccommute. During my research on bike lighting I did learn about the importance of front and side lighting. I thought that the combination of the L2d as headlight and the fact that the vest I ordered has flashing lights in the front as well as back of it would offer sufficient front visibility, and I ordered the spoke lights for side visibility. When I received my L2d flashlight last week it was defective (wouldn't turn on), so they're sending a replacment this week. Because of that I have no real idea just how visible it is going to make me - I appreciate your comments about this and will definitely look into increasing front visibility even further. I was considering ks1g's suggestion of a small flashing Cateye Opticube mounted at the front of my helmet, but from what you're saying I'd be better off with another bright light on the helmet. Do you have any specific suggestion to complement the L2d? It would be good if they used the same batteries, as I bought a bunch of rechargable NiMH batteries and a pretty expensive charger. Also, how do people mount lights to their helmets?

barturtle

While I would like a very bright light for my helmet, I dislike most of the mounts that are being used for this. I believe they are too rigid and in the event of a crash, would negatively affect the performance of the helmet, as they wouldn't snap off easily. These rigid mounts would then function to add an additional "impact point".

I use a Planet Bike Sport Spot. it has a fairly flat plastic mount that straps to the helmet and the light clips on to that using a plastic belt clip that would fracture easily in an accident, allowing the light to separate from the helmet instead of possibly crushing through it.

I also use the Plant Bike 3H blinky on my helmet, as it has similarly fragile-in-an-accident mounting points.

cyccommute 

Another L2D would probably be a good place to start. Helmet lights are actually more practical than a bar mounted light. The light from them goes where you are looking. This means that as you corner, the light is illuminating the corner where stuff can hid with a bar mounted light. You can also illuminate stuff that might not be in your line of travel. This means things that may be on the side of the road (animals, peds, etc.), cars that are at stop signs that may pull out in front of you, etc. In certain cases, such as drivers that just don't notice you, you can sweep the light across a driver's vision. It gets their attention.

Do some searches on the Electronics forum, there are lots of ideas on how to mount lights that don't have dedicated mounts.

efficiency

I think buying a Dinotte 140L tail light is better than those. You could even get the dual tail light (400L Tail light) if you're paranoid. That light is brighter than brake lights of many cars. However, most people find that the 140L is plenty bright enough. I don't even run mine on high.