rodar y rodar

I see blinkies/tail lights on a lot of packing lists but, from what I gather by reading, most folks just use them here and there. I`m going to take a short tour next week that will involve about four to six daylight hours on highways with fairly heavy traffic (not anything like interstate levels) and I`m a bit apprehensive since it`ll be my first time riding more than a few minutes on highways. It occurred to me to take the Superflash off my commuter and mount it on the back of my trailer or the mtb I`ll be towing with but I don`t know whether that would be worth the trouble or just a waste of batteries. Any suggestions?

Bekologist

DO IT!

Get a safety triangle too, and an ANSI safety vest, and a mirror, if you haven't got them already.

I run them consistently on tour regardless of road volume. even gravel roads. on before leaving camp, off once I hit the next campsite.

Machka 

Blinkies don't show up in bright daylight. They are only visible on gloomy days or at night. This may be why you have observed that people don't use them all the time

In the daylight you're better off with bright colors, a colorful and visible jersey, a bright helment, even a bright yellow reflective vest, or bright yellow reflective tape or something.

Bekologist

bah. Machka hasn't seen the superblinkies obviously. visible in bright sunlight. noticable from a half mile out on a sunny day.

Machka 

Well ... show me a pic of these things.

cycotourer

I think visibility is extremely important, especially on busy highways. I'd take the Superflash to get the attention of drivers who have gone into auto-pilot mode.

After nearly being taken out three weeks ago by a semi-trailer that came around the corner on the wrong side of the road, I bought myself a full set of Dinotte lights (white, red and amber). I flash the amber at the front and red at the back during daylight, and use all three lights when its dark. At 5:30 am, even in heavy fog, I've noticed the traffic can see me from enough distance away that they have time to make a decision which is both safe for them and me. On a Western Australian .gov cycling website they claim that road trains need a minimum 1 km warning if something (like a bike!) is in their path.

An unexpected bonus is that I don't have to dodge kangaroos that stream across the road just before dawn on my regular training ride. The Dinotte lights send them hopping back the way the came, as fast as they can go. I would come to a grisly end if I hit a large buck kangaroo at downhill speed.

Bekologist

You should just buy yourself one, machka, depsite you not doing much everyday bicycling anymore.

I hear you canadians are rolling in loot and burning gas like it's going out of style- oh, wait....


MEC should have them for about 20 bucks.

Machka 

This?

https://www.mec.ca/Products/product_d...45524442623127

And what makes you think I'm not doing much everday bicycling anymore?

cycotourer

Machka, Dinotte lights are visible in bright sunlight for over 1km. Clothing is not.

rodar y rodar

Whoa! Must be a lot of graveyard folks or other night owls! Thanks for the responses, gang. You made up my mind. I was planning to wear my road worker reflective vest anyway (no batteries) and it shouldn`t be hard to find something to clip the flasher onto.

Machka, yes- half of that. They really are pretty visible and run for ages.

kellyjdrummer

Personal safety considerations are never a waste of anything.

Bekologist

Machka,

this one, sans front light. I know you disparage us 'Mericans, did you read the comments of your fellow countrymen about the Planet Bike Superflash on the MEC site?

https://www.mec.ca/Products/product_d...=1212844993033

14.75 CAD

I recommend a 3W LED minimum running in front. if you only get a 1/2 watt front daytime safety blinkie, that's okay too i guess, but nowhere near the daylight piercing intensity of a 3W luxeon LED screaming "I'm a bike, I'm a bike, I'm a bike, coming down the road"

MTBMaven

Mounting one high and low would be a good idea. Mounted low on your trailer it may not get seen. I clip mine to the back of my helmet on the plastic adjuster against my head. You can also clip it to your saddle pack but I like it mounted high on the helmet. It is closer to drivers light of sight.

cyccommute 

And, I'll add, paying attention. A helmet mirror and being attuned to the sounds around you do more than any blinky will ever do.

As for the claims of a LED tail light being visible from noticeable from 1/2 mile in daylight, I'll take that comment with a very large grain of salt. I have a Super Flash and I don't think it's visible for half a mile (that's almost a kilometer for those of you in the civilized world) at night. It's bright but not that bright.

Bekologist

On mornings in Seattle, during the DAY, I see plenty of Superflashes from 800 yards out. 8 football fields. There's one sloping uphill where you can see the commuter peloton for almost a mile, and the superflashes are noticable from far, far out.

Superflashes have been getting pimped up here "love you long time" since the week they hit the market. Very popular with the Seattle contingent.

an August afternoon in Fruita, maybe only a quarter mile, but for any cyclotourist, a superblinky is a valuable addition to the kit.

Clarenza

Hi Cyccommute -- yes, believe it or not, the new bright LED's (like the Dinottes that cycotourer mentions) are extremely visible over long distances. The Dinotte taillight is SO bright and well reflected that you almost have to look away from it at a distance of fifty metres, even in bright daylight. I just took mine outside, parked it near the house and walked the half kilometre to the front gate. It's midday here and it's a bright sunny day but the red taillight was still extremely visible. I have no doubt at all that it would still be easily visible from a kilometre or two. Same would be true of the front amber light. Not cheap but they are a truly awesome safety device.

cycotourer

OK .. boast time!

I rode past about 50 "roadies" this morning in their spiffy roadie outfits and fast bikes, and I over heard one of them say .. WOW LOOK AT THAT LIGHT! With a tone of incredulity! I had my amber and red 140 lumens Dinotte lights in their full flashing glory! BIG GRIN!

n4zou

DIY your own super blinkie.

Red Cree LED Emitter.
https://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.1776


5-Mode Circuit Board 1xAA/2xAA/1x123A
https://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.10084

cyccommute 

Sorry but I don't believe that daytime lights on a bike do anything for safety. The LEDs may be bright but they are very directional and the red part of the spectrum isn't one that the human eye does well with in the presence of bright white light. Cars have at least 2 red lights to the rear and we've had to had a third one at eye level to reduce collisions. Running lights on a car during the day time have an effect on safety but the dynamic is different for them then a bicycle. The lights are wider set and more noticeable to other drivers. When they were first introduced it was a novelty effect too. I wonder what the effect is when everybody is running them.

BengeBoy 

+1

I took my lights off my commuter bike when we got past winter - but after noticing all the Seattle riders who still have them on, I put a blinky back on both of the bikes that I ride most frequently.

Clarenza

Hi Cyccommute, your opinions are ones that I value extremely highly but on this one I think we'll have to agree to disagree. All I can say is, find someone with a Dinotte taillight and ride well behind them and see what you think. I have done just that and can say they are much more noticeable than a car taillight, even when set to their non-flashing mode, even in daylight. When they are set to their five-flash-pause mode, you simply can't miss them. And their breadth of view is just right -- focussed enough to increase intensity, broad enough to be seen when not directly behind. Awesome lights.

edit. Stuart, if you were referring to $10 blinkies, we are in agreement. But since you quoted my reply in your post I have assumed you were sceptical that the Dinotte lights added value in daylight.

Clarenza

Sorry to resurrect a slightly old thread but I just saw a new thread over on the electronics board with a night time video comparing a Dinotte taillight with a Planet Bike Super Flasher. The very bright flashing light in the video is the Dinotte, the dull one is the PBSF. The OP on that thread has just posted a new video showing these lights at dusk and has included a car's hazard lights for comparison. The videos are pretty persuasive.

My view is that taillights -- and front flashing lights -- using the new very bright LEDs (like Dinotte's) are an important safety option for any rider, night or day. And IMHO they make even more sense for tourers because the calibre of drivers encountered is an even bigger unknown than when riding within your own neighbourhood. I recently had to ride without my Dinottes for a number of days don't want to do that again in a hurry. Despite having very bright panniers, reflectors, etc, my experience was that the cars and trucks simply don't treat you with the same respect without good lighting.

CardiacKid

I have never even seen a Dinotte light so I can't render any opinion on its visibility. The problem I see for touring is that it only has a 12 hour battery life in flash mode. You would need to buy a lot of batteries for anything more than a weekend trip.

NeilGunton

The 4 cell lithium Dinotte lights have a run time up to 48 hours on slow blink, or 24 hours on strobe. If you're using them for daytime running lights, then I think slow blink should be ok - and if you ride, say, 7 hours in a day, then that would be about a week's worth of riding - all day long. I don't usually have them on all day long, myself - it's not necessary out on the open road.

There's a runtime comparison matrix here:

https://www.dinottelighting.com/manuals/200L_INST_A.pdf

I really love the Dinotte lights, especially the small lithium tail light. People have gotten out of their cars at traffic lights to ask me about them. They are about the brightest things on the road, and beautifully built as well. My favorites are the small ones, because I like the simplicity of the rubber band mounting system (easy to repair on the road if need be). The front light isn't as bright as some, but it's bright enough for touring, in my opinion.

I also prefer the lithium version of the light because the connector to the battery pack seems more water resistant and robust than the AA version, for some reason.

Neil

kayakdiver

During the day... When touring if I could only have one... either my super blinky or my flag.... I'd go flag every time. It sticks out from the bike a little further than my Panniers and people in fancy cars don't seem to thrilled getting to close to scratch me or the car. At night along with the blinky I am very visible to drivers. See what I'm referring to here.....
https://www.ativsolutions.com/mm5/mer...gory_Code=SFTY

Best of all............................. it's cheap!!